Can't Catch Me Now || Eli Moskowitz

003 The World

"I'm so glad you joined us tonight, KT," Beth said as she sat at the head of the table. Opposite of her, the seat was empty, Mr. Moskowitz away on a business trip. To her left, KT sat beside Eli and a steaming plate of ziti in front of each of them. "It's so nice having you over."

KT smiled brightly. "Thank you for having me."

Under the table, Eli squeezed her hand and she turned to him, planting a kiss on his cheek.

"Thank you for inviting me," she told him. She'd worn a pretty floral top in the spirit of spring sweeping in. Their joined hands laid on her jean-clad thigh, her new yellow high tops finishing off the simple yet effortlessly beautiful look. It wasn't only dinner with her boyfriend's mom, but the first time he was allowing her to see him since the incident with Cobra Kai. She wanted to make it memorable.

He didn't look bad with his head shaved, but she knew that it reminded him of what happened. It made him think of himself as weak, worse than before he was ever Hawk. KT knew that he was at an all-time low but didn't know how to make that better. She wanted to pull him out of the rut he was in, only to realize over and over again that only he could pull himself out, and only when he was ready.

The conversation went on to topics that had nothing to do with what all of them were avoiding. Beth asked about school and how they were doing, if KT's family had any plans for spring break, and of course about KT's upcoming track meets. Eli didn't speak a lot, occupying his time by eating the cheesy ziti his mom had made and getting up to get second helpings when he cleaned his plate. KT didn't mind talking a bulk of the time, listening intently when Beth talked about her work and a co-worker who was getting married.

As KT was sipping her lemonade, Beth took the opportunity to ask her son, "So, I saw Demetri when I was coming home."

"Oh," Eli let out softly. He nodded as if to confirm what she already knew. He glanced at KT, who was hearing about this for the first time. "Yeah, he came over to check on me."

"He's always been such a good friend to you," Beth said.

He nodded again and stared at his plate. "Yeah, he has. Though, he wanted me to join karate again."

The table fell silent as that fact hit everyone. KT stared at Eli's side profile as he refused to look at her, instead spending the time poking at his food. He looked so small, so tired. His figure was not only different in shape with the loss of his mohawk but also in his demeanor. Then she turned to Beth, who wore a thoughtful look.

"Well, Eli, I can only speak to so much of that part of your life," his mom started, watching him closely. "You wouldn't share a lot of it with me, you still won't, and that's okay... but I do know that you were really happy doing karate. Now, this isn't me telling you to jump head-first back into it, but maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea if you tried it again. But you do what you feel is right, okay? Don't let Demetri talk you into it just because he's doing it."

"Yeah..." Eli said, a little rushed. It was obvious he didn't want to talk about it anymore. He kept glancing at KT now and again to see her reaction, but she wore a neutral face. She didn't want to sway his decision in any way.

She put her hand on his back and rubbed it gently. "Take it all one day at a time. There's other sports, too."

He nodded and shoveled a spoonful of ziti into his mouth.

~
After dinner, Eli walked KT to her car. He was in a pair of thick sweatpants, a plain tee shirt, and a gray jacket. He had the hood pulled up over his head just to walk out of the house but KT didn't say anything about it. He was comfortable like that and she wasn't going to burst that bubble.