5.
"Mia please don't cry..." Vince's tone was an attempt to soothe her but she was beyond that.
"It's too much V, I can't take it." Her broken voice made him hang his head. He'd let her down, they all had. They'd made mistakes but for some reason Mia was paying for it the most it seemed. And she took it, but he could tell now she was only hanging on by a thin thread.
"That's not true, you're the strongest person I know. It's not forever." He looked over his shoulder when a guard told him to wrap it up.
"But that's how it feels!" Mia held back every urge to cry, to breakdown right there and forget about holding things together. "Dom and Letty are in Mexico but I can't contact them, I'm just waiting by the phone like a fool. He said that Leon left after he told him Jesse was dead and now you're in jail. Vince I..." she trailed off shakily, trying to pull it together.
Vince clenched his hand around the phone, pained to hear the crack in her words, willing her not to cry because he thought he might too if she did. He sighed heavily as the guard told him again to wrap it up. "Look baby girl I have to go, tell Dom and Letty I'm alright when you talk to them again okay?"
He frowned at the silence on the other end. "Mia?" He heard a soft whimper on the other end, a sniffle before she spoke again.
"Yeah...okay I will. Take care of yourself in there, don't try to be a tough guy." She told him seriously.
He had to smile a little at that. "I won't, I promise."
He could hear her sigh as she spoke, "I miss you V."
He hung up after hearing that, the sincerity in the words made him feel even worse. Vince ran his hands through his hair before walking away from the phone booth. He scanned the yard and shook his head.
"I miss you too Mia...I miss you too."
Mia couldn't sleep. She had tried, for the last three hours she had tried but sleep just wasn't coming. She had too much on her mind. It was bad enough that her brother and his girlfriend were pretty much outlaws but she had no one else to fall back on now that Vince was locked up.
Vince was always there when her brother wasn't and now she was lost. He'd been the one to hold her hand when her dad couldn't take her to the dentist and Dom was too scared. He'd been there for her when Dom had gone to jail for beating Linder to a bloody pulp after their dad was killed. He'd been there at her graduation, cheering so loud that she could almost forget her brother and dad weren't there. Vince had slipped into the role of friend, brother, even father without any complaints. She wished now she had told him how much she appreciated it, how she appreciated him.
She'd never felt so truly alone before in her life.
Mia turned her head to look out the window as she heard rain starting to fall outside. She scowled, it made her feel even more miserable. She saw headlights coming down the street, a car pulling up and stopping outside but she didn't make a move out of her bed to get a closer look. She figured it was probably one of the neighbours coming home late.
She closed her eyes, willing sleep to come again before she heard a bang and crash. Her eyes flashed open, her stomach knotting at how close the noise seemed. She groaned, this was exactly why she needed men around the house. Mia squeezed her eyes shut again tightly, her hands tight around her sheets. She could feel and hear her heart pounding in her chest, swallowing hard when she was positive she could hear the front door being unlocked and opened.
Logic told her not to panic, that if the person had a key then she must know them but the rest of her wondered why the hell they'd sneak in at 3 o'clock in the morning knowing she'd likely be sleeping. She wished she was.
"Suck it up Mia, you're a Toretto." She muttered to herself as she slowly opened her eyes and sat up in bed. She reached out and took her cell phone from the nightstand, thinking if it was an unwanted visitor she might have the chance to call 911.
Mia slipped out of bed as quietly as she could, terrified of making a sound in case they heard she was awake. She took a deep breath, glancing around her dark room for anything she could use as a weapon but there was nothing.
"You're okay, you're fine, it's someone you know. They just didn't want to call and wake you." She didn't care if talking to herself sounded crazy.
She stepped out of her room slowly, trying to peer into the pitch black hallway. Her breath caught seeing a shadow coming up the stairs. She tried hard not to make a sound but as the shadow got to the top she let out a squeak of fright.
"Don't come any closer, I have a weapon!" She called out, hoping to scare off the intruder.
Then as the words left her mouth she was flooded in light, the hallway suddenly lit up and she could see exactly who was standing at the top of the stairs.
"LETTY?!"
Mia frowned deeply when she saw the other girl trying not to smirk. "You scared the crap out of me! Damn it!" She leaned against her doorframe, sucking in a few deep breaths.
Letty couldn't help but chuckle. "Sorry, I thought you would be sleeping, I didn't want to wake you." She rolled her eyes in amusement, glancing at the cell phone in Mia's hand. "Nice weapon." She teased before picking up the bag she'd dropped at her feet putting the light on and headed down the hall to Dom's room.
Mia shook her head in confusion as she calmed her nerves, following Letting into her brother's room. "Oh no, you don't get off that easy. What the hell are you doing here? Why are you alone? Where is Dom?" Mia stood watching Letty start pulling things out of her duffel bag, not looking at her and it was clear she didn't want to give her an answer anytime soon.
"Letty-"
"Can we just talk about it in the morning please? Right now, I just want to get some sleep." Letty sounded exhausted so Mia decided it was best to leave all the questions for now even if she wasn't very happy about it.
"Okay but tomorrow you talk." Mia said sternly before reaching over to give Letty a hug and a soft smile. "For whatever reason you're here, I'm really glad you are." She told her before she headed back to her room. Mia had little trouble falling asleep now. She took comfort in Letty's presence, knowing now she wasn't alone.
-
Letty awoke to the heavenly scent of bacon, unable to wipe the grin off her face before her stomach growled in hunger. She lifted her head, blinking her eyes open. She was met by a picture of her and Dom on the nightstand. They were happy. It made her feel sick. She reached out and flipped the picture down so she didn't have to look at it and dragged herself out of bed and made her way downstairs to get something to eat.
Mia looked over her shoulder when she heard Letty coming into the kitchen and grinned at her. She'd gotten the best night's sleep in a long time, finally catching up on much needed rest. "Morning sunshine. How do you want your eggs?"
"Scrambled." Letty slid into a seat at the table, rubbing her eyes a little to wake up. She couldn't understand why Mia was so cheery but she never questioned it.
Mia finished making their breakfast and set Letty's plate in front of her, taking her own seat. They ate in silence, Letty a little lost in her own thoughts, Mia waiting for the right moment to ask why she was there.
As Letty finished her breakfast she groaned at the questioning look in the other girl's eyes. "Dom dumped me." She stated simply.
"What?!" Mia shook her head in disbelief. "Okay start from the beginning, what exactly happened?"
Letty sighed, having no desire to give Dom's sister the gory details but didn't have the energy to deal with her if she didn't. "Well maybe not in those exact words but he said that he was worried about me getting into trouble and because the cops were probably looking for him that I was in danger. Said it was best if we went our separate ways."
"Urgh, men." Mia rolled her eyes. "Always thinking that they know better." She shook her head before giving Letty a smile. "But we have each other, you can't stay anywhere else after you scared the crap out of me last night, I'll never sleep."
Letty chuckled. "Deal." She got up and placed her empty plate in the sink, leaning against the counter and glanced out the window. "You know, you shouldn't leave the trash can in the middle of the driveway, damn near broke my neck tripping over it last night."
Mia laughed softly, understanding now what the crash and bang had been. She watched Letty go outside to pick the trash up from the driveway. She had a feeling she wasn't getting the whole story about her and Dom, but she could wait, she was just glad she wasn't alone.