LXI. Heartbreak Weather

Odessa often thought about her relationship with the Larusso family before the rumor about her spread around school. Her and Sam were close, best friend close, and she looked up to Daniel and Amanda as if they were her own parents. She even loved Anthony, who at the time was too young and addicted to his Ipad. She grew up with them. Then it felt like they were strangers to her. Sam chose to stay friends with Yasmine. Their sleepovers ended. Odessa stopped going over to the Larusso home and chose to stay cooped up in her own.

But then Sam got a taste of what it was like to be her for a day. She went through the same things Odessa endured for years. But getting even with someone wasn't in Odessa's nature. If anything, it made her want to help Sam. Help her to understand why being friends with people like Kyler and Yasmine could ultimately destroy you. And after what seemed like forever, Sam finally understood. Their friendship was better than ever.

Upon calling her about Daniel being attacked by Silver, Sam went over to the girl's house. "I'm really sorry about your dad, Sam." Said Odessa and she placed a bottle of water on the kitchen table.

Sam grabbed the bottle. "I've just never seen him so. . . down," she spoke with a heavy frown on her face. "This Silver guy is fucking up his entire life and I don't know how to help him."

Odessa sat in the chair beside her. "I think what your dad needs most right now is his family. He needs you and Amanda to be there."

But Sam only shook her head. No,  there had to be another way. "He got back into karate because he wanted to help the kids in the valley. Now it's karate that's ruining his life. How messed up is that?" She said with a scoff.

"I know this is hurting you guys and I'm really sorry. I think the best thing right now is to remind your dad that he has people that love and care for him. He has people that want him to get better. I know my mom'll fight tooth and nail to make sure Silver goes down.  We all will, I promise." She assured her. She put her hand on her arm and gave it a small squeeze.

Sam's blue eyes shined with tears. "How do you do that?"

She titled her head. "Do what?"

"How are you so good at making people feel better? You've been through more hell than any of us and yet you still have a good heart. I don't understand."

Odessa chuckled warmly. "I think I just try to remember what I have in my life. I used to think I had nobody, that was I alone. But I have my mom. And I have Eli. And I have all of my friend. I'm not alone anymore, thanks to all of you."

Johnny was still processing the conversation he had with Thalia. He processed it all the way to the next morning when he was contemplating getting in his car and driving to Christian's apartment. For a minute, he made the decision not to go. Even if Thalia was right, he was a grown man. He couldn't make his own decisions. And he didn't want to see Christian. Not like this. Until he got a call from Amanda, telling him that Daniel had been attacked, and then everything changed.

When they were in high school, hardly anybody could understand why Johnny and Christian were friends. Johnny was a bully, a "tough" guy, someone who got a laugh out of picking on others just because he was a Cobra Kai. Christian was the goody guy. He was goofy. He was nice to everyone. The class favorite even if he was apart of Cobra Kai. But Christian was hardly considered a Cobra Kai. He was just a boy who did karate.

At first, Daniel wasn't sure what to think about Christian. He was in Cobra Kai, his best friend was the person he tried to make his life miserable, but he never made an effort to try and pick on him. Which confused him. But Christian was good. So he didn't know why he was part of Cobra Kai.

Johnny had seen his best friend kicked when he was down by Kreese more times than he should've been, and now Daniel was at his lowest. He figured the only person who could truly help was Christian himself.

With a sickly feeling in his stomach, Johnny knocked on the door and a minute later, Christian revealed himself. His eyes blinked furiously, shocked by what he was seeing. "Johnny."

Oh god. This was a mistake. "Hey, Chris." Jonny uttered apprehensively.

"Wha—Uh,  what are you doing here?" Christian stammered, still handing in the doorway.

He wanted to back out at that moment and just run away, but it was too late now. "Wanna go grab a beer?"

Odessa had called a meeting. Everyone gathered in her backyard and she sat with her legs crossed on the pool chair. Eli sat behind her, braiding her hair. "Okay guys, we need to figure out a way to help Daniel." She announced to them all.

Oliver, who was lying on the grass with his hands behind his head, soaking up the sun even though he couldn't tan, spoke up, "I suggest we just kill Silver. Then it'll all be over."

Demetri rolled his eyes. "We can't just go around killing people. This isn't Pulp Fiction." He sat on the edge of the pool.

Grayson, who was basically falling asleep from lounging out on the pool float, sighed loudly for all of them to hear. "It'd be so awesome if it was."

"What if we can't help him, Dess? I mean, we know that Silver and him have a fucked up past." Eli spoke. He shook out her braided hair that he just did and started over again. He'd done it three times already.

She sighed. "I know, but, this isn't just affecting him.  It's affecting Amanda. It's affecting Sam and Anthony. They feel like they're failing him. I know what's it like to want to give up fighting.  I don't want him to just give up."

From the chair beside her, Hailey lifted her head. "Isn't this why we quit karate, though? To get away from all of this shit?" She asked.

"Technically, we didn't quit. It got shut down." Said Oliver with his finger pointed in the air.

She mocked him.

"While that's a good point, think about why we joined in the first place," said Eli and he paused his braiding to look at them all. "We, or at least I, got into karate because I was tired of being bullied. I wanted to make something out of myself. Even though I lost myself for a little bit I picked myself back up." He kissed his girlfriend's shoulder. "So, come on. Why'd you all join?"

The group of friends silently looked at one another, thinking about his question. "To find myself again." Odessa answered. She leaned herself back against him.

"Cause of Miguel. When he beat the shit out of Kyler in the cafeteria, it was fucking awesome." Oliver thrilled and sat up from the grass.

"I was tired of being bullied, too. I wanted to learn to stick up for myself." Demetri answered. He looked to his boyfriend and half smiled.

"So I could beat people up with permission." Hailey answered with her usual vicious smile.

"Cause all of you guys were doing it." Said Grayson. When they awed, he waved his hand. "Aww, stop."

Odessa chuckled. Eli cracked a smile. "See? We all have different reasons for why we joined karate but we all had the same goal. We wanted to get better. We wanted to put an end to all the bullying. Silver is a bully and Daniel's the victim. We need to help him." 

When he was done, they all went silent. Oliver hummed and Demetri smiled widely. "Go, Eli."

Grayson lowered his sunglasses and sniffled. "Wow,  that almost brought a tear to my eye." He said and pretended to wipe his eyes.

"I thought that was great." Said Odessa and she looked at him over her shoulder. "I'm proud of how far you've come.

Eli smiled at her, softly, and full of love.

"Now, if we're going to help Daniel, we need help from everybody. So, start spreading the word."

Awkward silence. That's all there was. It was in the car ride to the bar and it was there in the bar. Johnny sat across from Christian with his glass of beer clutched tightly in his hand. Christian sipped from his simple glass of water. "You sure you don't want one?" Johnny offered and held up his glass.

Christian cracked a smile and waved his hand. "No.  No, uh—" he reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out a bronze chip. He laid it on the table.  "I've been sober for over a year. I mean, I can have one, but, I just find it better not to." He explained.

"Wow.  Uh. . ." Said Johnny. "That's, uh — that great, Christian. Congrats."

"Thanks." Christian said back and put the chip back into his pocket. "So, uh, what's up?"

"What do you mean?"

He laughed slightly. "Well, we had that awkward encounter at Thalia's. You yelled a little bit. Then you show up at my house and ask me to go out for a drink even though we haven't spoke in years. Which I know is my fault but. . . What's going on, John?"

Johnny flinched. He hadn't heard that nickname since the last time they talked. "Uh. . ." He didn't know what to say. "This is awkward."

Christian nodded again with a laugh. "Just a little."

"I just. . . Thalia thought it was a good idea for us to go out." Said Johnny and he took another awkward pause. He took a large swig of beer, desperately needing it. Along with another.

"Oh. Thalia thought it was a good idea?" He questioned, emphasizing her name.

"Well, uh — I thought it was a good idea, too. I. . ."  Johnny groaned and rubbed his face. "Dammit, why is this so hard? It was never this hard."

"Because we were best friends," Christian spoke with a sad grin. "Now things are different."

"They didn't have to be different. You didn't have to disappear like that. You could've come to me."

He shook his head. "I was in a really bad place,  Johnny. The lowest point in my life. I felt like I had nobody,"

"But you had—"

"I know I had you." Christian interrupted. "I had you, my wife, and my daughter but when I tell you I felt alone, I felt so alone." He sucked in a deep breath. "Believe me, there wasn't a day that went by where I wasn't thinking of any of you. I'm so sorry I did that to you Johnny but I'm here now. I want to make things right, especially with Odessa."

It was hard for Johnny to sit there and listen to it when he spent so much time being angry at Christian for leaving. His best friend for so many years just vanished. At the worst time in Johnny's life, he wished that he had his brother to be there with him. He, too,  felt like he had nobody. Of course he understood. But now Thalia was back in his life and Odessa meant a great deal to him. He was protective over them both. He understood just how much more difficult it was for them and it only made him more angry. 

But he was also a father. They shared that in common.  Johnny spent so much time trying to get Robby to forgive him for his abandonment and now they their relationship was healing. That's all Christian was trying to with Odessa. "She loves you, Chris. She misses you. So does Thalia."

Christian scoffed slightly to himself. "I don't think she does."

"You haven't been here to see her cry over you. You hadn't seen her struggle because you weren't here. She misses her father, Christian. She'll forgive you." Johnny proclaimed.

His eyes began to water.

"And Tal. . . I never thought I would ever see her again, to be honest. She kind of just showed up one day. But even then, I could tell how much she missed you. She's always going to love you. I mean, she's a wreck." Jonny continued. "Thalia's my best friend, Chris. And I love Odessa. But I can never replace you. I'm not gonna try try,  either. She needs her father. You just need to be there for them. So don't disappear again cause it'll ruin them both."

Christian sniffled and wiped his eyes. "Jesus," he muttered and sipped the water from his glass cup. "I'm sorry about us, John."

Johnny shook his head. "Don't—"

"No. Really, I am. I feel guilty every single day. You were my best friend. You got me into karate. You let me stay at your home even though I knew how much of struggle it was for you. You were my brother and I just threw it all away. I'm so sorry."

For so many years, Johnny was waiting for this conversation. He wanted to hide away and pretend that he was over it up deep inside he missed his best friend. He needed the brotherhood back. "It's okay, Chris. We're okay."

Christian's smile wavered. "And I'm happy they've had you. I'm really glad Thalia's had the support. And Dess, thank you for being there for her. I always knew you two would find each other someday."

Like fate, Johnny and Odess were meant to find each other in that dojo. They were meant to be there for one another, for him to care so much for her and for Odessa to make him into a better person. She was Christian through and through. "She's a really great kid. I love her to death." He admitted. "Which is weird to say. I hate the L word."

Christian chuckled. "I know."

Johnny swirled the half full glass in his hand. He stared at the swishing liquid. "So, uh. . ." He started to say. "I lied."

Christian titled his head. "Huh?"

"I did bring you here for a reason. It's about Daniel."

"Daniel Larusso?" He repeated the name. He smiled slightly. "Haven't heard that name in a long time. How is he?"

"Not good right now. He needs held, Chris. And I think you know exactly how to do that."