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TORY NICHOLS STARED AT THE CEILING OF HER DARKENED ROOM, her breath coming in uneven, shallow bursts. The clock on the bedside table blinked mockingly: 1:47 AM. She turned on her side, pressing her face into the pillow, hoping that sheer willpower could silence her mind. But the harder she tried, the louder her thoughts became.
Images from the week replayed like a relentless loop. Her fight with Robby when she defeated him. The moment she'd unintentionally contributed to Cobra Kai's defeat. The crushing weight of her team's disappointment was still fresh. y/n's furious attack afterward, each word cutting deeper than any strike ever could, and the sight of everyone rushing to support her. Not the blonde... And of course, the last-minute twist of fate.
The trolls on social media hadn't held back, either.
Her phone buzzed earlier with notifications she'd foolishly checked. "Fraud," "traitor," and worse were flung her way in comments and posts. Zara Malik's glare from across the lobby, sharper than any knife, flashed in her mind. It was like the entire world had turned its back on her, and she was standing in the middle of a battlefield all alone.
And then, there were y/n's parting words: "Winning could've saved someone's life."
The phrase echoed in her head, unrelenting.
Tory sat up abruptly, throwing off the covers as if they were suffocating her. She pulled her knees to her chest, staring into the dim room. The rawness of the girl's voice when she said it haunted her. Someone's life?
Her thoughts shifted to her mother, a deep ache unfurling in her chest. Tory had fought tooth and nail for the captaincy spot, driven by a single-minded purpose: to make her mother proud. It had been her beacon, her anchor through the chaos of her life. But now, as she sat alone in the stillness of her room, the truth came crashing down on her.
Her mother was gone.
Winning or losing wouldn't bring her back. The damage had been done. Nothing could change that.
The blonde let out a shaky breath, her fists clenching around the fabric of her shorts. "What's the point?" she muttered to herself, her voice barely audible. She had spent so much time chasing something that no longer mattered. And for what? To please Kreese? To prove herself to people who didn't even care anymore?
Her mind unexpectedly drifted to Kwon.
She wasn't his biggest fan. He was cocky, arrogant, and could get under her skin faster than anyone else on the team. But she couldn't deny that she had grown to tolerate him, even admire him in her own quiet way.
