The next morning, Letty was with Mia during lunch break at school. Mia looked like shit, she had purple marks under her eyes, and Letty had covered for her so Mia could sleep during Math class.
She just kept yawning all day.
"Okay, what's kept you up, Mia?"
"Dom went out last night, he came back around three a.m. He was drunk beyond believe. I was sleeping when he came storming in, laughing, saying shit. I had to give him a shower and make him drink some coffee before he crashed".
"Well, I could never picture Dom like that, it doesn't sound like him"
"It is not like him at all!" Mia said, pissed off at her brother "I swear, I've never seen him so drunk before"
School was over and Mia went over to Letty's house. They forgot about homework because it was Friday, so they just kept talking and watching movies on tv. Vince knocked on the door around six.
"Hey, girls"
"Hey V, come on in"
Vince looked at Mia, who yawned.
"Dom has a peace offer. He made you dinner, so you can see how bad he's feeling"
Mia laughed, nodding and grabbing her stuff.
"Dom said to make sure you'd come, too, Letty"
Now that was a surprise. Vince just smiled, but didn't have a chance to say anything before Mia linked arms with her. Vince took the keys and locked the house up, following behind the two girls as they walked over to the Toretto's house.
As soon as they walked in, Dom walked right up to Mia, hugging her. Dom apologized, turning to Letty when Mia walked up the stairs. Dom hugged her two, but there wasn't the same urge he had when he hugged Mia. He just smiled, pulling away.
Dom was alone in the kitchen, for a change. Mia seemed to like it. Letty knew Dom would start to cook more, but maybe that was something any brother would do for their younger sister after screwing up.
Letty wished she had someone to do things for her like that. Letty was brought back to reality by Dom's deep voice, letting them all know dinner was ready. Letty sat down at Mia's side, as they both laughed at Dom. He had done a pretty good job and Mia was proud of him.
After dinner, Letty went home. Vince went out with Leon and Jesse. Mia and Dom sat on the front porch, Dom was drinking soda, just like Mia. After the headache he had to deal with this morning, he would try to stay a little away from alcohol. For the time being.
"Letty's birthday was last Monday" Dom was surprised. It hadn't been so long ago. Well, he could understand why she would mention it, but still he wished he knew.
"Did her parents throw her a party?" Dom asked.
"You don't know?"
"Know what?"
"She lives alone" Dom felt his jaw drop.
"What?! She's what, fifteen?! Where are her parents?!"
"Her father is military and her mother is a drug addicted"
Dom kept his mouth shut. He didn't know what to think. He felt like an idiot. Dom felt like shit for having these problems with sexual visions of her naked in his bed, he just couldn't see what was right in front of him. Letty had her own problems. And big ones.
"How is she keeping herself?"
"Her father sends money to her, she's tough but I don't know how long she can keep it up"
Dom didn't sleep that night. He stopped thinking of Letty like that. Well, the thoughts were still there, he just… kept trying to understand what he had learned from her. She was living on her own at sixteen. This was pretty fucked up. It was pretty much like himself. Dom was bound to be eighteen.
This was so different. Letty wasn't an adult. Still she had to do it all alone. Suddenly, Dom felt the urge to hug her and just put her into bed. Dom wanted to take care of her. She was supposed to be sixteen, not having to deal with this shit. Dom wanted to protect her from everything.
The next morning, Dom walked down the stairs when it was just six A.M.
"Who are you and what have you done to my brother, you monster?" Mia joked, walking into Dom, who had breakfast done already.
"I kept thinking about what you said about Letty."
"Really?"
"Yeah, i… Letty shouldn't have to be there alone. We have plenty of space here"
"What are you suggesting, Dom?" Mia looked at him through her eyelashes. She knew where he was heading, but she wanted to hear him say it. She had been right all along. He felt something. Anything. For Letty.
"She could stay with us" when Mia kept quiet, Dom felt like he was blushing. He hoped Vince was right and she hadn't noticed his sexual problems. Things would be horrible with her so close, but the idea of letting Letty alone was even worse. He wanted her safe, even if it meant he would have to masturbate every night, dreaming of the girl down the hall.
"You sure?"
"She needs someone to look after her, Mia. And I think we should do something for her birthday. I thought you'd like to help me"
I didn't take more than that to convince her. Dom was right, after all.
"What do you need me to do?"
"I need you to talk her through the idea. If it's not enough, I'll do the talking. For the birthday, we should just bake a huge cake, get the guys and some friends from school"
"For the party, I'll do it, obviously. But I don't know if I should do the talking, Dom"
"Then I'll do it"
"Just go easy on her, okay? I know you care for her just as much as I do"