chapter fourteen, summertime sadness

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          When Izzy woke the next morning, Miguel wasn't by her side like she expected him to be.

          She forced herself out of the bed and quickly changed out of the clothes that she had slept in. Izzy wasn't quite sure what their plan was now that they were staying with Hector and what seemed to be his family, but she decided to not think too much about it and ruin this for herself and Miguel.

          The girl didn't even get to pull an outfit out before Miguel came walking into the room. Izzy's eyes shifted over to him, furrowing her eyebrows when she couldn't tell whether the facial expression on his face was angry or content. When Miguel saw Izzy was awake and up, he let out a deep sigh, like he was going to get something off of his chest.

          "My mom lied to me," Miguel blurted out, all Izzy could do was stare at him confused.

          Her head slightly tilted, "What do you mean?" Izzy questioned his words.

          "My–my dad, he doesn't even know I exist and he is nothing like my mom said he was. He invited us to something called El Hoyo Verde, it's, like, some boxing club." Miguel shook his head as he explained, going around Izzy to own his bag.

          Izzy's eyes followed him. "Wait, he didn't know you existed?"

          Miguel shook his head again, but to answer her question, looking back at his girlfriend. "Yeah. I guess my mom got pregnant and just ran." He simply stated, Izzy watching him open his bag to look through his clothes.

          She thought about his words and Izzy began to feel unsettled by the fact that his mom never told Hector of Miguel's existence. Izzy turned to face Miguel, looking up at the boy who seemed too distracted by picking an outfit out. Izzy wanted to say what she was thinking, but she didn't want to ruin this for Miguel. She still found herself pouring the words out of her mouth.

"Maybe it was for a reason?" Izzy suggested, Miguel's eyes finally shifting to the girl beside him. "I'm just saying.. if he didn't know you existed, Miguel, your mom might've been protecting you from something." Izzy explained, shrugging her shoulders.

          Miguel looked at her, a look on his face that asked her 'seriously?'. He didn't mean to let out a scoff, but he did as he spoke, "You're on her side now?" Miguel didn't even realize how it came out until he noticed Izzy's expression change, showing that she was clearly pissed off.

          "I'm sorry, I—" Miguel apologized, but cut himself off, a sigh leaving his lips. "If he was a bad person, then he changed a lot. You'll see tonight, okay?" He asked reassuringly to his girlfriend.

          An uneasy sigh left Izzy's mouth but she nodded her head, smiling at the boy. "Okay, yeah." She shrugged, taking her outfit, and headed for the bathroom so she could get ready.

          After the two had gotten ready, the day went by quicker than Izzy anticipated. She currently sat in the backseat of Hector's car as Miguel sat in the front, the man driving them to El Hoyo Verde just as the sun set. From the moment Izzy walked in, she was captivated by the dark setting with red and blue lighting.

          It seemed very private and exclusive, but it was crowded with people on the inside. There was also a boxing rink in the center and Izzy kept her eyes on the two men fighting in it as Hector led them up the second floor. And to think Izzy thought karate got violent in the Valley.

          She stuck by Miguel the entire time, observing her surroundings as Hector asked for three drinks. Izzy could hear Hector begin to talk to Miguel when he began to ask questions, but Izzy was trying to make sure she could find the nearest exit if need be.

"I made a lot of money back in the day," Hector started, "but not in the restaurant business. The kind of business where you make a lot of friends in high places, enemies too." The man explained to Miguel, but caught Izzy's attention and she looked back at Hector.

"But I put the past away." Hector shrugged, causing an unsettled laugh to come from Miguel as a woman approached the three with drinks.

          Izzy reluctantly took one of the drinks and looked up at Miguel, but his attention seemed to be more on figuring out his dad. Miguel let out a sigh and held his drink up, "To putting the past away." He spoke up and Hector raised his glass then tapped it against Miguel's, Izzy not partaking in it.

          Her eyes scanned the second floor of the building, "So what kind of enemies?" Izzy questioned, her eyes trailing back to Hector.

          Izzy felt suspicious of him, although she wanted Miguel to know his dad, Izzy also wanted to look out for him and protect him. If Hector Salazar was what Miguel's mom says, Izzy wouldn't let Miguel get caught up in Hector's mess.

          Hector's eyebrows furrowed as he laughed at the girl, "Ones that you wouldn't want to have." He explained, raising his drink to take a sip from it.

          The girl rolled her eyes at the vagueness in his answer, looking elsewhere at the many faces the second story was full of. Izzy couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen, or that this man was bad, but when Izzy's eye caught a familiar face, her mind felt like it got wiped clean.

          The drink had slipped out of Izzy's grip, the girl unknowingly staring off, but then her jaw clenched before Izzy shook her head and let out a laugh. "Oh my fucking god." She muttered.

          Izzy had her eyes on one of the waitresses in the club, passing out drinks people requested. Miguel furrowed his eyebrows at the girl, staring out at the woman Izzy's eyes were on. "Hey, what's wrong?" Miguel whispered, but Hector seemed more focused on the spilled drink and glass on the floor.

          Hector had turned to the waitress that was the same one Izzy was looking at, calling her over to ask for another drink to replace the one Izzy spilled.

           The moment the woman looked at Izzy, poisonous words shot out of her mouth. "What the hell do you think you're doing here?"

          "I'm sorry, do you two know each other?" Hector spoke up as Miguel stood there, his eyebrows knitted together out of confusion.

          A cold laugh came from Izzy as she nodded. "Yeah, that's my mom." Izzy kept her eyes on the woman, in shock that the woman who left years ago was here, of all places.

          Miguel tensed up once the words left Izzy's mouth, his eyes on the woman and he could tell this was serious. Hector nodded slowly, but then looked at Miguel, "Why don't we go somewhere else and let these two talk?" Hector suggested.

          The boy looked over at Izzy who turned to look at him and she spoke and acted more calmly than Miguel thought she would. "Go. It's fine. Don't wait up, we have a lot to talk about." Izzy smiled, looking back to her mother that couldn't even look at her daughter.

          Miguel nodded, he wanted to stay with Izzy to make sure she was okay, but Hector pulled him away. "Okay, uh– I'll text you." Miguel called out to Izzy as he walked away with Hector.

          Izzy's eyes shifted from Miguel to her mother's face, her arms crossing over her chest. Her mother spoke before Izzy could, "Let's talk somewhere more private." Lucia Vera told the girl, turning and gesturing for Izzy to follow her.

          Her eyes rolled as she followed the woman through a group of people and then to a room that looked like some sort of meeting office. Izzy watched her keep the door cracked, propped slightly open so that it wasn't shut completely. Izzy's eyes followed the woman as she came around to stand in front of Izzy.

"So, this is where you came after dad died?" Izzy questioned.

          Lucia let out a sigh. "I came back here to be with my family, Isobel. I had just lost my husband and I was a wreck." Her genuine tone seemed forced and her words were the match that lit the fire within Izzy.

"I lost my dad. You–you can get another fucking husband, Lucia, but I can never get another dad." Izzy bitterly replied, her words coming out fast and aggressive, offended that her mother didn't even think about Izzy's position.

          Izzy didn't stop there, though. "And you say you came back to be your family when you left your two daughters in California." Izzy was overwhelmed and it was obvious by how fast she was talking with the tears in her eyes.

          Her mother remained oddly calm however, "I understand you're angry, but you need to think about how I've–"

          Izzy didn't even give her a chance to finish, "Fuck you." The impulsive words came from her mouth, but it earned her a quick slap from the woman who acted just as impulsively as Izzy did.

          One of Izzy's hands came up to hold her cheek as she looked at her mother, the tears finally slipping down Izzy's cheek. She was so taken aback by the action that Izzy couldn't even think of something angry to say to her mother. So, Lucia spoke before her daughter could.

          "I don't know what you're doing here, Isobel, but I can reassure you I don't want anything to do with you. I realized that after your father died." Lucia spoke coldly as she stared at Izzy. "You need to leave and never come back. I made a life for myself here and I don't want you to ruin it. You hear me?" Her mother looked down at her, expecting an answer.

          Izzy was trying her best to hold back her sobs, but she nodded. "I hear you. You do the same, Lucia." Izzy's tone was cold and bitter, turning to leave the room they were in.

          "Your father would've hated how you turned out to be." Lucia Vera called out at the last second, as a way to get the last word.

          Izzy ignored her, but the comment was on repeat in her head and she wasn't quite sure what she was supposed to do or how she was supposed to feel. She wasn't going to beg her mother to be in her life when her mother chose a life without Izzy. So, all Izzy could do was push her way through the people in El Hoyo Verde and try to find Miguel  

          The girl had spent at least five minutes trying to find Miguel but couldn't. All she was told was that someone saw Hector Salazar leave with a boy. That was when she began to really freak out, she managed to make it outside of the building, walking away from everyone standing outside, and that was when Izzy finally started crying.

          Izzy turned a corner and leaned against the brick wall, she took her phone out to see if she had gotten anything from Miguel, but he hadn't texted or called her. Izzy cursed to herself as her tears fell onto her phone screen and she quickly wiped it away on the fabric of her pants.

          The girl pulled up Miguel's contact and tried to control her breathing, but hearing it get sent to voicemail just made her more worried than reassured.

          Once Izzy heard the beep for the voicemail, she began rambling. "Miguel, please answer your phone. Please. I–I don't know where you went and my–" There was a hiccup in the middle of her talking, "My mom said some really fucked up things and–and she hit me, and.. fuck, I just wanna go home, Miguel." Izzy cried into the phone.

          The message sent and Izzy dropped her head, crying to herself. She was scared to call Kayla, after seeing her mother and hearing what she had said, Izzy couldn't bring herself to call the one person she needed to call.

          Izzy took a deep breath in, trying to stop herself from crying, but she must've caught the attention of someone because Izzy felt a touch on her shoulder. "Hey —"

          Instinctively and without even looking, Izzy grabbed the wrist of whoever touched her, going to twist it until Izzy's eyes landed on their face and Izzy let out a quiet sob again when she saw who it was.

          "Holy shit, Robby," Izzy sobbed out, "I'm so happy to see your stupid face right now." She admitted through her tears, going to hug the boy.

          Robby laughed, hugging Izzy back as a way to comfort her. "Yeah, it's nice to see you too." He told her before they both pulled away from the hug. "Are you okay?" The Keene boy then asked.

          "I'm–" Izzy went to go answer, but was distracted by the fact that Robby Keene was here, in Mexico outside of El Hoyo Verde with her. "Wait, how the hell are you here?"

          Robby turned behind him, gesturing to his dad who stood out in the street next to a van. Johnny Lawrence waved at the girl from where he was and Izzy smiled, trying not to cry at the fact that they were both here. But then a realization struck Izzy.

          "We–we need to find Miguel. Where's Miguel?" Izzy asked quickly, panicked.

          The mention of Miguel seemed to disappoint Robby for a split second, but then he nodded for Izzy to follow him. "Let's go get him." Robby told Izzy who nodded at his words, following him toward Johnny and the car.

          "Come on, All Valley champ, we don't got all night!" Johnny raised his voice at Izzy who approached the car with Robby.

          Izzy ignored his comment and got into the backseat of the car, letting Robby sit in the front with Johnny, because they seemed to know what they were doing and where they going.

         The entire car drive consisted of Johnny trying to figure out Miguel's location and Izzy rushing him while she sat in the back. Her leg was anxiously shaking, unable to stay still until she knew Miguel was okay. She knew something bad must have happened when they finally found him, standing in the middle of the street with the phone to his ear.

          Johnny had stopped the car, Izzy quickly got out of the car and Miguel looked back at her and the headlights of the car shining at him. Izzy could see that he was crying, but then he lowered the phone from his ear and began walking to where Izzy was, but she quickly made her way over to him.

"Izzy, I'm so sorry I left. I–" Miguel stopped talking the moment Izzy wrapped her arms around him and brought him close. He hugged her back and let out a shaky breath, "He had a gun and–and I heard your voicemail, I.."

          Izzy closed her eyes and tried her hardest to not cry again. "It's okay. You're okay." She reassured the boy who was comforted just by her touch and presence.

"How did you find me?" Miguel muttered, his question causing Izzy to pull away, moving out of Miguel's way so that he could see behind her.

          She glanced back too, seeing Johnny getting out of the car and making his way over to where Miguel and Izzy were. Izzy backed away from Miguel, watching the boy only cry more when he realized Johnny was there, and then engulf each other in a hug. She smiled at first, happy for Miguel that Johnny came for him, but then the smile slowly disappeared.

          Standing there seeing Johnny and Miguel hug and reunite, it just tore open a wound in Izzy that she was just starting to stitch shut. She didn't have her dad or her mom, she didn't have karate, Izzy Vera was back where she started months ago. Nothing but a teenage girl with a dead dad and absent mom.

          And all Izzy could do was hope that whatever was waiting for her at home wasn't as bad as she was expecting.

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"You're grounded."

          Izzy's mouth dropped open once the words left Kayla's mouth. "I'm grounded?" She exclaimed.

         The girl was sitting on the couch while her older sister paced back and forth through the living room. Izzy had gotten home late just last night after spending hours on hours in a miserably quiet car ride with Miguel, Robby, and Johnny and now she was being told that she was grounded.

          Kayla nodded, crossing her arms over her chest. "Yeah, you're grounded for running off to Mexico with your boyfriend and not telling me! We tell each other everything, Izzy." Kayla couldn't seem to stress that enough.

          Before Izzy could even spew out an apology, Kayla continued going, "And seeing mom there? God, I would've slammed her head into a wall–"

          Izzy quickly cut her off, not wanting to even think about their mother right now. "I'm sorry, okay? I'll accept whatever punishment you give me." She sighed, sitting back on the couch.

          She watched her older sister stand there for a few seconds, thinking to herself before coming to an agreement with herself. Kayla turned to her sister that sat on the couch, "No phone for three days, oh, and no Miguel either." Kayla nodded.

           A laugh left Izzy's lips as she stared at the older Vera girl. "Kayla, you're joking, right? It's literally summer. This is so not cool." Izzy scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

           Kayla raised her eyebrows. "Should've thought about that before running away to Mexico. Congratulations on being an All Valley champion, by the way." Kayla smiled at her sister before sticking her hand out for Izzy to give her.

           Izzy looked at her hand, then looked at Kayla's face without moving a muscle. "Can I at least tell Miguel that I'm being held hostage so he doesn't freak out?" She asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Fine, whatever. You get a minute." Kayla huffed, turning away and putting her attention elsewhere as Izzy took her phone out of her back pocket.

           Although Miguel was the first person she texted telling him that she was grounded, she made sure to text Nina, and even Tory as well. She managed to press send on Tory's text just as Kayla turned and said, "Minute's up."

           Izzy rolled her eyes, handing her phone to her sister. "Happy?" Izzy questioned in a bitter tone.

           Kayla just smiled as a response, "Very. Now.. go to your room." She tried to seem like a responsible sister, but it was clear Kayla didn't practice very well with how not strict she sounded.

          Izzy listened, though. She got up and went back to her room without saying a word, shutting the door quite loudly than she meant to and went to her bed. She laid on her stomach before rolling onto her back to stare up at her ceiling. Three days wouldn't be that bad, right? It could've been worse.

          It still pissed Izzy off, because although she was a teenager who made dumb mistakes, she was still a teenager who wanted to have an enjoyable summer. But now she has to stay locked away like she was Rapunzel for the next three days. The only solution to pass time seemed to be playing music and getting lost in her thoughts.

           Hours had passed but Izzy didn't even get twenty minutes into listening to her Taylor Swift playlist before she heard tapping on the window of her room. She furrowed her eyebrows, sitting up in her bed and looking over at her window. It was silent and Izzy was about to brush it off that it was animal since they were on the first floor of their complex, until the tapping happened again.

          She got up from the bed and went over to where her window was, raising the blinds to see Miguel standing outside of her window.

Izzy freaked out for a second, knowing Kayla would actually kill her if Izzy had Miguel over behind her back. Izzy looked back behind her, seeing her bedroom door shut, but then turned back to look at Miguel.

          He had a smile on his lips as Izzy opened her window, pushing it up so that she could talk to Miguel. Once the window was open, Izzy placed her palms on her window sill and looked at the boy outside of her window, their faces close with there being no screen in between them.

          "What are you doing here? I told you I couldn't see you." Izzy asked quietly, scared that her sister would suddenly have super-hearing and hear her.

          "I came to save you," Miguel stated, a light laugh leaving his mouth when he saw Izzy's eyes roll playfully at his words.

          She was trying to hide the fact that there was a smile appearing on her lips. "I can save myself." Izzy replied, slightly shrugging her shoulders.

          Miguel smiled at her words, "I don't doubt that." He pointed to her room, "Can I come in?" Miguel asked the girl who glanced behind herself one more time before moving out of the way so Miguel could climb through the window.

Once he was inside, he immediately looked over at where her music was coming from and a smile formed on Miguel's face. "Taylor Swift?" He questioned, but Izzy rolled her eyes and quickly went over to turn down the music, turning to dave Miguel.

"Look, I know my sister seems cool, but Kayla will kill both of us if she finds out you're here." Izzy told him from the other side of the room, watching Miguel wander through the semi-large room of Izzy's.

"Hawk is going get some tattoo fixed, and I know you're grounded, but do you want to come? It won't be that long." Miguel asked in a low whisper, like he wanted nothing more than for her to go, and he made his way over to Izzy who was leaning against her desk.

A light laugh came from Izzy as she kept her eyes on Miguel. "You want me to die." Izzy deadpanned, looking at her boyfriend who was now standing in front of her.

          "Don't say that. I don't think I could live without you." There was a playful smile on Miguel's lips, indicating his words were nothing but a way to get Izzy to smile, as he looked down at the girl who didn't take her eyes off of him.

"You're dramatic," Izzy spoke in a low tone.

Miguel shook his head, "I'm honest." He then told her and the smile didn't leave his face for a second.

Izzy cracked a smile, shaking her head at his ridiculous this boy was, but that was one of the many reasons why Izzy ended up falling for him when she wasn't supposed to. She looked tempted to say yes, to say screw it and sneak out because it was summer and she had a boyfriend, and Izzy was a teenage girl who wanted to enjoy her youth.

"Fine," Izzy agreed, but then her eyes shifted to her wall where her Cobra Kai poster was and an idea popped onto her head. "But I want to do something after real quick." Izzy told him, her eyes moving back to look at Miguel.

Miguel just nodded, he was just glad that Izzy wanted to come. He wanted to ask her about her mom and what happened in Mexico, but he didn't. It wasn't the right time, plus Izzy seemed pretty eager to forget the interaction ever happened.

          "Yeah, yeah, whatever you want to do." Miguel told the girl.

          Izzy smiled at his words then pushed herself off of the desk she was leaning on. "Let's go then." She told her boyfriend that watched her walk right by him to head for the open window.

"Wait–" Miguel said quickly and quietly, taking ahold of Izzy's hand just as she turned around. His hand dropped hers and held her face, pulling his down for his lips to meet with hers.

If there was one thing both of them couldn't get enough of, it was each other. So, Izzy kissed him back, the deep kiss lasting a few seconds before Miguel finally pulled away, but kept his face close to Izzy's.

"Now we can go." Miguel stated, gesturing to the window, fighting the smile itching to form on his lips.

"Oh, now we can go?" Izzy repeated, questioning him as her eyes playfully rolled and she turned to make her way towards the window.

Miguel offered to go out first just to help Izzy come out of the window as well, the two of them trying not to laugh at how ridiculous they must seem sneaking out in broad daylight, but they didn't care. All they really were were just two teenagers hopelessly in love.

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authors note.
i don't know how i feel about this chapter but i hope you guys enjoyed it!! izzy fr got mommy and daddy issues

izzy is going to go through hell and back in this act im so sorry </3 there will also be more chapters than usual cause i have a lottt to write

( gif made by saevrz )