The Cut That Always Bleeds | Cobra Kai

Chapter 2

A small sun ray snuck through the closed blinds and shined on Isabelle, causing her to wake up. Groggily, she rubs her eyes to shake off the last few drops of sleep. Beside her, Robby snored peacefully. The sight of him sprawled across his bed made her smile. It almost made her feel bad for having to wake him up.

"Robby," she whispered, trying to wake him up sweetly. "Robby, you have to wake up, or we'll both be late for school."

He let out a groan followed by inaudible grumbles into his pillow. This prompted Isabelle to reach over and shake him slightly.

She let out an exasperated sigh, "Robby, please wake up. I don't want to be late for school, and I have to drive you, which adds at least twenty minutes I need to account for."

Finally, Robby rolled over to face her.

"I don't have school," he murmured sleepily, pushing his hair back.

"Yes, you do. It's a weekday. Everyone has school, Robby. Now get your ass out of bed."

"Actually, um," Robby lets out a nervous laugh before continuing, "I, um, got suspended from school. For the rest of the week."

Isabelle stared blankly at him, seemingly calm. But Robby knew that she was anything but.

"It's barely been a month since school has started—a month. And you're telling me somehow you got suspended!?" she said through clenched teeth.

Robby cringed at her tone, "At least it wasn't during the first week."

She felt anger rise inside her before taking a deep breath and speaking, "I'm not your parent, so I'm not going to scold you. But I do care about you. And you worry me so much."

Robby looked down in shame. He felt regret fill him. While he didn't care about disappointing his dad or his mom, he did care about Isabelle's opinion of him. She was his silver moon shining down on him. Always there to help him and take care of him.

"I'm sorry for getting upset. It must be hard for you with your mom and dad. I know you aren't used to having a support system. But now I'm here for you," Isabelle said as she broke him out of his thoughts. She placed her hand gently on his cheek and smiled at him. "And I am not planning on going anywhere anytime soon."

Robby was in awe of her spirit. She always knew exactly what to say and do, inspiring him to improve and be a better person.

"Thank you," he breathed out. Their gazes met, her hand still cradling his cheek. She was close enough that he could count every freckle on her face; precisely 47 freckles dusted her cheeks and nose.

The moment broke when Isabelle jumped off the bed. "Well, even though you don't have school," she pointed at herself. "This girl does, so I am going to take over your bathroom quickly."

He watched as she quickly ran into his bathroom. Robby grunted as he lay back on his bed, his mind reeling from the last few minutes. Isabelle was making it impossible to try and get over her; instead, she was making him fall deeper in love.

~

"And my sensei doesn't think I'm ready to start kicking yet," Miguel spoke over the phone. Isabelle giggled at how peeved he sounded.

"He has a point. You can't just jump into kicking without learning the basics first; you'll just get hurt, and then you won't be able to do karate at all."

"How would you know?" he asked sarcastically.

She smugly replied, "I'll let you know that I am a black belt in Tae Kwando and Jui-Jitsu. I just choose to avoid conflict, so I don't go around beating everyone up."