A/N: Late night post! Thank you guys for being patient with this. Life is very busy. As always, you guys are the best with reviews! I always look forward to reading them. Thanks for taking the time to post your thoughts! Seriously, it motivates me to keep going. This chapter is that one chapter that every author reaches when making an accurate Dotty prelude . To save time and speed up progress, I broke it up based on events important to Letty. (A different style from the other chapters, but very useful for this one). There will be at least one or two more chapters like this one, the Prison years...and also in the same sorta style. Thanks a bunch to Mysteriesabound1 for betaing.

Enjoy!

Loss of Innocence Pt.1

September 2nd, 1997

Crying was a great outlet, especially if you were hurting really bad inside. Sobbing was also a great way to release one's emotions, though Letty never thought she ever sobbed before. Then there was weeping. Well, weeping was for someone that was truly broken, and Letty was sad to see her best friend in such a state. The Latina had never before seen a person 'weep', but knew the action when she saw it.

Two months. Two months of pure agonizing hell. The loss of the 'good times'. She called her life up until now as the Golden Age. But good things came to an end eventually and sometimes abruptly. After her public break-up with Dom, everything ran into a blur. Dom finally seemed to get the hint about his big mistake and surprisingly stayed away from her, sorta.

Letty could tell that he wanted to say something though. It was in the way he looked at her, the way his body tensed when she was in close proximity, but she chose to ignore him. At least, she tried to most of the time. Her goal at that very moment was to repair the small fracture that he amazingly cracked in her tough facade. Letty was grateful for Dom not pushing her. He finally understood that he messed up, badly.

But as she started to repair herself back to the tough chick she used to know, life still had a heavier blow to deal to her and to everyone else. Sitting on Mia's floor, as the Italian girl wept on her shoulder was proof of the changing times. Letty didn't share with Mia on what happened with Dom, she didn't want to acknowledge it yet. Repairing still needed to be done and, at this time, it was irrelevant.

Tonio Toretto was dead. Collided with the track wall going 120 mph. Letty hadn't been there to see it, neither had Mia, but Dom had been present for the grisly accident. She could only imagine the horror. Tony was nice to her, like a loving father figure she never had. It devastating to everyone, but mostly to his two children, Mia and Dom.

The guy that bumped Tonio during the race, was named Linder, Kenny Linder. A few years younger than Tony, and a lead foot on the gas pedal. Letty got a chance to see a few of Tonio's races and seen the other man's driving style. At the time she admitted Linder was pretty good, but lacked control, especially when the races got close towards the end.

She felt a shudder from the girl next to her. They both sat in Mia's darkened room, backs against the foot of the bed. Letty's arm was wrapped around her friends shoulder as the other cried silently. She was sure it was weeping, Mia said nothing, her face was blank and eyes staring at the far wall ahead of them. Tears were running down her cheek, but she still said nothing and gave no emotion, she just cried.

Letty rubbed Mia's shoulder slowly, letting her friend know she was there by touch. It was clear to see that the younger Toretto was miles away. Letty sniffed as her eyes began to water. She closed them tightly to stop the onslaught of tears. Now wasn't the time to cry, she needed to be strong, for Mia and for everyone else. Tonio was dead and Dom...well that was the reason for the weeping.

A month ago, Tonio died in the car crash. Five weeks after, Dom retaliated and put Kenny Linder in a coma. Dom wasn't looking for trouble, far from it, he was trying to busy himself and went to an auto parts store for supplies. During the trip back he ran into Linder and things got crazy after that. Everyone knew Dom had a temper and wasn't very good at controlling it. Pile that on to the stress and grief of losing his only parent. It was an unpredictable dose of emotions.

Letty sighed as she placed her head on Mia's. Life was tough before that point, but got extremely over-bearing after. As of right now, everyone was fucked. Dom, being eighteen, was of legal age. He was charged with assault, tried as an adult, and sentenced to five years in Lompoc Correctional Facility. Letty understood why Mia was weeping, just thinking about it caused the Latina's eyes to water and her stomach to flip.

Each of the team was dealing with the two events in their own way. Leon was drinking off his depression. He came into the shop usually four times a week with a hangover, but tried his best to help out. Being sober was torture for him, and Vince hinted several times that Leon always had a hard time dealing with death, ever since his sister died.

Jesse quit school. He was officially a drop-out and worked full-time at the garage. The man hid his emotions well and was very quiet and somber most of the time. Almost to the point where it worried the others. Vince was just a mixture of all three men. Sometimes he would drink like Leon, be silent like Jesse and even show aggression like Dom. Like Mia, he was taking this situation hard and he had every right too. Vince had been knowing the Toretto's since he was seven. But he was still the most responsible of the crew, other than Letty, he made sure they all went to work and school.

Letty chanced a glance at Mia's alarm clock. It was 11:47pm. Mia had been crying for over six hours now. Her Tia Sophia was well aware of where Letty was and she didn't mind. The woman was present when the jury passed the sentence on Dom, she made Letty and Mia wait outside, almost sensing his ill fate already.

At the time, the two girls were both upset of not being able to go in , but Letty thanked her Tia silently now. Based on Mia's reaction, the Latina didn't want to think of how worse it could've been if Mia had been there for the verdict and also her own reaction as well.

Letty thought a few times about going to her Tia's home, to try to get away from it all, but she stopped herself. Honestly, she had nowhere to hide in this world now. With the problems with the Toretto's and the issues at Sophia's house, she couldn't escape the madness. Either way, she was needed.

Mia was sixteen, underage and too young to take care of herself according to the law. Her closest relative was in prison and her distant cousins on both parents sides resided in Italy and Mexico. To Letty's surprise and admiration, Sophia took charge of the custody subject quietly on her own and filed for guardianship as soon as Dom was arrested. Letty swore that woman had a sixth sense. She was a force to behold.

Sophia was experienced when it came to guardianship matters, not just with Letty, but also helping abused kids that came to her work place, Cedars-Sinai. She was making enough to claim Mia in a temporary guardianship until the girl turned eighteen. The woman was a saint. But home was still a whirlwind of drama.

As soon as Martin caught wind of the custody of Mia, he up and left the state, to everyone's surprise. Letty and the family didn't understand what his true goal was for coming back, but having Mia in the equation seemed to deflate whatever plan he had in mind. Sophia handled it well and so did Diego, but Gwen was devastated.

Letty frowned thinking about her cousin. It was like night and day when it came to Gwen nowadays. Gone was the selfish, peppy girl that cared about boys and her looks. In her stead was a dark, depressed brooder. Like Jesse, Letty worried about Gwen immensely. It was so unnatural for her to be so quiet and unhappy. Truly it was tough times for all.

Letty finally gave up her internal battle and let the tears flow. Even though she was still upset with Dom, she couldn't help but weep along-side her friend for him.

November 24th, 1997

Yesterday's dinner was a train-wreck of epic proportions. Letty and Vince tried to make things as normal as possible. They planned Thanksgiving dinner, invited close friends and hoped for the best. It was a great effort, but the family was still so broken and everyone present could see that.

Sophia joined the dinner early in the evening, but was called to the hospital a few hours later. That left the crew, her cousins and friends from school. The television blasted with the day's football game on ESPN. It was a nice distraction for the now silent group. After dinner, the boys helped clear the table and grabbed a few beers to watch the game. It seemed so natural, but everyone, even Letty knew, that the scene wasn't right without Dom.

An hour later, Letty found Mia crying in the bathroom. She had been expecting a phone call from Dom that day. But it was late into the night and they both knew his calling privileges were over for the day. All Letty could do was soothe her friend as she cried on her shoulder. Mia was getting better every day. Slowly, Letty could see the progress, each day she would talk a little longer and smile a little wider.

Mia and Letty sucked it up. They went to school and carried on with their lives. Both girls kept busy. They studied, hung with friends, participated in track, and worked at the diner and garage. This year, everyone knew the holidays would be difficult to endure, but things were starting to look up, just at a snail's pace.

While Letty counseled Mia in the bathroom, Luke showed up at the house to inquire about both girls. He didn't receive a warm reception. Vince, Leon and Jesse still had it in their stupid male brains that Letty was Dom's girl. They gave Luke a hard time and ended up facing the wrath of Letty as an end result. She hadn't talked to Dom since their break-up and wasn't planning to do so anytime soon. The only Toretto she cared about at the moment was Mia. She was like her sister, and Dom was out of sight and mind.

That night after apologizing to Luke about the crew's immature behavior, she agreed to go out with him that Friday. Letty figured it was time for a change and to rid herself of Dom's influence. It was time to get on with her life. The crew wouldn't like it, but this was for her and their own good. Not everything revolved around Dominic Toretto, and Letty was going to prove it.

January 1st, 1998

Letty pulled over the covers to try to shield her naked torso from the California morning cold. She could feel a hand caressing her hip from under the sheets. It was a New year and a new beginning. The party yesterday had been one to remember with booze, dancing and fun games. It all ended with her doing the horizontal tango with Luke, her boyfriend of three months.

It wasn't planned, but Letty was glad that the act had been done. The sex was sweet, slow and passionate. As she opened her eyes, Letty took in her surroundings. The green wallpaper and track posters scattered along the walls. The hand on her hip made its way to her flat stomach. Letty could already feel Luke's morning wood against her bottom.

She was up for another round, hell, she was up for a few last night, but Luke didn't have much stamina or experience. Letty squeezed her eyes shut as her mind started drifting to her last sexual encounter several months ago. She tried to block her mind from those images, but they flashed in front of her eyelids uncontrollably.

Dom. Fuck she couldn't help it. The rippling muscles, strong massive arms, cocky smile, large dick buried in her...dammit! Her mind went immediately to him fucking her against the wall, his dresser, the bathroom...NO! She shook her head, trying to physically rid herself of the offending thoughts. It would be five months since she'd seen and heard his voice. She had no ties to him and didn't want them.

Swiftly she rolled over and positioned herself on Luke's hips. He looked up at her in surprise.

"Morning," she said with a flirty smirk.

"Good morning," he replied back, before gazing at her full breasts.

Letty's smirk grew wider. "It will be," she murmured. "I've got a present for you before I leave."

Luke's green eyes locked with hers. He wasn't as experienced as Dom, but that didn't mean he wasn't good at sex. Instead of having overwhelming confidence, he was still a bit shy. It was cute to Letty.

Before he could reply, she positioned herself over his weeping dick and eased down. Luke gasped at the sensation and gripped her hips as she inched slowly over him. The Latina bit her lip and closed her eyes as she started to ride him slowly. Her mind finally cleared of past unwanted images.

This would have to be a quickie. She had to tune-up her Nissan for the races tonight. Vince, Leon, Jesse and Mia joined her to make a little cash to pay for the shop and diner. Tonio Toretto, bless his soul, left a good amount of money in his savings in case something were to happen to him and it was helping to make payments for both buildings. But the crew knew that the cash wouldn't last forever. They turned to racing to help make the payments. Thankfully, the house's deed was already in Tonio's name. He and Vittoria paid it off before Mia was born.

But that still left bills for the electricity, water, gas, cable and trash. So the crew worked hard in the shop and did a little extra racing on the side. Overall, it was working out well for them.

Luke's hands went shyly up to her breasts again and hesitantly squeezed them. Letty quickened her pace and moaned at the warmth that spread from her core and around her body.

April 26th, 1998

At times Letty couldn't believe that Mia was technically four months older than her, it didn't fit their personalities most of the time. But here she was, celebrating her best friend turning seventeen, while she herself was still sixteen. The cake was cut and several brightly wrapped presents were scattered around the floor of the living and dining room.

Luke dropped by hours later to give his present, but couldn't stay long because of a track meet in Burbank. Letty was sad to see him go, so was Mia, but the boys shooed him away as soon as he announced he couldn't stay long. This caused Letty to give them a hard glare and a few sentences containing profanity.

They were still loyal to Dom, but were more accepting of her relationship with Luke. They have been going out for seven months after all. While Mia continued to unwrap gifts, Letty made her way to the fridge to grab a Corona. Just as she entered the kitchen, the phone rang.

She picked it up moments later. "This is the Toretto residence, Letty speaking," she greeted perfectly. It was a hard habit to break. She was the unofficial book keeper at the shop and found herself usually in the office answering phones and organizing paperwork. Tonio Toretto's apprenticeship taught her a quiet a bit about professionalism and, compared to Vince, she had it in spades.

"Hello?" She said when she didn't hear a response.

"...Letty," responded back a baritone gravelly voice.

Letty's body suddenly went rigid. Had his voice always been that deep? It was rough, forbidding and...sexy. It was him, but not him. After only nine months he sounded to different. A familiar flutter emerged in her chest, and she gulped as she tried hard to breathe. Without answering the voice, she placed the phone on the counter and yelled for Mia.

"There's someone on the phone for you," she said walking past the happy girl.

Mia practically skipped to the phone and gave her greeting. Seconds later, a high pitched squeal filled the room as she realized who was on the other end. Mia started chatting non-stop into the phone.

Letty practically fell on the couch next to Vince. She placed the bottled beer to her lips and took a long swig. Her heart was racing, and she was very, very annoyed by that.

"Who is it?" Asked Vince curiously to her.

Letty glared at his sheepish expression. Like he didn't know already. "Who do you think?" she replied back smartly.

Vince nodded and a large smiled blossomed on his face. "Me and the boys plan to visit him maybe in July, around his birthday. You should come along. I'm sure Mia is going too."

Letty didn't give an answer. She took another sip of her beer before focusing on the television. From beside her she heard a low chuckle. Vince's smile grew small, but still held a bit of emotion. Contentment? Maybe even a bit of smugness? She glared at him. It was like he knew something that she didn't.

July 26th, 1998

It was a bad idea, Letty knew it was a bad idea, but the pleading eyes of Mia crumbled her resistance. She didn't like it. After nearly a year of not seeing him, it still felt too soon. The car ride had been filled with excitement and anticipation for the others. For Letty, it was the opposite. She was nervous, fearful and felt she was going to have a panic attack.

She wished for the umpteenth time that Luke wasn't vacationing in Yosemite with his parents, that she was with him, hanging out or having sex, something to keep her mind and body away from this place. The others didn't notice her anxiety, except Mia. Letty finally confessed to Mia about her fling with Dom last year.

Mia sputtered a few times at how far they went in the casual/non-casual relationship, but said she wasn't very surprised. Even after Letty spilled the beans, Mia urged her to come along. It was a stupid decision. So here she was, car parked and crew walking to the visitor's entrance of the prison. In her hand was a stack of car magazines that each of the crew picked out for Dom.

Letty grasped onto the stack tightly, she felt like she was walking to her death. They entered through a large metal door and were checked thoroughly for any sort of weapons. The magazines were also scanned through an x-ray machine for anything unusual. After everything was cleared, the group was escorted to an elevator.

The visiting room was on the second level, down a taupe hallway. Near the elevator there was a guard waiting to check-in visitors before they entered the room. Dom was a very good prisoner, so he was able to see family and friends face-to-face. Next to the visiting room, were a few benches. Only three at a time could enter. Letty quickly sat down and handed Vince the magazines. The first group to go in was Vince, Mia and Jesse.

As they opened the door to her right, Letty stared straight ahead. She wouldn't risk seeing him; it was a bad idea. After hearing his voice on the phone on Mia's birthday and analyzing her reaction, Letty came to a conclusion about why it was so difficult for her to get over Dom. She was in love with him. There, she admitted it and because of that, she needed to get rid of the feelings before she could talk or see him again.

Luke was doing a great job at making her forget. He was a great guy; they were good for each other. All Letty needed was time, just a little bit of time and then she would be over it. Letty knew she was close, so very close and she wouldn't mess it up for herself.

After ten minutes, Vince and Jesse stepped back into the hallway and asked who wanted to see him next. All three men stared at her expectantly and Letty almost stood up to go, but she caught herself. She would beat this.

Letty cleared her throat and shook her head. "No," she said settling down on the bench's wooden surface.

Reluctantly Jesse went back in and Leon followed behind him. Vince stayed and sat next to Letty. She could tell by his stiff posture that he was upset. She didn't care.

I told yah Luke would be in the mix! I want to know your thoughts! Pls review :) Thanks for reading.