Forbidden Things || Cobra Kai

20 Fade in the Dark

Frankie's mad at me. This isn't a thought, it's a fact.

We had a fight, a real fight, which has never happened before, and now she isn't talking to me, which has also never happened. I don't know what to do. I've never been in this position before, not with Frankie, and I'm trying to figure out what to do. What can I do?

I think she expects an apology, but I won't apologize for being worried about her.

I brought up Elisa, which I probably shouldn't have done. If there's anything to apologize for, it would be that. I know deep down, Frankie blames herself for what happened there.

But now Frankie won't even sit in the same room as me. When I walk into the kitchen, she walks out. If Uncle Donnie suggests we all watch a movie, she declines. She's avoiding me. She won't even look at me. I don't know what to do.

Penelope stared at the page as she tried to collect her thoughts, but all she could think about was the argument she'd had with her cousin.

After the late night check-in, Penelope woke up the next day with a need to ensure Frankie meant what she said. However, asking again resulted in an explosive argument that only ended when Uncle Donnie put the girls in separate rooms, taking Frankie's phone to ensure no further communication happened between the two until they calmed down. He then sat down with each of them to talk about what happened, cluing him in on (almost) everything that had led up to that moment.

He had been startled awake by the commotion and rushed down the stairs. When he entered the room, it felt like he had walked into a warzone; Frankie was red, the face twisted with gnarly anger; she was sharp tongued and defensive, spouting out words before they could be full thought through or fully formed; Penelope stared, occasionally looking down at her phone and trying to type out her thoughts, but it was a feeble attempt. Her thumbs had begun to shake as the kitchen felt like it was caving in around her.

She still felt the tightness in her chest from the whole ordeal.

The fight was bad, if I had to judge it. I don't know what really makes a "fight" bad, though I guess it could have gone worse. If it had been anyone else fighting with Frankie, I know it would have ended in an entirely different way.

I don't want to admit it, but I cried afterward.

Penelope stopped again, staring at her words. She didn't know what else to say. She was supposed to write down her thoughts and feelings, but she couldn't decipher them all. Her heart was heavy and her head felt like it was full of air, that was all she knew. She'd avoided writing about the topic for all of two days, but still had no idea how to go about it.

I guess I've been ignoring her too. Not actively, I don't think so at least. I leave the house from time to time or I stay in my room, but I don't believe that's really ignoring her. Not how she's ignoring me. She won't let me near her, so I don't push it, but it's so weird to know she's mad at me. We've never been mad at each other before.

She didn't think the little disagreement about Hawk counted. This felt completely different. The talk about Hawk hadn't ended in any kind of yelling, crying or real anger. Mostly, it left the girls upset and confused respectfully. They hadn't talked about it again because it hadn't become an issue again (because Penelope hadn't told Frankie she was still hanging out with or talking to Hawk). It had just been brushed under the rug.

I can only hope she sees that I'm worried about her. Uncle Donnie said to give her space, so that's what I'm going to do. In the meantime, I've been trying to take my mind off of the whole thing.

Everything came to a stand still, as if she'd hit a wall. The emotions were still a tangled mess in her chest, but now her brain had reached its limit. She signed softly, closing the journal and pushing it aside. She laid her head on top of her desk, wishing the words would just get out of her head so she could lift the weight off of her chest, but it wasn't happening.