Page 114 of Once in a Lifetime, Part 2

Something glinted near his stomach. A switchblade. “If you tell anyone... your aunt gets it first. Then you,” the boy whispered, eyes locked on his. Then he pulled the knife back and stepped away.

“Not my aunt. Please—” Mano tried to push himself up, but pain dragged him back down.

The days in the hospital blurred together. Every sound made his chest tighten. Every time the door opened, he thought it was them.

His aunt barely left his side. “I have to go now, honey. The taxi’s here. I’ll be back tonight.”

“Taxi? What about your car?” he asked, tension creeping into his voice.

She looked down and didn’t answer.

“Auntie…”

She exhaled. “A few days ago… I found my car with the windows smashed and the tires slashed, scratched up like someone had dragged a key across it.”

“What...?”

“I didn’t just let it go, Mano. Was it them? The ones who hurt you?” She swallowed. “I should’ve done something sooner… we wouldn’t be here—”

“What do you mean you didn’t let it go?”

“I went to the police.”

Everything inside him went cold. “If you tell anyone… your aunt gets it first. Then you.”

“What did you do...?” His throat closed up. “Auntie, what did you do?”

“I had nowhere to go!” she said, her voice breaking. “I went home and every window was shattered. Rocks everywhere. I’m staying with a coworker until I can fix it.”

Mano’s hands clenched in the sheets, his eyes wide.

“I can’t take this anymore, sweetheart,” she sobbed.

He stared at her, taking in the way her hands trembled.

“They won’t hurt you again. I promise,” she said, her breath catching. “They found them.”

Mano’s eyes were wet as he told the story. Ody didn’t move, his gaze fixed on him. “No matter what he does, I can’t forget,” he said, his vision blurring. “No matter how much he supports us now, it doesn’t undo what my aunt and I went through while he was gone.”

Ody swallowed. He didn’t say anything.

Mano’s phone rang. He glanced at the screen and saw his brother’s name. “Do you get it now?” He looked at Ody. “Do you get why I don’t wanna talk about him? Why I don’t wanna see him? Why I hate him so much?”

The doorbell rang. Ody blinked and stood. “I’ll get it.”

Mano wiped his face with the back of his hand.

Ody opened the door.

A man stood there, a few years older, dressed in a button-up that looked too expensive for this hallway. “Is Mano here?”

Ody stared. The resemblance hit him instantly. Same black hair. Same sharp eyes, only a shade darker. “Y-you are…”

“I’m Nick. His brother.”

Ody’s stomach dropped.

“Who is it?” Mano called from the living room.