Always Been You- Eli Moskowitz

Chapter 29- Alliances

"What if i say the wrong thing?

What if im already the wrong thing?"

-Anonymous

~~*~~

Michelle woke to the sound of the front door opening and closing.  It was morning time and the light was seeping through the bends and breaks of the old window blinds, illuminating the dull and cluttered room that had clearly once been storage.

She sighed as she stared at the ceiling deep  in thought. Not even 24 hours before, she was sleeping at home in her comfortable bed with memorabilia that covered all of her walls. Now, she was in Johnny's extra bedroom with just her blanket and pillow for comfort.

But the Diaz girl could never complain. Johnny took her in when she felt the most alone and lost. That was more than she could ever ask of anybody.

She trudged out of bed and into the bathroom. After freshening up a bit, she walked into the dining room to find Johnny sitting at the table spitting out a  mouth-full of cereal milk and staring at something on his computer.

Michelle walked over quietly and looked over his shoulder while holding her breath. On the screen, was Facebook messenger open on a message from someone named... Ali? Regardless of who it was, she couldn't help the giggle that escaped her lips which startled Johnny so badly that he ended up spilling the rest of his cereal on the table.

"Michelada! What the hell are you doing sneaking up on a grown man like that?!"

Michelle slowly took a seat at the table directly in front of him and quietly mumbled a "Sorry."

"Hey, it's okay. Let me grab you a bowl so you can eat." Johnny said as he quickly cleaned up his mess and brought her a large container with a lid on it.

"Um? Is this not Yaya's container she brings you food in?" Michelle asked with an amused look on her face.

"Just eat your cereal Michelle," He replied in irritation.

Michelle laughed quietly to herself and poured a small amount of cereal and milk into the giant bowl Johnny had provided. As she busied herself with her breakfast, she kept her eyes on Johnny who had sat back down at the table and buried himself into his computer deep in thought.

After a while, when Michelle had finished her breakfast, Johnny finally looked up and realized that she was still watching him. He closed the computer slowly and squinted his eyes.

"Yes...Michelada?"

"Who's Ali?"

"Okay...don't you have some kids to harass at the dojo of yours today?" Johnny replied while grabbing both of their bowls and dropping them in the sink for later and walked into his room to change.

Michelle laughed again at the fact he would avoid the question as if his life depended on it. Living with Johnny won't be so bad.

~~*~~

Michelle walked into the empty dojo, dropping her bag and shoes near the front door before walking onto the mat. As she began to stretch, she heard some voices in the back room. Interesting. She thought she was alone.

Not too long after, the last person she ever wanted to see, walked out of the back room accompanied by Kreese himself.

Michelle's blood began to boil in a way that it had never done before. Her vision was starting to darken as the two made eye contact, not knowing what to expect from the other. She felt her hands begin to shake in anger and she took a step forward without even noticing.