Page 228 of Once in a Lifetime, Part 2

Mano stilled, his expression sharpening. “What?”

Ody didn’t answer right away. His eyes dropped before he forced himself to look back at him. “I want you to go. To England. I want you to leave.”

“Ody, what are you talking about?”

“You need to sign the contract. Start your career.”

“You told me to figure out what I want.”

Ody let out a breath. “I did too while you were gone.” The words rushed out, like he didn’t trust himself to stop. “I’m not letting you stay here for me.”

“I’m not leaving,” Mano said, his voice tight. “I don’t want to go.”

“You do.” Ody’s jaw clenched. “You just won’t admit it because of me.”

“Why are you—”

“If it weren’t for me, you’d already be gone.” Their eyes locked. “And I’m not going to stand in your way.”

“I didn’t say I won’t go because you were sad. I said it because… it’s you.” He blinked hard. “And if I leave… it won’t be the same.”

“I don’t want you to stay here.” He closed his eyes. When he looked back at him, there was no hesitation left. “So go.”

Mano didn’t respond. He just stared at him, like he was trying to understand what he’d just heard. “What about us?” His chest rose tight, like he couldn’t quite get a full breath in.

Ody exhaled, blinking rapidly. “We’ll video call. We’ll text. We’ll talk on the phone.”

Mano scoffed.

“We wouldn’t be the first or the last to have a long-distance relationship,” he added.

“Ody, are you serious right now?” Mano snapped, his gaze turning sharp. “I can barely handle a relationship up close, and you think I can do long-distance? We’d be in different countries. I’d be buried in music, and you in your classes. What video calls are you even talking about?” His voice rose.

“We can try.”

“I’ll be gone for years, Ody. Years! You want us to survive on texts when I can’t even say half the things I feel to your face?”

“So you’d rather end it?” Ody snapped.

“You’re the one pushing me out!”

The words hung between them.

Mano let out a short breath, shaking his head. “I can’t believe you’re doing this.”

“We’ll make it,” Ody insisted, his voice slipping. “If we love each other—”

“Fuck that!” Mano shot to his feet. “If you want me to go, I’ll go. But if I go, you and I are done.” He didn’t wait. He stormed out, the door slamming hard behind him.

Ody didn’t move. He just stared at the door, something in his chest collapsing. No. That wasn’t what he wanted. What he wanted was to lock the door, keep him there, not let him leave. To do anything to stop him. Anything but this.

But he didn’t.

The next morning, they woke up apart.

Mano lay there, staring at the ceiling, Ody’s words echoing in his head. But underneath all of it, one thought kept breaking through. Was he okay? What if the knife wound… Before he could overthink it, he grabbed his phone. Are you okay? Do you need anything?

Ody answered a few minutes later. I’m fine. Another message followed right after. Maybe we should give each other some space. Just for a bit