Sooo, one of my favorite TV show of all time is Gossip Girl. And after binge-watching the show for the 5th or 6th time, I got inspired to write this Dotty one-shot. I pulled my inspiration from two distinct scenes in the show involving two different couples. I then played around with the idea and this is what I came up with.
Happy reading.
P.S: Just in case I need to make this clear, the elevators in Letty's apartment building are made up of mirrors. ;)
-Eli
Dom's Apology
Letty was lying on her couch with a glass of wine in her hand as she tried to unwind from the crazy day she just had. Today was the eve of her wedding day and the last 24hrs before becoming Mrs. Letty Shaw. As if that wasn't stressful enough, Owen had also convinced her to have a wedding rehearsal dinner. She'd been opposed to the idea but he managed to persuade her by only inviting their closest friends and family and booking a private room in her favorite restaurant near the beach. Everything was going great…until the speeches started.
It wasn't that her friends and family were doing it on purpose, but giving a speech about Letty meant talking about Dom. For most of their lives, Dom and Letty had always been present in each other's life no matter the state of their relationship. Whether they were dating, broken up, hating each other one minute and loving each other the next, as best friends, as enemies, and even long after they called off their engagement and their dating/sexual relationship had permanently come to an end. That's why when Letty's friends and family gave their speeches, Dom was brought up more than a couple of times, that one would think she was going to marry him and not Owen.
As the speeches continued and Dom's name kept being brought up, Letty could tell Owen was losing his patience and his temper was rising. It was no secret that Dom and Owen hated each other from the moment they met and Owen despised how much history the two of them had. Anyone that wasn't blind could tell there were still some feelings between the two.
Letty tried her best to calm him down by rubbing small circles on his knee but the minute her friends and family were done with their speeches, Owen got up from where he and Letty were sitting and went up to get the microphone. He thanked everyone for their words and did the last thing Letty expected him to do- he acknowledged Dom in front of everyone. "Hey, Dom! Maybe you should be the one to marry Letty instead of me," he said to the room full of their loved ones. Everyone in the room chuckled and it would of all been forgiven if he'd stopped there, but Owen took it a step further and added to the "joke" by raising his glass of champagne to Dom and said, "It's a good thing you weren't good enough for her, mate."
And there it was, the final straw between Dom and Owen.
The room fell silent. All eyes were on Dom and Owen, who were standing on opposite sides of the room, staring each other down. Dom slowly walked up to Owen and before anyone could react, Dom punched him. Everything became a blur after that. Punches were being thrown, words were being said, suits were ruined, the room was trashed, and an angry Letty had stormed off after giving an ear full to the two grown men.
And now here she was, lying on her couch, 12 hrs. before she was due to walk down the aisle, trying to forget the day, when all of sudden she heard a faint knock at the door. Letty mentally told herself that if she ignored it long enough the person would eventually leave. After all, the last thing she wanted was company.
The knocking continued and every knock was louder than the previous one. She cursed under her breath, set her glass down on the coffee table, and got up to answer the door. She knew it had to be Mia or her mom even though she specifically told them she wanted to be alone.
Letty flung her apartment door open and the person she least expected to visit her was standing right before her.
Dominic Toretto.
Letty was ready to slam the door in his face, but his foot and hand were much stronger than she was. She looked him dead in the eye and couldn't believe that after his little stunt at her rehearsal dinner he had the audacity to show up at her apartment. A part of her told her it wasn't completely his fault, but because he had thrown the first punch, Owen was now going to be sporting a black eye for the wedding, and her night had been completely ruined.
"What the hell are you doing here, Dom? I said I didn't want to see anyone. That especially includes you." She yelled and spat the words at him. Dom knew he was the last person she wanted to see but he had to talk to her. Tonight.
"Can I come in? Please?" Dom asked, trying to keep his voice as gentle as possible so he wouldn't piss her off even more.
She didn't respond. And if looks could kill Dom would have already died 7 different ways.
"I know I'm the last person you want to see right now-"
"True."
"But can I please come in so we can talk?" He pleaded at her, his hand and foot still glued to the door.
"I'm not really in the mood to listen to your poor excuse of an apology for what happened today." She rudely answered. Her tone was harsh and her anger was evident, but she was not up to revisit what had just gone down a few hours ago.
"I'm not here to apologize for that." He bluntly told her. This caught Letty's attention and threw her off guard. The pissed off look she wore slowly contoured into a confused one.
"Then why are you here?" She asked.
"Can I please come in?" He attempted one last time and saw the internal battle she was having with herself. Letty stepped aside and allowed him to come in. Dom closed the door behind him and stood a few feet away from her. When she gave him no indication to sit down, Dom knew he had to get to the point quickly since his presence wasn't going to be welcome for long.
"I'm not here to apologize for I did to Owen tonight, he had that coming." He began. "But I am here to apologize for everything else."
Letty's eyebrows furrowed. "Everything else?" She repeated in confusion.
Dom let a few beats of silence pass by as he tried to collect his thoughts and figure out the best way to say what he came here to say. Letty just eyed him curiously as the seconds ticked by. Dom opened his mouth but no words came out. His eyes traveled down to the ground and right back at Letty who stared intently at him. It was those beautiful brown eyes looking back at him that gave him the push and encouragement he needed.
"Despite the way I feel about Owen, what he said tonight was true." Dom's voice was soft and serious, as he realized what he was about to admit. "I was never good enough for you, Letty." He admitted with defeat not only present in his tone but written all over his face. "I'm sorry that because of me, we were never able to work out as a couple." He continued. "I'm sorry that I wasn't trustworthy and always made it hard for us to communicate our feelings, problems, wants...and needs." He trailed off, trying to compose himself at the sight of seeing tears slowly well up in Letty's eyes.
"I'm sorry for making you second guess our relationship, me, and my love for you. I'm sorry for the exhausting and endless nights of crying I caused you for my stupid mistakes. For always promising that things would change every time we got back together but they never did." Tears continue to fill Letty's eyes, as she crossed her arms and shifted her weight from one leg to the other- a sure sign she was beginning to feel vulnerable.
Dom took a breath and licked his lips ready to continue. This wasn't easy for him, and he knew it wasn't easy for Letty to hear. "You gave us your all and never gave up on us, and I'm sorry that I always did. I'm sorry that my fears and stupidity constantly got in the way of me committing to you and our relationship."
His voice was slowly betraying him and it was becoming harder and harder to speak and to watch Letty cry. He swallowed hard and closed his eyes momentarily.
"And lastly," Dom paused, opening his eyes, and letting out a shaky breath. "I'm sorry that I wasn't worthy enough to be the man waiting for you at the altar. And for that… I'll forever be sorry, Letty."
When Dom finished, he looked broken, shattered. Letty didn't say anything. Silence once again engulfed them. All they could do was stare at one another as they tried to compose themselves and let everything sink in.
The thing about Dom and Letty was that they were great friends. Best friends. Always present and there for one another. They laughed a lot, flirted like crazy, and couldn't keep their hands off of each other. The love between the two was like no other- strong, powerful, and all-consuming. Once they crossed the line from just friends to lovers, and labels were slapped on, and things were getting serious, Dom felt the pressures and expectations of being in a relationship. Doubt, fear, and insecurity would creep up on him and this would lead to him acting out of character and doing things that would result in what he was apologizing for tonight. They would then break up, and time would pass by, and they'd go back to being friends.
The whole "friend" thing, though, would only last until they decided to give their relationship another shot. This was a repetitive cycle for them throughout the time they dated on and off. It wasn't until their engagement that Letty knew they were never going to work out as a couple. "Our love is not enough," were the words she told him before leaving her ring behind and leaving him heartbroken in the middle of their room.
And just like they had many, many, times before, Dom and Letty went back to being friends, (although it took a couple of years) only this time it remained that way. The past 3 years as just friends had done them good, and their friendship was better and stronger than ever. Their love for one another was there, it would always be there, but they knew they were better off as friends than a couple.
Then Owen came into Letty's life and from the looks of it, he was here to stay. Letty was happy, the happiest Dom had seen her in a long time. It hurt him to see her happy with someone else that couldn't be him. All he could do now was to step aside and allow the girl he had loved since he was 19 to be happy for once.
"Thank you." Letty finally breathed out, wiping the tears away with the back of her hand. "But why now, Dom? Why apologize now?"
"Because tonight…while you were yelling at Owen and me, you said "Why do you guys keep ruining everything?" but you were only looking at me when you said that." He recalled. "And when you said that, I realized that I didn't just ruin that moment for you, I ruined so many moments for us. So many chances at getting things right and doing things differently. And I wanted you to know how sorry I am for it all just in case I never got the chance to say it after tonight."
Dom knew his relationship with Letty was going to change the minute she said 'I Do' to Owen. He knew Owen wouldn't allow his friendship with Letty to continue, what man would.
Letty nodded her head; she was at loss for words. "Is that all?" She asked. Still feeling a bit uncomfortable and not knowing what else to say.
Dom smiled at her sadly. "No, I also came to tell you that I won't be at your wedding tomorrow."
"What? Why?" She asked shockingly, taking a step closer to him.
"I need to get away for a while. Figure things out. I can't do that here." He told her. But what Dom really wanted to tell her was that he couldn't bare to see her walk down the aisle into the arms of another man. He didn't know how he would react and the last thing he wanted was to ruin yet another moment for her. He wanted her to be happy, even if it couldn't be him who did that for her.
"When will you be back?"
"I don't know, but it won't be anytime soon." He answered her honestly. "I'm visiting Han in Tokyo and I'll be making a few stops along the way. Maybe go visit some family in Cuba."
Letty nodded again. She didn't know what to say or how to react. She wanted him to stay, but deep down knew it was best for him to go, for her to start her life with Owen, and for them to once in for all move on.
Dom closed the space between the two and kissed her forehead. It was a gesture he wouldn't often do, but when he did, Letty felt it everywhere. She wrapped her arms around his mid-section, while his enveloped around her shoulders, and they stood like that for a while. Dom pulled back and looked down at Letty, taking her all in and knowing he would never get to hold her like this or feel her body pressed up against him anymore.
They reluctantly let go.
"Goodbye, Letty."
"Bye, Dom." She whispered.
Dom slowly backed away from her and made his way to the door, shutting it behind him. He went to the elevators, and pressed the 'down' button, waiting for an elevator to arrive. He finally stepped in and was about to press the 'lobby' button when he heard Letty call his name.
"Dom?" He heard her call out and saw her running towards the elevators.
"Yeah?" He asked, a bit worried. He was still standing in the elevator, while Letty stood outside of it a few feet away from him just like at her apartment.
"I still…" She began. Her heart was racing, not knowing if it was from running, or from what she wanted to say. "I still…"
"I know, Letty. Me too." Dom finished for her. Neither being able to say the words "Love you." Almost like if it were their little secret.
Dom finally pressed the 'lobby' button, never taking his eyes off of Letty, while hers never left his.
The elevator doors closed and they were left staring at their own reflection.
