Forbidden Things || Cobra Kai

86 Welcome Home

Frankie couldn't help but stare. She hated herself for it, but it was an indisputable fact that she would have to come to terms with. Whether she wanted to or not.

The scar that adorned Penelope's forehead wasn't very ghastly, but it was obvious. It sat above her right eyebrow, to the right, and traveled down the side of her face. It was about two and a half inches long, give or take, and it had a downward curve. It wasn't very wide, but not as thin as Hawk's scar nor as big as Sam's. If she had to continue comparing the scars, Penelope's wasn't fleshy in color but bright red.

And no matter how long Frankie stared at it, she couldn't believe it was there.

She didn't know what she was expecting would be revealed once the bandage came off. However, she'd hoped, at the very least, for something lighter, something faded, something not so visible. Or nothing at all.

It twisted her stomach into knots and made her ache. Again, it wasn't a hideous sight, but it didn't look right sitting on the face of a girl who'd done nothing to hurt anyone.

She was waiting for it to disappear, but she knew it never would.

"Is that everything?" Dad asked, effectively pulling Frankie out of her thoughts.

He was looking around the room, checking it over for anything that could have been missed and easily left behind. Everyone else followed suit, making a once over of the space they all had become accustomed to over the past handful of weeks. Frankie was tired of it and ready to leave it for good, which she was thankful they were finally doing.

Everyone but Penelope was holding a bag of some kind, including Hawk, who had offered to help get them out of there. It was so surreal, it felt like some kind of jailbreak.

"No, I think we're good, Mr. Harris," he said, holding a duffle bag.

It had been used to bring Pen a change of clothes, but was now filled with all the books that had been brought to her. He also had a backpack on his shoulders that held all the gifts and cards she'd received, including the big box of healing crystals Moon had gifted. He looked like a pack mule to Frankie, which was the only thing giving her tired mind a laugh at the moment.

Donnie had a binder in his arm that held all Pen's medical records, which he'd spent hours organizing, and a bag of things the doctor had given them for her recovery; meds for any pain she could find herself in, topical for the scar tissue, a booklet specifically for coma recovery. Meanwhile, Frankie had the pillows and blankets from home she'd brought for the nights she spent the night there. She was holding them against her front, waiting impatiently.

Penelope was delegated to only holding the stuffed animals that had been brought to her, which included a bright green frog, a teddy bear wearing a tutu, and a raccoon holding a slice of pizza. They filled her arms as she hugged them to her chest.

"Alright, then let's get going," Dad said, leading the way out of the room. Penelope and Hawk were right behind him and Frankie took up the end.

She watched the way Penelope walked with a little pep in her step, as if her feet had springs in them that were itching to bounce and jump and bound for the exit. She couldn't blame her, as the hospital was a lonely space, but she didn't know if it was more so for the girl who waited for her best friend to wake up from a coma or the girl who was in the coma whose friends were all in school for the better half of the day.

Hawk walked beside Penelope, talking to her seemingly about whatever crossed his mind. He was heedful not to mention karate, as it was now a sore spot for their family. So he told her about his classes, even making a joke about Donnie being his teacher that got her to silently giggle. He smiled at her each time he got her to do that little bob of her shoulders.