TITLE: Running CHAPTER 16 of many chapters
AUTHOR: Daaasl
RATING: R for violence and sex
DISCLAIMER: The characters of Dominic, Leon, Vincent, Mia,
Brian, Jessie and Letty belong the film company. All the
other characters are mine all mine, though. Any copyright
infringement is unintended.
ARCHIVE: You can find previous chapters at:
http://www.realmofvindiesel.homestead.com
Anyone else wanting to post my fanfic on their site, please
check with me.
FEEDBACK: Please. I like to know what you think. But be
gentle with me.
After I dropped Mia off at Toretto's store, I went back to the house to unload all the bags from our shopping spree that morning. Mia had given me her keys so I could get in the house.
It took me four trips to get everything inside and I was beginning to work up a healthy sweat. On my last trip out to my car, as I pulled out the last couple of bags, a movement got my attention and I turned my head. It was the Escalade again! First I froze, and then I panicked. I yanked the bags out of my car and ran back to the house, shutting and locking the door behind me. I ran over to the wall phone to call Leon and pulled up short. I realized in disgust that I didn't know the number at the garage. I looked around the kitchen, at the fridge and the counter near the phone, to see if I could find the number written down somewhere, but there was nothing.
While I was trying desperately to think of where I might find a phone book, I went back into the living room, looking for anything that would help me. No phone books. No address books. As I started to leave the living room for the kitchen again, I passed one of the front windows and peeked out. I didn't see anything. Startled, that the Escalade was no longer where I had seen it last, I craned my neck to see the street better. I had been sure I wasn't imagining that I had seen the Escalade. I had a brief argument with myself about the stupidity of exposing myself to danger, but summoned up the courage to look outside again. I slowly opened the door and carefully stepped out onto the porch.
I looked up and down the street. The Escalade was gone. After looking twice more and waiting for another couple of minutes to see if it would show up again, I let out a sigh of relief, and went back inside. I closed the door, locked it again and stood with my back against it as I took a few minutes to collect myself. I began to doubt my sanity and wondered if I was just being paranoid. Maybe it wasn't even really an Escalade that I thought I had seen. I shook my head, in confusion. I opened my eyes and looked at all the bags sprawled across the foyer. I picked as many up as I could and shakily began taking them upstairs.
Dropping Mia's bags off in her room first, I went back down to get last of mine. When the last bag was in Leon's room, I fell onto the bed. I was exhausted. It had been a busy and stressful day and I was not used to California heat. I closed my eyes, and fell asleep.
When I woke up it was 3:30 in the afternoon. I knew everyone would be home soon, so I padded the hall to the bathroom and took a shower to soothe and refresh myself. When I finished, I went back to Leon's room and rummaged through my bags for something new to wear. I chose a pair of black hot pants and a royal blue halter top. As I dressed, I looked at myself in the mirror and couldn't help but smile at the change I had just made from a timid girl in an oversized T and Levis, to a confident and stylish woman.
"Looking good girl." I complimented myself as I put my hair up. I went over to Leon's closet, and began to look for a way to find some room to fit my clothes in. The closet was really packed with boxes, extra blankets, shoes, winter jackets and flannel shirts! I decided to move the shoes to one side first and find a way to stack the boxes on the floor tighter. As I began to move the shoes, I somehow disturbed the jackets, which in turn dislodged several boxes and a couple of Road and Track magazines which immediately fell from the top shelf onto my head.
I ducked, covering my head, and waited for all the debris to finish falling. When things stopped sliding off the shelves and hangers, I looked down to see that the pile was made up of a couple of boxes, some magazines, several jackets, and a manila folder. Papers had slithered out of the folder and were mixed in with the jackets, boxes, magazines and shoes.
I began picking up the papers to put them back into the folder when I saw something that made my heart stop. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I blinked in disbelief and then stared in horror at the page I was holding in my hand. My heart began to race and I couldn't catch my breath.
I began to snatch up all the pieces of paper and flipped through all the sheets, becoming more upset and angry at each page that I saw. Here was my whole life! Every detail, that I had told no one but Leon, even things I haven't told him yet was printed on these pages in black and white -- in Leon's closet! My knees buckled and I dropped to the floor. My eyes welled with tears and I heard myself begin to wail in grief and fury. I wrapped my arms around my self tightly and began rocking back and forth, as I looked down at the papers spread out around me. Everything was there. I saw all the copies of my medical records, school records, Department of Motor Vehicle files, credit report, -- my entire life history. Through my tears I even saw a copy of my mother's death certificate. Tears blurred my vision and my wailing turned to deep racking sobs as I picked up the copy of the certificate and and pressed it over my heart as if I could stop it from breaking. My chest hurt so bad that I was sure I was dying from grief. I was sure I could feel the trust and love that I thought I had rediscovered, being ripped out of my soul.
Leon had lied to me.
He betrayed my trust and had listened to my story about my life, from my heart, when he knew everything about me already. I'd really believed that he was being patient and kind; waiting for me to open up to him about my life; and understanding that I couldn't tell him until I was ready. All along Leon had only pretended to care about me and my feelings. He could afford to be patient with me. He already knew everything! How could he be so cold? Why had he invaded my privacy and dragged out the records of my lifetime? I felt humiliated that he had fooled me and made me believe that he cared about who I was, about what I was feeling, and about what I was thinking!
As my sobbing and gasping diminished, I angrily wiped the tears from my eyes and looked at the rest of the papers lying around me. I found papers on Anthony and his father too. Stunned by seeing a picture of Anthony, my fears rushed in and grabbed me by the throat. Before I could finish reading anything else, nausea overwhelmed me. I jumped up and ran to the bathroom, barely making it in time. I threw up lunch and when I finished, I sank to the floor, clutching the toilet and cried again. As the visions of all that I had discovered washed over me, I began to lose the rest of my control. My feelings of betrayal and humiliation were so huge that I began to hyperventilate with rage. I didn't hear the team when they came in because I couldn't stop my ragged sobbing.
How could he do this? Why did he do this? As my grief completed its transformation to rage, I suddenly heard Leon's voice behind me.
"Sarah! Jesus! What happened here? Are you ok?" He sounded so sincere, but I was revolted by his fake concern. I stopped my sobbing abruptly and rose to my feet shakily.
"Get the FUCK away from me you bastard." I hissed through my teeth, and pushed past him.
"What?!? What happened? What is going on? Why are you so freaked? Did somebody hurt you?" Leon followed me down the hall to his room, firing questions at me, his brow furrowed with a look of worry and concern.
"Stay away from me Leon!" I screamed at him, slamming the bedroom door in his face. I turned and grabbed one of the shopping bags, and my metal case. I contemplated opening the case and using my .22on his lying ass; but the rational part of me realized that no matter how furious and hurt I was, I didn't want any police after me. I grabbed the manila folder and its papers from the closet floor and walked back to the door. When I yanked the door open, I found Leon still standing there. The look on his face was one of frustration and confusion.
As I tried to push past him again, he grabbed my arm and stopped me.
"Sarah! Talk to me." Leon demanded, his voice breaking with emotion.
"Talk to you?" I shouted incredulously. "Talk to you Leon? What the fuck for? What the hell do you want me to tell you? You already know every goddamned thing there is to know about me! Why the hell should I ever talk to you again!?"
Leon's face fell and his eyes widened in comprehension and guilt. I used all my strength and rage to rip my arm from his grasp and shoved him out of the way before I flew down the stairs and into the living room to find the rest of the team staring at me in shock. Mia stood up from the couch fast and crossed the room to where I was standing, trembling with emotions I could barely control.
"God Sarah, what happened?" Mia asked in shock.
I looked up at her, with tears flowing freely down my eyes, but before I could answer, Leon was down the stairs and standing beside me. He grabbed my arm again and turned me to face him.
"Sarah please! What the fuck is going on, what are you talking about?"
"Don't play stupid with me Leon!" I shouted and yanked my arm from his hand again. "Just how long have you had all the records and information on me? How long Leon?!" My voice was at its highest level.
Leon didn't answer me, but looked past my shoulder at Brian, who had come up behind Mia. I watched Leon, who looked pleadingly at Brian. I snapped my head back towards Brian to shake his head, as if to say he didn't know how to help. I suddenly realized that the whole team knew everything about me and my life! My blood turned to ice and I felt total despair that made my voice came out dead and lifeless. I slowly returned my gaze to Leon.
"How could you be such a bastard?" I asked, without expecting any answer. I turned my face away from Leon and found myself looking across the room into Letty's sad eyes. Jesse was chewing on his lower lip nervously. Everyone looked embarrassed.
Leon had turned his attention back to me at the sound of my question. He turned me to face him again. His green eyes caught desperately at mine and he said "Sarah, wait. It wasn't like that. You don't know what you're talking about. We had to-" He spoke softly and calmly and tried to move closer to me. I ignored the perplexed stares from the rest of the team, and backed away from Leon slowly as he moved towards me.
"Stop. Stay away from me." I felt my face changing as I forced another wave of tears back. I was losing the battle though because they were going to come again and stay a long time.
"I trusted you." I whispered as I shook my head in disgust for my gullibility. My face scrunching up with disgust
"What the hell is going on here?" Dom growled as he walked in the front door, acting like the usual authority figure. I was too angry to be intimidated by his bullshit. I snapped at him too.
"Stay the FUCK out of this Dom" I said coldly. Dom's eyebrows went up in surprise and the room became deadly silent, as the team waited for Dom's reaction. Dom paused for a moment, evaluating the situation. Then he shrugged his shoulders, crossed his arms and tipped his head. He watched me -- but he didn't say another word.
Leon touched my arm again to get my attention. "Sarah, baby, lets' talk, we can work this-", he began.
It was too much for me. I heard myself yell in rage as I whirled and threw the folder and its contents at him, causing all the papers to fly everywhere.
"Don't EVER come near me or talk to me ever AGAIN!" I screamed through my tears. Then I bolted out the door pushing Dom out of my way. I flew down the porch and into my car.
Within a moment, Leon came racing out of the house, followed by Brian and Vince.
"Sarah! Sarah! Come back!" I heard him yell as I pulled away from the curb.
"I hate you!" I screamed, and peeled off down the street.
Leon's POV **********
When Sarah threw the folder at me, it hit me in the face. For a minute I was furious. Before I realized what it was that she threw at me. Sarah had seen right through me and what I did to her. I looked down and saw the papers from the file that Brian and Jesse had put together on her. My heart sank to the bottom of my boots. I squeezed my eyes shut in anger and clenched my teeth. Then I heard the front door slam behind Sarah and I looked up to see both Dom and Brian staring at me with worried looks.
"Leon I'm sorry ma-" Dom started to say
"Don't!" I shouted, before shoving past him; charging out the door and onto the porch.
"Sarah! Sarah! Come back!" I yelled to her as I saw her jump into her car. I didn't notice Vince and Brian following me outside.
"I hate you!" I heard her scream before she peeled away down the street. I ran back indoors and looked at everyone. No one said anything. I saw keys on the table and grabbed them
"I need your car Jess." He just nodded. I ran back outside, and stopped short, only to feel Vince knock into me, I turned around and saw Him and Brian standing there, awaiting their instructions. My mind was racing, so many thoughts were going through my mind. My guilt for deceiving the one girl who ever meant anything to me was only clouded by my sorrow and pain of her walking out. I had to get her back.
"Help me find her and get her home." I begged as I turned and ran out to Jesse's car. Vince was right behind me "Yo brother, I'll take East Side." he said, as he got into his ride.
"All right V. I'm going to take the main roads back. Hey Brian!" I yelled back to the porch where he stood.
"Yeah!"
"Take the coast route man. Keep your phone open, and if you find her-"
"We'll get her back Brother." Vince hollered to me before punching the gas and ripping out of the driveway and up the street.
I hoped Vince was right. Sarah really didn't know anything about Cali. If she ended up in a tough neighborhood, she could be in serious trouble. My stomach clenched with worry.
I nodded to Brian in his car, as we both pulled out. I could see Mia in my rearview mirror, standing on the porch and yelling at Dom. Dom was watching Mia closely, his complete attention riveted on what she was saying. I didn't know what their conversation was, and at this point I didn't care. I thought that maybe Mia was filling Dom in on Sarah and I. I hoped that Dom would fill Mia in on why we had run the checks on Sarah's background.
I sped down the main street where Sarah and I had driven the day before, my eyes looking left and right, while I prayed I would find Sarah before anything bad could happen to her. I had to tell her why I had to lie to her. If she only understood about my past, all of our pasts, she would understand and forgive. She had to. I had to find her.
After I dropped Mia off at Toretto's store, I went back to the house to unload all the bags from our shopping spree that morning. Mia had given me her keys so I could get in the house.
It took me four trips to get everything inside and I was beginning to work up a healthy sweat. On my last trip out to my car, as I pulled out the last couple of bags, a movement got my attention and I turned my head. It was the Escalade again! First I froze, and then I panicked. I yanked the bags out of my car and ran back to the house, shutting and locking the door behind me. I ran over to the wall phone to call Leon and pulled up short. I realized in disgust that I didn't know the number at the garage. I looked around the kitchen, at the fridge and the counter near the phone, to see if I could find the number written down somewhere, but there was nothing.
While I was trying desperately to think of where I might find a phone book, I went back into the living room, looking for anything that would help me. No phone books. No address books. As I started to leave the living room for the kitchen again, I passed one of the front windows and peeked out. I didn't see anything. Startled, that the Escalade was no longer where I had seen it last, I craned my neck to see the street better. I had been sure I wasn't imagining that I had seen the Escalade. I had a brief argument with myself about the stupidity of exposing myself to danger, but summoned up the courage to look outside again. I slowly opened the door and carefully stepped out onto the porch.
I looked up and down the street. The Escalade was gone. After looking twice more and waiting for another couple of minutes to see if it would show up again, I let out a sigh of relief, and went back inside. I closed the door, locked it again and stood with my back against it as I took a few minutes to collect myself. I began to doubt my sanity and wondered if I was just being paranoid. Maybe it wasn't even really an Escalade that I thought I had seen. I shook my head, in confusion. I opened my eyes and looked at all the bags sprawled across the foyer. I picked as many up as I could and shakily began taking them upstairs.
Dropping Mia's bags off in her room first, I went back down to get last of mine. When the last bag was in Leon's room, I fell onto the bed. I was exhausted. It had been a busy and stressful day and I was not used to California heat. I closed my eyes, and fell asleep.
When I woke up it was 3:30 in the afternoon. I knew everyone would be home soon, so I padded the hall to the bathroom and took a shower to soothe and refresh myself. When I finished, I went back to Leon's room and rummaged through my bags for something new to wear. I chose a pair of black hot pants and a royal blue halter top. As I dressed, I looked at myself in the mirror and couldn't help but smile at the change I had just made from a timid girl in an oversized T and Levis, to a confident and stylish woman.
"Looking good girl." I complimented myself as I put my hair up. I went over to Leon's closet, and began to look for a way to find some room to fit my clothes in. The closet was really packed with boxes, extra blankets, shoes, winter jackets and flannel shirts! I decided to move the shoes to one side first and find a way to stack the boxes on the floor tighter. As I began to move the shoes, I somehow disturbed the jackets, which in turn dislodged several boxes and a couple of Road and Track magazines which immediately fell from the top shelf onto my head.
I ducked, covering my head, and waited for all the debris to finish falling. When things stopped sliding off the shelves and hangers, I looked down to see that the pile was made up of a couple of boxes, some magazines, several jackets, and a manila folder. Papers had slithered out of the folder and were mixed in with the jackets, boxes, magazines and shoes.
I began picking up the papers to put them back into the folder when I saw something that made my heart stop. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I blinked in disbelief and then stared in horror at the page I was holding in my hand. My heart began to race and I couldn't catch my breath.
I began to snatch up all the pieces of paper and flipped through all the sheets, becoming more upset and angry at each page that I saw. Here was my whole life! Every detail, that I had told no one but Leon, even things I haven't told him yet was printed on these pages in black and white -- in Leon's closet! My knees buckled and I dropped to the floor. My eyes welled with tears and I heard myself begin to wail in grief and fury. I wrapped my arms around my self tightly and began rocking back and forth, as I looked down at the papers spread out around me. Everything was there. I saw all the copies of my medical records, school records, Department of Motor Vehicle files, credit report, -- my entire life history. Through my tears I even saw a copy of my mother's death certificate. Tears blurred my vision and my wailing turned to deep racking sobs as I picked up the copy of the certificate and and pressed it over my heart as if I could stop it from breaking. My chest hurt so bad that I was sure I was dying from grief. I was sure I could feel the trust and love that I thought I had rediscovered, being ripped out of my soul.
Leon had lied to me.
He betrayed my trust and had listened to my story about my life, from my heart, when he knew everything about me already. I'd really believed that he was being patient and kind; waiting for me to open up to him about my life; and understanding that I couldn't tell him until I was ready. All along Leon had only pretended to care about me and my feelings. He could afford to be patient with me. He already knew everything! How could he be so cold? Why had he invaded my privacy and dragged out the records of my lifetime? I felt humiliated that he had fooled me and made me believe that he cared about who I was, about what I was feeling, and about what I was thinking!
As my sobbing and gasping diminished, I angrily wiped the tears from my eyes and looked at the rest of the papers lying around me. I found papers on Anthony and his father too. Stunned by seeing a picture of Anthony, my fears rushed in and grabbed me by the throat. Before I could finish reading anything else, nausea overwhelmed me. I jumped up and ran to the bathroom, barely making it in time. I threw up lunch and when I finished, I sank to the floor, clutching the toilet and cried again. As the visions of all that I had discovered washed over me, I began to lose the rest of my control. My feelings of betrayal and humiliation were so huge that I began to hyperventilate with rage. I didn't hear the team when they came in because I couldn't stop my ragged sobbing.
How could he do this? Why did he do this? As my grief completed its transformation to rage, I suddenly heard Leon's voice behind me.
"Sarah! Jesus! What happened here? Are you ok?" He sounded so sincere, but I was revolted by his fake concern. I stopped my sobbing abruptly and rose to my feet shakily.
"Get the FUCK away from me you bastard." I hissed through my teeth, and pushed past him.
"What?!? What happened? What is going on? Why are you so freaked? Did somebody hurt you?" Leon followed me down the hall to his room, firing questions at me, his brow furrowed with a look of worry and concern.
"Stay away from me Leon!" I screamed at him, slamming the bedroom door in his face. I turned and grabbed one of the shopping bags, and my metal case. I contemplated opening the case and using my .22on his lying ass; but the rational part of me realized that no matter how furious and hurt I was, I didn't want any police after me. I grabbed the manila folder and its papers from the closet floor and walked back to the door. When I yanked the door open, I found Leon still standing there. The look on his face was one of frustration and confusion.
As I tried to push past him again, he grabbed my arm and stopped me.
"Sarah! Talk to me." Leon demanded, his voice breaking with emotion.
"Talk to you?" I shouted incredulously. "Talk to you Leon? What the fuck for? What the hell do you want me to tell you? You already know every goddamned thing there is to know about me! Why the hell should I ever talk to you again!?"
Leon's face fell and his eyes widened in comprehension and guilt. I used all my strength and rage to rip my arm from his grasp and shoved him out of the way before I flew down the stairs and into the living room to find the rest of the team staring at me in shock. Mia stood up from the couch fast and crossed the room to where I was standing, trembling with emotions I could barely control.
"God Sarah, what happened?" Mia asked in shock.
I looked up at her, with tears flowing freely down my eyes, but before I could answer, Leon was down the stairs and standing beside me. He grabbed my arm again and turned me to face him.
"Sarah please! What the fuck is going on, what are you talking about?"
"Don't play stupid with me Leon!" I shouted and yanked my arm from his hand again. "Just how long have you had all the records and information on me? How long Leon?!" My voice was at its highest level.
Leon didn't answer me, but looked past my shoulder at Brian, who had come up behind Mia. I watched Leon, who looked pleadingly at Brian. I snapped my head back towards Brian to shake his head, as if to say he didn't know how to help. I suddenly realized that the whole team knew everything about me and my life! My blood turned to ice and I felt total despair that made my voice came out dead and lifeless. I slowly returned my gaze to Leon.
"How could you be such a bastard?" I asked, without expecting any answer. I turned my face away from Leon and found myself looking across the room into Letty's sad eyes. Jesse was chewing on his lower lip nervously. Everyone looked embarrassed.
Leon had turned his attention back to me at the sound of my question. He turned me to face him again. His green eyes caught desperately at mine and he said "Sarah, wait. It wasn't like that. You don't know what you're talking about. We had to-" He spoke softly and calmly and tried to move closer to me. I ignored the perplexed stares from the rest of the team, and backed away from Leon slowly as he moved towards me.
"Stop. Stay away from me." I felt my face changing as I forced another wave of tears back. I was losing the battle though because they were going to come again and stay a long time.
"I trusted you." I whispered as I shook my head in disgust for my gullibility. My face scrunching up with disgust
"What the hell is going on here?" Dom growled as he walked in the front door, acting like the usual authority figure. I was too angry to be intimidated by his bullshit. I snapped at him too.
"Stay the FUCK out of this Dom" I said coldly. Dom's eyebrows went up in surprise and the room became deadly silent, as the team waited for Dom's reaction. Dom paused for a moment, evaluating the situation. Then he shrugged his shoulders, crossed his arms and tipped his head. He watched me -- but he didn't say another word.
Leon touched my arm again to get my attention. "Sarah, baby, lets' talk, we can work this-", he began.
It was too much for me. I heard myself yell in rage as I whirled and threw the folder and its contents at him, causing all the papers to fly everywhere.
"Don't EVER come near me or talk to me ever AGAIN!" I screamed through my tears. Then I bolted out the door pushing Dom out of my way. I flew down the porch and into my car.
Within a moment, Leon came racing out of the house, followed by Brian and Vince.
"Sarah! Sarah! Come back!" I heard him yell as I pulled away from the curb.
"I hate you!" I screamed, and peeled off down the street.
Leon's POV **********
When Sarah threw the folder at me, it hit me in the face. For a minute I was furious. Before I realized what it was that she threw at me. Sarah had seen right through me and what I did to her. I looked down and saw the papers from the file that Brian and Jesse had put together on her. My heart sank to the bottom of my boots. I squeezed my eyes shut in anger and clenched my teeth. Then I heard the front door slam behind Sarah and I looked up to see both Dom and Brian staring at me with worried looks.
"Leon I'm sorry ma-" Dom started to say
"Don't!" I shouted, before shoving past him; charging out the door and onto the porch.
"Sarah! Sarah! Come back!" I yelled to her as I saw her jump into her car. I didn't notice Vince and Brian following me outside.
"I hate you!" I heard her scream before she peeled away down the street. I ran back indoors and looked at everyone. No one said anything. I saw keys on the table and grabbed them
"I need your car Jess." He just nodded. I ran back outside, and stopped short, only to feel Vince knock into me, I turned around and saw Him and Brian standing there, awaiting their instructions. My mind was racing, so many thoughts were going through my mind. My guilt for deceiving the one girl who ever meant anything to me was only clouded by my sorrow and pain of her walking out. I had to get her back.
"Help me find her and get her home." I begged as I turned and ran out to Jesse's car. Vince was right behind me "Yo brother, I'll take East Side." he said, as he got into his ride.
"All right V. I'm going to take the main roads back. Hey Brian!" I yelled back to the porch where he stood.
"Yeah!"
"Take the coast route man. Keep your phone open, and if you find her-"
"We'll get her back Brother." Vince hollered to me before punching the gas and ripping out of the driveway and up the street.
I hoped Vince was right. Sarah really didn't know anything about Cali. If she ended up in a tough neighborhood, she could be in serious trouble. My stomach clenched with worry.
I nodded to Brian in his car, as we both pulled out. I could see Mia in my rearview mirror, standing on the porch and yelling at Dom. Dom was watching Mia closely, his complete attention riveted on what she was saying. I didn't know what their conversation was, and at this point I didn't care. I thought that maybe Mia was filling Dom in on Sarah and I. I hoped that Dom would fill Mia in on why we had run the checks on Sarah's background.
I sped down the main street where Sarah and I had driven the day before, my eyes looking left and right, while I prayed I would find Sarah before anything bad could happen to her. I had to tell her why I had to lie to her. If she only understood about my past, all of our pasts, she would understand and forgive. She had to. I had to find her.