When Scarlett woke up the next morning, she took her phone from the dresser and looked at the messages she had, 9 New messages. It was no surprise they were mostly from Jasmine with a couple of them being from her friends wishing her a safe journey to LA, feelingly slightly guilty Scarlett opened the messages from Jasmine and read them one by one,
"Jasmine: Baby, I'm sorry. Please come home."
"Jasmine: I love you boo, I made a huge mistake."
"Jasmine: Please answer me, we can talk things over."
"Jasmine: I miss you babe, please talk to me."
"Jasmine: Call me, we really need to talk."
"Jasmine: Why are u ignoring me? Are u really gonna break up with me over one little fight?"
And Scarlett frowned a little at the messages from Jasmine, she wasn't sure if she should feel guilty for not responding or not, so she decided to take a shower and freshen herself up before going to visit her sister. Meanwhile Lucy slowly stirred from her sleep at the sound of the water running from the shower, before she got out of bed and stood by the bathroom door with a smile on her face as she said, "Morning Scarlett, I thought you would have left already?"
Then Scarlett blushed a little inside the shower as she replied, "Morning Lucy, I didn't mean to wake you, I'll be out in a bit I was just making myself look nice before I go and see my sister." before Scarlett then blushed even deeper as she left the bathroom with just a towel around her, and Lucy let out a small giggle as she said,
"Don't worry, I didn't peek." before she then frowned slightly as she asked, "Hope you don't mind me asking, but...who's Jasmine?" and Scarlett smiled at Lucy as she let out a soft sigh and replied,
"It's fine, I had a feeling you were gonna ask me anyway since I told you I ha-d a girlfriend. Truth is...Jasmine is my girlfriend. But...we had a fight and I...haven't exactly broken up with her yet, I just can't bring myself to end it with her for some reason."
Lucy then went to sit next to Scarlett on the bed and placed an arm on her shoulder as she said, "I like your honesty with me Scarlett, so let me be honest with you and ask you something, do you love Jasmine?" and Scarlett looked at Lucy and let out a sigh as she replied,
"I do love Jasmine, but...I don't think she loves me that much because she is seeing someone behind my back."
And Lucy then gently rubbed Scarlett's shoulder and making her smile as she felt her smooth, soft skin, before she said, "Well, if you say that Jasmine is seeing someone behind your back then...that means she wasn't loyal to you in the first place. I think you should end things with her before she hurts you even more." and Scarlett smiled at Lucy as she took a deep breath and replied,
"You're right Lucy, I should do what I should have done before she hurts me again and tell her it's over between us." before Scarlett then frowned a little as she added, "But...I feel like I used you, because we kissed. even after I told you I had a girlfriend." and Lucy shook her head slightly at Scarlett as she said,
"You didn't use me Scarlett, you were honest with me. and you were hurting, I could see it behind your eyes even if you didn't show it. Come on we should get dressed and go see your sister."
Scarlett was dressed and sitting in her Mitsubishi lancer waiting for Lucy, when she picked up her phone from the dashboard and scrolled down until she pressed Jasmine's name and started to type a text as she put,
"Scarlett: I'm sorry Jasmine, you didn't truly love me and you weren't loyal to our relationship. It's over between us."
Before placing her phone back on the dashboard and after a few minutes, Lucy came out of the hotel and placed her bags in the back next to Scarlett's before getting in the front next to Scarlett and Scarlett smiled slightly at Lucy as she said, "You sure you have everything? It's gonna be a pretty long drive from San francisco to Los Angeles." and Lucy nodded her head as she replied,
"Pretty sure I have everything I need, and I don't mind a long drive as long as I get to spend it with you, Scarlett."she teased, the flirtatious tone in her voice was clear, Scarlett smiled and blushed a little at Lucy as she said,
"O-ok then, let's go."
As Scarlett placed her foot on the accelerator and they began driving down the road from the hotel and towards the desert and the border, Lucy let out a small giggle as she said, "You're cute when you are flustered." and Scarlett just smiled and shook her head as she kept her eyes on the road ahead of them, if Lucy had anything to say about it, it was most definitely going to be a long drive.
Los Angeles, California…
When they entered the Los angeles border, the sun was beginning to rise over the horizon and Scarlett briefly looked over to see that Lucy was fast asleep with her head resting on her shoulder, she took a deep breath as she thought to herself, "Not far now, my brother's garage should be around here somewhere." and then she slowly saw Toretto's garage coming into view as she pulled up, but she also saw Letty's car parked as well which wasn't a good sign.
Scarlett then gently moved Lucy so that she was leaning against the door, being careful not to disturb her, before she got out of the car and took a deep breath before walking inside the garage. Once she walked in, Brian walked over to her with a smile on his face as he said to her, "Hey Scarlett, long time no see, how have you been?" and Scarlett smiled back at Brian as she replied,
"I guess it has been a while hasn't it, is Mia around?"
And before Brian could respond, Mia smiled at Scarlett as she ran over to her and gave her a hug as she said, "Hey sis, how was the drive?" and Scarlett was all too eager to return the hug to her sister as she replied,
"It wasn't that bad, but I have been driving for eight hours and I'm tired."
Scarlett then saw Letty walking over to her, she looked pissed, but who could blame her? she found out DK threatened Scarlett and she wasn't ok with that, Letty then gave Scarlett a hug before she said, "Dónde está esa Maldita perra?" and Scarlett returned the hug to Letty as she replied,
"It's nice to see you too Letty, but calm down, Jasmine isn't with me. I need to get my bags from the car."
Letty then had a concerned look on her face as she looked past Scarlett at the person in the passenger seat of her car before looking back at Scarlett as she asked, "Who's that sleeping in your car?" and Scarlett took a deep breath as she looked Letty in her eyes, this wasn't going to be easy to explain but she tried anyway as she replied,
"Relax Letty, I met Lucy at Joe's coffee shop and she is sweet to me and she invited me to stay at her hotel with her before I came here with her."
And Letty looked like she was about to question Scarlett if they had slept together, but before Letty could open her mouth to say anything Scarlett said to her, "I know what you're thinking Letty, and...yes I did sleep with her, but I did NOT have sex with her. we just cuddled and watched some movies together. THAT'S IT."
Mia then looked at her sister Scarlett as she said, "Can you trust Lucy, sis? What if she treats you the same way Jasmine treated you?" before she then let out a sigh as she added, "Speaking of Jasmine, are you still with her?" and Scarlett looked at her sister Mia as she shook her head as she replied,
"I'm not with Jasmine anymore sis, she made it pretty clear she wanted DK more than she wanted me so...I ended it with her." before she then added, "I do trust Lucy sis, she was the one who gave me the confidence I needed to end it with Jasmine, so when she wakes up, please try to be nice to her."
Brian then smiled at Scarlett as he said to her, "if you ask me Scarlett, you and Lucy looked pretty cosy together in your car. are you sure you aren't hooking up with her?" and Scarlett glared at Brian as she growled,
"What? like how you and my sister are getting cosy with each other, Brian? I'm just getting over a break up and I just met Lucy. I need time to heal and me and Lucy need to get to know each other first before I even consider entering a relationship with her because for all I know she might not want that!"
Lucy then yawned a little as she walked into the garage as she said with a confused look on her face, "Might not want what?" and Scarlett blushed a little in embarrassment as she looked at Lucy as she said to her,
"Sorry if I woke you Lucy, I'll show you to my room and you can have my bed as you must be tired."
Lucy then looked at Scarlett as she asked, "Ok, but then...where will you sleep? You must be tired from driving all night." and Scarlett smiled at Lucy and let out a small yawn as she replied,
"Don't worry about me, I'll sleep on the couch."
Brian then smiled at Lucy as he held out his hand as he said to her, "Nice to meet you, I'm Brian. you can always take my room if you want." and both Scarlett and Mia glared at Brian, before Scarlett said to him,
"Back off Brian! I know what you are trying to do, Lucy is off limits...for now."
And Brian then let out a small laugh as he teasingly replied, "Oh? So you do like her then Scarlett? Why don't you share your bed with her then?" and Scarlett let out a frustrated huff as she said,
"ARGH! you are the worst! I do not like LUCY!" before she then quietly added, "At least...not in that way anyway."
Lucy then let out a small giggle as she said, "It's ok umm, Brian was it? I don't mind sleeping in Scarlett's room if she's going to be comfortable enough on the couch. otherwise I will be happy to share the bed with Scarlett."
Later…
Scarlett was sitting on the sofa and getting a couple of pillows ready, before Letty stood in the doorway as she said, "Do you have a minute? It can wait until the morning if not, as I'm sure you must be tired." and Scarlett smiled at the latina as she patted the seat next to her, signalling for Letty to come and sit next to her which she did, before Scarlett said,
"What did you want to talk about? If...this is about Lucy, she offered to come here with me. and nothing is going on between me and Lucy, at least...not right now anyway, she's just a really good friend who's been nothing but supportive of me and what I'm going through."
Letty then smiled at Scarlett as she shook her head as she replied, "This isn't about Lucy, Mia told me that DK visited you and threatened you, and I just want to tell you that I won't tolerate anyone threatening you or Mia. I promised Dom I would keep you two safe no matter what, what did DK say to you?" and Scarlett took a deep breath as she looked at Letty as she said,
"Ok, I know you and the others will be pissed with me but...DK told me I have to race for him if I want to pay off the two hundred thousand dollar debt that Dom owed him which I now owe him since Dom isn't here at the moment. He said he would take half of the winnings I make in the street racing scene as payment, if I don't race for him or give him half of the winnings, then he would hurt Jasmine…"
Letty then had a scowl on her face as she held Scarlett close in a tight hug before she looked into her eyes as she said to her, "Listen to me Scarlett, you don't owe DK shit! if he wants his money then he has to find Dom. I don't like you racing for that dipshit, but...I understand you made a choice to protect someone you cared about. You will always be my baby girl, and you will always be welcome here, don't forget that, ok Mija?"
Scarlett then had a few tears in her eyes as she nodded her head at Letty as she replied, "I did what I thought was right for the woman I loved…" before she then added, "I guess now I have to protect my family, and Lucy. if DK could threaten me about Jasmine then it will only be a matter of time before he puts Lucy in danger...I...I wish Roxanne was here, she would know what to do in this situation." as the tears then slowly began falling from her face
And Letty just held Scarlett in a hug and gently rubbed her back to soothe her before she said to her, "It's been four years Mija, no one knows where Roxanne is. I wish she was here too, we all do. but maybe... it's time to let her go. I don't want to think worst case, but it maybe easier to accept that she might be...gone."
Then Scarlett shook her head in refusal as she sobbed, "Roxanne can't be dead! She's out there somewhere I know it! I don't care if it's been four years, she has to be somewhere safe! I've known her ever since I could walk. I won't just give up on her just because she hasn't contacted us! She has to have a reason…" she choked a little as she repeated, "She has to...she wouldn't just...forget about us…" and Letty just held Scarlett in her arms as she cried herself to sleep.
Two weeks later…
Scarlett took a deep breath as she woke up the next morning, she was not looking forward to racing for DK, and after what Letty said to her yesterday maybe she didn't have to? After all she didn't owe DK money, her brother did. She made her way to the kitchen where Lucy was standing drinking a cup of coffee, when Lucy smiled at her as she said, "Good morning Scarlett, I made you a coffee. Did you sleep well last night?"
And Scarlett smiled back at Lucy as she took the cup of coffee off the side of the counter as she replied, "Aww, you didn't have to do that for me Lucy, I'm sure Mia or Brian could have made one for me. and...no I didn't sleep well last night, turns out the couch wasn't as comfortable as I thought it would be." and Lucy frowned a little at Scarlett as she said,
"Aww, why didn't you say anything to me? I could have easily made room for you in your bed."
Then as Scarlett was about to respond, her phone vibrated with a text from an unknown number as it read,
"Unknown: You are racing today right? Remember our agreement. DK."
Scarlett then let out a sigh as she said under her breath hoping Lucy wouldn't hear her, "Shit…" but Lucy looked at Scarlett as she asked,
"What's wrong Scarlett?"
And Scarlett tried to think of an excuse to tell Lucy, she didn't want her to know she was mixed up with criminals, and she was afraid she might lose her if she knew the truth, so she took a deep breath as she said,
"Nothing to worry about, it's just a job I had to cancel because other things came up, they were just texting me to say they will be happy to reschedule, that's all."
She hoped that would be enough to convince Lucy, as Lucy stared at her for a few minutes before she eventually smiled as she said, "Oh ok, if you need any help with the job you can always ask me, Scarlett." and Scarlett breathed a sigh of relief as she smiled back and nodded her head at Lucy as she replied,
"Sure, I'm pretty sure I can handle it on my own. but if I need an extra pair of hands you will be the first person I ask."
Before Scarlett then quickly walked out of the room, grabbing a slice of toast on her way out, before she bumped into Brian as he smiled at her and said, "Whoa, where are you going in such a rush?" and Scarlett looked at Brian as she replied,
"It's none of your business, haven't you got my sister to flirt with or something?"
And Brian smirked at Scarlett as he said, "What makes you think I like your sister?" Scarlett then let out a scoff as she replied,
"Dude, it's pretty obvious you like my sister. You go out of your way just to spend time with her, and I'm pretty sure Mia likes you too, just don't tell her I said that, she would murder me."
Brian then let out a small laugh as he said, "Don't worry, I won't say anything to Mia. Just be safe, wherever it is you're going." before Scarlett then continued towards her car and opened up the hood and grabbed the nearest toolbox she could find as she pulled out a wrench and started tuning the engine of her Mitsubishi lancer.
Letty then stood in the doorway of the garage as she watched Scarlett working on her car, before she cleared her throat as she said, "Going somewhere, Mija?" and Scarlett took a deep breath as she looked at Letty as she replied,
"Not exactly, just needed to check on my car to make sure nothing goes wrong when I race that's all."
And Letty then walked over to Scarlett with a concerned look on her face as she said, "I have never seen you work on your car unless something is stressing you out, you always got Dom to look at your car for you. So wanna tell me what's up?" and Scarlett let out a sigh as she looked at Letty and replied,
"I know. but Dom isn't here at the moment Letty and you know better than anyone else that I would rather roll over and die before I let anyone besides Dom touch my car, I won't even let Mia near my car without my supervision. But...you're right, something is bothering me. DK texted me this morning making sure I was still ok to race, while subtly reminding me of the agreement I made with him."
Letty placed her hands on Scarlett's shoulders as she said to her, "Like I said earlier, you don't owe DK shit, if he wants his money so bad he should find Dom and take it up with him. anyway, Mia wanted me to let you know Vincent will be here soon, I know you don't like him that much. but could you at least try to play nice, if not for Mia at least for me?" and Scarlett scoffed a little as she replied,
"Hell would have to freeze over before I like Vincent after what he did Letty, I can't promise anything but I...will try to be friendly towards him. Mostly for Mia and Lucy's sake not his. I should probably head down to the race wars track before DK gets pissed with me."
Lucy then joined Letty and Scarlett in the garage as she smiled at Scarlett as she said, "Your street racing? Why didn't you tell me that's why you were late to the hotel? I love street races! maybe I can come with you?" and Scarlett took a deep breath as she shook her head slightly at Lucy as she replied,
"I don't think that's a good idea Lucy, I'm mixed up with people...dangerous people. You don't want to be around me, trust me...it's safer if you stay away from me. Just...stay here with Mia and the others."
And Lucy smiled as she walked towards Scarlett and cupped her cheek and rubbed it slightly with her thumb, sending shivers down Scarlett's spine, before she shook her head as she said, "Just because Jasmine hurt you, doesn't mean you have to push everyone away. I'm not Jasmine and I'm not going to hurt you Scarlett, you can try to push me away all you want but I'm not going anywhere. I can see you are hurting, but it will only hurt more if you keep pushing people away, you have to learn to let people in."
A few tears were building in Scarlett's eyes and her vision became a little clouded as she looked at Lucy and replied, "It's not that I don't want to let you in Lucy, I just...can't. Not at the moment at least, I loved Jasmine and...I thought she loved me back with all her heart, instead she drove a knife through mine...I need time. I'm broken Lucy, I need to piece together my broken heart before I can give it to someone again...if ever." and Lucy held Scarlett tight in a hug and wiped away a few of her tears as she said,
"Then...let me fix you Scarlett, let me heal your broken heart and help you find love again. I'll treat you better than Jasmine ever did."
Letty just smirked as she stood watching the tender moment between Scarlett and Lucy before she said, "I don't mean to ruin this tender moment between you two, but...it sounds to me like Lucy is a keeper. I'd hold on to her and never let her go if I were you Mija, it sounds to me like Lucy will treat you better than Jasmine as it sounds like she cares a lot about you." and Scarlett smiled at Letty as she broke away from Lucy before she replied,
"Yeah...I guess you're right Letty, and...I do care about Lucy, maybe a little more than I should but...she was one of the few people there to pick me up when I needed it." before she then turned her attention to Lucy and blushed a little as she added, "I...I guess you can come with me to race wars if you want to Lucy. I won't try to stop you this time."
Lucy then smiled at Scarlett as she gave her a little peck on her cheek as she said, "Good, because I was gonna come with you even if you had said no, I'll wait in the car for you, just tell me when you are ready." and Scarlett just smiled as she watched Lucy walk away from her and climb into the passenger seat of her car.
And Letty smiled at Scarlett as she said to her, "Be honest with me Mija, you like her don't you? I could see the sparks between you from here." and Scarlett blushed deeply as she shook her head at Letty as she denied,
"W-what are you talking about Letty? Lucy is just a friend, nothing more."
Then Letty let out a small laugh as she teased, "Sure, Lucy is "Just a friend" I'll just wait and see how long it takes before you admit you like her and seal the deal with a kiss. You can try and deny it all you want Mija, but I see through your tough girl act. Lucy sees through your act as well." and Scarlett's cheeks were turning more and more redder as she protested,
"You're impossible Letty! I'm not putting on a "tough girl" act, it's just who I am. I'll see you when I get back from race wars." before storming off into the driver's seat of her car after closing the hood.