CHAPTER 31

"Sam! Hey, Sam! Wait up!"

Daniel practically had to chase his daughter as she fled from the back yard. She sprinted through the dojo, only just evading her dad, and she had almost made it to her car when her dad finally caught up with her, grabbing her hand to stop her. She spun around, instantly guarded, but upon seeing the concerned and not angry look on his face, she softened slightly.

"Sam. Hey. What's going on?" He asked, worry filling his voice. Sam shook her head.

"Tell Demetri I said I'm really sorry." She murmured, before turning around to run away again. But Daniel stopped her before she could.

"Hey, can we go for a drive? It might help clear your head." Daniel suggested. He knew that Chozen had the rest of the class covered, and he realised that his daughter was in a far from good state. Sam stared at him for a couple of moments, debating whether to say yes or not, but when she eventually nodded, the pair got in the yellow convertible and reversed out of the dojo.

Sam had to admit, breathing in the fresh air as they leisurely rolled down the road felt good. It helped calm her, relax her just a smidge and help bring her out of the last of the intense rage spell she had had during the class. They drove through L.A and for an impromptu drive, Sam noticed that he seemed weirdly certain about which streets to turn down. He seemed like a man on a mission, turning down various streets and roads as they weaved through the vast city. Sure enough, Sam was right. Because about 15 minutes after they had started driving, Daniel pulled into a parking spot. Sam looked around, searching for any sign of familiarity, but she came up with nothing. Looking at her father, confused, Sam raised an eyebrow.

"Where are we?" She grumbled, already annoyed at the lecture she knew was bound to come. "Why are we here?"

Daniel raised his hands in surrender.

"Easy, Sam. I didn't take you here for a lecture. We just stopped here to refuel, then we can get back on the road." Daniel pointed to the building ahead of him and as Sam's eyes moved towards it, she realised that it was just a Starbucks, nothing more than that.

The two then got out of the car and walked inside. And after buying their drinks, they sat at the table in the corner of the cafe. Daniel looked around, his face slightly in awe and surprised.

"Wow, this place hasn't changed a bit." Daniel remarked as his head swivelled around.

"You been here before?" Sam asked him. Daniel nodded.

"Yeah, long time ago. Almost exactly 35 years ago actually." He replied. "Here, in this exact cafe, at this very table, is where Ali broke up with me."

As Sam comprehended this, her head shot up as her troubled eyes met her father's warm, worried ones. She realised…

"How did you know?" She murmured. Daniel sighed and put a comforting hand on her arm.

"I know my daughter, Sam. I know that he's pretty much the only person in this world able to get you off-balance like this." He explained. "So what's going on, sweetheart?"

Sam sighed and stared intently at her coffee cup, not looking her father in the eye when she replied.

"Did you know he was back in L.A?" Sam said quietly. Daniel's eyes widened in shock and he shook his head.

"No, no I didn't." Daniel responded. "But that's great news, right?! I mean he's out of danger!"

"He came back to town two weeks ago and he didn't even try to contact me." Sam uttered in a voice barely as loud as a whisper. Understanding immediately, Daniel nodded sympathetically at his daughter. He could only imagine how much she was hurting inside; to have someone she cared about so dearly not reciprocating those feelings was an unimaginably painful feeling. A long silence overtook them, Daniel wisely pausing to choose the next words carefully.

"Did I ever tell you the story of how I met your mother?" Daniel suddenly asked. Sam looked at him, confused, and shook her head.

"No, I… I don't think so." She murmured. Daniel smiled faintly and nodded.

"Yeah, well, it was actually right down the street from here. Literally the definition of when God closes a door, he opens a window I guess."

"Dad, I'm really not in the mood for a pep talk. All the 'it gets better' bullcrap." She muttered, her face darkening in annoyance. Daniel nodded.

"I know. That's why I'm not here to give you one. It's not going to get better, Sam. If anything, it's only going to get worse." Daniel replied. Sam looked up to face him, confused.

"Huh?" She grunted, taken aback. Daniel sighed.

"Look, I could sit here and lie to you about how things are going to get better, but I think you're old enough to hear the truth about what life is really like." He stated. "Sure it might get better for a short time. You get over the person, you move on. But then you meet someone else and when that doesn't work out, you feel even shittier than you do now. And then the cycle repeats. Again and again and again…"

"This is comforting." Sam remarked, sarcastically.

"Until…" Daniel smiled. "There comes a time when you meet someone truly special. And at this time, you remember what it felt to lose all those previous people, and that is what motivates you to treasure this person even more. And maybe, just maybe… that leads the person to stick around."

Sam nodded, beginning to understand his point.

"So basically what I'm saying is that you shouldn't suppress whatever emotions you're having towards your breakup with Miguel. Embrace them, truly work through them, and they will help you when you inevitably meet that special someone in the future."

Sam sighed, not fully convinced yet.

"What if I've met him already?" Sam asked in a small voice. Daniel took her small hand in his own and squeezed it comfortingly.

"If you think you've met them already, you're just going to have to let nature run its course and have faith that things will work out in the end."

Sam nodded and smiled faintly at her father.

"Thanks, dad."

"Anytime."

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That afternoon, Miguel came home from work, a frown etched on his face. His conversation with Demetri had weighed heavily on his mind throughout his morning shift at the diner. Seeds of doubt as to whether or not he should remain out of the karate rivalry remained in his mind, but he managed to quickly push down whatever feelings he had urging him to return. No! He couldn't come back! The whole karate war was a vortex, eagerly awaiting to suck him in and pull him in deeper than ever. He couldn't let that happen. He needed to focus on the more important things, like his future.

As Miguel biked into his compound, he noticed one unfamiliar car in the driveway. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. That was strange. It seemed like a pretty nice car too, definitely out of place in the dingy compound in Reseda. Miguel didn't give it a second thought though. It must have just been someone visiting people in one of the other houses in the compound. Miguel parked and chained his bike, before walking over to his house and opening the door.

Immediately, he was greeted by the sound of loud voices talking, but as he walked into the living room, the voices trailed off as they saw him. Miguel spied Johnny, Carmen and a vaguely familiar woman who it took him a moment to remember, but when he did, he was filled with a lot more confusion.

"You're home!" Carmen exclaimed. Miguel nodded and walked deeper into the living room towards them.

"Yeah, hi." He murmured, his eyes not fixated on his mom or Johnny, but instead on the guest.

"Miguel, this is…"

"Sam's aunt." Miguel finished for his mom, and Carmen nodded.

"It's lovely to see you again." She said, shaking his hand. Miguel was pretty out of it though as he shook her hand. What was Sam's relative of all people doing in his house right now?

"Miguel, Vanessa's a child psychologist. After that conversation Johnny and I had with you yesterday, we called her to ask her if she would be able to come and talk with you to check in, you know from a professional point of view, see how you're doing."

Ohhhhhhh. Realisation dawned on Miguel in an instant, as he put two and two together and realised what she was doing there.

"Look, Miguel, we're not trying to pressure you or anything." Johnny said. "We just want to make sure that…"

"Fine." Miguel murmured, exhaustion evident in his voice as he turned back towards Vanessa. "Let's talk."

"Really?" Vanessa stammered, a little surprised. From what Carmen and Johnny had said about him, Carmen had expected a fair bit more resistance from him. "That's great! Sure!"

"But only if they leave." Miguel said, pointing at Carmen and Johnny. Vanessa nodded and turned to the pair, who were already getting to their feet, eager to leave if it meant Miguel talking to a psychologist. Carmen and Vanessa had hit it off when they first met on prom night, and Vanessa had given her her number in case Carmen ever needed anything. Well Carmen was cashing in her favour now, because she knew that there was no way they were able to afford a full-priced therapist, but it was also necessary that Miguel talked to someone about the demons that were clearly inside.

"Alright, why don't you two grab a cup of coffee somewhere, maybe come back here in about an hour?" Vanessa suggested to them, and the couple were like a pair of spaceships, rocketing out the door to give Vanessa and Miguel some privacy.

Once they were gone, Vanessa turned to Miguel, who had taken a seat opposite her on the couch.

"Look, before we begin, I feel inclined to let you know that anything you say in this room, doesn't leave this room." She started. "And I know that I might be related to Sam and her family, but when you and I are sitting together, that doesn't matter. Whatever you say, even if it's about my family, I won't take offence to it. You have the freedom to say whatever's on your mind, and I swear I won't judge you, nor will I betray your trust by saying anything you say here outside."

Miguel sighed and nodded.

"Look, I appreciate that but I'll be honest, Ms. Larusso…"

"Vanessa…" Vanessa interrupted him. Miguel nodded.

"Vanessa… I'm sorry but I'm not saying a word to you. It's nothing against you personally or professionally. It's just, at the end of the day, you are still my mom's friend and my ex-girlfriend's aunt so I don't have 100% faith that this is fully confidential."

Vanessa nodded, understandingly.

"I get it. That's completely okay." She said. "But if I could ask one thing… Why then did you agree to talk to me?"

Miguel sighed.

"My mom and Johnny have enough to worry about with the baby on the way. I don't want them to have to worry about me too." Miguel murmured in reply. Vanessa smiled faintly at the selflessness, and she nodded.

"Okay, could you please do something for me?" She asked.

"Sure, what?" Miguel responded.

"Take out your phone." She told him. Slightly confused, Miguel obliged, pulling out his smartphone from his pocket.

"Yeah, and?" Miguel mumbled, perplexed.

"Just go on it for the next hour. You know, Instagram, Snapchat, whatever you're into." She said. Miguel raised an eyebrow.

"Um… what?"

Vanessa sighed.

"Look, I've learned that you can't force someone to talk if they don't want to, especially an adult. So you might as well go on your phone."

Miguel was still deeply confused as he hesitated to turn on his phone.

"Is this a trick question?" He remarked. "Like is this a secret test or something?"

Vanessa laughed and shook her head.

"Nope. No tests. It's just… even if you don't want to talk to me, I really respect what you're doing for your family. You're a good person."

Miguel chuckled and shook his head.

"You know, as days go by, I'm having a harder and harder time believing that." Miguel murmured.

As they lapsed into silence, Miguel opened his phone. It had previously shut down while he was using it, so his last used application was still open. It happened to be Safari, and the tab that Miguel had been reading was "US Ivy League School Fees". As he reread the website that illustrated all of the astronomical numbers that people were being charged for each university, he slowly looked up at Vanessa, who was still staring at him expectantly.

"You know, there has been something that's been bothering me."

Vanessa nodded sympathetically.

"You want to talk about it?"