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Johnny couldn’t push himself up. His limbs were shaking too hard. He could see the feet of Mr. Miyagi and LaRusso walking away but by the time he could force himself to look up, they were already gone. He looked around at the broken glass and blood on the ground.
A loud noise had Johnny quickly covering his head but it was just Kreese’s car and suddenly he was gone too. Now he could see Dutch, standing there with arms crossed and a look of disgust on his face.
“I can’t believe I was friends with you. Fuck, you’re pathetic.”
Johnny watched him walk away before trying to push himself up. He’d never felt weaker, his stomach turning and each breathe painful. Tommy rushed over, still holding his bruising cheek as Jimmy finally moved from his frozen position and tried to help Bobby up.
The last thing Johnny wanted was help. Not after what had just happened. He’d tried his best god damn it! He had! He wasn’t the loser! He wasn’t a failure!
He tried to prove that, tried to push Tommy away but the nausea hit him and he quickly fell again.
“Fuck! Jimmy, where’s your dad! He was here tonight, where is he!” Tommy yelled. His voice was drowned out by Bobby’s cry of pain as Jimmy tried to pull him up as well.
He held his ribs, clearly trying to hold back how much it hurt. Guilt welled up inside Johnny. It was his fault. He’d done his best, but if he’d done better then his friends wouldn’t be suffering right now. He tried to speak, try to say sorry for failing them, all of them, but his throat hurt too much and his stomach just turned all the more.
“Jimmy!!!”
Johnny looked up to see his friend’s dad running over. When he saw that his son was the only one unhurt, he quickly went to help support Bobby. “Get in the car, we’re taking you to the hospital.”
Johnny stumbled into the back of the car. Bobby fell against him and Tommy forced himself into the backseat too. Jimmy’s father was asking questions with Tommy doing most of the talking. Jimmy may have been unhurt but he was so shocked that he still couldn’t say a full sentence without shutting down.
Bobby was having trouble breathing too but for different reasons. God, it was all Johnny’s fault! All the fucking damage he’d done. What a god damn screw up he was! Worthless and useless just like he’d been told.
All his plans, his goals, it was all up in flames and all Johnny could do was try and keep breathing evenly. When they were at the hospital, Johnny initially tried to fight it, tried to go back to his friends but they forced them into separate rooms. The fight left him and Johnny listened to what the doctor had to say.
“Be careful about talking for the next three to four days. And I wouldn’t eat any solid food for the next twenty-four hours. You’ll likely feel some nausea within those first hours but that’s normal. If you experience anything else, dizziness, fainting, memory loss, you should come back in immediately.”
Johnny nodded, the doctor’s words slipping through one ear and out the other. He’d taken off his headband, was ringing it in his hands as he forced air out his bruised throat. What about Bobby? What had happened to him? He’d had trouble breathing too and—
“Johnny!”
And suddenly his mom was there, hugging him so tightly and keeping him close like she always had. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Sid standing in the doorway and quickly buried his face into his mom’s neck.
“I…”
“No, no don’t worry about speaking. We’ve talked with the other’s, to Jimmy’s father. You don’t have to say anything,” she quickly whispered. She brushed his hair out of his face, kissed his forehead, wiped away the tears he couldn’t hold back from the pain.
“B…”
“Don’t worry sweetheart. I know. I know his parents are out of town. They’ve been in contact with the doctors and we’ll be able to take him home tonight.”
“Like hell we are!” Finally Sid spoke, stepping forward angrily. “I told you we weren’t—”
“We’re not leaving him alone after he's just gotten his rib broken!” Laura Lawrence shot back. As a nurse slowed down by the door, looking in worriedly, Laura quickly added, “It’s already been approved. There’s no backing out of it now.”
Sid’s face twisted in anger. “Just because you got approval doesn’t mean we’re done talking about it.” He looked ready to argue more but just then the doctor came back, speaking more with them both on what Johnny would need to do for the next few days.
“I also have the discharge forms for Robert Brown if you could just sign them,” the doctor added.
Laura quickly took them before Sid could cause more of a fuss.
Johnny hated that his mother’s defiance would end up causing problems but he was desperate to see Bobby, to make sure he was alright. He sunk away, taking advantage of the fact that he shouldn’t be speaking anyway so he could disappear into the background. Time passed slowly, almost as painful as his own throat.
Eventually his mother informed him that Tommy would be alright, just a bit bruised up, and finally he was discharged. In the lobby was where he finally saw Bobby again, being wheeled over by a nurse before he pushed himself to his feet with an uneasy breathe.
“Thank you Mrs. Lawrence,” Bobby got out before he took another shaky breath.
“No need for that Bobby. Come on, let’s get you boys home.”
Johnny’s nausea had gone down some and as he could handle himself now, he quickly went to support Bobby. They got into the back of the car, Sid deathly quiet the whole time. Once home, Johnny still stuck close to Bobby. He planned to go upstairs to his room but his mother gently pushed them into the living room, saying she didn’t want Bobby to exert himself anymore than he already had.
They ended up on the couch as Johnny’s mom brought in blankets and pillows, grabbed them glasses of water and turned on the TV.
“I’ll put on a movie. How about that tape you left here last time Bobby? Dune, isn’t it?”
“Johnny doesn’t like that—”
However, Johnny quickly shook his head and waved his mom to put on the film anyways.
“You sure?” asked Bobby.
Johnny nodded. He’d never been huge into the more nerdy shit that Bobby liked but sitting through a movie like Dune was the least he could do. It was his fault that they were in this situation. He’d deal with the movie for him.
“Alright, I’ll pop it in and if you boys need—”
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Sid suddenly interrupted. Johnny tried to sink into the couch as his step-father moved closer. “It’s bad enough these brats caused trouble and ruined our night but now you expect me to get enough sleep for my meeting tomorrow with them blasting their shit down here?”
“They were assaulted Sid! They didn’t—”
“You expect me to believe that after all the problems that have cropped up this year? You and I both know it was his damn fault,” Sid interrupted. “Which is good because it’ll save us from pressing charges.”
“That man hurt my son—”
“He gave that boy a needed beating. I should have done that a long time ago. He always needed discipline.”
“We’re not letting John Kreese walk—”
“I said we’re not pressing charges!” Sid yelled the words, effectively shutting down any retaliation. His eyes turned to Johnny and Bobby, narrowing as he growled, “Keep your shit down or else you’re out.”
He left the room, Johnny’s mom quickly following. It was easy to still hear them, Laura saying that there was no way that they’d kick Bobby out while Sid shut her down at every turn.
“I’m sorry,” whispered Bobby. “I’m just making it worse.”
“Y-you’r….n…” Johnny barely got out.
“I’m sorry.”
“Don…sa….th…”
“Fine, only if you stop trying to talk,” Bobby murmured.
Johnny nodded in agreement. Besides, Bobby didn’t have a reason to say sorry. It wasn’t his fault. It was all Johnny’s. He should have done better. He should have been able to protect his friends!
He jolted a bit at the sudden elbow to his ribs.
“Listen,” murmured Bobby, “I know you don’t like this movie but don’t get that lost in your head. Ok? Laugh at how nerdy I can be like you always do when we watch these kinds of movies or something at least.”
Johnny let a sarcastic laugh wheeze out of his lips in response.
Bobby’s lips quirked up as the tape continued to play past the trailers. Johnny almost felt like they were twelve again. They were just curled up on the couch, Bobby leaning against him so that he could keep his injured rib away from any unnecessary pressure.
The movie finally started to play and both eased up more. Part of Johnny wanted to pass out but the pain and adrenaline from the event had him in an odd feeling of pseudo-wakefulness. He remembered sitting in positions like this, on that very couch, only with Ali in his arms instead. He’d lost her, screwed everything up, probably lost his friends, lost the one thing that had given him purpose, that had made him feel strong. Graduating didn’t seem important anymore. Not that he’d really known what he wanted to do afterwards, but he’d thought he’d still have Cobra Kai, still have karate as a grounding point, as something to guide him.
Now that was lost, it was all gone.
Maybe it was the memories with Ali, the want for something to hold on to, the helpless feeling that he was going to lose Bobby too, that he’d blame him just as he should, maybe it was none of that or all of it that had Johnny wrapping his arms around Bobby. He just felt like this could be the last time he’d get the chance. Their friendship wouldn’t immediately break apart but Bobby would eventually see it was Johnny’s fault. He’d see how toxic Johnny was, how he’d ruined things for him, how he’d ruined things so easily with Ali, how all he did was cause more problems for his mom.
This could be the last time Bobby really thought of him as a friend so Johnny stopped being so stiff and wrapped his arms around Bobby’s shoulders and held—
“I thought I told you to keep this shit down!”
The TV had been just as low as before, the sound just as soft. There was no reason as to why Sid should have been there but he was and Johnny felt himself violently flinching back. That seemed to be the wrong move as Sid’s eyes only narrowed.
“What the hell were you doing? You telling me some son of mine is a faggot?”
Johnny wasn’t his son. He’d never been his son but he stayed silent instead of retaliating. Bobby tried though, holding his injured rib as he looked on with fear and confusion in his eyes. He said, “We were just watching the movie—”
“I see now why you were hit. You have no respect for your elders’ boy. You’ll speak if spoken to.” Sid’s eyes turned back to Johnny. “Are you a fucking faggot?”
Johnny quickly shook his head.
“Answer me.”
“N-n-o-no.”
“No what?”
Each word scraped against his throat. He could see Bobby ready to fight again, the words on the edge of lips but Johnny grabbed his arm and held him back. Johnny fought against the pain, getting the words out he thought his step-father wanted to hear.
“Is that all? Are you going to make me ask?” Sid growled.
“I…a-amm…no-n-not…ah…fa-agot…s-sir,” Johnny wheezed. He could feel the nausea coming back at having forced himself to talk. His own erratic breathing, the fear at wondering if that was enough, had him feeling sick and dizzy but Sid finally backed off.
“Good. Now turn that shit down. You won’t get another chance.”
Sid left again and for a moment, Johnny and Bobby remained frozen where they were. Then Bobby suddenly dived for the remote and just turned the TV all the way off.
“I get what your mom was trying to do but…”
Johnny just nodded in silent understanding and agreement.
“I should just…I should just go—”
Now Johnny was quickly shaking his head.
“I have a key to my house. I’ll just be—”
Johnny shook his head again. It was easy doing that, just letting Bobby make his own assumptions upon the meaning. But Johnny did it because he still felt like this could be the last time he could still call Bobby a friend. Even after his step-dad’s threats, he couldn’t let go just yet.
Gesturing upstairs, signaling that they should probably just go to his room, Bobby eventually nodded and they gathered up the blankets and pillows. They inched their way down the hall, hyper aware of what could happen if Sid heard them, and when they got to Johnny’s room, Johnny not only locked the door but placed his desk chair in front of it. It was probably stupid and perhaps he was overreacting, but it was the only way that Johnny really felt safe.
“Do you want me to sleep on the floor? I don’t mind,” Bobby tried.
Johnny shrugged in response. It wasn’t the answer he wanted to give but he felt it was the safer one. Johnny just went around and took his jacket and jeans off, climbing into bed in his boxers and t-shirt with the expectation that Bobby would probably just lay everything out on the floor and make his own bed. He’d done it plenty of times before.
However, Bobby got into the bed too. It was a bit small for two people but Johnny turned over and held onto one of the last good things in his life. It wouldn’t last. Either Bobby would leave or Johnny would really ruin it somehow. He knew he would. That was all he was good at.
He was weak, a loser.
That had never changed. His strength had only been his imagination. He hadn’t learned anything in the past years. The realization that he’d been failing all his life had just taken longer to understand.
Johnny grabbed Bobby’s arm, desperate to try and silently get across just how sorry he was for the pain he’d caused him.
The night wore on and as the adrenaline and fear started to fade, all Johnny could think about was how he hoped Bobby would just leave him. Johnny would rather remember one last, good moment between him and his friend, rather than having it end from his own toxicity and weakness.