Leticia Ortiz and Dominic Toretto have been close friends and nieghbors since childhood. Letty was lived right next door and was Mias best friend and because they spent so much time together Letty practically became part of the Toretto family. Dom even cared for Letty like a little sister.
During their highschool years Mia and Letty drifted apart and gain interest in different things where as Letty and Dom grew closer together. As Mia became more focused on school where as Letty and Dom found a simular interest in cars. Race wars to be more exact.
for 8 years Dom and Letty and developed a friendship. together they grew up learning about engines talking about street cars, favorite races, and improving their own driving skills. They constantly talked about taking a more serious focus on their passions. Even though their friendship grew nothing ever happened between the them. Letty always saw Dom just as a sibling she never had. His family practically took her in. As for Dom he did care about Letty deeply but he also couldnt deny his attraction to Letty. He was in fact a man and a human being, and Letty was a rare beauty. She had always had a tough exterior when around other people but when she was with Dom she felt secure enough to show off her smile with him. Dom loved her smile and did his best to get her to do it as often as possible.
Letty was very unlike any girl he was use to seeing. She not only had a charm and personality that you could instantly be attracted to she also had strong morals and values and more importantly she had integrety. Letty had all the features of an ideal woman. inner beauty that matches her outer beauty and even her imperfections actually made her more perfect. Though as ideal as Letty was Dom saw the very defined line he couldnt cross. he knew she didnt like to be touched and he knew how she saw him. Dom knew that crossing that line would only ruin their friendship to a point of no return. To Dom nothing was worth losing the friendship. He saw Letty as a beautiful flower growing in the middle of the desert. and flowers thrive and live longer when they are left untouch. oh there have definitely been times where he just wanted to pick her up throw her against the wall and ravish her with kisses.
he wanted to grab her hand, hold her in his arms feel her heartbeat but everytime Dom managed to resist the urge with incredible strength. but it was worth it just to see her smile another day. But a flower can just be enjoyed by one person Dom knew sooner or later there would be someone who would want to pluck the flower form her roots and they would value her til the end or throw her away in fived minutes. Dom just wanted to make sure that the desert flower that did not belong to him thrived as long as possible.
In their mid 20's Dom and Letty were at the top of their game. Both thriving in the world of street racing and in the garage shop they both started to work at together. Dom was undernieth a car changing the oil when he felt Letty kick him in the boots to get his attention.
"So street wars is going to be on April 3rd this year"
"thats in a month from now."
"well yeah i think this year is the year we finally enter and show all those turds whats really up!"
Dom chuckled "i think maybe youre right we have been utting it off for too long now."
"so you gonna bring your challenger?"
"you know it. youre going to need to put in overtime if you want to get your car ready in time."
"i know but i got it. trust me its my baby no body handle my baby but me and i am going to get it to work Toretto just you wait!"
its the little moments like this with her that made life perfect for Dom. He loved how excited she would get and how her eyes glistened with joy.
"well im always here to help you with your little put put if you need it."
Letty responded with a sarcastic stare but shrugged it off. she tossed a oil rag at Dom and went back to work at her station.
Dom and Letty were worked as a team. They complemented eachother very well and despite people behind hoping or wondering if they would ever hook up they both knew they were perfect the way they were.
Usually after work Dom and Letty would hang out at their favorite restuarant or have a few drinks with everyone back at Doms house. However right when Dom dom and letty clocked off he offered her to stop by hectors to get some new tires for her car.
Letty looked as if she was caught by surprised by Doms question.
"honestly man i... i feel tired i just want to go straight home to sleep."
"yeah thats okay i get you we'll try again another day."
"sure" Letty anxiously left the shop with out even clocking out.
Dom was a little bewildered but shrugged it off. He decided to go to hectors on his own and get Letty what she needed on his own. When Dom came home he was going to stop by Lettys to drop off his gift but when he did he noticed her car was not there. He gave her door a knock thinking maybe she lent her ride to her mom but no one was home. He gave Letty a ring just to see if it would be alright to leave his guft at her doorstep and when he called it dialed twice and went straight to voicemail s if she rejected the call.
THE NEXT DAY:
At the shop things were business as usual. Dom kept checking his phone to see if Letty ever got his gift. She never did so at this point Dom was starting to feel uneasy. he knew it wasnt his place to be so worried bc they werent dating but he couldnt ignore odd behavior especially if its from someone that matters to him.
When dom arrived home he saw Lettys car was there. so naturally he felt the urge to drop by to check up on her. it wasnt too out of the normal for a friend to check on their neighbor he thought to himself.
after a minute of waitng at her front door someone finally answered the door. Letty had a raspy voice like she had just woken up, "Dom?" whats going on?"
"hey just wanted to check up on you, i dropped off something for you and your car to help you get ready for street wars but you werent home and..."
"Dom i appreciate it but i really didnt ask you for anything. Im okay everythings fine but im just busy can we talk later?"
"oh yeah sure"
Dom walked away feeling he had just crossed the imaginary line somehow. "was it bc he pointed out he noticed she was gone?"
they were neighbors its an easy thing to notice but did he really offende her somehow? again Dom tried to put it behind him and forget about it. this would normally nevre bother him but he felt like something was different this time. She's had bad days and days where she has had so much on her mind but the thing about their friendship was that dom was always there for her for support whenever she needed.
Letty continued to act mysterious for the next few days. her hours at work had almost completely changed from Doms so that they were practically not working or having time off together anymore.
Though it hadnt even been a week Letty seemed to have dissappeared from Doms life. Street wars was coming up soon and this should have been THEIR month. But due to the lack of Letty the street wars hype was dying down for Dom. Dom tried to give Letty space but curiousity just got the better of the big baldie so once again he tried to contact her.
he messaged her about how he was worried that they havent hung out in a while and that they should try to squeeze some time in to work on the cars.
Letty eventually replied with, "Dude its only been a week, calm your tits. i just have a lot going on right now."
"well whats going on, you could tell me anything Letty, youve done it before. we help each other out Letty thats how our friendship always worked."
"Dom you dont need to know everylittle detail just dont take it personal and leave me alone for right now okay?"
"dont take it personal?" how could he not. Sure what ever her problem is, it was none of Doms bussiness but he couldnt shake that empty pit he felt in his stomach. money problems health problems? what could it have been? what could have happened to Letty that would make her change so drastically and so suddenly.
Dom KNEW he couldnt push this girl so he backed off for five days but after a week he tried again which was a mistake too five days later Dom was out in his porch enjoying a fine beer to himself. he hadnt thought about Letty much in the two weeks they had stopped talking but all that was gonna change. It was 2 am when he saw Letty come home drunk. Dom just wanted to check on her again but when he apprached Letty quickly tried to hurry into her house. Dom called her name but Letty kept smiling and nervousing was looking for her keys to get her in the house as fast as possible.
"Letty! is everything okay its been awhile and ... and.. i thought you said you didnt want to drink anymore?"
Letty smiled and slurred "hey Dom right now is not the best time to talk to me look im fine just leave it at that bye."
So again Dom was left there with no answers. and no sign of his friend returning
Things continued on that way for Dom for awhile. Dom still couldnt understand what happened to his friend or why she couldnt just talk to him like normal. it was finally one week before race wars and Dom was at his limit with patience he needed to try to fix what ever happened to Letty. he knew she wasnt mad at him and that he shouldnt be worried but those facts didnt help ease him at all.
So again persistent Dom tried to contact his friend but Dom wasnt the only one who reached his limit. instead of greeting her long time friend with understanding and communication she greeted him with anger. Dom couldnt finish one single sentence before Letty had to rub the "IM NOT YOUR GIRLFRIEND DOM NEVER WAS NEVER WILL BE!" in his face.
"in wasnt treating you like my girlfriend im just concern about whats going on cant we just talk for one minute?"
"NO IM BUSY!"
"its just that srteet wars is coming up and..."
"Honestly i am not going to do street wars this year. or maybe ever im done with that im sorry dom but im busy and i just cant! " and she slammed the door on her face.
It was never in doms intention to lay the impression that he was being possesive and he feared that was the impression he gave Letty.
she has always been a strong and independent woman and would never allow herself to be anyones property. Dom knew this and he worried that all his questioning and persistence gave her the impression that he was trying to posses her.
Instead of giving her more space (which he thought was unnecessary to begin with bc they were never dating to begin with) Dom tried to apologuize for pushing and trying so hard. This again angered the Latina. But instead of telling him off or getting in his face or screaming (at this point Dom wanted any kind of reaction from her just so they could go back to how things were) but instead she uttered the words he thought he would NEVER hear from her.
"Dom if you bother me one more time i will call the cops on you and trust me yuo dont want anyone looking over at your house."
Dom was strucked with shock. after everything he has done for her after everything shes ever asked from him, he couldnt believe that she felt it was necessary to threaten Dom with the Cops. They had so many years of friendship he couldnt believe that calling the cops was a better option than just talking it out with her friend.
Dom was so hurt and his hurt turned into anger.
"THEN CALL THE COPS! MAYBE WE CAN FINALLY TALK ABOUT WHATS GOING ON IN COURT!"
letty slammed the door shut and never came back.
with Street wars one week away Dom knew he would have to give up on that fantasy of having an amazing time with his friend and accept that things might never be the same again. \
It was really hard to avoid Letty after that. they were neighbors. they would take the same streets leave the house almost the same time they even worked att he same place but now at different hours.
Dom really couldnt let go of Letty and that was nly bc he didnt have any closure. he didnt know if they would be friends again or if she was truly gone forever.
street wars came and went. Dom did end up going with his roomates Vince and Leon. but Dom just couldnt fully participate. his heart wasnt there and he was just sad that Letty couldnt have been there to enjoy it with him.
"Dude forget about letty! shes a total bitch!" Leon said comically to lighten the mood
"I just dont understand it myself, she hates you bc you just wanted to go to street wars with her?"
"shes mad bc i was persistent" dom said with his head down
"youre were persistent bc you cared about her and you didnt exactly go too over board its not like you showed up at her house in the middle of the night or during her shift at work. it was just a few text and you just wanted to know what any other human being would want." Leon suggested
"she's fucking somneone!" Vince so casually threw in
"WHAT?!"Dom grumbled
"Dude letty is a girl and you are just her friend, if she all of a sudden threw you away its bc she found another penis. why else would she be such a bitch all of a sudden. she has needs. she needs to get her rocks on"
"Vince, SHUT UP!" leon interjected
"It makes perfect sence shes not an angel. i always thought letty was kind of a shallow girl. when i first met her i thought she was autistic." Vince added
"SHE IS NOTHING LIKE THAT! Letty has always been genuine with me. there has never been anyone on this planet who has earned my trust more than her. she is that kind of girl. maybe there is someone in her life but she could have still told me i would have understood. maybe i am a little over protective but thats bc of you guys. i know how bad people can get how sick your minds can be sometimes i just never want anyone to ever treat her with disrespect. there are people in this world who like to pluck flowers just to tear them apart. i wont let that happen to letty but but..." Dom defended
"but theres nothing you can do. you may care about her but dude she can do what ever she wants with her life and body. dude im fully aware of all the wolves out there but letty really can take care of herself. Look at this way dude. she knows there are bad people in this world people like chris brown people who solve their problems with their fist or with abuse you like to solve your problems with common ground and conversation. and she treated you like one of those bad people so why even bother with her." Leon rationalized
maybe somone did steel lettys heart. dom wondered was it really worth ending the friendship. WEAS THE FRIENDSHIP EVEN OVER? he didnt know. all he did know for sure was thast she doesnt want him around.
"face it dude she was just using you this whole time and watchy the next guy she uses and abuses is gonna put her in her place, not everyone is as nice as you dom." Vince chimed in.
Dom wanted to swing at him so badly and came close to doing so but he stopped.
"the only thing of real value we own in this world are our memories, and now i will have this memory to carry with me for the rest of my life. i dont think i could keep doing street wars after this"
"dude you gotta move on! forget her! she wasnt your lover or anything!"
"she may have never loved me that way but we really had a bond. we thought alike felt alike. i cant let go bc i dont know whats going to happen. if she would just tell me that things will be back to normal again one day or to expect to hear from her again maybe i would be able to move on just fine but bc its soo undefined... FUCK LETTY! ALL THIS COULD SO EASILY BE FIXED IF WE COULD HAVE JUST TALKED FOR A INUTE BUT SHE WONT EVEN GIVE ME ONE CHANCE!?"
Dom slammed and dented the hood of his car.
the boys were genuinley afraid of dom. but they understood his frustration. and they realized how terrible the timing is.
"well look on the brightside you are at street wars and Letty isnt" Leon added hoping to break the tension.
"Letty?!" Hector who was passing by over heard Leon and enetered their conversation. "Dude Letty was amazing earlier. she dominated three of the races."
"what?! letty was here? year in the morning racing she was here with a bunch of people. i was kinda shocked to to see her with you guys. but ti was definetly letty in her little put-put dude she was amazing hahaha" Hector was called by one of his friends and he left Dom vince and Leon.
"well now its official she is a liar and a hyprocrit"
"and above all a bitch!"
dom stayed quiet.
"face it dude she was just using you, and she threw you away."
"yeah now you can forget about her. shes a bitch dude!"
"yeah shes a bitch even if she doesn ever feel like talking to you again she really doeanst deserve an ounce of your friendship. just forget her"
"its gonna be tough since we live next to eachother but fuck it we just pretend lets just pretend we never knew her"
"pretend we never knew her" dom asked
"yeah dude its easy."
the guys just wouldnt stop calling letty a bitch and dom wanted to shuit them up but instead he just kept staring out at the horizon just not sure what will happen. how could he ever talk to her again? how could they ever fix wwhat was broken.
now instead of being haunted by "why" he is now facing "whats next"