“Here. To me.” He grabbed Ody’s face and forced his gaze forward. “We were good this whole time, Stavrinos. Things went bad whenhegot involved. Wanna go back to square one?”
“And if I don’t?” Ody asked, his gaze hard.
Kash smirked. He leaned in and whispered, “If you don’t, we’ll find your little friend again and do worse.” He watched Ody’s anger spark. “But you’re not like that, are you? You’re a good guy. You wouldn’t let your friend suffer because of us.”
He stepped back, and his friends tucked the knives away. “Think about it.” Kash gave a slow, deliberate smile, then walked off.
Ody shut his eyes and let out a long breath before getting into his car. With his hands on the steering wheel, he lowered his head, trying to steady himself. What was he supposed to do? If he resisted, they would go after Mano.
What he didn’t know was that they had told Mano the exact same thing. If Mano tried to defend him, they would hurt Ody.
When he got home, he lay on the couch and messaged him.How are you?
Mano: I’m fine
Did you eat? Take another painkiller?
Yeah
Good
Mano stared at the screen, one thought circling in his mind. He couldn’t hold back the question.Were they there?
Who?
You know who. Were they there? Did they hurt you?
Ody swallowed hard. Kash’s voice replayed in his mind. He couldn’t put Mano in danger again. He already felt responsible for enough.No they didn’t come
Really?
Yeah they weren’t in the classroom
Don’t lie to me
Ody paused, surprised Mano suspected something, but he refused to drag him into this again.They didn’t come. Seriously
Mano exhaled, unsure if he believed him. He just hoped Ody was telling the truth. He wouldn’t be able to step in if they bullied him again. Not after Kash threatened to hurt Ody even worse.
Odysseus: I’ll be playing basketball with the guys later. Call me if you need anything
Mano reread the message slowly, hardly able to believe someone cared that much. Thirteen years had passed since anyone cared about his well-being. He had forgotten what that felt like.
He stood up carefully, went to his room, took his violin from its case, and returned to the living room. Practicing let his mind drift from the past few days.
Meanwhile, Ody was at the basketball court with the guys. During a break, he noticed two missed calls from Anna and called her back.
“Hi, baby.”
“Where are you?” she asked.
“Playing basketball. You?”
“At home. Are we going out tonight?”
“Yeah. I’ll go home, take a quick shower, and then we can head out.”
“How about we grab some drinks?”
