A/N: So, Elena got pregnant in Fast 6, but the child in this story is closer to Jack's age, because the messed up timeline in the movie makes Dom look like a cheater. (Insert massive eye roll here.) Since it's already been 15 months, Marcos is four now. Should I make him five? I don't know... I hope you like this chapter. Gotta thank my beta for not making feel bad about Letty's actions, but actually liking it, haha. Thank you all for the support! x
Letty sat down on the hood of her car and curled into a ball, hugging her knees to her chest. She took a deep breath, struggling for control. Tears stabbed her eyes. She was dressed in a white tank top and hot pants, a pair of sandals on her feet. The sun burned through her back like a red-hot iron, but the breeze ruffled her hair, chilling the sweat against her skin. Staring out at the ocean, she heard footsteps in the distance, coming closer, but didn't turn around to look, because she knew exactly who it was.
"Thanks for calling me."
From the corner of the eye, Letty watched Mia sit down next to her, felt her eyes piercing her, but she still didn't look at her. She didn't want her friend to see that she was on the verge of tears although it was only a matter of time until she would break down. She could feel it. She could feel how the emotions inside her slowly but surely became too strong to bottle them up. They were causing internal havoc. But at least she felt safe crying in front of Mia, who had always been her sister and the best friend she had ever had.
"We were so happy here," Letty let out a sharp breath, silently cursing her voice as it quavered. Mia's arm wrapped around her body, pulling her close and the Latina rested her head on Mia's shoulder, looping her own arm around her sister's waist, holding on tight. "This is where he asked me to go to Cuba with him."
She remembered their date like it had been yesterday. Almost all day, she had wondered why he was so excited about it—more than usual—and then Dom had asked her if she wanted to spend their honeymoon in Cuba. And she hadn't hesitated to say yes. She had loved the idea of meeting his family and going on a new adventure. She would have gone anywhere with him just to be with him. Every beautiful moment they had ever had hung like a framed photo on the walls inside her mind—and walking along that hallway of memories had never felt so sad, so bitter, almost making Letty want to tore all of those pictures down.
"I'm sorry you're hurting," Mia said, sighing, and gave Letty a small kiss on the temple. "But it's not... I know you don't wanna hear this, but it's not Marcos's fault. That boy needs a mother and you know my brother wouldn't want anyone else to take that place. He needs you."
"I'm sure Monica would love to look after his baby," Letty scoffed.
"Why are you so angry?" Pushing her gently off her shoulder, she looked at her and when Letty met her gaze, Mia could see the tears in Letty's eyes. "I mean I get why, Letty, but it's not like Dom cheated on you. That child was conceived before you were back... when he thought you were dead... He didn't hook up with Elena when—"
"I almost cheated on him." The words left her lips as casually as though she had been commenting on the weather. Letty turned her face away, looking back out at the ocean. She laced her fingers through her hair, twisting handfuls of it and releasing it to repeat the action.
"You did?" Mia stared at Letty's face, the hard line of her mouth, the stern look in her eyes. She could hardly believe those words. Of course, she didn't believe for a second that Letty would ever cheat on her brother, but that she almost had made Mia sick to her stomach. She had never seen Dom and Letty so broken and she could only hope that they would soon find a way to take care of their damaged souls.
"And, you know, when I looked at him today, I didn't even feel bad about it." She knew the fact that she didn't feel sorry then, didn't mean anything. She knew she had to tell him—she wanted to tell him—but Letty also knew that once she talked to Dom about it, and saw the expression on his face, she'd find that guilt inside her after all.
"What did you do?" Mia asked. She wasn't sure if she really wanted to hear an answer to her question.
"I just wanted someone to fuck my goddamn brains out, so I wouldn't have to feel this pain anymore... feel anything anymore." Letty looked at her, sighing. "I didn't mean to do this to him, Mi, but it hurt so much, you know? I just couldn't stand it."
Sitting in a corner of the club, Letty sipped her beer. It tasted of lemon and watermelon. Drinkable, Dom would have called it. It wasn't like their usual brew, a Corona, and m still, just holding the bottle in her hand reminded Letty of him. Everything did. Even being in the club did, as she remembered the time she had found him in the Dominican Republic, surrounded by two skanks. She snorted at the vision. It had only been a few days since she had left him and each day, each moment, her emotions turned from disappointment to anger, from anger to sadness, and then back. They switched back and forth like a ping-pong ball. Mostly, though, she felt just hurt.
She watched the crowd and saw the guy she had raced earlier walk over to her slowly, but she didn't move a muscle. She just fixed her gaze on him, waiting for him to sit down next to her. When he did, a wide smirk appeared on his face. Letty took another sip of her beer, not paying much attention to him, making him feel like he was neither welcome there nor did she wanted to be left alone. He seemed to become aware of the mood she was in, and was totally digging it, because his smirk got even wider, as though he was enjoying himself. He was also full of himself.
"I let you win, you know," he mumbled, staring at her like she was some kind of trophy. Only one guy had ever looked at her like that and being reminded of that—being reminded of him again—was so painful, Letty could barely keep her eyes on the man next to her.
"Wanna go somewhere private?" she asked, emptying the bottle. She wasn't keen on making small talk with him; she just wanted to stop feeling. She wanted to stop thinking of Dominic Toretto and that child he had from another woman, if only for a moment.
The guy grabbed a handful of peanuts, as he considered his answer, though Letty was certain there was nothing he needed to consider, because his eyes had been all over her from the moment she had pulled up at the start line, ready to kick his ass at a drag race. "Do I look like a guy who'd say no to a woman like you?"
He grinned broadly and got up from his seat and Letty followed him like a ghost, like she wasn't even aware of the fact her legs were moving. They left the club through the rear exit. Letty could tell, he was eager to get some. He just gave off this weird vibe that made her feel like he didn't race for the respect or for the money, but rather for the girls he could impress. His car was parked in the back alley. He had probably parked it there on purpose, hoping to pick up a woman tonight—who would've thought that girl would be her.
He opened the door and looked at her, a smirk on his lips. "Get in."
"Why do you want me to get in when we can do it out here?" The words came out of her mouth, but Letty didn't feel like it was actually her who was saying them.
"I like the way you think," the guy said and immediately pushed her against the hood of the car. Letty grunted, but let him do it without any resistance. Then he put his filthy lips on her mouth and she pushed him away. Whatever she was doing now with that guy, she wasn't meant to be kissed by any other man but him. Her lips were his—Dom's.
Letty knew she was about to do something really stupid, but she didn't feel like she actually cared. She rather felt like she hadn't even been drinking enough to numb the excruciating pain inside her that seemed too huge to even fit into her small body. It was slowly—painfully—tearing her apart. She didn't want to feel it anymore. She didn't want to feel anything anymore. So if mindless sex was in any way the solution to her problem, she had to at least consider it.
"You can fuck me, but you can't kiss me," she stated emotionless, and he seemed turned on by it.
"Damn, you're a special kinda girl," he said, his face lighting up like a light bulb.
He started kissing her at the side of her neck. Letty remained still. Then he went further down her body and reached her breasts, trying to suck on them through the fabric of her shirt, and she still didn't move. The guy lifted her on the hood of his car and she lay back, allowing him to touch her body wherever he wanted. He moved to her thighs, letting his tongue ran along the skin on one side, slowly reaching her center. Letty closed her eyes and just let her tears fall.
She wasn't turned on by any of it. She wished she could have that mindless sex she was craving so much right now, but all she felt was even more of that pain. She loved Dom, no matter what he had done or how much he had made her suffer. She was married to him. She couldn't cheat on him. She could never cheat on him. He still meant everything to her. Maybe this was what she should do—cheat on him with some hot-looking racer in a back alley—but it was not what she wanted to do. All she wanted was for this pain to stop.
Before that guy's mouth could touch her most sensitive spot, while he was still caressing her thigh, she pushed him away from her with such force that he landed down hard on the ground. This had already gone too far. It reminded her of all the times the love of her life had had skank-lips on his mouth, skank-hands on his body; all the times Dom had fucked other women when they had still only been friends with benefits. Letty didn't want to be exactly like the person she had loathed so much. No, this wasn't her. She loved him!
"Get off of me," she shouted and she could see the huge surprise in his face. He was completely baffled, not only because she had pushed him away, but also because she had tears in her eyes and her voice was quavering. "Leave me alone! Get the fuck away from me," she kept shouting at him.
The guy tried to regain his composure as quickly as possible. He got up from the ground and moved closer again, brushing the dirt off his pants. "You can't just lead me on like that, make my fucking dick all hard, and then push me away. Who do you think you are, huh?"
Ready to fight him if necessary, Letty put both hands up in defense and gave him an icy stare. "I swear," she threatened him, "you touch me again and I'm gonna rip it off and make you team pussy."
He laughed out loud, obviously not taking her seriously, and moved his hands to her waist. Letty's fist flew to his face immediately, making him groan with pain as his body sank to the cold ground again. He held his aching cheek and looked up to her. "You're fucking insane!" he yelled, his blood boiling.
Although she was still crying, Letty looked furious, as she screamed at him, "I'm fucking married!" Turning around, she walked away, adjusting her clothes while tears kept falling from her eyes. "I'm married," she repeated to herself quietly as she raked her fingers through her hair, wishing she could ran right into the loving arms of her husband.
"Letty... Dom's gonna-"
"I know, Mia, I know," Letty cut her off. "I know this is gonna hurt him, but that's not why I did it. I didn't do it to hurt him back."
"You were never really good with emotions, I guess," Mia voiced her thoughts. "I mean, back then, you—Whenever you felt something deep for him, you ran the other way." She shook her head, remembering all those moments of complete stubbornness. "Even though I told you like a hundred times to talk to him about your feelings, you rather went to some street race, getting you half-killed. And it was even worse when my brother hurt you." She sighed. "Being in pain is like the worst thing in life for you, so I get why you didn't wanna feel it."
"Thanks for understandi—"
"But that doesn't make it right." Mia jumped off the hood of the car and started pacing from one side to the other. "Why didn't you talk to me? We could've found a way to make it work. I could've helped you." Letty watched, as Mia continued ranting. "God, why is it that you're always too stubborn to admit that you need someone to be there for you? Tell me! Because I really don't get it. I thought we were passed that." It was hard for Mia not to break out into tears. "I know I said was fine with you being away, 'cause I just wanted you to be happy, but I lied, okay? I lied! I hated the fact you weren't home and that I couldn't talk to you and be there for you. You're my sister, Letty, and I love you so much... I wanted to share that grief with you. I didn't want you to be alone with it."
"Mia..." Letty's tears started falling like rain from the sky. She hadn't realized the hurt she had caused her best friend. They had talked every day over the phone, and of course Mia had noticed the pain she had been in, but Mia had told her how proud she was of her for doing what was best for her and Letty had been foolish enough to actually believe her. She hadn't realized how hard it had been for Dom's sister to be in this position and Letty felt truly sorry for hurting her by the way she had shut her out.
Moving off the hood and over to her, Letty embraced Mia in a hug, holding her tight, as though she never wanted to let her go again. That's when Mia began shedding tears of her own. "I'm sorry, babe," Letty apologized. "I'm so sorry." Crying into her hair, she kissed Mia's temple. "I love you, too."
Mia hugged her back tightly as tears streamed down both their cheeks. "I'm so glad you're home," she sobbed, "I've missed you so much... Please don't ever... leave again... We need you!"
The girls stood hugging each other and crying together for a minute. Then Letty extracted herself from Mia's arms and looked at her as she let her thumbs run over her cheeks. "You know what makes me the worst sister ever?" She paused, waited for her breathing to steady and her tears to run dry. "I missed the birth of your little angel."
"You didn't," Mia shook her head. "I facetime'd you from the hospital, remember? Like an hour after she was born." Thinking back to that moment made Mia smile through her tears. "She heard your voice and she saw your face. My baby knows who her auntie is."
"You know that's not the same," Letty said in frustration. "I should've been there... come visit you." She pulled her into another hug that lasted for a few moments. "But I'm here now, so put me on baby duty whenever you feel like it. I'm all in, alright?"
A soft chuckle escaped Mia's lips. "You might regret having said that later. She's a bit of a handful."
"Then y'know she is just like me," Letty laughed. "I can handle that. Trust me, we're gonna get along just fine." Letty took a strand of Mia's hair and placed it behind her ear and Mia did the same to her, brushing hair from Letty's face. "I can't face your brother right now, Mi. I tried, but when the kid... He appeared in the doorway and I just lost it. I had to get outta there."
"I know how hard that is for you, sweetie, I do, but sooner or later you have to talk to him unless—"
"Unless?" Letty narrowed her eyes.
"Unless this thing with Marcos is really too painful for you and you'd rather break things off with Dom. Is that what you want?"
"No," Letty almost screamed out the word. "I want us. I want us to..." She sighed deeply. "Solo quiero recuperar mi amor. (I just want my love back.) I want Dom." Her eyes filled with tears again. "I miss him so much. I miss... being with him. I even miss the way he—he looks at me." As cheesy as that sounded, it was the undeniable truth. "And it hurts. It really hurts. Not getting to be with him… with the man I love... is fucking painful. I feel like—like some part inside me is dead. I feel empty. And I know I could just forgive him and have that part come back to life, but—"
"You're not ready," Mia concluded.
"I always knew Dom wanted kids, but I never felt like... I never saw myself as a mother. And I was so scared to lose him, 'cause I didn't know if I'd ever stop feeling that way. I didn't want him to have this hole inside him... that unfulfilled wish for a child. But when we were in Cuba and I saw him surrounded by kids it just felt so right." Letty's eyes were burning, filling, tears catching in the lashes, breaking free and wetting her cheeks. She squeezed her eyes shut and breathed. It did nothing.
Mia stepped closer, wanting to pull her into her arms, but the Latina backed away. "I don't know how it happened, but that place changed me... Being with him there," Letty continued, "I really wanted us to try, you know?" She sobbed. She hated herself for crying so much, but she couldn't stop. "Then I find out he's already got a kid." She just couldn't stop. "Now I can't give him the joy of… becoming a dad… 'cause some other woman did that to him… So, tell me, Mi… Am I being punished for not wanting a baby before?" She screamed. She screamed out her pain, as though it would save her from feeling it.
"Don't ever think that," Mia butted in, "you hear me?" She threw her arms around her and Letty tried to fight her off, but Mia kept holding her tight until she finally stopped resisting and just let the comfort—and pain—wash over her. "Letty, the day you make Dom a father of your own child will be the happiest day of his life. Believe me. He's gonna fall in love with you all over again."
"You're just saying that to make me feel better," Letty mumbled.
"Oh, you shut up!" Mia immediately gave her a slap on the back, a little harder than she had intended to. It made Letty groan with pain. "When have I ever said anything to you to make you feel better? I'm always honest with you." Stroking Letty's back, she waited for her to calm down. "You gotta tell him how you feel. Please, Letty, just talk to him," she pleaded. "My brother was miserable without you and he truly hates himself for hurting you."
"I know that he's sorry," Letty said, sighing. She rubbed her puffy eyes and pulled back to be able to look at Mia's face. "I know Dom misses me... loves me. I know that he's... hurting… But I look at that child and I'm reminded of my own pain. And as long as it's like that, I don't know how to be around him." She ran her fingers through her hair, ruffling it. "It's not Marcos's fault. I know that, too. He's just an innocent kid and I shouldn't be so goddamn… cold. You know, when I saw that little boy, I couldn't even smile. He must think I hate him."
"I'm sure Dom explained it to him," Mia tried taking some of that guilt away from her. She could see how it was eating her up. She could see that deep down Letty actually felt something for that four-year old. Mia was convinced that it was something like love, maybe even love itself. Whatever she felt, Mia was sure Letty would learn to love that boy, because Letty had learned to love every part of Dom and that child was a part of him now, too.
"He looks just like him." Closing her eyes, Letty remembered the boy's cute dimples and the way Marcos had looked at her with a pair of big brown eyes she knew all too well. "So even if I wanted to hate him, I couldn't." She opened her eyes and a wet layer of tears covered them. She had lost count of how many times she had cried today. "I really don't know what to do." Letty let out a deep breath. "Should I spend time with him to see if I can—if this pain will ever stop or should I just hide myself away and hope for something that might never happen?"
"No hiding. Ever," Mia said sternly. "You're staying home with us. You can sleep in the guest room. And you are gonna talk to Dom, 'cause I'm sure as hell not gonna let what happened with Elena ruin a relationship that has lasted for over sixteen years." Her eyes were on fire as though she was mad and Letty knew better than to argue with an angry Mia.
"Fine," she gave in, heaving another sigh. "I will stay and—"
"Talk to him," Mia interrupted. She knew exactly how much the Latina wanted to avoid having an honest conversation with her husband and feel more of that pain she tried so hard to overcome, but she wouldn't let her get away with it. If she had to, she would pressure her every single day to talk to him until Letty would have enough of it and just go do it.
"I can't. Not yet."
"You will."
"But Mia—"
"There is no freakin' but, Leticia. Geez!" Mia rolled her eyes at her, and Letty frowned. Had Mia Toretto just used her full name? And cursed? And rolled her eyes? Then Letty knew she would be in serious trouble, if she even dared to object. "Do you really think putting it off for now and doing it later will hurt less? I hadn't talked to Brian in five years and when I finally did, it still hurt like hell." Mia stared deep into her eyes, piercing her. "Letty, you can't work this out by avoiding him. Waiting will only make it worse. Trust me."
"What if we get interrupted again? I need us to have some time—"
"Alone? I make sure you get that," Mia said, smiling. "Brian and I can take the kids to beach. Those boys love it so much they probably wish they lived there. You won't see any of us for like a day, I promise."
Letty leaned her body against the car, shaking her head as if to get rid of the thoughts that were too heavy. "And you sure we will get through this? Because I'm starting to think—"
"You think too much," Mia didn't let her finish that sentence. "Way too much. And sometimes you don't think at all, like before you go do something stupid." She chuckled and moved to Letty's side, putting her arm around her. "Listen... Ever since my stupid brother fell in love with that feisty young girl who lived down the street, he's become a better person. The world owes it to you that he's using his brain now."
For an instant—you had to be quick to catch it—there was a smirk on Letty's face.
"I honestly don't know what the hell Dom was thinking hooking up with Elena without using protection, or hooking up with her at all, but I do know that he was barely holding on when he did. He pretended to be fine, but every single day he was smiling through the pain of losing you. You know how he is... How he likes to... pretend. He's like you sometimes. He hates to feel the things that hurt him, because God forbid, it makes him weak, you know, like an actual human being." Mia couldn't help it. She rolled her eyes again. Her dear brother—always pretending to be a tough guy. The act was getting old.
Letty turned her head just at the right moment to see that massive eye roll. It made her laugh. And it felt good to just let that laugh escape her mouth without feeling the need to cry instead. It felt good to have her sister by her side to help her deal with the pain in a way she could still laugh and smile. Even if that feeling was just there for a second, Mia made her heart feel a little less heavy and she couldn't thank her enough.
"What I'm trying to say is..." Mia kept talking. "If you're asking me, do I believe there's a still a chance for you and Dom to get through this? Then yes... Fucking yes! I believe that with all of my heart. Because just the fact you're alive is reason enough for my brother to never stop fighting for you… over you." Mia smiled. "He will always fight for you and for that relationship you guys have and the only one who could ever make him stop is you, Letty. So, if you don't push him away... if he feels that you want him back… Dom's gonna fight for you with everything he has to give… and you two are gonna be okay."
"He really does love me," Letty said the words quietly like she hadn't actually meant to say them out loud, biting her lower lip.
"He loves you more than anything else in this world, Let." Rubbing Letty's arm, Mia pinched it lightly. "So please come home with me."
Letty sighed, resting her head on Mia's shoulder. "I wish things were different. I wish that... I wish that... baby was mine."
"I know. Me too." Kissing the top of her head, Mia gave her a gentle squeeze. "But you know he can be… one day... when you're ready."
"Do you think I... You think I'd make a great mother?" Letty bit her lip a little harder. It kind of embarrassed her to even ask that.
"The best," Mia laughed softly. "You'll be such a badass mom, I really can't wait to see it."
"Will you help me?" Letty lifted her head and looked Mia in the eyes.
"Of course I will help you, silly," Mia smiled at her reassuringly. "I'm your sister and sisters gotta be there for each other, right?" She gave her a small peck on the lips and started grinning. "I never thought you and I would ever talk babies. And now look at you! All grown up. You're actually thinking about it."
"Ugh, don't rub it in," she replied, "This is embarrassing enough."
"What?" Mia stifled another laugh, but the grin on her face was extra wide. "It's cute. You're cute. And I love you." She pinched Letty's cheeks. "You and your broody little self."
"God," the Latina grunted, "I shouldn't have said anything. You're never gonna shut up now." She walked to the driver's side and, opening the door, shot Mia an angry glare. Mia knew, though, it wasn't that kind of glare she needed to worry about. Letty wasn't really angry with her, just annoyed. Maybe. "Let's drive. I've been away from that place long enough. I wanna go home."