XIX.                                             Heartbreak Weather

      Thalia Reid knew John Kreese well. Too well. Christian was apart of Cobra Kai and they were together for years, meaning she saw a lot. She made the crucial decision to let Odessa be apart of Cobra Kai because she trusted Johnny but that twisted was staring to deteriorate. "Wait, so, Johnny Kreese beat up Demetri?" Thalia questioned.

Odessa tied to strings of her blue bikini that she was wearing to the beach club. "Yes! And then he facetimed Eli and told him about it and Eli was treating him like shit." She told her mother with anger "I'm telling you, something's off about that man."

"Don't I know it," Thalia muttered. "He hasn't done anything to you, has he?"

Odessa turned to her mother, who was looking at her with a worried expression. "No, no, he hasn't." She responded. She slipped her bathing suit cover over her body and heard a loud horn honk from outside. "Oh, that Aisha and Tory. I'll be back later, okay?"

She quickly grabbed her beach bag and ran out of her room. "Have fun. I love you!" Her mom shouted.

The teenager peaked her head back into her room. "You're not mad at Johnny, are you?" She asked with a grimace.

Thalia scoffed and waved her hand. "Absolutely not." She said with a comforting smile.

"I am not happy with you, Johnny Lawrence!"

"Ooh, the formal name. This is going to be bad." Johnny said sarcastically while taking a sip from his beer can.

Thalia came storming into the dojo and stood in the man's office as he sat behind his desk. She was furious, visibly, which scared him a little. "I'm serious, Johnny. Odessa said he hurt a student. A child!" She emphasized.

Johnny man raised his hands slightly. "I'm handling it, Tal." He reassured her.

"What are you going to do when he hurts someone else? Someone like my daughter?"

"I would never let him do that."

She glared. "If he hurts any of my children, Johnny Lawrence, so help me I—"

Johnny quickly stood from his chair and walked over to her, placing his hands on his shoulders. "Thalia, breath. . ."

The woman stopped her sentence and stared at him before taking a big breath. She closed her eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I know you wouldn't allow it. I just keep thinking about all those years and what Kreese did to you,  what he made you and—" She paused and opened her eyes to see Johnny staring at her sadly. His head lowered to his feet. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring it up."

Johnny shook his head. "No,  it's okay. You don't have anything to worry about, Tal. This is my dojo. It's not like he can kick me out of it."

Thalia exhaled deeply and nodded. She trusted him. She did. She had to. Her eyes darted to the picture frame sitting on his desk. She remembered that day very clearly. She was the one who took the picture. "Sometimes I miss him so much, it hurts. Other times I hate to even think of him."

Johnny glanced at the photo of him and a young Christian. Before now, he had not seen Thalia in years. He couldn't imagine how hard it was for her dealing with the divorce and the struggle of being a single mom. "You're a strong woman, Thalia. Odessa's strong, too. You have nothing to worry about. I have it handled."

Thalia's smile wavered and she nodded. "I'm trusting you, Johnny Lawrence."

Odessa had been to the beach club many times. It was her favorite part of Summer. Seeing Tory's face as they walked inside the club was priceless. "Okay,  this is not the beach,"  she said as the girls stood on the balcony and observed everything. "Where are the homeless dudes on roller blades and the guy shoving shitty hip-hop demos in your face?"

"Don't worry. They'll come after they pass out the hors d'oeuvres." Aisha said with a laugh.

"Remind me to be in the pool when that happens." Said Odessa with a small chuckle. From below them, she spotted Sam and Robby lounging out on beach chairs by the pool. Great. She sent Sam a small wave when they met eyes. It was awkward. She figured it would be. It was her own fault.

Robby and her met eyes and she fought the urge to smile at him, remembering their last interaction. He said something to Sam and looked away.

Tory went to look around the club while Odessa and Aisha went to eat. She headed straight for the lobster rolls. "Hey." Sam greeted them awkwardly.

The two girls paused getting their food and looked at her. "Hey." Aisha said back with no emotion

"Hey, Sam." Odessa said with a small smile.

"So. . . how's it going?"

Aisha scoffed.  "You realize we're not okay." She spoke like it was obvious.

Sam shook her head. "What are you mad about? You guys are the ones who stomped all over our Valley Fest demo."

Odessa grew uncomfortable again. She awkwardly scratched the back of her neck.

"Only after your father attacked our dojo.  What were we supposed to do?"

"He didn't attack you guys."

"Snake in the grass?" Odessa butted in, her voice small, but she was on Aisha's side.

"Real subtle."  The girl scoffed.

"He's just trying to do the right thing." Sam defended her father.

"What? So Cobra Kais wrong?"

"It's not wrong. It's just. . ." They waited for her to continue. "What are we doing? It's our summer vacation. We're at the beach and we're fighting about karate?"

Aisha lightened up. "When we should be fighting about boys."

Sam chuckled.  "Or who's gonna get the last piece of pretzel bread."

Odessa smiled at them. At one point in time, the three of them were close friends. Their countless sleepovers caused them to grow closer as they got older. But something that would never change was that Odessa and Aisha were bullied and Sam was friends with the girl who bullied them. It was something she could never stop thinking about no matter what.

She looked past them and saw Robby laying back in his beach chair. "I'll be right back you guys."  She told the girls and walked off with a plate of food in her hand. Sucking in a deep breath, she walked to him. "Hey, killer."

At the sound of her voice, Robby lowered his sunglasses. "Odessa, hi." He spoke in slight shock.

She sat down in the chair beside him. Their was an awkward tension there. She didn't blame him for being mad at her. "How are you?" She spoke.

"Okay. Could be better."

She nodded. "I know you're mad at me."

"Mad?" He repeated with a slight laugh. "Why would I be mad?"

She titled her head. "Don't do that. I know what we did at Valley Fest was wrong."

"You didn't have to do it."

"I'm apart of Cobra Kai."

"So that stops you from doing the right thing?" He questioned and got defensive. "You're better than that."

"You don't know me." She quickly said, getting flustered. She cleared her throat.

Robby paused. His mouth opened to retaliate but he couldn't find an argument. Because she was right. He didn't know her like he thought he did. It caused him to back off a bit. "I'm sorry." He said with a sigh. "You're right. I don't know you like that."

The blonde girl hesitated. Her nails tapped against her exposed thighs. "I like lobster rolls." She blurted out and her eyes went wide.

Robby squinted his eyes and laughed. "What?"

She awkwardly lifted her plate that was full of lobster rolls. She held it out to him, indicating for him to take one. The boy smile and leaned up from his chair. He swung his legs to the side and picked one up. "So, I'm going to say something to you and it might be out of line, but I gotta say it." She began.

He looked suspicious. "Okay. What is it?"

Odessa sucked in a breath. "I know that Johnny's your father." When his mouth opened to respond, she quickly continued. "It's none of my business! I know that. I'm not judging you for it at all. Or looking at you differently. I just wanted you to know that I wouldn't use it against you. I don't want you to think of me like that."

He looked defensive again. He didn't like to talk about his dad. But she quick to tell him what she thought and she was nice. She was really nice. Robby relaxed and his mouth turned up slightly. "don't think I could even if I tried." He said out loud.

A smile curled up on her lips and she took another but of her lobster roll. She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and she grinned his way.

"How are you and that bird dude?"  Robby suddenly asked.

She laughed. "Hawk,  actually. I don't call him that though. I find it pretty stupid. But, we're doing okay, I guess. . ." She trailed.

"You guess?"

Odessa sighed. "He's just been acting different lately.  Like his attitude is going a full 180. Our friend,  Demetri, was assaulted by someone and all he cares about is him not being 'Cobra Kai material'." She air quoted.

Robby scoffed. "Wow. That's really shitty of him."

She nodded rapidly. "I know. And then when I try to tell him off about it, he yells at me! Makes me thing i'm doing something wrong,  like im his mom punishing him." She rambled on.

"You're not. You're a concerned girlfriend who cares about her friends.  He should feel lucky to have someone you."

Her face softened. He smiled at her. She got flustered again. "I'm glad we're talking again. No need for another introduction?" She teased and flashed him a white smile.

He laughed while shaking his head. "I don't think so.  Unless one of us does something wrong again. We'll have to wipe our old selves away." He followed along and waved his hand.

She beamed.

Odessa found her friends again and she saw Tory with them. "There you guys are." She announced herself with a smile. "Having fun, Tory?"

"Lots, actually." The girl expressed brightly.

Sam narrowed her eyes. "You know her, Odessa?" She asked the girl.

Odessa nodded. "Yeah." She noticed the tension between her and Tory. "Is everything okay?"

"Everything's great," said Tory. She showed her the bottle tucked away in her bag. She smirked. "What do you say, Odessa?"

Her eyes widened. "Really?"

She nodded.

Odessa looked to Aisha, who looked hesitant as well. "One won't hurt, right?" She questioned.

"Okay, one drink." Said Aisha, giving in.

Tory laughed. "That's my girls!" She wrapped her arms around them and they walked off.

"Are you and Hawk doing okay, Dess?" Aisha asked her blonde friend.

Tory's eyes widened. "Hawk? The one with the mohawk, Hawk?"

Odessa nodded stiffly. "That's the one. . . We're doing okay, I guess. I'm still really mad about what happened. It's like the old Eli is completely gone and he's turning into an asshole."

"Did he do something to you?" Tory asked and grew defensive.

She quickly shook her head. "No. He said something mean to one of our friends and when I tried to tell him off about it, he yelled at me. I know it sounds childish but he's been doing it a lot lately."

"It's not stupid. Your feeling are valid. If it hurts you,  it hurts you."

That made Odessa smile. Aisha then went into detail about the party they had at the cove and hat they did to Yasmine. "I split that bitch in two!"

"She did. I felt it." Odessa nodded and put a hand over her stomach.

"Hey!" Sam called out as she walked over to the laughing girls. "My moms missing her wallet." She directed at Tory.

Tory just laughed. "Sucks for her."

"Maybe it's in the lost and found." Odessa suggested.

Sam ignored her and glared at Tory. "You wouldn't know anything about that?"

Her face fell. "Wait, what are you saying?" Aisha butted in.

"Just give me the wallet and I won't tell security."

"Sam, she didn't take anything. We've been with her the whole time." Odessa explained and looked at the girl in surprise.

"Right. . . and she didn't steal a bottle of vodka? And you wouldn't steal half the silverware in here." Sam pressed on.

"Are you freaking kidding me?" Tory asked in disbelief and took a step closer to her. "Listen, I didn't rob your mom, bitch." She looked at the other girls. "You know what? Let's get out of here."

As she turned around, Sam grabbed her bag and tugged on it, making Tory whirl back around on instinct. "Get off of me!" She shouted and pushed the girl backwards,  making her fall into the table of food.

Odessa covered her mouth in shock as all the food coated Sam. Tory stormed off and Aisha quickly followed her. "Oh, my god. Sam, are you okay?" She anxiously asked.

"Real nice friend you made, Odessa." Sam snapped at her.

Odessa looked taken back. "You shouldn't have accused her. That's not like you."

"Oh, what would you know? We're not friends." The girl spoke brusquely and leaned on her elbows.

She frowned. She felt stupid. They weren't friends. They used to be but things were different now. Odessa didn't know Sam Larusso like she did years before. "You're right. We're not. You betrayed me. You betrayed Aisha, too." She told Sam. "You're not a good friend, Sam. You never were."

She left her there and Sam's face fell drastically.

She blamed her watery eyes on the breeze. The sun was staring to set. Odessa took a walk by herself to clear her head. She hated how naive she was. She was too nice. Too easily convinced. She now thought if her and Sam were ever friends to begin with. Was it all fake? Was Odessa the outcast in her own friend group? Did they hate her all along?

She was taken advantage of her entire life. She never thought she would be betrayed like she was. The world showed her no mercy. Maybe everyone was right.

When she walked down the steps of the wooden pier, she saw Robby being put into a chokehold. "Robby?  What's going on?"  she asked fearful and noticed two others guys standing around him.

One of the guys looked at her and laughed out loud. "Damn! This your girl, Robby? Holy shit!"

When she wasn't paying attention, the other guy came up and grabbed her. Odessa yelped our and tried to get away. "Get off me!" But the guy held her tightly to him.

"Hey! Take this out on me but leave her alone!"  Robby defended the struggling girl and tried to break free.

"You know, for a smart kid, you sure are slow." The other guy commented.

"Maybe we need to leave him something to remember us by." The guy that was holding Odessa said and used one of his arms to reach in his pocket and pull out a pocket knife. 

Her eyes widened in fear. "Let go of me!" She begged and continued to try and jerk away.

Robby grunted in the chokehold, fear in his eyes as he watched her panic. Suddenly, Mr.  Larusso dropped down from the pier and landed behind the boy holding her. He knocked the knife out of his hand which fused the guy to loosen his grip around Odessa. Immediately, she backed away from him. "Let them go."  Daniel demanded.

"Don't listen to him!" The Chris Brown wannabe objected. "Alright, grandpa, let's do it."

He swung at Daniel and the man ducked, his leg kicking the guy's stomach. The guy that was once holding Odessa came forward to strike him when Daniel took ahold of him and slammed his face into the wooden pier.

Odessa kicked one of them in the back and he stumbled forward. He reached forward to punch her and she grabbed his wrist, twisting it around and she flipped him over. Together,  Odessa and Daniel fought off the two guys while Robby was still held in place.  The guy threw the boy onto the sand and Odessa immediately ran to him. She dropped to her knees. "Robby! Robby, are you okay?"

"Yeah, i'm fine." He exhaled deeply while holding the back of his head.

The two watched Daniel fight off the older guy with ease. He kicked him in the face and knocked him unconscious with the other two. "Your grandpa know how to move like that, huh?" He taunted, making Odessa laugh. He looked over his shoulder at the teenagers.  "Come on. Let's go."

Robby turned to the girl by his side and saw her messy state. Her blonde hair was wild and she was breathing in and out heavily, her blue eyes scared and startled. "Hey, are you okay? I'm so sorry—"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm okay." She quickly said. She rubbed her red arms. "He just had a tight grip."

"You did great out there, Odessa." Daniel told her.

She smiled at the man she hadn't seen in such a long time. "Thank you, Mr.  Larusso. I should go find Aisha so we can head home." She looked up at Robby. "I'll see you later?"

He nodded his head and softly smiled. "For sure.

She said goodbye to them and walked off. She let out a long sigh, thinking to herself what Eli would say if he knew she was with them.

Later that night while Odessa was having dinner with her mom, Odessa received a text from Eli.

Eli 🤍
I hope you had
fun today.

pretty girl 💓
I did, 
I definitely needed it. 
thank you for
understanding. 

Eli 🤍
of course.  i'm sorry
again about how
I acted toward you. 

I sometimes forget
how much I take you for
granted. I won't ever
do it again. I promise

pretty girl 💓
Thank you, Eli

She smiled down at her phone as they texted when an unknown number texted her.

***-***-****
hey odessa,  it's robby. 

I hope you don't mind,  I
got your number from sam.

Odessa's eyes stared at the text and her stomach suddenly tightened painfully. She switched between the text from Robby and the text from Eli. She quickly texted back.

odessa
of course not!
glad to have you!

Note,  the tension is about to get thick.