15. Chapter 15
Morning came, and Mano felt better, though he was still taking three painkillers a day.
When he climbed onto his bike, a dull ache spread across his lower back.
He shifted until he found a position he could tolerate, then put on his helmet and rode off.
The pain followed him all the way to the university, but he managed.
Before heading to class, he made a quick stop at the restrooms in the main building. Outside the door stood someone he recognized, one of Kash’s friends.
Their eyes met. Mano’s gaze sharpened like a blade. Without a word, he pushed past him and swung the door open.
He froze at the sight in front of him.
Kash and Pablo had Ody pinned against the wall by the sink, his brown hair and shirt soaked.
All three looked up at the sound of the door. Behind Mano, Brandon stepped in front of the exit, blocking it.
Mano’s fists clenched. Fury surged through him.
“Well, well. Look who showed up,” Kash mocked. “Didn’t think you’d be back so soon. Recovered fast, huh?” He smirked and glanced at Ody, who stood dripping beside him. “Here to rescue your little buddy?”
Mano stared Kash down, fire flickering behind his eyes. The threat Kash had whispered the night they beat him up echoed in his mind.
Then he turned to Ody. Exhausted, humiliated, almost pleading, he stood motionless.
Mano’s jaw tightened. His fists trembled with the urge to break Kash’s face.
But Kash stepped toward him, leaving Ody behind, his voice soft and venomous as he leaned close. “You know what I’ll do to him if you get involved,” he whispered, pulling back with a triumphant smirk.
Mano’s breath shook. Every part of him burned to act. But Ody’s soaked shirt, the fear on his face, Kash’s threat replaying, chained him in place.
Kash arched a brow. “Well?”
Mano exhaled, closing his eyes for a moment. Then, without daring to look back at Ody, he turned stiffly and walked out.
Behind him, the three burst into laughter, the sound echoing down the hallway. Ody stared at the door, disbelief and hurt hollowing his chest.
“So, where were we?” Kash taunted, stepping closer.
Outside, Mano stepped into the open air and kicked a trash can so hard it toppled.
You’re a fucking loser. A big fucking loser.
He paced back and forth, rage clawing at his ribs.
It would have been easy to destroy them.
He had done it before. The thought of what they were doing to Ody while he stood there doing nothing twisted his stomach.
A few minutes later, he heard voices. Kash and his friends walked out, smug grins spread across their faces. Mano stepped forward instinctively, ready to attack, but forced himself to stop.
“Smart choice,” Kash sneered, giving him a sideways grin before walking away.
Only once they were gone did Mano rush back into the restroom, shoving the door open.
Ody was sitting on the floor, hair and clothes still dripping. Mano’s eyes widened as he approached slowly. Ody kept his head down.
“What did they do to you?” Mano’s voice broke through the silence.
Ody lifted his head. “You care?” His voice was bitter, but the hurt behind it was unmistakable.
Mano’s face tightened. “Don’t say that…”
Ody stood, water dripping from his hair, the wet strands falling straight over his eyes. “Tell me something,” he said as he looked up at him. “If you were going to leave me on my own… Why did you throw coffee on him that day?”
Mano’s stomach knotted.
“Why did you say you’d help me? That I wasn’t alone? That we’d show them they messed with the wrong guy?” He held Mano’s gaze. “Just so you could stand there and watch them fuck with me again?”
Mano sighed, his eyes on the floor. Ody was right. Every word.
“I know I told you not to do anything if they messed with me again, but…” Ody’s voice softened, his eyes drifting away.
Mano stayed silent, taking in every word.
“You should’ve never gotten involved,” Ody whispered, brushing past him and leaving him alone with the guilt.
Soaked and defeated, Ody walked through the parking lot, ignoring the stares. He got into his car and drove off.
Mano finally made it to the music room.
“Where were you, Mano? Why didn’t you show up yesterday?” the professor asked.
“I was sick,” he answered.
“Grab the guitar and take a seat.”
Mano picked up the guitar and settled onto the stool. He adjusted his fingers on the strings and played.
“It’s Sol La Sol, Mano. Focus,” the professor scolded after a wrong note.
“Sorry.” He shifted his fingers and tried again.
The next day, Mano rode to the university just as Ody’s class was ending. He spotted Kash coming out with his friends. He exhaled and walked straight toward him. “I need to talk to you,” he said, stepping in their path.
The three exchanged mocking looks. Behind them, Steve and Chris walked out of the building, confused to see Mano standing there with Kash.
“I don’t think we have anything to discuss,” Kash said, trying to walk past him.
Mano stepped in front of him again, blocking his path. “Five minutes,” he said, holding his gaze.
“You don’t get to make demands,” Kash shot back, matching his stare.
“I’m not demanding. I’m asking for five minutes of your time.” Mano’s voice was steady.
Kash smirked, glanced at his friends, then jerked his chin at them. “Go on. I’ll catch up later.” They walked off, throwing Mano a disdainful look. “Walk.” He ordered.
Mano clenched his fists and followed him into the cafeteria. They sat across from each other at a small table. Kash leaned back, arms crossed, relaxed as ever. “I’m listening.”
“This started because of me. When I spilled that coffee on you.”
“Not a great start,” Kash replied, irritation flickering across his face.
“Ody told me what you did to him was just harmless teasing.”
“I told you the same thing.”
“Right.” Mano leaned forward, elbows resting on the table, fighting to keep his composure. “So why has everything escalated? Isn’t your problem with me? You beat me up. Wasn’t that enough?”
“Ody’s got nothing to do with you. I had my eye on him long before you showed up.”
“Yeah, but you never pushed things this far before.”
“Oh, you mean yesterday?” Kash uncrossed his arms, still lounging in his chair. “Come on, it was just water. It dries.”
Mano closed his eyes, breathing deep to keep from punching him. He leaned back and stared at him. “Leave him alone. Focus on me. Do whatever you want. Bring your crew. I don’t care.”
“See, that’s the problem.” Kash’s smile widened, pleased. “For some reason, you care way too much about your little friend Ody. You’d rather take a beating yourself than let us touch him.”
Mano’s jaw tightened.
Kash laughed under his breath. “That’s why I told you that if you interfered, I’d beat him worse. And you… even when you saw us messing with him in the bathroom, even when he needed you… you walked away to protect him from worse.” Kash’s grin stretched. “How could I stop when this is so much fun?”
Mano’s anger surged, the veins in his arms throbbing. His fists tightened until his knuckles whitened.
“Even now,” Kash said, leaning in, “I can see it in your eyes. You wanna knock me down, break my teeth, my nose, my ribs. You wanna destroy me, don’t you?” A slow grin spread across his face. “But you won’t, because you know that if you do, he pays for it. Damn.” He huffed out a laugh.
Mano’s hands shook. Under any other circumstances, Kash wouldn’t have finished a single sentence before finding himself on the ground, bloody and broken.
“So, no. I’m not stopping,” Kash said, mocking him.
Mano took a long breath, closing his eyes. Then he slammed both fists onto the table.
Kash flinched.
Mano leaned forward until their faces were close, his voice low and lethal. “You’re gonna regret this one day.”
Now serious, Kash leaned in as well. “Are you sure you won’t regret it? If Ody asks me tomorrow why we keep beating him up, I’ll just tell him his friend Mano threatened me.”
Mano’s fury burned so hot he could barely breathe. He exhaled, forcing himself to look away.
“There you go.” Kash smirked. “That’s more like it. You understand who’s in charge. I’ll let you off this time. But if you try to act tough again, your buddy ends up with broken bones.”
Mano stared at the wall to the side, holding back every violent impulse he had ever known. No one had ever spoken to him this way. No one dared. He didn’t even know how he managed to stay seated.
“Anything else you wanna talk about?” Kash asked brightly, mocking.
Mano glared at him, trembling with rage.
“Thought so.” Kash stood, leaned in, and gave him two belittling pats on the cheek before turning away.
Mano shot to his feet. The chair scraped loudly against the floor. Their eyes locked, neither of them looking away. Kash smirked and glanced down at Mano’s fists, seeing how hard he was holding himself back.
He laughed. “Too much fun.” He walked off while Mano stood there seething.
That afternoon, Ody headed to the basketball courts to meet his friends.
“What’s up, Pierce?” he greeted one of them.
“All good, man.”
“Where are the others?”
“Chris and Steve are on the way. Dimitri, John, and Elias went for water. George is on the phone with his girlfriend.”
Ody shot a few hoops alone until the group gathered. John stole the ball and dunked it.
“You’re asking for it,” Ody said playfully.
He tried to push the bathroom incident out of his head and focus on his friends. A little later, Chris and Steve approached.
“Hey, man,” Chris said.
“I can’t stay long today,” Steve added.
“Why not?”
“I’ve got a date with Danae.”
“Oh, right.” Ody nodded. “Remember how Anna and I were talking about going to Serifos? We’re thinking of making it a group trip. Christina and Antony are in. You guys interested?”
“Yeah, man, I’m in!” Steve said.
“Let Danae know. It’ll be couples.”
Chris started walking off. “Alright, see ya.”
“Get back here!” Ody laughed, pulling him back. “You don’t wanna come?”
“Dude, what am I supposed to do? Be the third—”
“—the third wheel?” Ody teased. He and Steve burst into laughter as Chris shoved them both playfully.
“Alright, listen up,” Chris announced to the group. “Who’s in for a summer trip if you’ve got the cash? Singles only!”
Everyone cracked up.
“I’m in,” Pierce said.
“Same here.”
“Count me in,” Dimitri and Elias added.
Chris turned to Ody. “See? Problem solved. We’ll have a guys’ trip to pick up chicks while you boring couples do your thing.” He nudged Ody and joined the others.
Ody laughed and shook his head.
“Oh, right, I meant to tell you,” Steve said. “I saw Mano talking to Kash after class.”
Ody’s smile vanished, his eyes widening. “What?”
“Pretty weird, huh? Weren’t they beating each other up a few days ago? What’s going on with them?” Steve asked casually, unaware of what he had just dropped.
Ody stood frozen. His mind raced with possibilities. Why would Mano talk to Kash? Especially after what happened in the restrooms, when Mano left him behind.
“I don’t know,” he answered, trying to sound casual. “Maybe they were arguing?”
“No, they weren’t arguing. They were just… talking,” Steve replied, equally confused.
“Anything else happen?”
“No clue, man. We left,” his best friend said, leaving Ody staring blankly into the distance.
“What’s up? Something wrong?” Steve asked, snapping him back.
“No, nothing’s wrong. Let’s get going,” Ody replied.
They headed back to the others to start the game.
Later at home, he couldn’t shake Steve’s words. Mano and Kash talking? It didn’t make sense. There was no way something shady was happening behind his back. Still, his mind spiraled, even imagining the absurd possibility that Mano had been Kash’s friend all along, and everything had been a setup.
Get a grip, Ody. You saw him covered in blood. There’s no way he would ever do something like that.
His thoughts drifted to what Anna had told him the other night. She didn’t trust Mano. She didn’t like that Mano got into trouble or that he might be mixed up with the wrong people. She didn’t want Ody anywhere near that. Her words echoed now, unsettling him more than he wanted to admit.
He rubbed his face. What are you thinking, idiot? You saw him bleeding with your own eyes. He forced the suspicion out of his mind.
But Mano had spoken to Kash. And he needed to know why.
He got into his car and drove toward Papagou. He parked outside Mano’s building, slipped inside as someone else exited, and climbed the stairs, scanning the names beside the apartments. On the second floor, he found it. Mano Jones.
He rang the doorbell.
Mano placed his guitar on the couch and walked to the door. One glance through the peephole froze him.
“What are you doing here?” he asked as he opened the door.
“Can I come in?” Ody’s serious expression only made Mano more tense.
He stepped aside. As Ody entered, he looked around. Dark furniture, neat space, bigger than he expected for a student apartment. His eyes landed on the guitar and open notebook.
“Is something wrong?” Mano asked.
“Other than what happened this morning, no.” Ody turned toward him, eyes hard.
Mano dropped his gaze, guilt tightening in his chest.
“I’m gonna ask you something… and I want a straight answer.”
Mano lifted his eyes, confused but alert.
“What were you and Kash talking about this morning?” Ody asked, voice firm.
Mano’s heart skipped. He couldn’t tell him the truth. If Ody did anything reckless, he would get hurt.
“When exactly this morning?” Mano stalled.
Ody exhaled, eyes closing for a moment. “I said straight and honest. Don’t play dumb with me. People saw you.” His stare was sharp enough to cut.
Mano looked away. “I asked him to stop bothering you,” he finally said, meeting Ody’s gaze again.
Ody didn’t blink. “You asked him. You.” His gaze didn’t waver. “You asked Kash to stop bothering me.”
“Yes.”
Ody stared at him. “When they punched me, you made them bleed. And now you’re telling me you asked him to stop?” He shook his head, clearly not buying it.
“Yeah,” Mano repeated.
Ody sighed in frustration. “Either you’re lying to me… or you’re not the fearless Mano who doesn’t back down from anyone.”
Mano bit his lip, looked away, then breathed out.
“Which is it?” Ody pressed.
Mano met his eyes. “I’m not the fearless Mano you thought I was.”
“That’s all you have to say?” Ody asked, tone almost mocking.
“You asked for honesty. That’s the truth.”
“And all that talk about putting them in their place? Making them realize they messed with the wrong guy?”
Mano rubbed his jaw, swallowing. “Just empty words.”
Ody stared at him, something shifting in his eyes. He shook his head, then walked past him, opened the door and left.