Maldives, present
Letty lay in bed for a minute, squeezing her eyes shut so she wouldn't cry. She felt nauseous and her head pounded as she cursed herself for her stupidity. She knew that Dom needed to find out what happened eventually but the way he did was so far beyond unfair to him. Realizing what she needed to do, and what she needed from him, she sat up and pulled her shirt back on, wrapping it around herself as she walked into the bathroom.
"Dom?" she called out cautiously, watching his body tense even more on the other side of the shower curtain. "Dom, I'm sorry. I didn't want to tell you like that. I didn't want to tell you at all. It's just… I just couldn't lie to you. Not like that."
"So you don't want to tell me what happened to you but you'll have sex with me? Awesome." He said, ducking his head under the water to try to prevent himself from saying anything more.
"I'm not good at this, okay?" she said quietly, hugging herself nervously and staring at the floor when he pulled back the shower curtain enough to look at her while she spoke. "The scars are bad, the injuries were bad. I was in the hospital for a while, until I woke up. Broken bones, burns, and… everything else. The pills are for post traumatic stress disorder."
"How could you do that? How could you tell me like that?" he asked quietly. The pain and anger was etched on his face as he watched her speak, unwilling to make a move towards her.
"It just came out. I'm so tired of hiding everything from you. When you were gone it was okay, I could hate you. But I've never been around you without you being mine. I just wanted that back for a night."
"You don't get to have it back for a night, that's not how life fucking works. I'm here every fucking day because I love you and I would die to get you back. I am yours, I always have been. You're the stubborn asshole who won't let me in," he raged, refusing to acknowledge how she flinched as soon as he raised his voice. "Why can't you let me help you?"
"I don't need your fucking help, Dominic," she yelled back, his anger making her instantly defensive. "I have Leon and Anicka, I don't fucking need you. I don't miss you."
"Fuck that you don't. You wouldn't let me in your house every night if you didn't miss me. You wouldn't kiss me. And you sure as fuck wouldn't put on a big show of acting like you hate me. Don't be such a fucking child. Just tell me why you won't let me help me you." He watched her fight her emotions, trying to avoid crumbling in front of him. His heart broke as he watched her, wondering if he had gone too far. She had the same look on her face as she did when she was a kid, showing up at the Toretto's back door beat to hell but refusing to tell anyone why.
"I needed to blame someone," she whispered after a long pause, shrugging as she finally met his eyes. "You left me alone. It was easy to convince myself that none of it would have happened if you were with me."
"Because it wouldn't have. You're right, you would have been safer with me." Dom stared at her, his anger dissolving as he saw the terrified look on her face. He realized she really hadn't ever intended on him finding her.
"You don't know that and neither do I." She shook her head fiercely. "You shouldn't have left me once, let alone three times. But you didn't know that anything was going to happen to me. I put myself in the situations that got me hurt, I know that."
Dom frowned but knew there wasn't anything left to say, at least for now. Instead he stepped out of the shower and slid her shirt off of her shoulders, letting it fall to the floor. Her body tensed as he took her hand and pulled her towards the shower but she let him lift her easily over the side of the tub. He watched curiously for a second as she switched positions with him, turning so that she didn't let a single drop of water touch her face.
Letty shook as she leaned her head on Dom's chest. The warm water only poured down her back for a second before he wrapped his arms around her, blocking her from all but the slightest mist. She wasn't sure if the tears on her face were hers or his as she started to talk, letting every detail of Kazimir's attack pour out of her. She told him everything she remembered and everything that Anicka & Leon told her that the doctors discovered. She didn't pause, didn't hesitate, because she knew if she stopped talking she wouldn't be able to start again. It wasn't until she finally finished her story that she looked up to meet his eyes. She winced as she saw the rage written on his face but as soon as his eyes met hers they softened and she exhaled with relief.
"No one is going to get near you ever again, baby. I'm never going to leave you again," he whispered, pressing his lips against her forehead. "But we're not having sex tonight."
"Good," she said quietly, laughing despite herself. "Cause that really fucking hurt."
Czech Republic, 2011
When Letty woke up all she was aware of was pain. She couldn't pinpoint a single part of her body that didn't scream out as she tried to sit up. She struggled to open her eyes as they protested against the bright fluorescent lights surrounding her.
"Letty?" she heard a voice say. "Oh my god, she's awake! Nurse? I need a nurse!"
In an instant there were people surrounding her: two nurses and a doctor barking orders in Czech, along with Anicka right beside her. She struggled to speak but her throat felt like sandpaper and her lips cracked as soon as she tried to move them. She felt blood trickle slowly down her chin before Anicka dabbed at it lightly with a Kleenex.
"Don't talk," Anicka said softly, brushing the hair out of Letty's face. "You're still intubated, the nurses are going to take out your breathing tube now, okay?"
Before Letty could react she was coughing and gagging while the nurse slowly slid the tube out. Her body ached with the effort of coughing but she felt immediate relief when she drew a proper breath into her lungs. "Water?" she mouthed, though no sound came out.
Anicka raised her eyebrows at the doctor, who nodded before leaving the room. Anicka picked up a cup of ice water along with a sponge and dabbed Letty's mouth gently. Once the last nurse left the room she leaned in close and whispered in Letty's ear. "Leon's on his way up. We need to get you out of here before the police come to question you. It's going to hurt but we're going to get you up and into that wheelchair. We've got all of the prescriptions you need and one of the nurses is going to come to the house in a few days to check on you, but right now we've gotta go."
Letty nodded as much as she could without causing herself too much pain and let Anicka help her sit up in the bed. She looked down at her bandage-wrapped thighs as she swung her legs over to hang off of the bed. It wasn't until she saw her reflection in the mirror, the cuts and bruises covering the bit of skin the bandages left visible, that her mind started reeling. For a second she was a little girl again, the injuries coming from her father looking for money during a binge or from her mother beating on the only person that had even less power and control than her. But the searing pain between her legs jolted her back to reality and she remembered every awful detail of what Kazimir and his men had done to her. She struggled to remain sitting upright as she turned her head to the side and threw up bile, the only thing left in her stomach, all over her hospital bed.
"Fuck am I happy to see you," Leon grinned as he walked into the room. He kissed her on the top of the head and ignored the vomit beside her. "Hate to make this brief but we've gotta go, baby."
Anicka smiled and nodded her agreement as she pushed the wheelchair as close to Letty's bed as she could and held it steady as Leon gingerly lifted her off the bed and onto the chair. In an instant Anicka produced large sunglasses and a dark red wig from her bag, putting them on Letty before wrapping a black blanket around her.
The three of them were in their SUV and on their way home before the police officers reached Letty's hospital room. The doctor and both nurses feigned ignorance, each happily pocketing a significant amount of money and understanding that Letty's safety depended on a lack of police involvement.
"How bad?" Letty whispered hoarsely, shocking Leon and Anicka. They had both been sure she was asleep from the time they left the hospital. They shared a look, Leon grimacing and shaking his head. He loved Letty but he couldn't be part of this conversation. He wasn't sure if it was for her sake or for his, but he pleaded silently with Anicka for her to be the one to speak.
Anicka climbed into the back seat, sitting on the edge of the bench that Letty was lying on. "Your face is mostly cuts and bruises, there were some stitches for your split lip and a cut above your right eye but they're out now. Your left ear has some damage from being hit in the head with something. It'll heal but your hearing might be kind of fucked up for a couple months. Your wrists and ankles have pretty deep cuts, probably from handcuffs. There are some random stitches for the worst parts but we'll cut them out in a few days. Four broken ribs, some broken fingers and toes." Anicka stopped to watch Letty. Her face was expressionless but her eyes were squeezed shut.
"The rest." Letty said simply, without moving. She remembered at least some of what had happened and she could feel her injuries but she needed to know exactly what was wrong with her. From the front seat Leon cringed, grateful that he wasn't the one having this conversation.
"Cigarette burns." Anicka added, reaching out to lace her fingers with Letty's. "On your thighs and the bottom of your feet. And, um, the stitches. The doctor in the emergency room said there were 16, but they'll dissolve once you've healed more."
"Jesus." Letty managed, frowning as she finally met Anicka's eyes."That bad?"
"Bad." Anicka confirmed. "Do you remember?"
"Some." Letty started to say more but instead she let her eyes close and was asleep for real in seconds.
"She'll be okay." Anicka said softly to Leon as she climbed back into the passenger seat. "She's coming home now."
"I'm gonna kill him." Leon muttered, knuckles white from gripping the steering wheel.
"I know." His wife patted his leg and leaned over to kiss him.
"I didn't mean Kazimir," he said through gritted teeth. "I mean, I am gonna kill him. But I meant Dom. She wouldn't be getting cocky, pulling stupid jobs, if he was here. He's supposed to take care of her, Anicka."
"Not your fight, babe. She can blame him if she needs to. You just need to find him and give her the chance."
Maldives, present
Brian and Leon each kissed their wives and kids before leaving them to finish breakfast and headed outside.
"Do Dom and Letty usually sleep in this late?" Brian asked, nodding towards Letty's house.
"God, no. She usually kicks him out by, like, six. Maybe seven. I've never seen them stay in there this late." Leon said, mild concern furrowing his brow.
"Maybe they made up?"
"Or maybe she finally killed him."
"Yeah that sounds about right. Weapons?"
"She's got a gun in there but I feel like she'd make him suffer more. She's always been kinda twisted."
Brian laughed but before he could respond they both heard the roar of a motor and walked further down the beach to the boat that had just arrived. Han, Giselle, Tego, and Santos hopped over the side of the boat and hurried to greet them. Brian quickly introduced Leon to Tego and Santos, explaining that they had been in Brazil as well. Leon nodded, remembering Letty's stories about them in the Dominican Republic.
It took a few minutes for all of their luggage to get unloaded and then the group made their way up to Leon & Anicka's house. Everyone piled into the large kitchen as Mia and Anicka started dishing up a second round of breakfast.
"So where are Dom and Letty?" Han asked once everyone was sitting around the table with a full plate.
"Haven't woken up yet." Leon said simply, glancing out the window towards Letty's still quiet house.
Tego and Santos laughed, unsurprised after spending a couple of months with them in the Dominican. It was only when everyone else filled them in on the basics of the last few months that they both got the same concerned look as everyone else.
"That girl's terrifying," Santos admitted. "You think he's dead?"
"It's crossed our minds," Brian nodded before Tego interrupted.
"Yo, you're so negative. Maybe they made up."
Everyone else around the table laughed in disbelief, rolling their eyes and shaking their heads at Tego.
"Uh, guys? Tego might be right." Han said, gesturing out the window towards Letty's front porch. They all watched in disbelief as Dom kissed Letty on her front porch before she pushed him away, laughing, and went back into her house alone.
Tego grinned triumphantly and finished his coffee while everyone else watched Dom walk back to the guest house, looking over his shoulder as if to make sure no one was watching.