Author's Note: I know I haven't updated for months, but long story short, laptop broke and bye bye stories. Hopefully all the loyal readers/reviewers are still checking for the story because I'm currently re-writing everything. Maybe it'll come out better. And, expect things to speed up. Hope you enjoy :)
Disclaimer: I do not own the Fast and Furious or its characters. No copyright infringement is intended. This fictitious work is for entertainment purposes only.
Dom heaved a heavy sigh as he tried to ignore Suki's questions. "Look, we need to talk-"
"Yeah we do," she quickly interjected. "What the hell, Dominic? You've been lying to me! You've been seeing Letty behind my back. You're such a liar!"
Dom clenched his jaw at the tone her voice held. Her attitude irritated him beyond belief. He briefly wondered why he stuck around this long. "And I shouldn't have to sneak around to see, or hang out with my best friend," he shouted back.
Suki placed her hands on her hips and raised one brow disbelievingly. She couldn't understand how he could be mad at her when he was the one in the wrong. "Just friends? With all the time you've been spending with her you could have fooled me."
"Are you serious? Me and Letty? You're crazy. We're just friends. Any plain fool can see that. It's just too bad your jealousy can't see it," he spat back.
"Oh please," she expressed with the usual roll of her eyes. "You run to that girl for everything! I'm your girlfriend, Dom; I'm supposed to be the only girl you run to."
"I'm sorry, but there are only certain things I can talk to Letty about," he spoke in a softer tone before continuing. "Like my mom. And you know what, if you can't accept that without being jealous or flipping out about it then this isn't going to work. If you can't trust me then we should be together, because it's just going to lead to a lot of annoying fighting."
Dom finally took a seat on the steps to the porch and began massaging his temples. Being in a relationship at this age should not require so much hard work, and definitely not this much unnecessary drama. He missed the days where he didn't have to justify his actions to another girl. He missed being single. Why am I doing this again? He thought, and secretly hoped that Suki's jealousy was so huge that she would just break up with him.
Suki uncrossed her arms and sat beside Dom. Her gaze softened as she gently placed her small hand on his back. "Look, I know I may come off as superficial sometimes, but you can talk to me about anything. I'd understand."
The words that left Suki's mouth surprised Dom. He was almost certain that she would be so infinitely pissed off to call it quits. He was almost hoping for it. He could have easily been the one to end their relationship but something always kept him from doing so. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but something always stopped the words from leaving his mouth. Maybe he didn't want to be the bad guy, or didn't want to see her cry, or get hurt. Dom was stuck in a state where if Suki wasn't the one to end things then nobody was.
He did however, appreciate that she managed to tone down her attitude, and offered her a faint smile for it. "Suki, I appreciate the offer, but you just wouldn't understand like Letty can."
Suki slowly retracted her hand form his back as her eyes went wide. "How so? She's not even our age. I think that clearly makes me the better choice. "
Dom sighed. He could feel her hot tempered attitude flaring up. "It has nothing to do with age. Letty, she's just easy to talk to. She understands things better."
"In what way?" Suki asked quizzically. She could not bring herself to fathom Dom's reasons. What was so special about Letty? "In exactly what way?" she asked again, and clearly more agitated. "How does she understand better than me? Last time I checked all of us were missing out on one, if not both parents. So how exactly does she understand better than me? What makes her so damn special, Dom? Why do you have to run to her over, me, or your sister, or Vince for that matter?"
Dom heard all of her questions – very clearly in fact – but could not supply a sufficient answer for her. He knew whatever response he sputtered out would anger her. Besides, how exactly do you tell your girlfriend that you share a special bond with another girl? That you prefer to share your most inner thoughts with someone else?
All Dom could do was shrug. "It's hard to explain," he told her, giving her his best apologetic expression. It was the honest truth though. The way he felt about Letty and how effortlessly he could tell her everything was difficult to explain.
Suki laughed incredulously. "You're kidding me, right? That's all I get? Why don't you just admit that she means more to you than just a friend? Quit lying and just admit it!"
Suki rose from the porch steps and waited for Dom to admit what she feared most.
Dom rubbed his hands together nervously. He knew he needed to choose his words carefully.
"I'm waiting," Suki reminded him. "Spit it out already."
"She does mean more to me than just a friend, but not as a girlfriend," he explained.
Suki shook her head. "That makes absolutely no sense, Dominic. No title exists for something in between friend and girlfriend. I'm your girlfriend; I'm supposed to be your number one option for everything!"
"Well you're not," he blurted out.
Suki was so shocked that she nearly gasped. The words that left his mouth were razor sharp and pricked her eyes with tears.
Dom didn't mean for those words to come out so hastily and cause such hurtful damage that was displayed all over Suki's face. Seeing her glistening tears washed an overwhelming sense of guilt over him, and it was the exact reason why he could never bring himself to break up with her. Seeing that kind of pain on anybody's face bothered him, let alone being the main reason or cause of it.
Before Suki could run off down the street Dom hurriedly engulfed her into a tight embrace. "I'm sorry," he whispered into her ear and gently kissed the top of her head. "I'm so sorry," he repeated softly. And, to his surprise she didn't try to run or fight him off. Her arms reflexively wrapped around his body and wept into his chest. He didn't know what else to say, other than I'm sorry. Not sorry for it being the truth, but sorry for the way it affected her. However, Dom refrained from telling her that important piece of information and simply held her as she sobbed into his chest. He hated being the cause of anyone's misery and was not about to subject Suki to anymore of it.
When her silent sobbing came to halt she removed her arms from Dom's body and wiped away the streams of tears that peppered her cheeks. She looked at him with sad eyes, searching for hope, and any hint in Dom's expression that told her he wanted to salvage their relationship. Even though he thought otherwise and wanted things differently, he still reassured her that everything between them would be alright. He reiterated that she should not feel threatened by Letty, and he would try his best to open up to her rather than Letty. Being in so-call-love at such a young age made them agree and do crazy things.
Suddenly remembering the time – and that the first day of high school was hours away – Suki phoned home to be picked up.
Dom waited with her on the porch until her cousin arrived in front of his house. He walked her over to the car and kissed her goodbye. When the black car was out of sight he retreated to his house. He locked up the doors and downstairs windows before trudges upstairs to his bedroom. His and Suki's argument was in fact epically draining. It affected him so much that he didn't even have the strength to shower. At this point it felt as though he was running on fumes, and without even untying his shoes, Dom sunk onto his mattress. His eyes closed effortlessly and immediately started snoring.
Dom's body found it difficult to believe it was already time to get up for school. High school started forty-five minutes earlier than junior high and he already hated it. His brain refused to believe the early morning manifested so quickly. It felt as though he had just gone to sleep five minutes ago, and his father banging on his door to get up only agitated him further.
"Alright, enough, I'm getting up," he grumpily yelled to his father through the door.
"Boy, you know better than to get an attitude with me. Get up, get dressed, and be downstairs in 15 minutes," he yelled.
Dom forced his weary eyes open and lifted himself up. He kicked his shoes off and stripped down to his boxers before making his way to the bathroom for a hot shower. He stepped in, immediately sat on the base of the shower, and allowed the hot spray of water hit his back. The hot steam that filled the bathroom created such a relaxing aroma – it was exactly what he needed. He would have stayed in there all morning but his dad shouting from downstairs would not have it. He was profoundly adamant about his children's academics.
Not wanting to hear his dad raise his voice anymore Dom dressed quickly, skipped breakfast, and positioned his self in the backseat of the car to get some last minute sleep before school. The ride from the Toretto house to Dom's new school only took 15 minutes, but he took advantage of every second.
He climbed out of the car right behind Vince and was abruptly more alert due to the crisp cool air the morning provided. The scenery is was what essentially caught his attention. Not only did the enormous student body surprise him, but the campus was exceptionally larger than his former junior high. And of course, the maturing and matured girls did not go unnoticed by Vince and Dom. Both of their mouths went agape as witnessed all kinds of females, from freshmen all the way to the grown up, legal, seniors.
"Wow," Vince whispered breathlessly. "We're going to have so much fun."
Dom simply smirked at him.
"Oh, I mean I'm going to have so much fun," he corrected himself. "Forgot, you're tied down to Suki," he teased as he patted him on his back and began walking behind a few girls. He looked back at Dom with a wide grin spread across his face, "I'll catch you by the office before first period starts."
Dom shook his head in amusement and set on foot in the other direction. He scowled the posters on the wall to see which class room would have his class schedule in. He ran his fingers down the list off letters – if you're last name begins with this letter then pick up your schedule here – and stopped on the letter T. "Room 216," he muttered to himself.
Now that that was out of the way he went off in search of a familiar face to socialize with to pass the time. However, he didn't have to search long because as soon as he turned the corner to one of the buildings he ran straight into Hector.
"Damn homie watch where you're goin-," Hector yelled but soon stopped when he realized it was Dom. "Ah, shit, my bad. I was just looking for you."
"It's all good," Dom assured him as they dapped fists. "So have you seen anyone else from our old school?"
"Just a few fellas. I've mostly been hanging out with my cousin Phillip and his friends," he answered. "Come on, let's go chill till we have to go class."
Dom agreed and followed Hector to a large group of people vacating two benches in the center of the outdoor courtyard. A vast majority of the faces he could remember from the races were right here, and he wasted no time socializing with as many as he could. Within a matter of minutes he already felt as if he was part of the in crowd. He couldn't wait for Vince to fall in line as well.
In the midst of talking about the latest set of performance tires Dom's eyes drifted and caught site of a familiar face. It was Suki, leaning against a rail, with a quite a few guys surrounding her. His eyes immediately filled with anger and jealously. He wasn't sure which he was more upset about – her choice of clothing, or the fact the Johnny Tran was drooling over his girlfriend.
He quickly excused himself from the conversation and began a gait across the courtyard to her. As he was becoming closer and closer within her proximity he noticed just how much Suki was dressed to impress. She was wearing a short denim skirt, with a white baby doll tank. Her hair was blow-dried to perfection and it looked as though her make-up was applied with great precision. She looked amazing, yet older, and Dom did not appreciate all the guys who were drooling over her. What did she have to prove? Who was she trying to impress? He was her boyfriend. In his mind there was no need to grasp another guy's attention when she was already taken.
Without saying a word, Dom pushed Johnny Tran out of his way and extended his hand to Suki. "Come on, let's go."
Suki looked at him with an incredulous expression. "Dom, what in the hell is the matter with you?"
He expressed one right back. "Are you serious? You know I can't stand this lame and you're here talking to him!"
"It's just talking, Dom. It's not like I'm sleeping with the guy," Suki yelled back.
The typical Johnny Tran would have immediately engaged into a fist fight with Dom, but he refrained. The argument that was quickly festering in front him was quite entertaining. So, he simply stood there with his goons with a pleasant smirk on his face. It gave him great satisfaction that he was the cause of Dom's latest problem.
"Just talking? As in the same kind of talking I was doing with Letty and nothing else, but it wasn't okay for me? The same simple talking that was accused of being something else? ," he ruthlessly questioned rhetorically.
Suki folded her arms and sighed. "It's different."
Dom scoffed. "Wow, you're such a hypocrite." He couldn't believe what he was hearing. So much for double standards, he thought.
"What did you call me?" Suki asked as she narrowed her eyes on him.
"You heard me," he snorted and walked right up to her and lowered his face to hers. "You are a H-Y-P-O-C-R-I-T-E."
Suki felt embarrassed and pissed off at Dom for making such a big deal about a meaningless conversation. The whole scene and argument irritated her so much that she pushed him away and hissed. "You're an asshole."
Dom didn't even bother going after her. It was only going to anger both of them if their conversation continued, and quite frankly he was sick of her latest antics. Instead, he turned his attention to a very pompous Johnny Tran.
"What the hell are you smiling about?" he demanded to know.
The haughty Johnny Tran laughed, "Oh, just about how I'm going to bag your girlfriend."
Instinctively Dom dropped his stuff and grabbed the collar of Johnny's shirt. "You're gonna be sorry you were ever talking to her," Dom warned as he brought his fist back to make contact to Johnny's face.
Just as he released the punch Vince swooped in out of nowhere and wrapped his arms around Dom to pull him away. "Dom, calm down man. It's not worth it. It's the first day of school and your dad will rip us a new one if we keep on with fights-on-the-first-day-of-school routine."
Dom broke free from Vince's stronghold and ran his hand over his head. He paced back and forth to try and calm himself down. It took great strength to let Johnny walk free after that comment. What a morning this turned out to be. He just wanted to go home and sleep, for days in fact. When he finally got his anger under control he faced Vince. "When did you start playing peacemaker? I thought you liked fighting?"
Vince smirked. "Hey, I just said the first day, tomorrow is fine with me. Hell, even after school."
There was the good ole Vince he knew. Dom was grateful for their friendship and could always count on him to lighten an intense mood, or offer a great laugh. "Let's go find our classes," Dom suggested as he began to gather his belongings from the ground.
"Alright, but are you going to tell me what the hell sparked that whole thing?" Vince questioned curiously.
"Long story man. I'll tell you at lunch……if I'm up to," Dom told him.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x
Mia tapped her pencil anxiously on her desk as she literally counted the minutes until her next class. It was the only one that she and Letty shared together this year, and she absolutely hated that it was the last. Unlike high school, their junior high allowed them to pick up their schedules two weeks before the first day. With the increased students, they even started dividing students into two different lunch hours, again, separating the two. She had so much to tell Letty about a few new boys, a couple of teachers, and most importantly the commotion that happened between Dom and Suki just outside of her window last night. Of all the days for Letty to not hitch a ride with her, it had to be today, Mia stressed.
It was as though Mia's eyes were prisoners to the clock and would not be set free until the bell rung. And, when it did, she swung her backpack over one shoulder and was the first one out of the classroom. She power walked through the familiar halls while simultaneously searching for Letty with her eyes, but no luck. When she finally reached the classroom she waited outside of the door for her. Minutes passed and students entered sporadically, but unfortunately none were Letty. Finally, when the late bell rang Mia decided to give up and go inside. She ignored the teacher's comment about giving chances on being late the first couple of days and took a seat in a desk that had a vacant one beside it.
It wasn't until fifteen minutes into the class that Letty finally walked through the classroom door.
"Sheesh, it's about time Letty," Mia blurted out louder than she intended.
"Thank you for that announcement, Miss Toretto," The teacher announced sarcastically.
Noticing that everyone heard her comment she quickly sank back into her chair and blushed. Letty simply shook her head and laughed as she handed the teacher a pass before sitting in the desk beside Mia.
"Did you miss me that much, Mia?" Letty whispered to her through her giggles.
"Oh, shut up," she mouthed. The teacher had begun talking; informing them his curriculum he had planned for the year, and blah blah blah. When he finally stopped talking Mia wasted no time in speaking.
"I have been dying to tell you this all day," Mia expressed as she turned to Letty. "Dom and Suki had a huge argument about you last night."
"Great," Letty sighed, "more drama. Your brother is not smart, and Suki, she's just…idk."
"Well, it was a pretty epic argument, and my brother basically admitted that you were his first option for everything. That he preferred you," Mia explained excitedly.
Letty was unsure on how to process this new information. She was actually over her and Dom being anything more than friends. She looked at Mia quizzically. "So, are they broken up?"
"I'm not sure. She was crying though. Dom was hugging her and whispering something to her. I couldn't quite make it out. He kissed her goodbye though, so they might not be," Mia answers.
Letty rested her chin on her hand. "Hmm, maybe they finally talked about how she shouldn't feel threatened by me. Me and Dom are just friends, nothing else."
"Or, my brother really likes you but doesn't want to hurt, Suki, so that's why he hasn't made a move," Mia suggests.
Letty lets her hand slip from underneath her chin and smack onto the desk. "Oh, let's not start that again. He chose Suki. I'm actually fine just being friends now."
"But-" Mia tried to counter.
"No, Mia. Just stop," Letty interrupted and pleaded. "Our friendship is good enough and all I'm taking this as is that we can finally we be friends out in the open. End of Dom discussion."
Mia put on her best pouty face. She couldn't imagine a better match for her brother than Letty. They were absolutely perfect for each other. Sighing she agreed, "Alright."
Letty smiles, "Thank you, Mia. I know how hard that was for you."
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
Despite his spat with Suki, Dom was enjoying high school. It was rather exciting, even with all its demanding teachers. The people were great – especially the girls – and for a brief moment Dom actually wanted to go home and be set free of Suki. As the day went on he was seriously getting the feeling that he should experience it all single. And, when his father picked him and Vince up from school he contemplated it all the way home. He even thought about going with his dad to pick up Letty and Mia. He could really use a girl's prospective, well rather Letty's. But, when his father came within closer proximity of their house that last thought quickly disappeared. It was Suki, sitting on the steps to their porch.
"Wow, Suki got here fast," Anthony sounded impressed. "I don't know how she managed to get through all that traffic so quick."
The sight of her made Dom sigh loud enough for all the ears in the car to hear. He really wasn't up for another argument.
Already being informed, Vince remained quiet as if he didn't hear it.
His father however, raised one eyebrow quizzically and looked at his son through the review mirror. "Having girl troubles, Dominic?"
"Something like that, pop," Dom answered with little detail. "It's……complicated."
Anthony chuckled, "It always is."
He didn't bother turning into the drive way because Mia and Letty were about to get out of school in about an hour, so he decided to just return to the shop until then. Once Vince slid out of the car Anthony looked back at his son to hand him the house keys.
"Do you want some advice?" he offered.
Dom looked back at his dad and took the house keys, "Maybe another time."
Anthony nodded. He knew Dom would vent and seek advice when he was ready, so he maneuvered a u-turn on the block and drove off back to the shop.
Vince and Dom walked side by side up the walk-way and up the porch steps.
"Hey, Suki," Vince greeted while awkwardly looking around.
She smiled ruefully instead of speaking.
Vince mimicked the same smile to her and tapped his fingers against his thigh as he waiting for Dom to open the front door. Once the lock clicked and the door cracked open he scurried instead to get away from the awkward tension building at the front door, and headed straight to the kitchen.
For a moment, Dom considered going inside and closing the door on Suki to join Vince in the kitchen, but he knew better. Instead, he closed the front door and sat beside her, staring off in the distance. Neither one spoke for a long time – it was as though this time they were both considering thinking before talking. After twenty minutes of peaceful silence Suki cleared her throat loudly to break it.
Dom turned his head toward her and waited for her to speak. Their relationship had been so wacky that he didn't know what to expect anymore.
Suki rubbed her hands together nervously and chewed at her bottom lip. "I'm sorry," she finally sputtered out.
Dom raised one brow quizzically. Was she actually apologizing? This was an absolute first; usually it was he who did all the apologizing. He did his best to fight back a smile and remain quiet, because judging by her body language she wasn't quite finished.
"You're right………I acted like a total hypocrite today," she continued. "And, because you and Tran don't get along, I shouldn't have been talking to him regardless. I'd want you to ignore all my enemies too. So……………I'm……sorry."
Dom could tell this was a huge step for Suki. Admitting that she was wrong and apologizing for it did not happen with girls of Suki's nature, so he appreciated it dearly. Was Suki actually growing up? It surprised Dom, but in a good way. He playfully nudged his elbow into her arm. "Come again? Can you repeat that, please?" he teased.
She let out a blissful laugh, "You better have recorded that, because there's no way I can repeat that."
Dom put his arm around Suki and brought her close to his body to plant a soft kiss on her forehead. And, just like that, all those thoughts of breaking up and experiencing High School alone dissolved away from his mind. They both fell comfortably back into their comfort zone.
"How about we go upstairs to your room?" she suggested.
Without any hesitation, Dom rose from the porch and lifted the very petite Suki over his shoulder and trudged upstairs. He kicked his door open and shut with his foot and dropped her onto his mattress before falling onto her.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x
"I'll be over in awhile," Letty told Mia and Anthony as she exited the car and scurried off inside her house.
She had been so anxious to get home and wait for her father's call. The previous night he informed her that he had a huge surprise for her and would tell her the next day, when he knew it was completely finalized. Throughout the whole day Letty was going over all the possible things it could be. Unfortunately, her anxious mind could not form a guess good enough to calm her curiosity and nerves.
Letty's eyes remained fixed on the telephone as she paced back and forth rapidly on the carpet. Her mother watched with a concerned expression painted on her face. She kept thinking that at any moment the carpet was going to catch fire underneath Letty's feet. And when the phone did finally make a noise, Letty answered it on only half a ring.
"Hello?" she said apprehensively into the phone. When the voice on the other end answered her lips curved up into blissful smile. She adored the way her father always kept his promises.
"Okay, so what's the big news, Dad?" she asked eagerly. She bit her bottom lip and waited for him to answer. When he finally did Letty's mouth went largely agape and froze for a few seconds before screaming excitedly. She was so thrilled by his news that she dropped the phone and went prancing throughout the house.
Her mother, Anna, ran to the phone to attain whatever piece of information that had Letty in such an ecstatic mood. "Juan, what did you say to that girl to make her go so crazy?"
She listened intently as he spoke to her through the phone. When she knew exactly what it was she sighed. "You know she's only thirteen, Juan."
In the midst of her celebrations, Letty heard the hint of disapproval in her mother's voice. She quickly made her way back to the living room and spoke. "Mom, please don't ruin this for me, please. At least not right now…"
Her mother opened her mouth to speak but quickly closed it. Her daughter was happy, and it wasn't exactly like the gift he got her was actually here, so she simply handed her back the phone.
"Oh my god, dad. Thank you so much. I cannot wait to see it," Letty quickly rambled into the phone. "There's more? Over there? Oh man, I cannot wait…"
Letty put her other hand over the phone and whispered to her mother, "Dad invited me over there for the summer, please let me go mom."
Before her mother could answer Letty removed her hand and continued talking to her father.
When their conversation finally ended, Letty wanted nothing more than to inform her friends of the great news. She managed to dodge the conversation with her mom about visiting her father so far away and jetted out the door toward the Toretto house. When she entered the house she said quick hellos to Vince, Mia, and Anthony before asking where Dom was. He was the first person she wanted to tell. It had nothing to do with liking him, but everything to do with how close their obsessions and respect for things like her gift were. After receiving an answer she climbed the stairs two at a time and burst into his room.
Letty immediately flopped onto his bed and comfortably situated herself next to him. "Today has been the best day ever, Dom."
Dom closed his car magazine and tossed it to the side. "Really? Is 7th grade really that great?"
Letty stared as if to ask, 'really?' "Not the 7th grade, my da-"
Suki appeared between Dom's doorway and cleared her throat loudly to interject Letty mid-sentence. She smiled ruefully and motioned to Dom with her eyes. Letty had no idea what that meant. After what Mia had told her at school today, she assumed everything was finally resolved.
Dom quickly got off the bed and walked over to Suki and placed his arm over her. "Letty, do you mind?"
Without having to say another one word, Letty nodded and quickly exited the room. Before descending downstairs Letty remained at the top for a few minutes to gather her thoughts. Dom officially traded in their friendship for a jealous girlfriend and it felt awful. It was such an imprudent decision on his part, but if it made him happy then who was she to argue or tell him different. So, completely pushing the whole scenario out of her mind, Letty cheerfully went downstairs to tell Mia, Vince, and Anthony all about her dad's gift and possibly going away next summer.
Although it was tough to send Letty away Dom didn't want to push his luck with Suki. She had already admitted she was wrong, apologized, and the afternoon had turned out to be great. He didn't want to fall back into the same argument, so he played it safe. And, of course Suki was definitely pleased. It felt as though Dom had finally chosen her over Letty. Dom only hoped that Suki wouldn't make him regret this.
Maybe I'll get to hear her big news later, Dom thought. But, he never did, and neither Mia nor Vince informed him either. Letty asked Mia not to, and Mia told Vince it wasn't their news to tell. Dom spent the whole day with Suki until her mother came to pick her up. Even after she was gone Dom chose not seek out Letty in secret like he had done in the past.
And, as weeks wore on Dom kept his distance. Even when the entire group would hang out, his conversation was limited with Letty. He didn't ask a lot of questions or spark up any personal discussion. It was as though they went from best friends to merely acquaintances. Although it was unfortunate, Letty did not allow it to get her down. School – both academically and socially – was going great and she had the next summer to look forward too. They both danced around each other so much that it became routine to greet and talk to each other carefully even when Suki wasn't present. This all confused the hell out of Mia and Vince, and it did not go unnoticed by Anthony either. But, no one asked or pried, they all, except Mia, thought they had just gotten into a fight and would eventually subside.
When it continued long after Thanksgiving and Christmas break Mia finally got all the info out of Letty, and she was more than disappointed in her bother. Vince and Anthony, however, were still in the dark about the whole situation. There was more than one occasion where Vince wanted to ask what the hell was going on between them, but could never find the right moment. It was as though Suki was attached to Dom at the hip. But, the day finally came where Suki missed her first day school and the question left Vince's mouth at warp speed. Dom's answer, however, was more than shocking to Vince.
"We just grew apart."
Vince did not understand at all. He talked to Letty regularly and as far as he was concerned he and Dom were pretty similar. So, growing apart did not make any sense. He knew Dom's explanation was just a cop out for what the really caused of their separation was. And, he was ready to put his money on it being Suki. Of course Dom denied it, but Vince could tell by how offended he became that he had hit the nail on the head. In the end, it just made Vince dislike Suki.
It wasn't until a month before another school year was coming to end that Anthony finally confronted his son.
Dom had just finished getting ready for his date with Suki and was on his way out the door when his father called him from the kitchen. "Dominic, come here for a second."
He abruptly stopped in his tracks and made his way to the kitchen. "What's up, dad?"
His father folded his newspaper and set it down on the table before speaking. "Son, what's going on with you and Letty?"
Dom froze for a second. He didn't think his father paid such close attention to his interactions with his friends. Letty was always around when the group would hang out so he figured his father didn't notice anything different. So, he tried to play it off. "What do you mean?" he asked, putting on his best impression of a curious face.
Anthony cocked his head to the side, "Are you really going to play stupid with me?"
Dom swallowed hard. He should have known better than try to that with his dad. So, he simply repeated the same line he gave Vince, "I don't know dad. I guess………we just grew apart or something."
His dad furrowed one brow at him. "You grew apart, huh? Now that you're in high school you're too cool to be friends with Letty now?"
Dom sighed. He really didn't want to have this conversation at all. "It's not about being too cool, dad. It's……" He really couldn't find a sufficient reason to give his father. This wasn't Vince and growing apart wasn't going to be a good enough answer for his dad.
"I don't understand," Anthony chimed in through Dom's thoughts. "You two were so close, best friends, and now you hardly speak to each other. Grew apart? That doesn't make sense, Dominic. Last year you were still two years ahead of her but you guys got along just fine. So, help me understand this."
Anthony rose from his seat and leaned against the kitchen table to wait for his son's response, but Dom remained silent.
"Last time I checked Letty was a good kid and a great friend. You know that's rare to find?" He explained.
Dom simply nodded with his eyes downcast to the floor. He felt ashamed because it looked like he became this stupid popularity jock who apparently was too cool to associate with anyone outside of high school. But, it wasn't like the real reason was any better either. At times he did miss Letty, their conversations, and hanging out exclusively, but Suki had been around so much that the thought of Letty never lingered for too long. Discussions about him and Letty happened few and far between. Perhaps that's why they went so long without having a real conversation.
Knowing that his son was not going to go into details, Anthony decided to leave it alone. He uncrossed his arms and breathed out, "You'll understand when it's gone."
"What?" Dom asked quizzically. "What does that mean?"
Anthony opened his mouth to answer but hesitated before closing it. Letty going away in month was something Dom needed to hear from her. "Nothing…… But, you should talk to Letty soon."
He turned away from his son and finished drinking his coffee. After the last gulp he placed the mug back down and went to retrieve his keys. "Mia is staying at Letty's, so when you leave lock up the house. I'm headed to the shop."
And, without waiting for an answer, Anthony left the house.
Dom left the kitchen and retreated to the living room. He paced back and forth as the conversation with his father began to marinate in his head. His father's words made him feel like he made a huge mistake by discarding Letty's friendship as if it was such an irreplaceable thing. 'When are things going to be so uncomplicated?' he thought. As he was going over scenarios in his head to make things right again, Mia and Letty barged through the front door.
"Oh good, you're still hear," Mia exhaled in relief. "I forgot my bag."
Dom immediately stood at the site of Letty. Now that he had gotten a real good look at her, she'd grown a little. Not wanting anyone to notice him staring he quickly shook his head and spoke. "Uh…what are you guys up to?" he asked, hurriedly.
"We're going to the movies. Letty's mom is going to drop us off," Mia informed him as she climbed the stairs.
Letty was just about to follow suit when Dom's voice stopped her.
"Hey, Letty," he spoke softly. "Can we talk for a minute?"
She hesitated for a moment. "Uh, sure…" she agreed apprehensively.
Dom was unsure on exactly how to start the conversation. He didn't know if he should dive right in and say sorry for tossing their friendship to the side, or start off with simple conversation to build up to a proper apology. Before he knew it he was avoiding eye contact, shoved one hand nervously in his pocket, and tensely massaging the nape of his neck.
"Dude, are you okay?" Letty asked skeptically.
Dom shook his head to himself for fidgeting like a nervous fool and finally mustered up the strength to get to the point. "I was talking to my dad and-"
"Oh, your dad told you about me leaving for Hawaii this summer," Letty interrupted.
"Yeah, I never meant for our friendship to-" he continued automatically, but then stopped, and thought about what she just said. He wasn't sure if he heard correctly. "Wait, what?" he asked hurriedly. Dom swallowed hard as he waited for Letty to repeat what she said. Did she really say she was leaving?
