Page 7 of Once in a Lifetime, Part 2

Stella laughed. “Oh, you think this is bad? Wait.” She crossed to her desk and pulled open a drawer.

Mano watched her, yanking against the handcuffs, pain shooting through his wrists with every pull.

When she turned back, something black was in her hand. A marker.

His stomach dropped.

She pulled off the cap and brought it toward his face.

Mano recoiled. “What the hell do you need that for?”

“To show you how much worse this can get,” she said. “I have plenty of ideas.” She grabbed his face and forced it toward her.

Mano tried to kick her, but she was already on top of him, straddling his hips, pinning him down.

He bucked hard, twisting beneath her, trying to throw her off.

The bed frame rattled. “Stay still!” She gripped his jaw.

He didn’t. Even then, she dragged the marker across his cheek. One line. Then another. Then a third. Black ink spread across his skin as she drew whiskers on each of his cheeks and a round black spot on the tip of his nose.

She pulled his chin up again. “Hold still,” she said, studying her work. “Or I might mess it up, and you won’t look pretty.” She leaned back, examining his face with amusement. “Hm… what else should I add?”

“I swear to God I’ll kill you for this.”

She moved the marker to his forehead and drew two small hearts. “Cute,” she murmured. Then the marker moved down toward his lips. “Remember how much of a man you thought you were back then?” she asked. “Hm? Remember how horribly you spoke to me?” She dragged the marker under his nose, drawing a mustache.

The moment she lifted the marker, Mano jerked his head away, twisting hard.

Her hand shot out, the crack of the slap jerking Mano’s head to the side. “Stay still!” She grabbed him again, forcing him back.

Her eyes burned now. “I remember some of the things you used to say,” she said, leaning closer. “‘You want me to kill you now or throw you off the bike while I’m driving?’” she repeated his words. “You were going to throw me off your bike, Mano?” The marker pressed to his chin, drawing another small heart. “That’s a crime, you know.”

She stepped back, looking him over. “I’ve got something better,” she added. “You don’t give a shit whether I make it home alive,” she said, twisting his words.

Mano didn’t speak. His eyes burned. His handsome face was now smeared with black ink.

Stella picked up her phone. The flash went off again.

“Stop taking those fucking pictures!” Mano yelled, jerking against the restraints. “What the fuck do you want?”

“I want you to apologize!” Stella snapped, her voice breaking as something inside her finally gave way. “A real apology. For the way you treated me. For the way you spoke to me.”

Her gaze locked on his. “I want to see you crawl. I want to see you beg me to forgive you.”

Mano just stared at her.

Silence stretched between them, broken only by his breathing.

Stella’s expression steadied again. “Will you apologize?” she asked, quieter now.

No answer.

“Well, Mano?” she said, almost calm. “You gonna do it?” She moved closer to the bed. “You gonna crawl across the floor to save Ody? Beg like a dog for him?”

Her expression hardened. “Or are you still too damn proud?”

Chapter 3