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─── ∙ ~εïз~ ∙ ───
gioia woke up each day with a heavy heart, a weight that seemed to grow with each passing moment. the world outside her window felt distant, and even the vibrant colors of nature failed to chase away the grey cloud that hung over her.
it was two days after the tournament and gioia still hadn't left her room. in the silence of her room, gioia's thoughts echoed louder than any conversation. the large mirror reflected not just her image, but a distorted perception of her worth. a good amount of missed calls and unanswered messages on her phone was evidence to her withdrawal from the world.
she knew that her friends had found out about her training with cobra kai, and she didn't even want to leave her house because of the fear she might see them somewhere, anywhere.
everyday was the exact same for her. wake up, barely eat, cry, nap, eat, cry, sleep. it was torture for her parents. she wouldn't speak to her mother and she definitely wouldn't speak to her father.
the darkness of her emotions kept her concealed inside of her room. it was like a black monster that whispered to her all the things that would go wrong if she left her house.
it broke fred's heart knowing that his little girl was suffering alone, so he had to put a stop to it. he knocked on her room door and after a minute of silence, he entered to see her during her cry part of the day, just before the nap.
"everyone hates me." gioia cried. "i'm so stupid."
"hey, just tell me what happened." fred advised her, taking a seat beside her on the bed.
"i messed up... so bad. i joined cobra kai while i was at eagle fang and i was friends w-with robby." gioia forced out in between her sobs.
"what's wrong with being friends with robby?" fred questioned, he clearly liked the boy.
"he put miguel in a wheelchair." gioia reminded him. "and he's an asshole. i can't believe i trained with silver? that-that makes me an asshole too. i was just so blinded by the idea of being a winner. and i still lost."
"don't be too hard on yourself, kid." fred reassured her. "you're still a baby. and terry silver is a sick man, if i see him-"
gioia glanced up at her dad. "how-how do you know silver?"
"danny's told me about him." fred shrugged. "apparently he was a victim to silver's manipulation when he was your age."
