chapter seventeen:
❛ broken heart ❜

PLEASE DONT BE A GHOST READER!
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the reason i always say "please don't be a ghost reader" this isnt just because i want votes, i mean i do, but ive been writing on this app for 3 almost 4 years and it helps me stay motivated because that means people are reading my stuff. and unlike other people, they have so many views on their books and i know my writing isnt the best but i love to write and it just helps me stay motivated. and i know i unpublish and republish my chapters and i get thats really annoying

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Maritza and Demetri stood at the front door of Sunny's house, exchanging nervous glances. The breakup with Hawk a few days ago had hit Sunny hard, and they hadn't seen much of her since. Maritza tapped her foot anxiously as they waited for someone to answer the door.

Elaine, Sunny's mom, opened it after a few moments, relief flooding her face the second she saw them. "Oh thank god you guys are here," she breathed out, stepping aside to let them in. "Sunny's up in her room, and she won't come out. Moon went to check on her about an hour ago, but she's a mess. Can you try talking to her? She hasn't been outside in days, and I don't know what else to do."

Maritza nodded immediately, her concern deepening. "Of course, Mrs. Knight. We'll talk to her."

Demetri gave a reassuring smile. "We've got this."

Elaine sighed with relief and gestured toward the stairs. "Thank you. I'm really worried. She's just... she's never been like this before."

As they made their way up the stairs, the house was eerily quiet. The closer they got to Sunny's room, the more Maritza's heart sank. They could practically feel the weight of Sunny's sadness pressing down on the air. When they finally reached her door, Maritza knocked softly. "Sunny? It's me and Demetri."

No response.

Maritza exchanged a glance with Demetri before gently pushing the door open. The sight that greeted them was enough to make even Demetri pause in shock. Clothes were scattered all over the floor, piles of discarded laundry mixing with empty snack wrappers and takeout containers. The room had a stale, sour smell-like someone had been living in it without stepping outside for days. Tissues were crumpled on the nightstand, and the curtains were drawn tightly, keeping out any hint of sunlight.

Sunny sat on the bed, curled up with her knees drawn to her chest, her face blotchy and her eyes red from crying. Moon sat next to her, looking helpless, as if she'd run out of comforting words long ago.

Demetri couldn't help himself. "Wow, it looks like a tornado of feelings threw up in here," he said with a wry smirk.

Maritza immediately smacked his arm. "Demetri!" she whispered harshly. "Not the time."

"Right. Sorry," Demetri muttered, rubbing his arm, but the faint hint of a smile remained on his face. He was trying to lighten the mood, but Maritza shot him a look that said don't even try it right now.

Maritza walked over to Sunny, crouching down beside her bed. "Hey, Sunshine," she said softly, using the nickname she'd given her long ago. "How are you holding up?"

Sunny sniffled, barely lifting her head. "I'm fine," she mumbled, though the evidence of the past few days suggested otherwise.

Maritza reached out and gently rubbed her shoulder. "No, you're not, and that's okay. But you can't keep doing this to yourself. You need to get up, take a shower, and maybe even leave this room for a bit."

Sunny shook her head, her voice cracking. "I can't, Maritza. I just... I can't face the world right now."

Moon, who had been quietly sitting beside Sunny, nodded toward the others, silently telling them to take over. "She hasn't eaten anything substantial in a day, and she barely sleeps," Moon said, standing up. "Maybe you guys can get through to her."

Maritza nodded and took a deep breath. She turned to Sunny, her voice more firm this time. "I know it feels impossible right now, but we're not asking you to do everything at once. Just one thing. Start with a shower, okay? You'll feel better afterward."

Sunny didn't respond, but she didn't protest either.

Maritza took that as a sign of progress and stood up. "Come on, I'll help you."

She gently pulled Sunny to her feet, leading her to the bathroom as Sunny stumbled along, still dazed. "Demetri," Maritza said, tossing him a glance over her shoulder, "clean up this mess, will you? It smells like something died in here."

Demetri raised an eyebrow, looking around at the disaster zone that was Sunny's room. "Uh, sure, but this room needs more than a cleaning-it needs an exorcism."

Maritza shot him another warning look, which was enough to make Demetri raise his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay, I'll get started. Just saying."

As Maritza guided Sunny to the bathroom, she spoke softly to her, keeping the conversation light but steady. "We'll start with the shower, and then maybe we'll put on some comfy clothes, open the window, get some fresh air... How's that sound?"

Sunny shrugged, not giving much of an answer, but she allowed Maritza to help her. Inside the bathroom, Maritza turned on the water, making sure it was just the right temperature before nudging Sunny toward the shower.

Meanwhile, back in the room, Demetri grabbed a trash bag and started clearing away the empty food containers. He wrinkled his nose, grimacing as he picked up an old slice of pizza. "Gross," he muttered to himself, tossing it into the bag. "This is worse than my room after a marathon gaming session."

He continued tidying up, picking up clothes, tossing them into a hamper, and trying to make some sense of the chaos. The air was heavy with the scent of old food and stale air, and he was doing his best not to gag as he worked.

When Maritza returned to the room after helping Sunny into the shower, she found Demetri holding up a pair of socks with a disgusted look on his face. "I don't even want to know how long these have been here," he remarked.

Maritza rolled her eyes, though there was a hint of amusement on her face. "Just keep going," she said. "And don't make her feel worse."

"Yeah, yeah," Demetri grumbled, tossing the socks into the hamper. But despite the complaints, he kept working, his snarky comments more of a way to cope with the uncomfortable situation than anything else.

As the sound of the shower ran in the background, the two friends did their best to restore some sense of normalcy to Sunny's room, hoping that when she came out, things might feel just a little bit better.

As Maritza and Demetri worked to clean up the room, Sunny's phone suddenly started buzzing from beneath a pile of clothes. The screen lit up with repeated messages, and when Maritza glanced over, she saw Hawk's name flash across it. Her expression darkened instantly.

"Absolutely fuck no," she muttered under her breath, snatching the phone from the bed.

"Wait, what?" Demetri looked up, eyebrows raised.

"It's him," she said, glaring at the screen. Without hesitation, she answered the call, her voice icy. "Hello?"

"Sunny, I'm really sorry about everything," Hawk's voice came through, sounding sincere and regretful at first. "Look, I know I messed up, but-"

Maritza cleared her throat loudly, making sure he realized it wasn't Sunny on the other end.

There was a beat of silence, then Hawk stammered, "Shit-Maritza?"

"Nice to hear from you, Hawk," Maritza said coolly, crossing her arms. "Last time I saw you, you gave me a concussion, remember?"

Hawk let out a frustrated sigh. "Look, I didn't mean-"

"Absolutely not," Maritza cut him off, her voice sharp. "We're not friends anymore, okay? I was friends with Eli. Not this Hawk persona you've become. Hawk is dead to me. Dead to Demetri. Dead to Sunny."

Demetri paused what he was doing and looked over at Maritza, sensing the tension growing in the room.

Maritza's grip tightened on the phone. "Now, you're going to stop spamming Sunny. You're going to leave her the hell alone. If you don't, I swear to god, you'll regret it."

There was a heavy silence on the line, then Hawk's voice dropped, clearly upset. "Just... just tell her I'm sorry, okay?"

Maritza rolled her eyes. "Don't hold your breath."

With that, she ended the call and threw the phone back onto the bed. She stood there for a second, clenching her fists, trying to shake off the anger Hawk always managed to stir up in her. Demetri, watching the whole thing unfold, cleared his throat, half-amused. "That was... intense."

"Shut up, Demetri," Maritza snapped, though there was a flicker of a smirk on her face.

At that moment, the bathroom door creaked open, and Sunny stepped out, her damp hair clinging to her face and shoulders. She looked slightly more refreshed, but still a little out of it. "What's going on?" she asked, noticing the tension in the room.

Demetri immediately chimed in, ever the king of poorly-timed jokes. "Oh, nothing. Maritza just threatened to murder Hawk if he ever tries to talk to you again."

Maritza shot him a deadly glare. "Demetri, really?"

Sunny furrowed her brows, glancing between the two of them. "Wait... what did Hawk say?"

Maritza quickly stepped in, walking over to Sunny and gently guiding her to sit down. "Don't worry about it. It's taken care of. Right now, we need to focus on getting you out of this room, okay?"

Sunny looked down at her hands, her voice quiet. "I don't know if I'm ready to leave yet."

Demetri, who had been trying to play it cool, suddenly grew serious, stepping forward. "Well, too bad. We're not giving you a choice."

Sunny blinked up at him, surprised by the shift in his tone. "What?"

"You've been holed up in here for days," Demetri said, raising his voice slightly, his frustration finally spilling over. "We get that you're hurt, we get it. But hiding in here isn't going to change anything. It's not going to magically make you feel better. So guess what? You're coming with us."

Sunny's face fell, clearly taken aback by his sudden outburst. "Demetri..."

"No, I'm serious, Sunny." His voice softened but remained firm. "We're all hurting right now. Hawk screwed us all over in different ways, but shutting yourself away isn't going to fix it. You need to get out of here. We need you with us."

Maritza nodded in agreement, her voice gentler than Demetri's. "We're going to Miyagi-Do. Someone trashed the dojo, and we're going to help clean it up. You'll feel better if you get out of this room, I promise."

Sunny hesitated, glancing between her two friends. "I don't know..."

Demetri, sensing her wavering, stepped forward and crouched in front of her. "Sunny, you're stronger than this. And we're not leaving you behind. You don't have to do it alone, okay? We're here."

Sunny swallowed hard, wiping a stray tear from her cheek. She took a deep breath and nodded slowly. "Okay. I'll come."

Maritza smiled softly and helped Sunny to her feet. "That's our girl."

Demetri gave her a reassuring smile. "See? Baby steps."

The three of them headed downstairs, Demetri making a point to grab Sunny's jacket on the way out. As they left the house, Maritza gave Demetri a quick glance, silently thanking him for stepping up when Sunny needed it most.

He shrugged casually, though there was a flicker of pride in his eyes. "What can I say? I'm full of surprises."

The little hut at Miyagi-Do was almost unrecognizable, the peaceful sanctuary now covered in Cobra Kai's vicious graffiti. Spray paint slathered on the walls, words that hurt more than they should have, mocking and taunting. It was too quiet as Maritza and Sunny worked side by side, trying to scrub away the damage.

Maritza glanced at Sunny, her heart heavy for her friend. Sunny had been quiet-too quiet-since they arrived. Her eyes were focused on the wall in front of her, scrubbing at the graffiti with a kind of intensity that said she wasn't really here. She was lost in her head, and Maritza knew she couldn't let her stay there.

After a few more moments of silence, Maritza set her sponge down and glanced over at her again. "You wanna talk about it?" she asked, her voice gentle but direct.

Sunny's shoulders stiffened immediately, her scrubbing becoming almost frantic. "No," she snapped, the word cutting through the air like a knife. There was a sharp silence afterward, both of them standing there, the tension thick.

Sunny blinked, seeming to realize how harsh she'd sounded. She let out a frustrated sigh, dropping the sponge into the soapy water with a splash. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-" She pressed her lips together, her voice cracking. "I'm just... I don't know."

Maritza stopped her own cleaning and turned to Sunny fully, her eyes soft with understanding. "It's okay, Sunny. You're allowed to be upset. You've been through a lot."

Sunny rubbed at her eyes with the back of her hand, sniffing hard. She shook her head, trying to fight back the emotions threatening to spill over. "I'm not-" She cut herself off, swallowing hard. "I'm not in love with him, okay? I don't know why everyone keeps saying that."

Maritza let out a short laugh, shaking her head as she crossed her arms. "Bullshit, Sunny."

Sunny shot her a glare, but there was no heat behind it. "I'm serious," she mumbled, trying to sound convincing. "I'm not."

"Sunny," Maritza said, giving her a knowing look. "You've known him since kindergarten. Didn't you marry him with paper rings in first grade?"

Sunny tried to suppress it, but a small laugh bubbled out, despite her efforts to stay defensive. "Oh my god, I forgot about that," she muttered, wiping her nose on her sleeve. She shook her head, the memory of that long-ago day making her smile, if only for a moment. "We were such idiots."

"We were kids," Maritza corrected with a grin, nudging her lightly with her shoulder. "But come on, Sunny. You've been crazy about him for years. It's okay to admit it."

Sunny shook her head, her laughter fading as quickly as it came, replaced by the heavy weight of the truth. "Yeah, well, look where it got me," she muttered bitterly, her voice trembling. She sniffled again, trying to keep her tears at bay. "I just-I feel stupid. How did I not see it coming? How did I not see that he was changing into... into Hawk? He's not even Eli anymore."

Maritza's expression softened as she took a step closer, resting a hand on Sunny's shoulder. "You're not stupid, Sunny. None of us saw it. Hawk screwed us all over, not just you."

Sunny's eyes began to well up again, and she sniffed hard, trying to hold it together. "It's just-I keep crying, and I don't want to cry anymore." Her voice cracked, and she wiped furiously at her cheeks as a few tears slipped free. "I don't want to care about him anymore."

"Of course you care," Maritza said softly, pulling Sunny into a hug without hesitation. "You've known him almost your whole life. You're heartbroken by the boy you've loved for years. It's okay to feel like this."

Sunny let out a shaky breath, her face buried in Maritza's shoulder as the tears began to fall again, harder this time. She clung to her friend, letting the sobs come, her whole body shaking with the force of it. "I'm so tired of feeling like this," she whispered through her tears. "I hate that he did this to me. To all of us."

"I know," Maritza whispered back, rubbing soothing circles on Sunny's back as she held her. "But you're not alone, okay? We're all here for you."

Sunny sobbed harder, her fingers gripping Maritza's jacket like it was the only thing keeping her anchored to the world. She hated crying, hated feeling so vulnerable, but it was like all the pain she'd been trying to suppress for the past few days was flooding out all at once, and there was no stopping it.

They stayed like that for a while, just holding onto each other as Sunny cried. The world outside the hut didn't matter right now. Maritza wasn't in a hurry to go anywhere; she'd stay there with Sunny as long as she needed to.

When the sobs finally quieted down, Sunny pulled back, wiping her tear-streaked face with the sleeve of her jacket. "I'm sorry," she mumbled, her voice still thick with emotion. "I'm a mess."

"Don't be," Maritza said firmly, shaking her head. "You're not a mess. You're just hurting."

Sunny sniffled, her eyes red and puffy. "Yeah... still feels like a mess."

"Well, at least we're getting this place cleaned up," Maritza said with a small smile, trying to lighten the mood just a little. "We'll work on getting you cleaned up, too."

Sunny let out a watery laugh, her eyes flicking toward the graffiti still covering the walls. "Yeah, guess we should get back to it."

"Whenever you're ready," Maritza said, handing her the sponge again with a soft smile.

Sunny took it, her grip still a little shaky but more grounded now. She nodded, and they both turned back to the wall, scrubbing away at the remnants of Cobra Kai's attack. The damage was still there, but maybe, little by little, they'd get everything back to the way it was-at Miyagi-Do, and with Sunny's heart.

Sunny arrived home later than she had intended, her body aching from the long day of scrubbing and cleaning at Miyagi-Do. The air was crisp, and the porch light flickered above her as she fumbled with her keys, her mind preoccupied with everything that had happened. She still felt emotionally drained from the crying spell earlier with Maritza, but she had to admit it had helped, at least a little. All she wanted now was to collapse into bed and forget about everything.

But as soon as she stepped onto the porch, she froze.

There, leaning against the railing with his arms crossed, was Hawk.

Her heart dropped into her stomach, anger surging up like a wave before she even had time to process it. She hadn't seen him since the breakup, hadn't wanted to. And now, here he was, waiting for her like he hadn't shattered her heart just days ago.

He looked up as she approached, his expression unreadable. "Sunny," he started, his voice soft.

But she wasn't having it. The anger that had been simmering inside her for days suddenly burst to the surface. She clenched her fists, her face twisting into something unfamiliar, something raw and furious. "What the hell are you doing here?" she snapped, her voice louder than she'd intended.

Hawk blinked, clearly surprised by the sharpness in her tone. Sunny wasn't a yeller. She wasn't the kind of person who lashed out. But tonight was different. She was different.

"I wanted to talk to you," he said, his voice more cautious now. "I've been trying to reach you, but-"

"You think I want to talk to you?" she cut him off, her voice rising with each word. "After everything you've done? After you've turned into this?"

Hawk's jaw tightened, but there was something else in his eyes-something vulnerable. "Sunny, I know I messed up, but-"

"Messed up?" she scoffed, her voice shaking. "You didn't just 'mess up,' Hawk. You became someone I don't even recognize anymore." She wasn't calling him Eli, and that seemed to hit him like a punch. He flinched slightly, his eyes flicking away for a second, but she didn't care. Not this time.

"You used to be Eli, and you-" Sunny stopped herself, her throat tightening. She couldn't even bring herself to say it. She shook her head, her voice cracking as she continued. "You don't get to show up here like everything's fine. It's not fine."

"I know that," Hawk said, stepping forward, his hands reaching out like he wanted to fix this, like he could just say something that would make it all go away. "I'm trying to make things right-"

"Make things right?" Sunny interrupted, her anger flaring again. "You've hurt so many people, Hawk. You've hurt me. You think just showing up here and saying sorry is going to fix everything?"

"I'm not just saying sorry," he said, his voice edging into frustration. "I am sorry, but I-"

"I don't care!" she yelled, her voice startling even herself. She never yelled. Not like this. But right now, it felt like all the hurt, all the confusion, was exploding out of her, and she couldn't stop it. "You chose Cobra Kai over all of us, over me, and now you want to act like you can just come back?"

Hawk's face fell, and for a moment, he looked like Eli again, the boy she had known since kindergarten, the boy she had loved. But she shoved that feeling down, refusing to let it take hold. "Sunny, I didn't-"

"You didn't what?" she shot back, her voice laced with bitterness. "You didn't mean to hurt me? You didn't mean to become this? Well, guess what, Hawk-you did. And now, I don't even know who you are anymore."

There was a heavy silence, the tension between them almost suffocating. Hawk stood there, his eyes pleading, but Sunny couldn't-wouldn't-let herself fall for it again.

"You were my best friend," she said quietly, her voice trembling now, the anger giving way to sadness. "You were supposed to be the one person I could trust. But now..." She trailed off, shaking her head. "Now, I can't even look at you without feeling sick."

Hawk looked like he wanted to say something, but for the first time, he didn't. He just stood there, staring at her, his fists clenching and unclenching at his sides.

Sunny took a shaky breath, willing herself to stay strong, to not break down in front of him. "You need to leave," she said, her voice firm, but softer now.

Hawk's face crumpled, and for a moment, she thought he might argue. But then, he just nodded, his shoulders slumping in defeat. "Just... tell me one thing," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "Are we really done? Is this it?"

Sunny swallowed hard, her heart aching in a way she hadn't expected. She wanted to scream yes, to make it clear that she was done, that there was no going back. But instead, she just whispered, "I don't know."

Hawk nodded again, his expression pained. He stepped back, his eyes lingering on her for just a moment longer before he turned and walked away, disappearing into the night.

As soon as he was gone, Sunny let out a shaky breath, her legs feeling weak beneath her. She stumbled to the porch, sitting down on the steps, her head in her hands. She didn't know what hurt more-the anger or the heartbreak.

She wasn't sure if she could ever forgive him. And even if she could, she wasn't sure if she wanted to.

ASH SPEAKS!

i feel so bad for my sunshine oc :(

should she be in miyagi-do or martizas mom karate 'all star karate'? if i have sunny be in miyagi-do, i'm gonna have martiza be in miyagi-do too

PLEASE DONT BE A GHOST READER!
COMMENT AND VOTE! IT HELPS US WRITERS STAY MOTIVATED:)