Chapter Text
Robby was ashamed of himself, he wished that he could disappear but he had nowhere to go anymore.
"I knew there was something wrong about you from the start, do you believe me now? We shouldn't have let you in into our house from the start you..." Ava started.
Ali turned her attention from Robby to her children.
"Lucas, take your sister and go upstairs" Ali instructed.
"You're still defending him? Mom, we're supposed to call the police" Ava continued.
"If I hear you speak like that again I'll disable your credit card not to mention that I won't allow you to go out with that boyfriend of yours next weekend" Ali threatened.
"You would do that to me instead of kicking him out?" Ava demanded.
"And I'll do more because I thought I raised you better, now go to your room already" Ali insisted.
Lucas took his sister upstairs to her room before going to his and Ali turned to Robby with a smile on her face.
Robby was really confused right now, she wasn't supposed to be defending him. She was supposed to kick him out like her daughter insisted so why was she doing that?
"Robby, sorry about my daughter. She has been like that since my husband and I divorced, she misses him more then you think and the fact that I'm letting a total stranger stay under our roof is giving her wrong ideas" Ali explained.
Robby shook his head in response.
"No need to apologise Mrs Mills I really mean it" Robby blurted out.
"Well then, would you like to talk here? Or do you prefer going out somewhere?" Ali inquired.
"Why are you doing this? Your daughter is right, you should be kicking me out" Robby said.
"And then what? You probably won't have a place to stay and might even get seriously hurt" Ali replied.
Robby bit his lip and kept his attention focused on the floor not knowing what to say anymore.
"You didn't answer my question kiddo, do you want to talk here?" She inquired.
"Don't worry Mrs Mills I'll leave first thing tomorrow and I'll find a way to return back that money then..." Robby started.
He hadn't realised that he had been crying until he felt a tear slip down his cheek so he quickly wiped it away.
"Shhh, Robby. You don't have to leave no one said anything about you having to leave. I only wanted to talk to you that's all" Ali said in the calmest voice she could manage.
She expected Robby to break down but she didn't expect it to happen so soon.
Maybe her assumption about him needing help was correct so she was going to do her best because he ended up under her roof.
She was aware that a lot of kids his age had similar problems but she didn't know how to find them and help them all so she was going to help the one she ended up finding by chance.
"Robby, you should understand that I'm here to help you alright? Because I want to help you" Ali said.
"Why would you do that? I'm not your kid, I'm not even a member of your family" Robby insisted.
"It's because you're just a kid Robby you should get help whenever you need it even though you hate to admit it" Ali replied.
Then she sighed and patted his shoulder.
"If you don't feel like talking now then maybe you can tell me later alright?" She asked.
Robby fell silent again not knowing what to say or do.
"How about you go upstairs now? Sleeping in the shed won't help you anymore especially when we're so close to winter" She said.
He didn't say anything so Ali went upstairs.
She opened the door to her son's room who was sitting next to his sister talking to her.
"Lucas, he'll share the room with you tonight we'll bring his mattress from the shed first thing tomorrow" She said.
"Sure thing mom" Lucas answered.
"Fine whatever, go ahead and play house with that juvenile bum or whatever" Ava retorted.
Then she walked out of her brother's room slamming the door shut behind her.
Ali sighed and shook her head before turning to her son.
"Take care of them alright?" She asked.
"I don't know if I can, but maybe with the right motivation I would" Lucas said.
Ali raised her eyebrows and folded her arms over her chest.
"I don't know maybe let me borrow the car for prom night?" He asked.
"Fat chance kid, no driving until you're in college" Ali said.
"It was worth a shot" Lucas said with a shrug.
Ali laughed and shook her head before heading to her room and Lucas went downstairs to find Robby.
••☆★☆••
Robby was still very confused with everything that had happened and he didn't even know what to do or how to react anymore.
Lucas led him upstairs to his room.
"Sorry man, it's only one bed but..." Lucas started.
"This is all wrong, I shouldn't be here in this house yet alone sharing a room with you" Robby interrupted.
"Why do you think it's wrong?" Lucas asked.
"I don't know, it just...Feels wrong" Robby answered reluctantly.
Lucas laughed and shook his head.
"Just go to sleep already" He said before laying down on his bed.
Robby sighed and looked at the floor then took a seat.
He didn't feel like sleeping, he wasn't even sure he could.
"Hey Robby, you awake?" Lucas inquired suddenly.
Robby was really startled by this one because he thought that the other boy had fallen asleep a while ago.
He felt obligated to answer him though so he quickly got over his surprise.
"Yeah?" He answered.
"Before juvie, did you have any friends?" Lucas asked.
"Why are you asking me that? Of course I did" Robby answered.
Lucas sat up and looked at him.
"I'm talking real friends, people who would literally kill for you" Lucas explained.
Robby opened his mouth to say something but he realised that the closest thing he had to friends were Trey and Cruz and Sam.
None of them were worth his attention now that he finally had the time to think about it clearly.
Trey and Cruz only dragged him down and Sam was someone who he thought he liked but that changed when he realised that he had no chance against Miguel.
He still hated the fact that he had no choice but to give her up though.
"No, I didn't have any" Robby murmured.
He felt embarrassed to say that out loud but it didn't seem like he had any other choice.
They were showing him pity and he knew it but he had no choice but to accept it because it was his best option right now. That also meant that he had to answer all their questions eventually because he was simply a plus one who intruded on them.
His thoughts were interrupted when Lucas moved to sit down on the floor next to him.
"Good, so how about we become friends? That way it'll look like you're sleeping over at a friend's house" Lucas said.
Robby broke into a chuckle at the silly idea.
"Do you have friends yourself" Robby inquired.
"I do have friends, they come in a package when you're the MVP player of the school soccer team" Lucas answered with a shrug.
"Fine, I know it's sad that I don't have any friends but you don't have to rub it in my face alright?" Robby said.
He didn't know why he was suddenly feeling defensive but he really hated being cornered like that and it seems that both Ali and her son had their way with him.
Not to mention Tory and her very own unique way of making him question his life decisions.
They were all messing with his head and he didn't know who to listen to. He only knew that he shouldn't listen to his own thoughts because it always got him in trouble.
"I didn't mean to offend you sorry" Lucas said hurriedly.
"Yeah sure whatever" Robby murmured.
Lucas pursed his lips and stood up before walking over to his wardrobe.
"Mom said that it's cold so you shouldn't sleep on the floor" Lucas said.
Then he pulled out a folded duvet and put it next to Robby.
"You're obviously not going to share a bed with me even if I ask so this is the second best option don't you think?" Lucas asked.
Robby looked between him and the duvet for a minute or so.
"This is ridiculous, thanks for the offer but I'm good with sleeping on the sofa" Robby said.
Then he stood up and walked out of the room.
He went to the living room and slumped down on the sofa before closing his eyes.
••☆★☆••
Johnny got off the car and walked into Miguel's hospital room then took a seat.
It was his first time coming here even though it had been almost two months since the incident.
But he had to at least find a way to make things right. Even though he wanted nothing more then to leave the dojo and crawl back into his shithole of an apartment.
The door opened and Carmen walked into the room.
"What are you doing here?" She demanded as soon as she saw him.
Johnny stood up immediately and turned to her.
"Listen, I know that I messed up and that I have no right to be here but I still hope you'll give me a chance to do the right thing" Johnny said.
"What are you saying? I gave you a chance already and look where that got my son" Carmen replied.
"I'm sorry, I really am" Johnny said.
Carmen fell silent for a minute before she took a seat next to Miguel.
"You still have the decency to think that you're doing the right thing?" She asked.
"No, I know that now. Bringing back the dojo was a mistake that I did but he can turn it into something better, the kid is much smarter then me" Johnny replied.
Carmen laughed and shook her head.
"You think I'll let him back into this when he wakes up? You must think I'm stupid to trust you twice" She said.
"I'm asking you to trust his judgement" Johnny answered.
"What judgement? He's just a kid he shouldn't have been here from the start" Carmen said.
She sighed and stood up before pointing at the door.
"Please leave" She said.
Johnny nodded and walked out of the room silently but on his way out he saw Miguel's grandmother so he smiled at her sullenly before walking past her.
He arrived at the dojo earlier then usual and walked into the place immediately when he heard the sounds coming from inside.
"Nicholas, Moscowitz the hell are you doing here so early?" He demanded.
"We're sparring sensei" Tory replied.
"How did you even enter?" Johnny asked.
"I let them in" Kreese replied as he walked out of the main office.
He smiled at Johnny.
"You don't want your tardiness to get in the way of their success now don't you Lawrence?" He asked.
Johnny sighed and turned to Tory and Hawk.
"Practice is cancelled today get out of here" He said.
"But sensei we still..." Hawk started.
Tory put a hand on Hawk's shoulder and shook her head to stop him from saying anything else.
"Yes sensei" Tory replied.
Then she walked over to the locker room to change.
Hawk was confused by what was going now but he knew better then to interrupt the older men right now.
The tension between the two men was so obvious even to him.
So he followed Tory over to the locker room and grabbed his clothes then started changing to leave the place.
"Hey Tory wait" He called out before the girl could walk away.
Tory stopped walking and turned to him.
"I was looking for a part time job so I hope you could help me with that" He said.
"I can help but why are you looking for one?" She inquired.
As far as she knew Hawk didn't even need to earn his own money so she was curious about why he was suddenly interested.
"It's nothing really I just thought I could use a distraction" He replied.
Tory knew that he didn't feel like explaining himself any further so she didn't push it.
"I'll call you if I find something" She said.
"Thanks" Hawk said with a smile on his face before walking away.
••☆★☆••
Robby was on his way back from the grocery store when he saw Ava walking with a group of guys.
His first instinct was to ignore her especially because she was nothing but a spoiled bitch to him. But he got closer to the group when he saw that they were heading for an ally.
He hid behind a wall when he saw one of the guys she was with take out a small pack that had white powder.
He wasn't stupid, he had been around Trey and Cruz long enough to recognise that powder from miles away.
But what he didn't expect was that one of these guys suddenly started inappropriately touching Ava.
The girl didn't seem to have the guts to say anything even though she looked like she didn't enjoy it.
"Hey, who the hell are you?" A voice from beside him demanded.
Robby cursed under his breath before turning his attention to the guy who was standing next to him.
"Who is he? Is it the guy you've been cheating on me with recently you fucking bitch?" The guy demanded.
He grabbed Ava's hair and yanked her head back before slapping her.
Robby jumped and kicked the guy who was standing next to him in his shoulder knocking him down to the ground immediately.
He ran over to the guy who slapped Ava and punched him in the face.
Soon enough the three guys were on the ground groaning in pain and Robby was panting heavily with bruises on his face and fists.
"Listen, I..." Ava started.
"Shut up" Robby interrupted.
Then he grabbed the grocery bags and started walking ahead of her.