Like A Phoenix ➳ Cobra Kai

Cuz Darlin' I'm A Nightmare Dressed Like A Daydream (21)

Robby's words rang in Kat's mind as she walked back to her room in the spacious guest house and sat on the edge of her bed. Why would she have to choose between Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do? The dilemma was as stupid as choosing between Nicki Minaj and Cardi B because, again, why not both? Maybe he was right. It was only a matter of time before she needed to establish her stance.

Thinking about Eli, she squeezed her eyes shut to block out the image of Eli's haunting glare. How upon Eli seeing her with another man, he immediately became possessive and violent. Kat shuttered at the memory of her ex-boyfriend, Nick Bates, who, compared to Eli, feels like a carbon copy of his untamed rage. Being under the same roof as someone like Nick frightened her, but despite Eli's lash out, she didn't allow Enzo to kick him out last minute. Still, she rolled her eyes at the thought of seeing Eli anytime soon.

Kat slipped off her sandals and pushed them to the side of the bed, then crawled into the thin, pale grey cotton sheets perfectly aligned over the mattress and curled up in a fetal position to coo herself to sleep. She breathed a heavy sigh of relief at the soft press of the silky-smooth sheets against her skin, looking at the somewhat feasible view of the starry night sky that gleamed from the outside window.

As Kat was about to close her eyes, she heard the knob of her bedroom door turn slightly, followed by heavy footsteps on the old and rotted wood. Her eyes sprung open. She heard faint whispers and flames crackling in the distance, but none worried her more than the figure that towered over her bed. She locked eyes with the devil. He took the form of a six-foot-five caucasian man, whose build was muscular but slender, with a toothy grin that exposed his straight, white teeth. It was none other than Nick Bates.

Her heart sank in her chest as her eyes measured the room. Kat recognized the layout as her old room, which Nick burned down years ago. Yet, here it was, as dull and lifeless as she remembered. Kat refocused her gaze back on Nick, who remained silent, but met her stare with a wide smile. Though his eyes held no emotion, the growing width of his wicked smile sent chills down her spine.

In an instant, heavy waves of smoke filled the room, and with the eerie crackling of flames igniting behind Nick, she remembered the harrowing night as if it were yesterday. "This is just a dream. I'm going to wake up now," Kat sneered, struggling to catch her breath from the smoke inhalation.

"You think I'm bad?" Nick remarked. A sharp look flashed across his sunken face. "Wait until you see just how vindictive your precious little Eli can be. You haven't seen anything yet, Kat. This is only the beginning."

As if she were in a trance, Kat couldn't look away from Nick's harsh glare. A single teardrop fell from her eye, but she couldn't blink them away, nor did she wipe them away. Through the blurry view of her ex-boyfriend, she watched as his dark figure waltzed away, only to be followed by fits of maniacal laughter and her stepfather's screams that grew louder by the second.

"Make it stop." Kat whimpered, staring blankly at the dissipated figure that moved out of the frame. She couldn't move, not her eyelids or even the tips of her fingers, all she could do was sit upwards and attempt to blink away the tears. "Please..." She pleaded.

Her eyes shot open almost immediately, but this time, Kat was met with Robby's soft and gentle gaze. He cupped her face and wiped away the falling tears from her warm cheeks. Even with one hand, Robby brushed the wisps of hair from Kat's face with his fingers and pulled her into a tight hug. "You're okay, Kat. I'm here now." Robby whispered into Kat's hair while caressing the back of her head with his hand.

In between breaths, Kat asked, "H-how did you know?"

For a moment, Robby pulled away. "I'm a light sleeper, so even the quietest sound wakes me up. When I heard you crying out in pain, I wasn't sure if you were crying or screaming, but I thought someone was trying to hurt you." He admitted with a heavy sigh.

Kat swallowed the hard lump in her throat. "Someone did, but they can't anymore," she added as her voice cracked. "Did anyone else hear me? Can you keep this between us?" Kat mumbled, wiping away the endless stream of tears. She tried to plaster a smile on her face, but with the ache in her heart, the pain made her sob more. "I'm so sorry for waking you up. I'm a terrible host."

The remark made Robby chuckle slightly. "I don't have much experience with this kind of thing, but I can assure you, Kat. You're not a terrible host."

"Thank you," Kat muttered breathlessly. She looked down at her hands with a sigh, "I don't like asking for help, let alone being vulnerable with people, but I don't want to be alone right now." Before continuing, her eyes drifted to Robby's, who held a look of tenderness and concern. "Can you stay with me?"

He nodded in response, "Of course. I'll stay on the lounge chair in the corner. You can think of me as a knight in shining armor with ridiculously nice hair."

"Wonderful, Fabio," Kat snorted, immediately covering her mouth to suppress her unbecoming snort. The comment, along with Kat's laughter, caused Robby to nearly burst a lung from how hard he chuckled. While the joke wasn't initially funny, the two found humor in the situation.

"As much as I appreciate you staying here with me, don't you need sleep? You know, like a normal person?" Kat hesitantly asked with a timid smile.

Robby shook his head. "No, because if there's anywhere I'd rather be, it's here with you."

Without blinking, Kat swallowed the lump in her throat and gave a sad but knowing grin.

After hours of talking amongst themselves in the dimly lit room, they fell asleep side by side. Kat sprawled against the headboard, and Robby lying stiffly towards the edge of the bed, respecting Kat's unusual sleeping position.

In the morning, Kat awoke to the sight of a pillow with a head indent. As she scanned the room for Robby, she saw nothing out of the ordinary. However, the sound of running water coming from the room's bathroom was enough for her to understand that he must be taking a shower? She shrugged it off and pulled the bedsheets over he head once more, attempting to fall back asleep. But upon hearing the creak of a door, she lowered the sheets slightly to shield most of her face, all except her curious eyes that watched the bathroom door intently.

With a push, the door swung open, revealing Robby. His lower body was covered in a bathroom towel. However, he left his chest to air dry as droplets of water dripped down from his dampened hair. He wore his locks slicked back while he dried off, only to halt in his tracks as his eyes met Kat's, who remained hidden behind a bedsheet. It didn't help that Kat's eyes traced every inch of his physique as he did with her earlier in the year. Yet, the awkwardness was further fueled by her inability to revert her gaze elsewhere.

"See something you like, Kat?" Robby teased as he ran a hand through his damp, slicked-back hair.

As if caught in the act, she forced a cough to hide her embarrassment. "Well, uh—it's not that I like staring, but I forgot that I had a guest."

He hummed in response. "Ah, curious and a liar? Now that's an interesting approach, Mills." Before walking towards his medium-sized tote bag, he took one last glance. "I'll catch up with you later," he said with a sigh before leaving the room.

Still sitting on the bed, Kat stared blankly at the door Robby left open. She didn't know what to make of it. Is it cheating if she found comfort in another man's presence? It felt wrong to admire Robby's physique, but fuck, there's something about a man drenched in water that made her weak in the knees.