TWILIGHT ZONE ➭ COBRA KAI

010

ੈ♡₊˚•. ˖⋆ ━━━━━⠀TWILIGHT ZONE !
▅▅▅▅▅▅▅ ⋯ ▅▅▅▅▅▅▅ ˓ 𑁍ࠜೄ
𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 TEN ・*:·. ⇌ ஜ  .·:*

The dojo was dark when she got back.

She wasn't even sure what time it was at that point, certainly past midnight. The lights were off, and the air was heavy with the lingering scent of sweat and effort. She hesitated at the door, her hand on the handle, before pushing it open. She nearly stumbled into the dojo, careful not to wake Robby. She could see the outline of his body in the corner, facing her but he didn't stir.

She forced herself to move slowly, placing one foot carefully in front of the other as she crossed the mat. Her hands trembled faintly at her sides, so she pressed them against her thighs, trying to steady them.

But the darkness felt thicker tonight.

The silence stretched around her, pressing in from every side. Her heartbeat thudded loudly in her ears, fast and heavy, like it was echoing off the walls.

She focused on the floor beneath her feet, the cool, rubbery surface of the mat. She repeated it in her head as she reached the wall and lowered herself down slowly, her legs folding beneath her until she was sitting on the floor. Her back rested against the wall as she tipped her head back, closing her eyes.

Her chest rose sharply. Still too fast.

Gia opened her eyes again, searching the darkness for something steady to focus on. The faint outline of the window across the room came into view, a thin strip of dim light cutting through the blackness.

She tried to pick out stars through the glass. Anything small.

Her fingers brushed the rough surface of the wall beside her, tracing the texture of the paint. The familiar grounding techniques moved through her automatically, things she'd practiced a hundred times before.

Feel something.

Smell something.

Focus on what's real.

She inhaled deeply, the sharp tang of sweat, rubber mats, and worn leather filling her lungs. But instead of calming her, it only made everything sharper.

The familiar techniques that usually pulled her back to herself weren't working. And the realization made the panic spike even higher.

Oh god.

Why wasn't it working?

She tried to focus on the rhythm of her breath, but each inhale felt shallow and each exhale ragged. Her vision blurred slightly as her chest tightened, and she felt a wave of dizziness wash over her. The darkness seemed to close in, pressing against her like a physical force.

Her thoughts spun faster, slipping out of her control.

No matter how hard she tried to focus on breathing, on the wall beneath her fingers, on the faint square of the window across the room, her mind kept dragging her somewhere else.

Back to dinner. Back to the conversation.

If it weren't for him, I'd probably be in prison right now.

The words echoed through her head like they'd been carved into the walls.

Jail.

Her eyes flicked around the dark dojo, suddenly hyper-aware of where she was sitting. The mats. The walls. The faint smell of sweat and leather.

This place was supposed to be about discipline.

But now every corner of the room seemed to whisper something else.