𐙚˙ ༘ ⋆｡ ˚( DECODE ! )
❛ RELEASE DAY ❜
CHAPTER FOURTY-SIX !

JOHNNY AND CHARLIE ARRIVED AT THE JUVENILE DETENTION CENTRE, waiting for Robby's release. Charlie couldn't contain her excitement, practically bouncing up and down the entire journey.

As they reached the entrance, Johnny leaned forward and attempted to open the locked doors. When he realised they wouldn't budge, instead of leaving it be, he tried pulling them harder.

"I don't think that's going to wo-" Charlie began with a small laugh before someone behind interrupted her.

"It's locked. They'll buzz it open when he's on his way out," Daniel informed them, joining the pair.

Charlie furrowed her brows in confusion as Johnny retorted, "You've got to be kidding. They called you?"

"I called them," Daniel clarified. "With Shannon still in rehab, I just wanted to make sure someone was here to pick him up."

"Well, I'm here, aren't I?" Johnny replied with a harsh tone.

Charlie shot Johnny a warning glance. "Dad . . . "

"I'm not looking for trouble. I'm just here for Robby," Daniel explained, trying to diffuse the tension.

Charlie decided she didn't want to listen to them bicker on and on so tried to distract herself by looking around. She adjusted her bracelets and searched for something to occupy her attention when she heard a familiar voice.

"Seriously?" Robby scoffed, his face clearly showing his anger towards the two men standing before him. However, when his gaze met Charlie's, her face instantly lit up.

"I told you I don't want you here," Robby said, addressing his father directly.

"You're my son. I wanted to be here for you," Johnny asserted, but his words seemed to fall on deaf ears.

Daniel nodded in agreement. "And so did I."

Robby turned to Daniel this time, "Don't do me any favors. It's your fault I was here."

Charlie remained silent, just watching the attempts of Daniel and Johnny trying to get through to Robby. Though, she couldn't blame him for his resistance.

"I know you're upset. I was doing what I thought was best for you," Daniel expressed, but Robby averted his gaze with a dismissive scoff. "Now that you're out, i just want you to know that I'm here. You'll always have a home at miyagi-do."

"Or with me," Johnny interjected.

Despite their offers, Robby showed no interest and he made sure they knew it by the look on his face, "Both of you stay out of my life."

Robby walked between them, ignoring their calls, and headed straight for Charlie. She enveloped him in a hug and he whispered, "Can we go?" To which she nodded in response.

With her arm wrapped around his shoulder, Charlie walked alongside Robby, glancing back once to offer a apologetic expression to the two men standing there.

【☆】★【☆】

"THANK YOU." Charlie smiled at the doctor after he removed her cast. The smell caused her to grimace, but she felt relieved the cast was finally off.

Robby had chosen to stick with charlie instead of heading home and she saw it as an opportunity to catch up on the conversations they hadn't been able to have during their visits. "So, his name is Shawn?"

"Yeah, he's not as terrible as I thought," Robby replied nonchalantly as they walked out of the hospital room, "We actually made up after our fight."

"Of course." Charlie rolled her eyes. there had been so much fighting recently that she couldn't even act surprised anymore, "anything else?"

Robby looked up as if pondering the question, but eventually shook his head. "No, I think that covers it. What about you?"

"Where to start!" Charlie dramatically sighed, "Well, Dad is starting a new dojo. Miguel is back in school. Everything's kind of going back to normal apart from cobra kai."

Nodding in agreement, Robby chimed in, "I think everyone just needs a break from karate. Dad's crazy for starting another one."

"Yeah, I thought the same," Charlie admitted, "but with Cobra Kai training more and more everyday, it's only a matter of time before they target one of us again. We need to be prepared to defend ourselves." She held the door open for Robby as they exited the building.

Robby shrugged, clearly not wanting to go further into the topic as he still disagreed with the idea.

"Anyway, they canceled the All Valley tournament, so Dad is going to appeal it later," Charlie informed him. "You should go with him."

"I think I'll pass," Robby chuckled, as if his lack of interest wasn't evident enough already.

The girl joined in on the laughter, before remembered that both their moms were still in rehab, and staying with their dad might not be his favourite thing, "Hey, where are you staying?"

Robby's expression seemed to search for an answer, hesitating before finally responding, "Uh, with a friend."

"Robby . . ." Charlie tilted her head and stopped them from walking any further, "You can stay with me and Dad."

"I'm fine, Charls," Robby dismissed her offer, but Charlie refused to let it go.

"You don't even have to talk to Da-" she tried to reason, not believing the friend story at all. However, before she could finish her sentence, he interrupted her.

"I said I'm fine," he snapped, his tone sharp and quick. Charlie fell silent, gazing at his face, which displayed annoyance and a hint of guilt for raising his voice.

She couldn't blame him; after spending weeks in juvie, he was bound to change. She just hoped it wouldn't affect their relationship.

Charlie lowered her gaze, nodding in acceptance. "Okay," she mumbled.

They resumed their walk, engaging in small talk to stop any lingering awkwardness, mostly initiated by Charlie.

"Have you spoken to Sam?" she asked, breaking the silence.

Shaking his head, Robby glanced at his phone, which was filled with messages, none of which were from her. "Nope."

"Maybe she just forgot that today was your release. Why don't you go over and talk to her?" Charlie suggested, a small smile tugging at her lips when he nodded. "I think she's at the dojo. I can walk you over now, if you'd like?"

"It's okay, I'll go later," Robby replied, shrugging his shoulders with a faint smile. It was a start.

【☆】★【☆】

CHARLIE BALANCED HER PHONE BETWEEN HER CHEEK AND SHOULDER, as she prepared dinner since Johnny was still out. Unable to attend Monique's visit earlier due to her cast, Charlie decided to make up for it with a phone call.

Monique hadn't missed a single meeting and something in charlie wanted to cry, not of sadness but of happiness. A few weeks ago they would be arguing about whatever petty thing Monique could think of but now, she was doing better, for her daughter.

"I'm so proud of you, Mom," Charlie beamed into the phone, turning on the stove.

"Thank you, baby," Monique replied, her curiosity piqued by the sounds coming from the other end of the line. "Oo, what are you making?"

"Fajitas," Charlie informed her, "But I have to skip the sour cream because Dad always forgets to buy it."

Monique groaned playfully. "Ugh, I miss them. They're so good."

"I can save you one. Bring it in tomorrow?" Charlie offered as she started cooking the food in the pan.

"Do you mind?" Monique asked, seeking permission before accepting. When Charlie assured her it was no trouble, Monique eagerly responded, "Then yes, please."

Charlie turned around when hearing the door open and saw Johnny, a happy expression on his face. She could only hope it was for the reason she had in mind. "Hey, Mom, I'll call you later, okay? Dad just got home."

"Okay, baby, see you tomorrow," Monique warmly replied through the phone.

"Bye," Charlie said before quickly adding, "Say hi to Shannon for me!"

Monique told her that she would before they ended the call. Charlie spun around and eagerly extended her hands, awaiting Johnny's news. "So . . . ?"

"It's back on!" Johnny exclaimed with excitement, referring to the All Valley tournament.

Charlie couldn't contain her happiness and rushed to hug him. He lifted her up by her torso and spun her around gently before placing her back down.

"How did you do it?" Charlie asked, surprised yet confident in Johnny's abilities. After all, he had successfully brought Cobra Kai back after the ban.

Johnny dropped his keys and walked into the kitchen with her. "Ah, I didn't. Miguel and Sam did. They gave some speech about bullying and all that stuff. Seems to have worked."

Charlie giggled with joy as she continued cooking the fajita fillings. Johnny attempted to grab a piece of chicken to snack on, but she swiftly slapped his hand away since it wasn't ready yet. Rolling his eyes, he plopped down on the sofa and turned on the TV.

Once Charlie finished cooking, she carried both their plates to the sofa, and they began eating. Her phone chimed with a message from Alyssa, inviting her to come over.

"Hey, Dad, do you mind if I stay at Lys's tonight?" Charlie asked, preparing to respond to Alyssa's invitation with his decision.

"Nah, go ahead," Johnny replied between mouthfuls of dinner.

She smiled and quickly informed Alyssa that she was on her way. Charlie dashed into her bedroom to pack her things before returning to the living room.

She kissed the top of Johnny's head as a goodbye before opening the door, only to find Carmen standing on the doorstep, about to knock.

"Carmen," Charlie breathed out in confusion, more of a question than a statement.

"Hey, Charlie," Carmen greeted with a smile, pulling the girl into a warm hug. They hadn't spoken much before, so it was a pleasant surprise. "How are you?"

"I'm good, thank you. Cast is finally off," Charlie exclaimed, wiggling her arm in the air to demonstrate.

Carmen's smile grew wider. "I'm so glad to hear that."

"Right, well, I'll be leaving now," Charlie said, glancing at Johnny with narrowed eyes before turning back to Carmen and bidding her a goodbye too with a smile.

She picked up her bike and as soon as she was out of earshot, Charlie shook her head and muttered, "They're definitely screwing."

✧  •   •  𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗘 𝗜𝗦 𝗪𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚  •  •  ✧ ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

long chapter again, but robby's finally out !! Ive gotta write him that he's changed a bit because then it's not as hard on charlie when she finds out he's in cobra kai 😣

please comment and vote !