The Cut That Always Bleeds | Cobra Kai

Chapter 23

Miguel hung up the phone after speaking with his mother, a mix of emotions swirling in his chest. He felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude toward Sam and Isabelle for organizing the fundraiser, which had provided him with the money for phone calls and a better lawyer. Johnny had also chipped in, giving his mom enough to secure the services of an attorney who managed to reduce his sentence. Now, instead of serving three months in juvie, he would be released in just one. But as much as he appreciated their efforts, a deep ache settled in his heart whenever he thought of Isabelle. She had respected his request and stopped trying to call or visit him, but that only made the pain sharper. It was his own doing—he had pushed her away, believing it was the right thing to do—but the loneliness that followed was almost unbearable. Every night, he replayed memories of her in his mind, clinging to the hope that maybe, someday, he would be worthy of her love. That thought was the only thing keeping him from breaking down completely, the only light in the darkness of his current reality.

~

Isabelle was bored out of her mind, lying on her bed, staring at the ceiling fan spinning around in circles. Her dad had her on strict bed rest, which meant no phone, computer, TV, reading, working out, and, worst of all, no dancing.

"Ugh," she groaned, rolling onto her stomach. She desperately needed to get out of her room, so she decided to go on a walk. Getting up and sneaking out of the house was much easier than expected. Her father was utterly immersed in playing the piano, which was easy enough to avoid due to the huge mansion they lived in. She ran across the street with a final look behind her to make sure no one was following her. The screeching of tires was heard, a split second later, she felt a hard impact against her side, sending her sprawling onto the road. Dazed, Isabelle clutched her head, trying to steady her vision. Fortunately, she hadn't hit her head, but the whiplash wasn't doing her concussion any favors.

A car door slammed, and before she could react, hands gently lifted her to her feet. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry! I didn't see you, and I tried to stop, but it was already too late," the driver rambled nervously. "I didn't mean to. Are you okay? Do you need to go to the hospital? You're not talking. Are you dead? Oh my god, I just killed someone. I'm a criminal... I'm going to go to jail—"

Isabelle, still disoriented, slapped her hand over his mouth to stop the barrage of frantic words. "I'm not dead and you're not gonna go to jail," she snapped, annoyed by his rambling. "You can make it up to me by dropping me off at the beach. Deal?" With her head finally clearing, she extended her hand for him to shake.

The driver, still a bit flustered, shrugged and shook her hand. "Sure. My name's Conan, by the way," he said as he guided her to the passenger side of his car. "Can I know the name of the girl I almost ran over?"

Isabelle couldn't help but giggle at Conan's abrupt shift in demeanor. Just moments ago, he was on the verge of a nervous breakdown, and now he was acting calm and collected. "My name's Isabelle."

The drive to the beach was filled with comfortable silence, both teens enjoying the music playing.

Conan eventually cleared his throat, breaking the silence, "So... mysterious girl who was obviously running away from something considering she couldn't look both ways on the street... what're you running from?"

"I thought we established me almost getting run over was your fault," Isabelle teased, rolling her eyes. "And I was sneaking out of my house. My dad has me on strict bed rest due to my concussion." Conan slammed on his breaks, forcing their bodies to lurch forward and strain against their seatbelts.

"You have a concussion?" he exclaimed, turning to look at her with wide eyes filled with concern.

Isabelle winced, feeling another headache coming on, "Yes, I do. And your little stunt didn't help the situation."