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Johnny wraps an arm around himself, pressing his hand to his side, and whimpers as he tries to make his way from his car to the door. He leans against the side of his vehicle and he can see the door ahead. He knows that he can get there, but the pain is agonizing. He doesn’t remember how he even managed to get out of his apartment. He only knows that he managed to get away when Kreese and whoever those guys were had attacked him when he walked in the door. He has no idea who to tell or who would believe him. Everyone is just going to think he was in another bar fight. But he knows that Kreese won’t try to come after the LaRussos, not after he made such a big stink about Amanda being a threat.
He limps over to the door and tries to open it, but it’s locked. He frowns and he knows that he has a key, but he didn’t even take them from the car and now he’s standing here alone and in pain and he doesn’t know if he can do this much longer.
He thinks about ringing the doorbell. Daniel’s car is in the drive, but Amanda’s isn’t and he can’t remember them saying anything about going out. And he knows that Sam is with Aisha and Anthony was supposed to be with his friend tonight. It’s why they’d originally asked him over. And he’d said no because he wanted to stop looking so needy. And now he’s needy anyway and one of them is gone. He whimpers with the pain again and he knows that he has to get to someone now or he’s not going to be able to stand on his own two feet much longer.
He rings the doorbell and waits. When he hears the footsteps coming closer, he nearly weeps in relief. He takes a step back, trying not to look as bad as he feels so he doesn’t shock anyone. He takes a breath to try and tell either of the LaRussos not to panic but freezes when he sees Daniel’s mom there instead. “Uh… hi… Mrs. LaRusso, right?”
Lucille regards him with suspicion. “Who are you?” She looks him up and down. “You try anything, my husband and son are right upstairs and they’re not very nice.”
“Oh… no, Mrs. LaRusso.. I’m friends with your son and Amanda.”
“They’re friends with you?” She frowns. “Well, they’re not here. I can take a message.”
Johnny closes his eyes for a second and wills himself not to panic. “Can you please tell them Johnny stopped by. Actually, I might sit in my car and wait for them if-“
“Johnny who?”
“Lawrence, ma’am…”
Lucille narrows her eyes. “The little shit who beat up my Daniel back in high school?”
Johnny sighs and nods. “Yes, that was me. I’m very sorry about that. It’s really important that I-“
“Do you know how bad you hurt my son’s knee? Hell, you made the first half of his senior year hell! It’s bad enough that I had to move him across the country so I could provide, but then to have him come to me crying and begging me to take him back to Jersey… It broke my heart. You did that! And now you’re what? Looking for a handout? I talked to him and he told me you were down on your luck and that you’d tried to open that awful Cobra Kai up again. I see that it didn’t do you any good.”
“Mrs. LaRusso, I really am sorry, but I need to speak to them and I left my phone at home and-“
“You hurt my baby and made our lives hell for months. I don’t care what you need, Johnny Lawrence! Now get out of here. If you sit in that car, I’m calling the police!” She slams the door in his face.
Johnny backs up a few more steps and is about to get into his car, when another vehicle drives up. He sees the tell-tale sign of a cigar firing up in the back seat. The passenger side window rolls down and one of the men from earlier grins at him. “Well… look what we found… Need a ride?” He laughs. “Another one?”
Johnny shakes his head and makes a dash for his car, but he’s injured and it’s taking everything to get there. The man in the passenger seat gets there first and slams his fist right into the side of Johnny’s head. Dazed, he feels himself being thrown into the back seat of his own car. He tries to hold on to consciousness, but he loses the battle and falls into darkness.
*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_
Daniel looks at his phone. “Huh… it’s Ma.” He answers. “Hey, everything alright?”
“No, that awful Johnny Lawrence was here. He looked beat up and I sent him on his way.”
“You what?”
“The nerve of that man… but I don’t know if I should call the police or not. I watched him to make sure he left and… there was a car that pulled up and someone hit him and took him away. I don’t want to get you messed up in anything so I didn’t-“
“Oh my God!” He hangs up on her and looks at Amanda. He relays the conversation as they quickly settle the bill and run out to the car. “He’ll hate us if we call the cops. Let’s hit the dojo and the apartment and then if that doesn’t give us anything…”
Amanda nods. “We call the police.”
*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_
It’s another hour or so before Johnny manages to get back to Daniel and Amanda’s house. He hurts and he can still feel the imprints of the boots on his ribs. And Kreese… he always knows what to say to bring him down. And now that he finally confessed to Daniel and Amanda what Kreese did to him when he was younger, they’re the only ones who understand how truly terrified he is of the man. Sure enough, this night was no different.
Kreese had threatened to let the guys hurt him again like Kreese had hurt him years ago. He even had a couple of the guys reach for his zipper. They kept it up until he broke with fear and finally promised to suck Kreese off if they’d just let him go. Kreese had chuckled at him and took the gift. Afterward, he let the other men beat the hell out of him for good measure while Kreese called him names and reminded him why all of it had been his fault and why he’d always be good for a quick fuck or blow, because he wanted it and he craved it and would never be free. He also tells him that next time he crosses him, he’s going to let the guys with him do whatever they want to him again.
Johnny still doesn’t know how he drives after that, but he parks behind the house and tries to get to the gate. But he falls and wraps his arms around himself. He doesn’t want to tell Daniel and Amanda what he did. He knows he’s bad and he’s dirty and Kreese is right. He begged this time. He begged Kreese to let him suck him off and that means that he’s filthy and he deserves everything he gets and everything he got as a child, too.
They all knew this might happen. It’s why he’s been staying with Daniel and Amanda most of the time. But he hadn’t seen Kreese for awhile and thought he was safe. He just wanted some time to think and be in his own place and he ended up falling right into Kreese’s trap.
He sobs brokenly as he remembers how Kreese had made threats to take Johnny against his will again and how Daniel had seen red and nearly killed the older man. He remembers having to tell Amanda and Daniel what it meant and how they’d held him and talked to him to remind him that he deserves good things and that nothing he did made Kreese do what he did.
But that’s a lie and now they’ll know it. They’ll know that he traded another round with those guys for a blow job. But he has nobody else and he can’t go back to the apartment. So he gets to the back gate and he hesitates. Maybe Daniel’s mom is right. He’s worthless and he hurts people and he shouldn’t be here.” He coughs and clutches at his side. He knows something is broken, can feel it shift under his skin.
But he has to take a chance. He has to see them and see if it can make things feel better, even if it’s for a moment. Just as he breaks the cheap padlock with a rock he finds near the gate, he sees headlights approach the house. He starts to gasp because they’re back and he can’t go through it again. He can’t.”
*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_
Lucille wrings her hands together and waits. Daniel had hung up on her and then Amanda had texted her and told her to look for Johnny and let him in unless he was with someone. Then she’s supposed to call the police and watch to see what happens.
She’s never been so nervous in her life, not even when she watched Daniel kick that blonde boy’s ass in the tournament. She hears a noise out back and gasps. She looks outside and sees Johnny stumble through the gate and fall on the hard patio. She doesn’t see anyone else around him so she decides that maybe she should go out and drag him in. She curses inwardly, still unsure why her son is wasting his time on this loser.
She opens the back door and slowly walks over. She nudges the other man’s shoulder with her shoe and backs up as Johnny whimpers. “Hey… hey you… John Lawrence. Daniel wants you to come in the house.” She frowns as the man curls up tighter. She touches his shoulder and frowns as he flinches away.
“Please… please don’t…”
She squats down and listens to him continue to beg. She’s not sure why, maybe because she’s a mother, but she starts to feel a bit protective of this man. She’s getting ready to text Daniel when she hears the door open. “Daniel? Back here!”
She’s not sure what she expects, but it isn’t what she gets.
*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_
Daniel and Amanda race out the back door and rush over to where Johnny is curled up. They don’t even seem to notice Lucille. Amanda immediately starts stroking the blonde’s hair and Daniel actually lies down right next to him so he can be face to face. “Johnny? Hey honey, it’s Daniel. Please open your eyes for me? Please?”
Amanda puts a hand on Johnny’s shoulder and frowns. “Daniel, he’s shaking. Oh my God, what happened to him…”
Daniel sits up and looks at Lucille. “You turned him away!? What the hell is wrong with you?”
“Daniel!” Amanda pulls Johnny so his head is in her lap. “You’re going to scare him.”
Lucille takes a step back. “I didn’t know I was doing anything wrong and you do not raise your voice at me, Daniel LaRusso.”
Daniel waves her off. “I don’t have time for this.” He leans in and helps Johnny stand. “Come on, baby. Let’s get you inside.”
Amanda gets the other side and looks at Lucille. “Can you please make some tea? Something soothing? And maybe get some blankets? I don’t think we’ll get him much further than the couch at first.”
Lucille nods, still dumbfounded by whatever is going on. She follows them and then goes to get whatever she needs to. By the time she gets to the living room with tea and then the blankets, Johnny is spread across the couch, his head in her son’s lap with Amanda sitting on the floor in front of him. Amanda is holding his hand and Daniel is running his fingers through his hair and they look like they’re more than friends. But Lucille keeps her mouth shut for now.
*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*
Johnny opens his eyes to see Amanda looking back at him and he turns away. But she only turns him back to her. “I’m so sorry, Amanda. I’m so… I’m so sorry.”
“No, Johnny. It’s okay. Tell me what happened. I want to help, but you have to tell me, baby.”
“I… I’m such a burden so I wanted to let you two have the night together and I… I was at home and then he showed up and I tried to fight and they…” He starts to shudder. “I’m so sorry. I swear I didn’t want to.”
Daniel leans back because he’s trying not to get enraged. This isn’t the first time this has happened, after all. They both knew that Kreese had managed to get to him in some way or another over the years. But this is the first time since their relationship began that it has happened. Daniel knows how hard Johnny’s worked to not allow his past to hurt him but Kreese has come and fucked everything up all over again.
Amanda sighs sadly. “I know you didn’t want to. Honey, I really need to know. Tell me what happened.”
“I… I got away. It hurt, but… you know.. Kreese wanted me to enjoy it. He said I wanted it. And then I ran. I ran and I came here and… and you weren’t here so I was going to go, but they followed me and they took me away and… I… I asked for it.”
Amanda holds his face gently between his hands. “You did not ask for it. Honey, how bad is it? Do we need to go to the hospital?”
Johnny shakes his head. “I traded… I told Kreese… my mouth if they didn’t do it again.”
Lucille puts a hand to her mouth in shock. She isn’t stupid and she understands what’s happening. She is also very aware of her part in it and, while she knows that this isn’t her fault, she knows that she made a poor decision. “I didn’t know…”
Amanda turns toward her. “I want to get him upstairs. Sorry, but you can take that tea up? If not, I can have Daniel get it.”
“No… no, you two should focus on him. I mean… shouldn’t we call the police?”
Johnny whimpers and Daniel shakes his head at her. “He won’t do that. Kreese has threatened his son if he tells.”
Lucille quietly takes the tea and goes upstairs. She gets a few things set up for them and pulls back the covers. Maybe she doesn’t know what’s exactly going on, but she definitely knows that Johnny won’t be left alone by either of the other two tonight by the looks of it. She looks around absently and then starts to notice a few things. She hasn’t spent any time in their bedroom before, but now she sees it. There’s a picture of the three of them by the bed. There are shoes on the floor that she knows aren’t Daniel’s. She opens the closet and a few drawers and there are definitely some things that she knows her son doesn’t wear. The man hasn’t worn jeans in decades.
She walks into the bathroom and it’s clear it’s a room for three based on the toiletries. She rubs a hand over her face. She isn’t sure what this is, but she’s not in just her son and daughter-in-law’s home. From the looks of it, she has less right to be here than the man she turned away earlier. She takes a deep breath and heads downstairs, where the other two are still trying to comfort him.
“Johnny, where’s your car? And your keys? I’m going to move it to the driveway for you.”
Johnny looks up in confusion. “You don’t have to do that.”
“I know, but I want to. I’m so sorry that I treated you so poorly earlier. If I hadn’t, well…” She shrugs. “Either way, I want to help.”
Johnny frowns and shakes his head. “I get it. You had every right to stop me from coming in earlier. You had no idea what was going on and I’m sorry that I frightened you.”
Daniel strokes Johnny’s hair. “Ma, we should have told you about Johnny a while ago. I’m sorry we didn’t. I just didn’t know how you’d react.”
Lucille waves him off. “None of that matters right now. Keys.”
“I… uh I left them in the car. I wasn’t thinking. I pulled it up back and just headed toward the gate.”
Lucille nods. “Okay, I’ll take care of that.” She looks at Daniel and Amanda. “He’s only going to get more comfortable down here so get moving and get him upstairs so he can actually rest.” She frowns. “And get him a bath and start tending to his injuries. I’ll be back in a moment to help.”
Amanda shakes her head. “No, it’s really okay. We can-“
“I’m sure you can, but it’s good to have another set of hands.” She turns and walks out the back door, determined to help.
Daniel shrugs and looks down at Johnny. “I can tell her to leave.”
Johnny shakes his head. “She’s your mom, LaRusso. You don’t ask your mom to leave because one day she will and you won’t get her back.”
Amanda sighs sadly. She knows how vulnerable Johnny gets about his mom and decides they’re going to have to tread lightly. “Let’s get you upstairs, sweetheart.”
By the time Lucille gets back, Johnny is upstairs. She walks up to see what’s needed and frowns at the man lying on the bed. The water is running in the tub and Daniel is lying next to Johnny, facing him.
“Come on, Johnny, we have to get you undressed and in the tub.”
Johnny shakes his head. “I don’t want you to see.”
“Baby, I’m not going to think any less of you. Let me help. Please.”
Lucille clears her throat. “Daniel, he said no.” She sits on the edge of the bed. “Johnny, I’m a mother so I’ve seen everything. How about if I help you into the tub and then I’ll step out so Amanda and Daniel can take over?”
Johnny looks between her and Daniel for a moment and then shrugs. “I mean… I guess I’m okay with that.” He looks up at Daniel again. “Are you okay with that?”
Daniel sighs. “Yes and no. I hate that you feel you have to hide something from us, but right now all that’s important is getting you taken care of so if that means Ma takes the lead here, then so be it.” He kisses Johnny’s forehead and then walks into the bathroom to help Amanda.
Lucille listens for the water to turn off and watches as they leave the room. She gets up and closes the door in their faces because she knew they couldn’t completely stay away. She goes back to sitting on the bed. “Okay, we’re going to do this together, alright? Now, I don’t know what hurts. You do. So what do you think would hurt the least right now to take off.”
Johnny thinks for a moment and then toes off his shoes. “I don’t know… I hate the idea of you dealing with me.”
“None of that. My son obviously loves you. And that makes you family and LaRussos take care of family.” She reaches down to his legs and pats his calf gently to remind him that she’s there. She pulls off his socks and takes them to the hamper while also putting his shoes over with the others. “Pants next or shirt?” She’s not sure what she expected, but it’s not a huge surprise when he starts to cry. She walks over and sits next to him again. “Oh sweetheart.” She hugs him lightly and strokes his hair. “Come on, Johnny, we need to get you cleaned up. You go ahead and cry and just let me do everything.”
Johnny can only nod and curl in on himself a bit more.
Lucille starts talking to him about Daniel and how silly he was as a boy. She stays away from the time when Johnny came into their lives and talks more about Jersey and how he was such a fun kid to be around. She talks about his antics and is relieved when Johnny stops crying and actually listens. She keeps it up as she gently pulls his pants off and she tells him even more when she helps him sit up and peels his shirt off of him. When he’s finally sitting there only in his boxer briefs, she takes a step back and looks at him. “Well, you’re certainly covered in marks. Those are going to be some nasty bruises by tomorrow. And I’m almost certain that you’ve got some cracked ribs. I’m really worried about this. I think a hospital visit is in order.”
Johnny shakes his head. “I can’t. I can’t let them touch me. I just… I can’t.”
Lucille sighs sadly and grips his hand. “Okay, but you let us know if you can’t breathe right. I know it’s scary, but if something happens to you, Daniel and Amanda might not recover from it and you don’t want that, do you?” She knows she’s using guilt, but she also knows that rib injuries can be dangerous and she’s willing to give him motivation to keep himself alive. At his nod, she tilts her head toward the bathroom. “I’m going to take you in and get you in the tub. Can you get your underwear off on your own or do you need help?”
“I can do it.”
“You tell me when you’re in the tub and I’ll come in and take them out to wash.”
He shakes his head. “Just throw them away. They’re torn on the side anyhow.” He turns so she can see where there is a clear tear from the waistband to about halfway down the fabric and it doesn’t take a genius to know how they got that way. “Then I guess I should get them before my son and daughter-in-law sees them.”
Johnny nods. “Yes, ma’am.”
She waits until she’s called and then hides the underwear in the back of her own waistband before opening the door. “He’s ready for you.” She stands aside as they walk into the bathroom and rushes downstairs to make sure they can’t see the underwear. She buries it far into the trash and into a takeout bag that’s still in there.
Eventually, she heads back upstairs and peeks her head into the bathroom. She sees Amanda washing Johnny’s hair and Daniel sitting close by, holding the blonde’s hand and talking softly to him. She knocks lightly. “I’ll be here when he’s ready to get out.” She goes over to the bed where he was and quickly changes out the sheets since he left blood on them when he was laying there. She takes the hamper out of the room for now and plans to do the laundry. She rummages through the dresser drawers until she finds things that must be Johnny’s. She places them on the bed and waits.
Daniel comes out and looks at her. “Why are you doing this, Ma?”
She shrugs. “I know how to admit when I’m wrong. You love this man. Amanda loves this man. LaRussos take care of family. I already explained this to Johnny.”
“But what’s going on here… I mean..”
“Is none of my business. Now, is he ready to come out of the tub or not?”
Daniel nods. “Yeah, he’s ready.”
“Good. You and Amanda go. I’ll get him settled and you can come back in.”
“Hey Ma… how bad is it?”
Lucille’s face softens at the raw fear on her son’s face and she comes over and cups his face, pulling him down so she can kiss his cheek. “It’s bad, honey. I’m so sorry.” She puts her arms around him as he hugs her to him and pats his back. “I’ll get him into bed and then you and Amanda can stay close, okay?”
Daniel releases her and sighs. “Thanks. I love you so much.”
“I love you, too. Now go on.” She waits while Daniel gets Amanda and leads her out and then she closes the door again and walks into the bathroom. “Can you get out of the tub on your own?”
He nods. “Yeah, I think so.”
“Now, I plan on drying you off so… you need to tell me if you can’t handle me seeing certain things. I’m not going to stare at you or anything.”
Johnny wraps his arms around his torso and shrugs. “It’s fine. I don’t really care.”
She stands close as he gets out of the tub and immediately wraps the towel around his waist. She grabs another towel and dries his hair a bit before running the fabric over his shoulders and arms and back. She rubs his chest gently as that seems to be where the worst of the bruising is. She doesn’t comment on the bite mark on his shoulder since she doubts he even knows that it’s there. Eventually, when she gets him into his underwear, a soft pair of light gray sweat pants and a plain white t-shirt, she makes him sit down on the vanity chair and begins blow drying his hair.
“You don’t have to-“
“Shush.” She grabs a brush and is incredibly gentle because she’s certain that the head injury is smarting. Once his hair is silky and dry, she moves him over to the bed to lie down. “Can you move to the middle?”
Johnny nods and carefully does so.
Lucille gently prods his sides and hums in satisfaction. “Not much in the way of movement. I’m certain they’re cracked, but I don’t think they’re snapped loose. I’d feel better if we could do more than wash you up. You need care.”
“Daniel and Amanda already wiped any blood off and made sure the bleeding stopped.”
“Were… were you bleeding… there?”
Johnny closes his eyes and turns away from her for a moment and then shakes his head. “No, ma’am.”
She pats his cheek lightly. “None of that. You have nothing to be ashamed of.” She stands. “I’ll let them in. Tomorrow, you’re eating a good breakfast, do you understand? You need to get better and that means eating real food, not whatever garbage you kids eat nowadays.”
Johnny smiles at her finally. “Yes, ma’am.”
She lets the others in and goes to her own room. She sighs sadly and gets ready for bed, trying to think of something she can do to help. First things first, she might need to think of making a move. After all, apparently one of the newest members of her family is in need of a mother to get involved and hell hath no fury like a LaRusso mother scorned…