Sky hadn't spent a moment alone since she'd been released from the hospital. Dad was with her constantly. For days she was bedridden, too sore and tired to do anything, but Dad didn't leave her side for a heartbeat. He moved the TV into her room and they watched films and shows all day long, and when the night fell, Dad slept on a mattress he had dragged into her room, not letting her out of his sight.
Sky suspected Dad didn't sleep at all. When she woke up in the darkest night in the middle of a nightmare, he was already awake, ready to comfort her.
The bathroom was the only place Dad allowed her to go alone, and even then he came knocking on the door and asking if everything was fine, if Sky stayed in for too long.
When Dad cooked dinner for them, he sternly demanded Sky rest on the living room couch instead of her room - he could see her from the kitchen easily. But the truth was that he didn't cook much and mostly they just ate takeaway, pizza boxes, or Chinese food balanced on their knees while they watched Star Trek side by side and ate in silence.
The days blended, one endless day into another one that was just as long and empty.
"You don't have to keep watching me all the time, you know," Sky said when the third day was turning to night, and Dad was tucking her in her bed as if she was a baby.
Dad let out a long sigh. "Well, I disagree."
"I'm not gonna try to kill myself again," Sky replied silently as she laid her head on the pillow. "I mean… This was the third time I almost died. And… and I'm still here. So maybe… I don't know, maybe this was the third time's charm or something."
Dad sat on the side of her bed and laid a hand on her shoulder as a comforting gesture. "Maybe."
"I know, I know, it's just superstitious crap—"
"It's not," Dad did firmly. "If it makes you believe you have a purpose here, then all the better. Because you do have a purpose. And you need to stay alive."
"So you don't have to sleep in my room, Dad. I'm not gonna do anything stupid."
At that Dad let out a dry laugh and patted her on the shoulder. "Nice try. I'm still sleeping here, maybe until you're thirty."
Sky didn't argue - it would have been pointless against Dad's determination. Besides, no matter what she said, she was still scared of the darkness. The door of death was still partly open in the shadows, and when it was quiet, she could hear the voices whispering, calling to her, promising her rest and silence and peace.
Shutting that door would take more strength than she had alone. So maybe it was a good thing that dad was here, keeping an eye on her so that she wouldn't be tempted to follow the voices.
But drawing her friends into this fight was something Sky didn't appreciate at all.
One or two of her friends visited her every day and stayed at least a couple of hours so that Dad could go out to run errands or just to get out of the house for a while and Sky wouldn't have to be alone.
Sky suspected Dad had contacted them all and asked for their help in organizing this stupid suicide watch ring, and it made her feel ashamed, as if she was 5 years old and in need of a babysitter.
But if her friends felt that way, at least they didn't say it. They all seemed so genuinely concerned for her wellbeing that it made her feel utterly awful.
Miguel came to see her often, sometimes with Carmen. He would sit in her room and talk about anything and everything, telling her stupid jokes and bringing her Yaya's cooking. Sky appreciated Miguel's friendship more than she could say - things had been strained between them for a while after the All Valley, but now all that was forgotten and forgiven and they were real friends again. Sky was grateful for Miguel's never faltering optimism, his constant chattering, and especially for the fact that he didn't talk about Hawk.
After all - Sky knew they were still friends, and knew that Miguel had forgiven Hawk for stealing the medal and destroying Miyagi-Do, so he probably hoped Sky would do the same - but if so, he didn't even hint at that direction.
It was from Miguel that Sky learned Kreese was gone.
"Seriously?" she asked, her eyes widening.
They were sitting in the backyard, drinking Coke - Dad insisted Sky didn't spend all day in bed.
"Yeah," Miguel replied. "I can't say that I'm sorry to see him go. I mean, he thought us to be tough and all, but There was something weird about him. I mean - the war stories were clearly made up, so."
"Tell me about it," Sky sighed.
The more she thought about it, the more she was sure that it had been Kreese who had put the idea of destroying Miyagi-Do into Hawk's head. She didn't say anything about it to Miguel, though. She didn't want to start talking about Hawk. Besides, it didn't matter if Kreese had encouraged Hawk to do it - he was still the one who had trashed the dojo, stolen the Medal, and lied about it. And none of those things would be okay, even if Kreese was now gone.
"Apparently Sensei Lawrence didn't like what he was teaching us," Miguel went on. "He is now all about fighting clean, showing mercy, and so on."
"Well, that sounds good."
"It does," Miguel nodded happily. "So, when are you coming back? We really miss you."
Sky looked down, her shoulders sagged. She held the can of Coke in her hands and kept her eyes on it. There really was no easy way to say what needed to be said, so she just blurted it out as it was.
"I'm not."
"What? But— but you are the champion!"
She shrugged. "So what? I can't come back. Not as long as—"
She stopped talking mid-sentence.
"As long as Hawk is there?" Miguel completed that sentence.
Sky just nodded, unable to even speak Hawk's name. It still felt like broken glass on her lips.
"Sky, come on. You are too good to quit. So what if he is there? You'd not have to talk to him if you don't want to—"
"I don't want to even talk about him," Sky managed, clenching the can of Coke tightly in her fingers. "Can we please just change the subject?"
Miguel let out a resigned sigh. "Sure. Just— just think about it. Just because you guys broke up, doesn't mean you have to quit Karate. It would be great to have you back."
Sky didn't reply, just took a sip of her Coke.
She didn't want to make Miguel feel bad, but there was no way she was going back to Cobra Kai. First, she needed to get back on her feet and get rid of the lingering wish to die. Only after that, she could start thinking about other things, such as Karate. And if she ever got back to it, it wouldn't be in Cobra Kai, that much she knew. Maybe Miyagi-do, but that didn't feel quite right either - she was even less keen to meditate than before. Hell, maybe she should join that lame-ass Topanga Karate. At least they did have nice blue gis.
"I'll think about it," she said after a short silence and Miguel replied with a smile.
"Great," he said. "You'll feel better once you start kicking ass again."
"It might be your ass I'll kick," Sky noted. "So be careful what you wish for."
Miguel wasn't the only one who asked Sky to come back to Cobra Kai. It was almost the first thing Aisha said when She came to visit Sky the day after her talk with Miguel.
"I wish you'd come back," She said, her brown eyes warm and kind. "It's not the same without you."
Sky took a bite of the cupcake Aisha had brought. It was soft and sweet, the taste of sugar and lemon almost too sharp on her tongue.
"You're not the only girl there anymore," Sky shrugged. "It's not like Cobra Kai needs me. Tory is way more badass than I am."
"But not half as much fun," Aisha said. "You are my friend. I miss training with you."
"And I miss many things that are gone forever," Sky muttered, taking another bite of her cupcake. "Sometimes it's just time to let go."
Aisha made a face that told Sky she wanted to say more about the subject but then didn't. Instead, she picked a cupcake from the box that lay on the table between them and took a bite.
"If there's something you want to say, then spit it out," Sky said after a small silence.
Aisha's kind, dark eyes met hers. "It doesn't have to be gone forever, you know."
Sky's heart twitched painfully in her chest. "It does."
A short silence followed.
"He really is sorry," Aisha said silently. "You should have seen how he was while you were in the hospital. He was losing it, Sky. I've never seen anyone so upset—"
"Don't—" Sky managed through her clenching throat. "Just… Please don't talk about him. I can't."
"Sorry," Aisha replied. "It's just that—"
"I mean it, I don't wanna talk about him. Anything else, just not him. Please."
Aisha nodded. "Okay, I'm sorry."
Sky stood up and busied herself by taking two glasses from the cupboard and a jar of Dad's homemade lemonade from the fridge. Her hands were trembling slightly as She carried them back to the table. The thought of Hawk had instantly thrown her off balance, the thin layer of normalcy had been shattered and everything beneath it was ugly and hurting like a rotting wound full of pus. The door to death was wide open again, the voices so loud it took all Sky had not to follow them.
"I'm sorry," Aisha repeated - she had clearly noticed the emotion that had taken over Sky. "I didn't mean to upset you."
Sky shook her head and poured herself a glass of lemonade, took a long gulp to ease the burning of tears in her throat. The lemonade tasted like home, like sunshine, like the summers of her childhood, when she had been happy. A lifetime ago. All of it was gone now, and what remained?
If she looked into the mirror, what would she see?
"It's not your fault I'm a nutjob," Sky finally said. "I just… I just can't talk about him."
Aisha reached to take her hand over the table, her fingers squeezing hers gently. "It's okay. Let's talk about something else. Or do you want to watch a movie?"
Sky let out a small laugh. "No movies. We're having a Trek Marathon with Dad tonight—"
But just then Sky's phone buzzed in her pocket. She pulled it out and opened it.
Paulo: still alive?
Sky rolled her eyes, but typed a reply nevertheless.
Sky: for now
Paulo: don't even think about doing anything stupid again or I'll kick your ass
Sky snorted, which made Aisha arch a brow. "Who's that?"
"Your boyfriend," Sky smirked while typing an answer. She didn't have to look up to know that Aisha blushed.
"He's not my boyfriend."
"Oh? Does he know that?"
Sky: you can't kick my ass if I'm dead
Paulo: not funny
Sky: it is a little bit funny
Paulo: good to see your sense of humor is coming back
must mean you're getting better
Sky: it would take a lot more than a near-death experience to kill my sense of humor
"Sorry," Sky said to Aisha and pushed her phone back into her pocket. "You were telling me how Paulo isn't your boyfriend."
"He isn't," Aisha replied, but not very convincingly.
"So, what is the deal with the two of you then?"
That question made pink spots emerge on Aisha's cheekbones. "I don't know. I mean, I like him—"
"Of course you do. He is dreamy."
"—but he lives on the other side of this continent."
"Planes exist," Sky noted. "And phones. You know, phone sex can be great—"
"It's not like that—" Aisha protested, but with a giggle. Sky replied with a grin. This conversation was quickly improving her spirits.
"It could be. And then you could move to the East Coast when you go to college. And when you get married I wanna be the maid of honor - as long as I won't have to wear orange - it looks horrible with my hair."
"Calm down! You're getting ahead of things," Aisha replied laughing, taking a sip of her lemonade. "I'm not getting married! I just, you know, wish we could date and not just send messages."
"You know, he talks about you all the time. I think he really likes you." Sky said. It was true - she had been texting with Paulo a lot all summer ever since the All Valley, and it was clear he had a crush on Aisha.
Which was great. It was one of the few things Sky had been happy about lately - that two of her best friends were falling for each other.
"He does?" Aisha asked, blushing.
"Totally. He's all about how smart and awesome and pretty you are—"
"He's not."
"Oh, he is," Sky grinned. "And next time he comes to visit me I'm sure he's gonna take you on a date."
"He's coming here?"
Sky shrugged. "Maybe, that's what he said."
Paulo had indeed threatened to fly down once he had heard what Sky had done. He had been furious and had texted or called Sky every day, making sure she was okay. He had also promised to beat the crap out of Hawk for what he had done.
Sky wasn't quite sure how he felt about Paulo's possible visit. She wanted to see him - needed almost, she missed him more than ever before. She also wanted Aisha to get on a date - but on the other hand, she was pretty sure Paulo had meant what he had said about beating the crap out of Hawk, and it terrified her. Even after everything that had happened, Sky couldn't bear the thought of him being hurt.
But to be honest, she couldn't bear any thoughts about Hawk. And still, he was all she could think about.
He was the first thing in her mind when she woke up in the morning and the last one before she fell asleep. His absence felt like she was missing her heart, like there was an aching hole in the middle of her chest.
She missed him horribly.
When no one noticed, Sky would take her phone and scroll through his insta, just to see the face that occupied her every thought. The sharp cheekbones, the perfect line of his jaw, the scar on his lip, his mouth - so soft, so kissable. She went back to those photos again and again, even if she hardly needed to be reminded of how he looked.
Noticing that he had removed all the photos of them together felt like a sword through her gut, but at least he hadn't blocked her, which was a small comfort. Sky couldn't block him either. She knew she should - everything was over between them so why did she even care? But it felt too permanent, it would have been easier to cut off a limb than to cut these last strands of what they had been to each other. She was like an addict longing for the drug that had almost taken her life.
Thinking about that made her sad. She felt tired, hopeless.
She pushed away her glass of lemonade and stood up, taking a deep breath to clear her head.
"Aisha, would you help me with something?"
"Sure, what do you want to do?"
"You'll see."
Sorry I've been away for so long! I've been traveling with family and that means no time for writing.
So, any thoughts about this chapter?
What do you think Sky needs Aisha's help with?
