-1 Author's note: I am a little rusty these days and this is my first writing I have done in a long time. I am anxious to hear some feedback and please be honest! Thanks, Cheer!
Chapter 1 The interview
Jayzen Parker looked around the jail cell she was currently waiting to 'talk to' a famous local legend that she had heard about. She twirled her long blonde curl out of sheer habit in nervousness. The jail setting was not a scene she liked, no matter how famous or great this person may be.
"You waitin on me?" A clean shaven, buff built guy sat down on the chair backwards, straddling it.
"Yes." She answered him, her icy blue eyes holding his gaze as to not let him know or this jail cell was intimidating her. "I'm Jayzen." She straightened up in her seat, pulling at her shirt to make sure she wasn't showing her stomach.
"Okay. And?" The guy asked, almost being cocky. She gave his this agitated "I can't believe you" kind of look. "What? You set this meeting up with me, remember?" He cocked an eyebrow and said with a small hint of a grin. She couldn't argue with that statement, she reasoned.
""Well, I'm .." She coughed awkwardly. "I'm in collage and I'm supposed to be doing a paper on inmates and I just …I just wanted to ask some questions." She said, her nerves getting the best of her. She knew Dominic Toretto and his reputation and him being right in front of her was quite intimidating.
"Collage, huh? Why do I get the feeling it's not really collage?" He asked, scratching his chin and sitting back, staring her down. He folded his arms and waited for her response. The girl's fair completion cheeks were now a blushed red.
"Why is it you're interviewing me when I sat up this meeting?" She asked, gaining her composure and firing his words back at him. He merely shrugged.
"Boy, I bet you are a hard one to handle." He laughed lightly, his heart shooting a short pang through his body. Saying that brought back the memories of the first time he had said that to his beloved Letty, one of the first times he had met her, back in their teenage years.
"Why are you here in jail and how long before you are released?" Jayzen started, her pen in hand and ready to write. Her thin wire framed glasses intrigued Dominic and again he felt guilty. She looked like she was going to write down his every word and it had been so long since anyone had hung on to his every word.
"See, there's a thing or two about me you should know. Number one, I don't believe in getting specific. I only agreed to this meeting so you would quit bugging the warden and the warden would quit bugging me.: Dominic shook his head, his superior ness and stubbornness coming out in him as it did quite often.
"Bugging the warden? I only asked him eight times." Jayzen batted her eyes innocently.
"Only." Dominic scoffed while rolling his eyes. "And why me? There's tons of other hardened criminals out there." He nodded his head back to the sliding iron gate that kept him and his freedom separated.
"You sounded intriguing." Jayzen said, her blue eyes again meeting his and this time intimidating him.
"Yeah, I bet. You trying to get into street racing and you want the former king of the streets to hook you up with some names?" He asked, folding his arms, staring her down to see if that was the case. He still didn't want to trust her, although she seemed like the most innocent female he had ever met.
"Yeah, I'm really street racing material." She rolled her eyes, annoyed like no other now. "Wow, all this time in prison and I see it hasn't changed your ego one bit." She lashed out at him. He covered his heart, acting hurt.
"Ouch." He replied. This didn't phase her. She was writing on her notebook feverishly.
"So, that answers my first question." She said, ignoring his bitterness. Dominic sighed. He hated anything to do with the past and this 'interview' wasn't helping him ignore the memories or the blame for all the mistakes he had made. He spent every waking moment trying to forget about it all. He looked at the clock, this meeting with this pretty girl not so enjoyable anymore. He had enjoyed knowing he still had the ability to flirt with a girl, as it had been a eleven months since he had even seen a real girl.
"Is that all? Can I go?" He asked sarcastically, making her face turn red with irritation.
"How long until you're out?" She asked, chewing on the end of her pen.
"One more month. Moral of the story, don't get caught" Dominic sighed, his voice deep and raspy with his lecture tone coming out.
"So, I see you don't regret what you did." Jayzen raised a curious eyebrow.
"I don't regret racing. Racing to me is like the Olympics to someone else. I love to race. It's in my blood. It's all the bullshit in between that sucks." He sighed, going off for a second, trying to put meaning and reasoning into the answer he was giving her.
"But.." She inserted for him, knowing it was coming. This made him snap back into reality and making him feel sick to his stomach.
"But, you're not a counselor and I don't want to discuss this anymore." He said gruffly, realizing it was a little too gruff. This wasn't her fault, he reasoned. He softened his voice. "I'm sorry. Yes, there are lots of things I regret. Racing wasn't the reason I'm here, let's just leave it at that." He ran a hand over his bald head, almost at a loss of words to explain it to someone who was so naïve.
"Should I go now?" She asked, her voice soft, picking up on the fact she was causing him pain. She could see it in his dark eyes.
"No, ask the other questions. I can't be the reason you flunk this class." Dominic gave a half grin, noting how much true compassion she genuinely seemed to have.
"Is prison hard? Is there lots of fights?" She asked, her eyes big with expression. These questions were questions she had always wanted to know on a general basis.
"Nah. I'm a thug from the streets so my back is covered." Dominic joked, making her smile and sort of giggle.
"Good to know people. I'll remember that one." She nodded, seriously writing it down and making Dominic laugh.
"Yeah. You could say that. So, what about you? You got any family? What you do your parents think of you visiting a place like this?" He asked, his curiosity getting the best of him. He enjoyed flipping the script on people.
"It's not like I'm a kid. I'm 24. And I don't have a family. Not that I need one." She replied defensively and Dominic mentally noted that he had struck a nerve with her.
"Okay, my apology." He gave her his famous heart warming smile and could see he was instantly forgiven. "What else do you want to know?" He asked, his hand clasped on the table in a more relaxed fashion now.
So, after you and your crew were let go by a cop, what happened?" She asked, her body language almost looking nervous to ask.
"Well, Jesse, was in the hospital. He's the brains of my crew…Vince and Leon they are doing just fine. Letty, she was my soon to be wife…" He stopped for a moment, taking a deep breath. He knew he had to get on with his life, but it was too hard. He took a deep breath. "She died shortly after the crash. And then my sister, Mia, well she moved. She won't talk to me. She was heartbroken by Letty's death, pissed at me, and angered by the guy that ruined it all for us." Dominic sighed, his face suddenly looking old with all the burdens in his life that his choices has caused. He looked down. "I can't say I blame her." He shrugged, almost like he was shrugging his thoughts off.
"That's sad. You gonna make things right with her when you get out?" Jayzen asked, crossing her legs and getting a bit more comfortable.
"I'm not sure." He answered honestly. "I have a month till I'm out of here. I thought I was going to until they transferred me here to Arizona. I'm sure they wanted me as far away from the racing scene as possible. I don't know if I can make myself go back or not." He said, still not looking up and answering truthfully.
"Yeah. I an see how that would be hard." Jayzen said, her eyes looking sad for him.
"Two minutes left, Toretto." the guard announced.
"Thank you for your time." Jayzen said, rushing over to touch his arm sympathetically. She couldn't help but notice how built his arms were built.
"No problem. You can come back anytime." He said, stretching and getting up. His height towered over hers. "Hey, what is your major?" He asked, his curiosity suddenly urging him to ask.
"Journalism, why?" She asked, confused.
"For what it's worth, I think you'd make a great psychologist." He grinned, making her laugh.
"Thanks. For that, I might just have to come visit you again." She laughed. She started to walk out, but stopped to watch Dominic get handcuffed. Her palms were suddenly sweaty. She gulped as he was walked out past her and got up her nerve to ask one last question. "you sure it's cool if I come visit you again?" She asked, finally squeaking it out.
"Anytime you want, Doll. You know where to find me." And with that he was escorted out. He looked and talked like a true rebel.