In My Blood (Eli Moskowitz/Hawk FF) (Cobra Kai)

Chapter 44: All These Drama Issues**⚠️

An image of Robby and Zelena on a date pops into her head and a shiver of disgust runs down her spine. "Yeah, not happening Aisha.  But it turns out Robby had invited Ryan Carter to dinner too."

"Ryan Carter as in your father who just got released from jail without you knowing Ryan Carter?" Zelena hums to answer Aisha's blunt inquiry. "Yeah, see. I'm going to have to exchange some unkind words with Keene."

Zelena appreciates her long distance friend's interest in her life and tears up, missing the actual warmth of being in Aisha's presence. Misses her in the here and now. Actually seeing the flame in her eyes instead of just hearing it burn in her voice. Even FaceTime couldn't ever do it justice. "Well, um, basically he said I should talk to Ryan Carter. And I told that man that I didn't owe him anything and wasn't ready to have that conversation. We got ready to leave because it was just too weird to sit at a table I had very little interest in conversing with."

Aisha swirls the spoon in her milk around a few times, watching the red syrup mix with the white liquid until the entire cup becomes a Hubba Bubba stretched out shade of pink. "And then he had the audacity to say Eli is bad for me because Sensei called him Hawk and apparently he knows all about that." Her fingers run across her own hair, jaw slackening in surprise of the odd occurrence. "Sensei got involved to tell him to fuck off more or less and then the pair of them got into a literal brawl." Metal clangs against the side of the porcelain mug in absolute surprise. Absent dad versus absent dad. "I told Eli I wanted to leave and instead of helping he got into it with Robby and all of the noise got so loud," She can hear her best friend's voice get shaky on the other end of the phone. "I was taken back to those bad moments and had a panic attack."

A couple of seconds lie between the pair, just for good measure on Aisha's part. She didn't want to rush the conversation or interrupt Zelena if she had anything else further to offer. "And you are icing Hawk out because you really needed him and he had his head so far up his own ass, thinking he was protecting you by fighting Robby that he really left you out to fend for yourself." Zelena breathes out slowly in relief. She wasn't crazy. Aisha completely understood.

"Yeah."

"Okay so Hawk and Sensei Lawrence are idiots so why are you avoiding everyone else too? I've been getting texts from Sam and Miguel about why you're being so distant."

Zelena runs her hand across her hair again. "Same friend circle. Besides, if I talk about it Sam tells Mr. LaRusso about me seeing Ryan Carter and then my uncle finds out. If I tell Miguel- well he's sworn to honesty with Sam so by default he'd tell her and same thing happens."

"And not going to practice?"

"To avoid everyone and the growing shadow that is Kreese preparing to slaughter all of us at the tournament with that sick, evil smirk of his."

Aisha swallows hard, recalling the monster of a man she knows strikes fear into Zelena no matter how fearless she could sound and look. "Z, did you ever look into that therapist?"

"I looked into a therapist, called, got told I'd be put on a waitlist and never called another one." The pair of them know this honest revelation of information isn't good for Zelena, but neither of them says anything more about it. Aisha had told her a handful of times to go, especially following the unspoken trauma of her beating from Tory. "I know, Ish. I'm trying."

"I know, Z. But shutting them all out when you're going through something like this isn't good for you."

A softened sob escapes Zelena's tightly pressed together lips. "I- Eli reached for me in the car and I flinched away. All I could hear- all I can hear- are the chants and yells and scream, the chaos followed by an immediate, haunting silence. I feel like chaos just follows me." Aisha parts her own lips to say something else, but is interrupted by another cry from the other end. "I don't know if I flinched away from him because I was trying to protect myself from him or protect him from me. Both terrify me." Her body shakes and suddenly she's enveloped in a pair of arms that feel unfamiliar and familiar all at once.