XLIV.                                          Heartbreak Weather

      Odessa rode with her mom to Daniel's house. She insisted that if him and Johnny were going to fight then she needed to be there to call an ambulance if one of them got injured. The majority of the Eagle Fang and Miyagi-Do students were there. Seeing them, Grayson jogged their way. "Hey, pretty ladies." He greeted with his usual goofy smile.

"Hey, sweetheart." Thalia smiled back. She patted him on the back. "Where's Johnny and Daniel?"

He pointed behind him to the men standing on the sparring deck. Thalia went to talk to them and Grayson wrapped an arm around his friend. "Where's Eli, Dess?"

"I'm not sure. I haven't talked to him since school this morning." She responded. "He's not here?"

He shook his head. "Nope. We have a bet going on with Oliver so he better show up. Our money's on Johnny."

It was time for the fight to start and Johnny and Daniel stood in front of each other on the deck. Odessa took her phone out of her locker and opened her text messages with Eli. Her fingers hovered above the keyboard, hesitating. She texted him.

Dess
where are you?
are you coming to
watch the fight?

He texted back a quick minute later.

Eli :)
I'm at the tattoo shop
gettin the hue changed
don't worry, I'll be there :)

"Remember, if you hear anything break, call an ambulance." Her mom reminded her.

Odessa put her phone away. "You got it, boss." She replied with a smile.

". . . Okay, maybe there's a better way." They heard Johnny say.

Thalia threw her hands up. "You say that now?" She dramatically said.

"There is. You just won't admit it." Daniel said back.

"Don't you think you ever might be wrong about anything?"

"What are we doing here? You want to rehash your baseless argument from last night in front of these kids?"

"No. I want what's best for them," said Johnny.

Daniel shook his head. "What's best for them is Miyagi-Do. If fighting you is the only way I can get there, then let's just get this done."

"Is this how you guys feel when Eli and I fight?" Odessa asked her friends.

"Yes." All of them answered.

Sam and Miguel were the referees for the fight. Thalia stood with the kids. Johnny and Daniel waited for them to say fight and Thalia was suddenly taken back to the All Valley tournament in the 80s, watching Christian from the stands.

"Point, Lawrence." Sam called out when Johnny scored a point.

"Are we in the twilight zone or something?" Odessa wondered.

"Sensei Lawrence, strike first!" Chris shouted while looking through his phone.

"True to the motto pained on his former dojo wall,  and carved into his very being." Mitch broadcasted.  Chris gave him an odd look. "What? I'm trying to capture the spirit of th-the thing."

Johnny and Daniel got back in the fighting stances.  "Score, 1-0 Lawrence," Miguel announced. "Ready? Fight!"

Johnny went in for another kick but Daniel quickly used his leg to block it. They threw punches at each other and were quick to block, Daniel jumping up and kicking his leg into Johnny's chest. "Point, Larusso!"  Miguel called out.

"This is making me nervous." Thalia muttered from between Odessa and Hailey. 

"Anyone has popcorn?" Grayson asked. He quickly apologized once the woman threw him a glare. 

"Score is 1-1. Ready? Fight!" The teens called out again.

Johnny threw another kick and Daniel spun around him, avoiding it. He did a side kick to his face but Daniel quickly backed up. Johnny came back and threw punches and backed the Larusso man into the corner of the sparring deck. When the went to throw another punch, Daniel ducked down under his arm and went on the other side. His fist hit Johnny's side,  earning him another point.

"Hell yeah! Two to one. Larusso takes the lead." Chris said into his phone.

"All he has to do is score one more point and Larusso is the winner." Said Mitch.

"Score is 2-1 Larusso." Miguel called out. "Ready? Fight!"

Johnny threw a sidekick but Daniel blocked it with his hand. He went to throw a punch but the Larusso used his technique to block his fist. When Johnny threw his fist again, Daniel caught it and karate chopped his forearm. He looked at him in disbelief. "What the hell man?" He scoffed.

But Daniel ignored him. He stepped forward and Johnny threw another kick, his legs colliding with Daniel's and took them to the mat. He kicked his leg into the Larusso's chest making the crowd of students cheer in excitement.

"Point, Lawrence!" Shouted Miguel.

The two men got up and held this limbs in pain. "Got any more dirty tricks up your sleeve?" Johnny snapped.

"I'm not the one who fights dirty." Daniel replied.

They watched them get back in their positions. "Score is 2-2," Miguel announced.

"Next point wins," said Sam. "Ready? Fight!"

Johnny threw himself at Daniel and the man quickly moved. He swung his fist and Daniel was quick to duck. Daniel took Johnny by the shoulders and threw him into the mat. The kids watched intensely. Johnny stood up and grabbed Daniel, throwing him into the wooden pole that was attached to the sparring deck.

"Oh god, I can't watch." Thalia groaned and turned her head to the side. 

Johnny kicked his leg up and Daniel bend down avoiding it. They moved to the middle of the deck and glared at each other. They threw more kicks and punches before Johnny spun around and kicked his leg into Daniel's face at the same time Daniel threw his fist at Johnny's face. They both tumbled down to the deck. 

"Point, Lawrence!"

"Point, Larusso!"

Sam and Miguel looked at each other confused. "Are you sure?" He questioned.

"Are you sure?" 

"I'm not even sure if i'm sure." Odessa admitted.

"Check the replay!" Demetri ordered as Johnny and Daniel stood back up.

Everyone crowded around Chris and he replayed the video.  The replay showed both them men hit each other at the same time. Odessa squinted her eyes, still not seeing who won. "Go to another angle," Johnny pointed his finger.

"There is no other angle." Chris remarked, looking at him oddly.

"Don't you guys have another phone?"

Odessa saw someone walk into the backyard and she lifted her head, seeing that it was Eli. His hood was pulled over his head and his hands were stuffed in the pockets of his hoodie. "Eli?" She spoke and got everybody's attention.

The lifted his head slightly and they saw his red, tear stained face.

"Shit, Eli, what happened?" Demetri followed up.

Eli didn't answer.  Instead,  he pulled his hood down and exposed himself. The color drained from Odessa's face. His hair was shaven down until the Mohawk was completely gone, the only thing left being tiffs of purple hair. She stepped forward was a dropped jaw.

Johnny pushed past everyone and walked up to him.  "Who did this?" He questioned in anger.

"Cobra Kai."

Odessa just stood there staring at him, not being able to move her feet. He pulled his hood back over his head, feeling embarrassed.

"Kreese and Silver did this. They need to pay." Johnny expressed.

"Jesus, Johnny,  please." Daniel begged. "Kreese tried to kill you last time. You wanna fight both of them?"

"Damn right I do. Look what they did!"

"Dousing the fire with gasoline. That's your answer ?"

"Will you two just stop!? For god sakes, just stop." Thalia begged, finally growing sick and tired of beefing them argue.

Finally being able to move her feet, Odessa walked closer and wrapped her arms around him. Eli sank into her arms as if she were a warm blanket. He couldn't bring himself to look at her. He was far too embarrassed. But his arms wrapped around her frame tightly and he hit his face into her shoulder. More tears  fell from his eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Eli. I'm so sorry." She quietly said and got choked up. Her eyes glossed over when she felt wet tears on her neck snd his shoulders began to shake.

Odessa sat on her bed, messing with her hands because she was afraid to do anything else, while Eli was in her bathroom taking a shower. The drive home was quiet. Thalia didn't question whether it was in her daughter's best interest for him to go to their house, she just knew that Eli needed someone and he needed her. She was in that position before, too.

She was shaking so bad from all the emotions that she was feeling that she had to curl into a ball. She wrapped her arms around her torso because her stomach was so unsettled. She couldn't believe that Robby would do something like this. She knew he was vengeful, that he was angry at her and that he hated Eli, but she never believed that he would take it this far.

She grabbed her phone and quickly texted in the group chat.

the russo's 🧇
teresa (odessa)
alex (hailey)
justin (grayson)
max (oliver)

teresa
wait, why am I teresa?

alex
because you're the mom
Of the group. 
you're also a badass bitch.

teresa
thanks baby <3

justin
why am I justin
and not max?

max
according to our grades
you're about 75% smarter than me.
i'm funnier and also spelt my
name wrong one time.

justin
touché
and yeah how
do you misspell
oliver?

alex
anyways!
dess,
how's eli?

teresa
not good :(
he's taking a shower right now
he hasn't said a word to me
since we got to my house.
he 's just been crying.
I feel really bad.

justin
poor guy
I can't imagine
but if someon tried shaving
my head, my foot would be
up their ass.

max
I feel bad for the dude.
tell him we're thinking about him.

alex
^

justin
^^

teresa
thanks guys.
I love you <3

The sound of something falling in her bathroom made Odessa head lift. She dropped her phone on her bed and stood up. "Eli? Is everything okay?" She asked through the door. The faint sound of sobs echoed in her ears. She leaned her head against the door. "Eli? Can I come in?"

All she heard was the sound of the knob unlocking. She carefully twisted it and opened the door. Eli stood hunched over her bathroom sink, his sweatpants on but his shirt was off. His hands gripped the edge of the counter and he cried. Odessa stepped forward behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. She laid her head on his back and kissed the middle of it.

His shoulder racked in sobs. "I'm so sorry." He cried softly. He repeated it over and over.

Odessa shook her head. "Don't worry about that." She lifted her head and eyed the back of his shaven head. "Do you want me to shave the rest?"

He only nodded. She grabbed her vanity chair from the room and had him set down while she grabbed one of her dads old razors from the drawer. She stood behind her and put a warm hand on his shoulder. "Are you ready?" She asked him.

Again, he only nodded.

One by one, Odessa saved off the purple tuffs of hair and they fell to the floor. She glanced at him occasionally in the mirror and his eyes settled on the container that held all of her toothbrushes. He looked completely numb. Heartbroken. Embarrassed. She saw the old Eli, the boy who was always so vulnerable because he was was made fun of for looking different than everyone else. When she was done, Odessa turned the razor off and put it on the counter. She wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head on his shoulder again.

Eli's hand touched one of her arms and he left it there. His heart was broken, his confidence gone, but she was still there. He had gotten his karma. But she made him feel protected. She was all that he needed.