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Kalina Laura Lawrence felt free. She felt at peace for the first time since she first met Miguel, she genuinely believed that her decision to join Miyagi-Do Karate was the best choice she made. She had received a message from Miguel about her decision but ultimately he accepted her choice and promised he wouldn't let the opposing feud destroy their friendship. Kalina tried to fight back the feeling of doubt by Miguel's words, she didn't trust Kreese not to get in the boy's head the way he did with her father.

However, Hawk didn't share those sentiments, the boy was fuming because it placed more distance between the two of them and formed a closer bond with Demetri. He was restless with the knowledge that she had kissed him back and yet, instead of ending things with Demetri like he hoped she would, it only made the rift between them stronger and it killed him inside as he stared down at the thorned rose tattoo upon his wrist ─ The symbol of his love with Kalina.

Kalina hadn't had a proper conversation with her father since the change, the two exchanged simple greetings when they passed one another but their former bond had quite the troublesome rift between them in the form of John Kreese. But of course, there was still one thing drowning within Kalina's mind: the kiss she shared with Hawk. She was beyond angry with herself for melting in the moment, she knew that telling Demetri was the right thing to do but she couldn't bring herself to say it ─ 'cause it makes it real.

And as she threw punch after punch into the hanging bag in front of her, standing alone in the dojo with hot tears streaming sneakily down her cheeks, that feeling of freedom faded out into a feeling of dread and goodbyes. In her rage, she said her goodbyes to the girl she was before, goodbye to the boy she had fallen in love with, goodbye to the bond she shared so closely with her father, goodbye to the cobra and finally, goodbye to the one thing that held her back ─ Herself.

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Kalina was cleaning through her room when a sudden knock pulled her from her thoughts, she turned her head to see her father leaning on the door frame. "What's going on?" Johnny asked after clearing his throat, he noticed some of her things in boxes and feared she would be leaving though he wouldn't blame her. "I'm, uh─I'm not leaving," Kalina told him as she ran her fingers through her hair. "Oh, that's... good," Johnny replied awkwardly despite being happy she wasn't leaving.

"I'm just going through my things and getting rid of a lot of it, making some changes... Sensei─Mr LaRusso said that going through my personal space would help me clear my mind and remove the clutter both physically and mentally," Kalina explained to her father as she turned back to her desk, she picked up a porcelain dog and smiled at it. "I remember when I bought that home for you... you wanted a dog but I─I refused to let you and that made you happy," Johnny said with a small smile.

"It was the first time you came home sober... That's why I kept it. It was a reminder that underneath that alcoholic, there was my father," Kalina replied with her back to him, she turned slowly to look at him and she took notice of the sadness in his eyes knowing she was right. "Yeah... Uh..." Johnny cleared his throat before scratching the back of his neck. "I'm going away for a night... It's Tommy," Johnny told Kalina who frowned.

"He's not gonna make it, is he?" Kalina asked, she missed the guys despite the fact she has only meet them a couple of times in her life. "No, I don't think so," Johnny answered. Kalina let out a slow breath before walking towards her father, she wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head against his chest. Johnny froze for a moment before securing his arms around his daughter's shoulders, he leaned his head on top of hers and closed his eyes.

"Give him a night he won't forget, dad. And be sure to give him a hug from me, tell him I'll never forget my Uncle Tommy," Kalina told Johnny as she fought back the tears, she had to be strong for her father ─ she could cry after he left. "I will, alright. You can stay here if you want or Carmen has offered to let you stay there," Johnny told her as he pulled back, he smiled at her before grabbing his bag and leaving the apartment.

A lone tear fell down Kalina's smooth cheek, her blue eyes were glossy as she pulled out her phone and stared down at four contacts ─ Lover 'Metri, King Miggy, Wonder Brother and finally, Douchebag. She wasn't sure who to call and more so, she was pissed for even considering Hawk as a potential shoulder to lean on after what happened. She even assumed that Hawk was behind the attack on Miyagi-Do Karate considering it was the same night he was dumped by Moon and the same night she walked out on him.

Before she could make a decision, her phone began to play Broken Strings by James Morrison and Nelly Furtado ─ considering her ringtone changes based on how her week is going ─ and as she stared at the screen showing King Miggy she decided that fate chose for her. "Hey Miggy," Kalina spoke into the phone before sitting down on her bed. "Don't hang up..." Hawk's voice came through the phone causing Kalina to tense up.

"What do you want, Hawk?" Kalina asked harshly, though her voice broke. "I needed to hear your voice..." Hawk told her as he leaned back in the corner of the dojo away from everyone, their fight running on repeat through his head. "Well, you heard it now... bye," Kalina went to pull the phone away when Hawk's next words stopped her. "If you hang up, I'll tell Demetri what happened," Hawk threatened bringing tears to Kalina's eyes.

"Blackmail? That's what you're doing now?" Kalina asked trying to mask the hurt with anger but Hawk could hear the strain in her voice. "I, uh... I hate this," Hawk told her in a quiet voice, she knew he was clearly in the Cobra Kai dojo which is why he got access to Miguel's phone ─ At least, she hoped that Hawk helped himself to the phone rather than Miguel allowing him the access. "You don't think I hate this too, Hawk?! No one asked you to let this flipped script turn you into an asshole or a bully... you did that yourself," Kalina told him.

"Kalina..." Hawk breathed out but Kalina shook her head before closing her eyes, leaning her head back as tears flowed down her cheeks. "We can't do this to each other anymore, Hawk... This is bad, it's becoming toxic between us, and I--I'm with Demetri," Kalina told him through the tears, she didn't want to fight the pain anymore ─ She needed to face it so she could move on. The two were silent save for the heavy breathing of pain, heartbreak and broken strings before Kalina spoke up, "Goodbye Eli..."

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Kalina was laying in bed when her phone began ringing, she fought within her mind on whether she should answer or not considering she spent the rest of the day ignoring everyone after her call with Hawk. The phone continued vibrating against the desk as the chorus of Broken Strings echoed as a reminder of her conversation with the lost Moskowitz. Finally deciding she knew the chorus off by heart, she picked the phone up and read her father's name causing her to take a deep breath.

"Hey dad," Kalina greeted with a small frown, she was worried about the reason behind his call. "Hey pipsqueak," Bobby Brown's voice came through the phone bringing a wide smile to Kalina's face. "Uncle Bobby!!" Kalina cheered through the phone before sitting upright on her bed. "We're here too, ya know!" Jimmy spoke up with a chuckle. "Uncle Jimmy! Uncle Tommy!" Kalina cheered with teary eyes as she heard Tommy laugh.

"Your dad's been telling us everything, kiddo," Tommy spoke causing Kalina to falter slightly, she knew that they would've discussed everything like they were a group of gossip hens. "Yeah, it's been quite crazy," Kalina replied to them with a slow breath. "Well, all that aside, Pipsqueak. That Gi of mine was a good suit on you, it sucks that you aren't wearing it anymore," Bobby told her. "Well, I've got it safely put away in a glass case. I'll be looking after it despite the changes," Kalina told him with a smile, her eyes landing on the case.

The guys updated Kalina about the bar fight they all got into and warned her about Kreese, which she was glad they were warning her father knowing that would cement doubt into his head and cause him to take a second glance at Kreese. After a while, it got quiet between all of them and Kalina knew what was coming, she had this gut feeling that this would be her last conversation with Tommy.

"Hey kid," Tommy spoke as shuffling sounded on the other side of the phone, she assumed the others left Tommy alone. "Yeah, Uncle Tommy?" Kalina asked as she blinked back tears. "You've done so good looking after your dad, he got so lucky with such an angel like you," Tommy told her, she sniffled at his words. "Johnny is... so damn proud of you, Kali... He just hasn't learnt to express that to you but he is. And so am I. You follow your heart above everything else, you hear me?" Tommy told her sternly.

"I will, Uncle Tommy. Thank you for everything... the stories, the gifts and the laughs. I'm gonna miss you," Kalina told him choking back a sob. "I'm gonna miss you too, kid. Never forget Kalina Laura Lawrence... You are strong, follow your heart and hold on to sixteen... life's short so be sure to live it up," Tommy told her. "Always Tommy... Goodbye," Kalina whispered before Tommy hung up the phone leaving Kalina to let the tears out. And the next morning she'd receive a message telling her that Tommy had passed in his sleep.

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Rosemary Speaks

I am crying!! Ahhh, I was so scared to write this chapter because I never really discussed the importance of the OG Cobra Kai's to Kalina. I feel like I should've done more than just her taking the legacy of Bobby's Gi. But I knew I had to add this to the story...
R.I.P sweet Tommy!

Also... what are people feeling about Hawks's actions? I know they had quite the fight but I needed to show that Eli is still in there somewhere.

Also, I'm Already There by Lonestar was playing and now I'm broken...

See you in the next chapter!