“Can you... come get me? I can’t walk,” Mano said, his voice raw with pain.
“Where are you?”
Mano gave him the name of the school, and Ody hung up, scrambling to get dressed. “I’m coming. Hang in there.”
“What’s wrong?” Anna asked.
“It’s Mano. They beat him up,” he said, pulling his shirt on as he rushed to the living room.
“What? Who?”
“I don’t know, I’m going. We’ll talk later.” He slipped on his shoes, grabbed his keys, and ran out.
He got in his car and drove like a madman. In minutes, he reached the school. It was dark and quiet, lit only by a single streetlight.
“Mano!” he called, peering through the gates. He turned on his phone’s flashlight and finally spotted him on the ground. His eyes widened, breath catching. He climbed the gate and ran to Mano, dropping to his knees beside him. “Are you okay? Can you hear me?”
Mano stirred and opened his eyes.
“I should call an ambulance.”
“No.” The word was quiet, but there was no hesitation in it.
“I don’t care what you say. I’m calling them.” Ody reached for his phone.
“No ambulance. I don’t wanna go to the hospital, please.” Mano looked at him with a pained expression.
“Who did this to you?” Ody’s voice shook.
Mano swallowed and let his head fall to the side.
“Tell me who did this.”
“What difference does it make?” Their eyes locked.
“It was him, wasn’t it? Kash.” Ody’s eyes flared.
“Him and five others.”
Ody tensed. “Can you stand?” He grabbed Mano’s arms to help him up, but he groaned in pain, so Ody eased him back down. “Mano, you need the hospital.”
He didn’t expect him to grab his wrist with sudden strength. “No! Not again. I don’t wanna go again. Please. Don’t take me.”
Their eyes held, and Ody blinked. “O-okay. Calm down.”
Mano’s body loosened a little.
“I’ll help you up, and we’ll head to the car. But we have to get over the gate. Can you do it?”
Mano exhaled. “I don’t know. It hurts.”
“If we can’t make it, I’ll have to call an ambulance.”
“No, I’ll... I’ll get up.” He tried, and Ody caught him.
Mano managed to stand, though he couldn’t straighten his back.
“Does it hurt here too? How did they hit you?” Ody asked, slipping Mano’s arm over his shoulder.
