Lost in Hollywood

Absolute Certainty

Sky got home from the hospital a couple of days before Christmas.

The concussion was supposedly healing okay, but she still felt unsteady on her feet and tired all the time. And not just the regular kind of after-a-long-day-tired. She was fucking exhausted. She felt like a vampire had sucked her bloodless, leaving behind only a hollow, strengthless shell.

But hey, things could be worse - the doctors had said she was lucky to be alive at all. That hit in the head could have easily killed her.

Lucky indeed.

As Sky lay on her bed in her Hello Kitty pajamas, scrolling through Insta, she didn't feel that lucky. Here she was, her head still bandaged and aching, her face and body bruised and battered and overall feeling like crap - while all her friends seemed to be having the time of their lives. Sam, Demetri, and Miguel had all posted photos from their training session at the Miyagi-Do dojo, and seeing those made Sky silently wish that Tory would have hit her a bit harder.

Everything was ruined.

She had wanted to join Eagle Fang. She had been super excited about joining forces with the Miyagi-Do, about the possibility to train with not only Johnny and Miguel but Sam and Demetri and Mr.LaRusso too—

But now?

There was a black hole at the place of her heart.

Miguel had posted a photo where he had thrown an arm over Hawk's shoulders, pulling him into a brotherly embrace. Both boys had wide, carefree smiles on their faces, and that felt like a dagger through Sky's breastbone.

Nothing was going to be like she had thought.

Her eyes searched Hawk's face in that photo. Every familiar feature was another stab to her chest. His mohawk was sharp and even taller than she remembered, the red spikes immaculately arranged. His blue eyes, his smiling lips— She could almost hear his laughter, the dry, sudden, unapologetic sound of it.

So Hawk was an Eagle Fang now too.

She would have to see him every day. She would have to watch him train, to hear him talk and laugh, she would have to endure his presence—

How the fuck am I supposed to do that?

How was it going to be possible, when even seeing his photo on Insta made her want to rip open her chest and cut out her heart so that this pain would fucking end already?

With a jolt came a sudden flash, a piece of memory maybe, of herself lying on the floor of the LaRusso home dojo, and Hawk there, his face hovering over her, his eyes wide with fear, and her own voice telling him to get the fuck away from her, the fuck away from her—

"Sky, there's someone to see you," Dad's voice interrupted her troubled thoughts and Sky looked up from the phone. Dad was standing in the doorway, his hands in his pockets, and next to him was Cody.

A sudden guilt flashed through Sky's heart as she quickly closed Instagram and sat up. She hadn't seen Cody since that night in the hospital a couple of days ago - and sure, she had been sick and tired and hurting, and she hadn't wanted anyone to visit but—

I should have at least called him. Instead I'm stalking my ex on my phone like a pathetic loser.

"Hey—" Cody said, running a nervous hand through his dark hair. "I'm sorry I didn't call— I just... Can I come in? And it's okay if you don't want to, if you're tired—"

"It's fine," she said, forcing a smile on her lips. "I'm glad you're here."

Dad made a face, but let Cody pass him in the doorway.