The next few weeks passed by, all dull and rainy, considering it was April.
Letty had identified her father's body, and had since been inconsolable.
That little bit of hope that she'd been holding onto had disappeared, and
she sank into depression. She lay in Dom's bed, crying or simply lying
there, staring out his window at the gray sky.
After that day at the morgue, she hadn't let anyone come to see her, unless it was Tony bringing her up a plate of food, which usually remained untouched when he returned for it.
She hadn't attended class for two weeks and kids at school were beginning to wonder where she had disappeared to. Rumors spread, she ran away, she was pregnant, she was sitting high in a basement with her mother some where on the south side of town. Dom became angry every time one of the girls gossiped around him, and would immediately tell them it wasn't their business and promptly relocate himself.
Finally, on Monday of week three, Letty opened the bedroom door. She walked down the hall, trying to be silent. It was six fifteen and Mia, Tony and Dom were still asleep. Or so she thought...
She wondered down into the kitchen and headed straight for the fridge, beginning to rummage around for leftovers, when she heard footsteps behind her. She stood up quickly and turned slowly to face a drowsy looking Dom. He smiled sleepily as he sank down in one of the kitchen chairs.
'Hey Lett.' He said in a groggy voice. Letty nodded back, leaning against the counter. Dom had decided that treating Letty as if she were fragile would only make her cry again. Then again, he couldn't be too rough either.
'So what are you up to today?' he said, grabbing an apple that was in the basket on the kitchen table. Letty raised an eyebrow.
'I... I dunno. Watch TV I guess.' She said shrugging. Dom smiled as he took another bite of his apple.
'When are you coming back to school, Lett?' Dom said trying to settle her back into small talk. She shrugged again.
'I dunno. Not...not yet.' She said looking down at her feet, inhaling deeply as if she were going to hyperventilate. Dom nodded.
'That's okay. You're not missing much. The most interesting thing that's happened all week, was when Torynn chased Edwin around the school for calling her 'his nigga'. She was ready to beat the crap outta him.' Dom said smiling.
Letty let out a small laugh, not forced, just small. She continued to smile slightly. Dom liked that. He hadn't seen her in almost two weeks; it was good to know that she could smile again.
'And Vince asked Nikki out.' Dom said biting into his apple again. Letty looked shocked.
'Really?' she said in a dry throaty voice. Dom supposed it was that way because she hadn't used it in a while. Dom nodded. 'I guess I always thought he was into Mia.' She said slowly, drawing a deep breath. Dom raised an eyebrow.
'Say what?' he said dropping his apple.
'Oh come on, don't act like you didn't know.' Letty said standing up straight, a small smile on her face. Dom just stared at her. 'Oh my god! You didn't know!' Letty rasped. 'God, didn't you feel your Dommy senses tingling, or whatever the fuck happens when you get a strange feeling.' She said. It was a weak attempt at a joke, but Dom smiled and shrugged.
'You know me.' He said throwing the apple remains in the trash. He wiped his hands on the boxers he was wearing and promptly stood. 'Well I gotta get ready. Vince is picking me up early and I have a feeling I'll be talking to him about a certain sister of mine.'
'Dom, you only have one sister.' Letty said as she passed him, going into the living room. He smiled.
'No I have two.' He said leaning over and kissing the top of her head. 'Gotta fly baby girl. See you after school.' He said running up the stairs to his room. Letty felt her eyes begin to water, but banished them back. She'd already done enough crying. Of course this was for a different reason. Dom thought of her as a sister? As much as she hated to admit it, she'd developed feelings for him over the last month. Knowing that he didn't feel the same, put another crack in her already aching heart.
She sighed as she sank down on the couch. Of course. Of all the guys at her school, most of whom had developed a boner for her ever since that first encounter when she'd 'transformed', the one guy that she wants, she can't have. Because he won't love her back. No that's not true, she told herself bitterly.
'He loves you as a 'sister'.' She emphasized her last word with a low, deflated voice. It just made her so mad. What the hell more did he want? Was her butt too big? Her chest too small? Was she too young? Was she too ugly? Hadn't she been in bed with him, both stripped down to their underwear, crying into his shoulder as he consoled her? Didn't he understand she wouldn't let just ANYONE do that?
'Good morning Letty.' She turned to see Tony leaning against the doorframe, smiling sleepily. She forced herself to smile back, not sure how convincing it was.
'Good morning.' She replied, looking around as if the room interested her, as if she'd never seen it properly before.
'It's good to see that you're up,' he said sipping his coffee and dropping his morning paper on the coffee table. 'how are you feeling?'
'Better.' Letty replied, nodding her head. She actually did. After having that lighthearted conversation with Dom, the pain of her father's death was starting to finally, slowly ebb away. 'How's Mia? I'm sorry I didn't talk with her or you or Dom...'
'It's alright. I understand, and I'm sure they do too. Mia's good, at first she was a little on edge but I think she's starting to get back to her normal self. I dare say, you'll need her happy, energizing personality.' He said matter-of-factly, before sipping his coffee again. Letty nodded.
'I'm not ready to go back to school.' She said looking back up at him, her face almost pleading with him. He nodded and rested his hand on her back.
'Just tell me when you are. I don't want you to feel rushed.' He said, finally standing, looking at his watch and sighing. 'Well I have to get to the garage. MIA!' he yelled as he wandered over to the stairs. Letty heard a loud thundering sound as Mia bounded down the stairs. She smiled at her father and then looked at Letty who was sitting and looking back at her. Her mouth opened a little and her eyebrows contracted.
'Letty.' She said softly. 'I thought you were still in bed.' She said looking at her as if unsure of her reaction. Letty smiled in reply, trying to put her friend at ease.
'I'm better now.' She said shortly and nodding at her. Mia seemed to relax a bit and smile back, a big warm smile that seemed to sum up Mia's happy personality.
'I'm really glad.' She said picking up her school bag from the floor. 'I promise when I get home, we can do something. Like rent a movie or whatever.' She said. Letty smiled. Mia was so excited for her to be up. And that made Letty happy.
'You bet.' She said nodding again.
'Who's getting a movie?' Dom said, coming down the stairs, pulling a white tee shirt down over his rock hard abs. He rounded the corner and saw Letty smiling.
'Me and Letty. We're gonna hang, since she's feeling so much better.' Mia said smiling, still watching her friend.
'Am I invited?' he asked pocketing his wallet and looking between the two of them.
'Of course.' Letty said softly, tilting her head. Mia stared at her as if she'd just swore loudly. It was Mia's look of polite shock. She soon shook it off as she saw Dom smile at her and pass Tony and her. Although she did stare after him as if he had just grown another head.
'I'll be home around five okay pop.' He said looking at his father.
'Okay, make sure you get those parts from Harry for me!'
'Yeah, yeah!' Dom yelled from outside.
'I'm serious Dom! DON'T FORGET!' he yelled after his son as the sound of the truck door opened and slammed shut. He shook his head, inhaling deeply, rubbing the back of his neck. Then he suddenly realized he'd been yelling and looked to Letty with a look of apology. She just stared. What was she suddenly made of? Glass?
'Well Mia, if you're ready, we better leave, I've got a lot of appointments today.' He said trying to usher Mia toward the door. She nodded.
'Okay daddy.' She gave Letty one last assuring look. 'See you!' she said walking out the door, closely followed by Tony. Letty just smiled and waved. She then sunk down in the sofa cushions and sighed, then smiled. It was a lot easier to smile and be happy, than it was to cry and be upset. She then silently decided that the rest of the day would be dedicated to trying to act normal again so that that night when Dom and Mia were watching the movie, she could be as normal as possible. Maybe even get Dom to realize that she liked him in a way that was a little more serious than 'sisterly love'.
**********************************************************************
'Letty?!' came a shout from the front door, as Mia entered the house. Letty peered around the corner, a small smile on her face. Mia gave a large grin, holding up two bags of chips and candy and two movies.
'Holy crap Mi, did you buy out the Sugah Shack or somethin?' Letty said folding her arms, bemused by her friend's sweet tooth. Mia smiled and walked into the living room, setting all the junk food on the coffee table.
'Ha ha.' She said sarcastically. 'I just couldn't decide what to get. And anyway, Dom will try to eat it all, and we'll be lucky if we get any at all.' Letty sighed. Mia froze for a moment and raised an eyebrow, then stood up straight, putting her hands on her hips. Letty just stared at her as she fell back on the couch.
'What?' she finally said, as a knowing smile crept up on Mia's lips.
'You're falling for Dom.' She said shortly, a little chuckle tacked onto the end of her comment. Letty's eyes widened and she tried to look as if the statement both confused and angered her.
'What the hell are you talking about?' she said, her voice laughable. 'Did you make brownies today or something?' she said shrugging and breaking eye contact with her friend. But Mia looked unconvinced.
'Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about.' She said walking into Letty's line of vision. 'I saw how the two of you looked at each other this morning. How you wanted him to come watch the movies with us, and how he actually accepted. You like him!' she let the last sentence out in a little squeal. Letty jumped a bit then crossed her arms frowning.
'Even if I did... which I don't!' she said as Mia had a look of triumph dawning on her face, 'I don't see why you're so happy about it!'
'Oh come on Lett!' she said sitting next to her. 'You're the one girl who's ever been interested in Dom because of him, not because of his body or his badassedness!'
'Kay, Mi, first I don't think badassedness is a word, and second, I am not interested in him!' she said the last bit loudly, dropping her arms to her sides. The door slammed and both Mia and Letty jumped a little.
'Interested in who?' Dom said as he walked into the hall and into the kitchen, dropping his school bag and opening the fridge. Letty glared at Mia and then forced a calm voice.
'Shawn Remirez.' She lied, hoping it sounded plausible. Dom walked into the living room, a beer in his hand, sipping it gingerly. His eyebrows shot up.
'I thought that was a given. He did try to rape you remember?' he said jokingly. Letty smiled. It was good for him to try and joke around her.
'Exactly. Don't be stupid Mia.' Letty said, smirking at Mia, who smiled sarcastically back.
'Hey, who got the sweets?' Dom said, reaching for the two bags. Mia quickly grabbed them off the table, and Dom glared at her.
'I got them from the Sugah Shack, and you're not gonna make a pig of yourself and eat it all.' She said matching his glare and sticking out her tongue. He huffed and gulped his beer, then sat down next to Letty, and not half way across the couch, right next to her, so their legs were touching. Letty looked down the looked back at Mia, who was smiling again, her smug little grin.
'Shut up.' Letty said, raising her eyebrow. Mia raised her hands.
'Hey, I didn't say nothin!' she said standing up and winking at her. Then she did a double take and stared at Dom and then at the kitchen.
'Dom did you get those parts for dad?' she said looking back at Dom again. Letty watched him slap his hand to his forehead and let out a low sigh.
'Shit.' He muttered about to stand up, sliding to the edge of the couch, when Mia put her hand on his shoulder and pushed him back. He looked at her, obviously confused.
'Don't worry, I'll get them.' She said smiling slyly. Letty frowned. She knew what Mia was doing and was not at all impressed. Thankfully Dom stood up and pushed Mia out of the way lightly.
'Don't be an idiot, Mia, Harry's is twenty minutes away by car. It'd take you all night to get those parts.' He said as if she were being stupid. Mia sat back on the couch, and leaned back.
'Fine, but hurry up, or we'll start the movie without you.' She said closing her eyes, as Dom walked out the door toward his car. When Letty was sure he'd gotten out of earshot she hit Mia in the shoulder.
'You bitch!' she said playfully, though she was actually kind of pissed. 'Don't think I didn't know what you were trying to do!' Mia merely shook with laughter.
'Oh come on!' she said snorting a little, 'It's not like you were complaining about him sitting so close to you! And from the looks of things, neither was he!' WHAP! Letty had slapped Mia's arm again and Mia ran away, practically cackling. Letty shook her head. That crazy hoe! She thought, though she was smiling slightly. So Dom didn't mind... Always good to know.
'Okay so which movie are we watchin first?' Mia interrupted. She raised the two movies, 'Terminator 2: Judgment Day' and 'The Silence of The Lambs', which were two of the hottest movies that year. They had just come out on video and Mia knew that Lett was DYING to see them. Letty smiled appreciatively and looked between the two. Then she pointed to Terminator.
'We'll save Mr. Hannibal for later, that way we can really be scared shitless when it gets dark.' Letty said grabbing the blanket at the end of the couch and draping it on her bare legs. Mia looked a little unsure but nodded. Letty was a whole lot braver than her when it came to bloodbath movies.
'You just wanna watch Hannibal later so that you can jump Dom and pretend you're scared!' Mia teased as she waved Terminator around. Letty threw one of the pillows at her.
'You watch yourself girl!' she said trying to point a threatening finger at her. Mia simply giggled.
'Oh god, I sooo want you two to hook up!' she said. Letty snorted. Then she realized that Mia was being serious.
'Why?' she asked shaking her head.
'Because... well, you HATED each other. And now... I guess it just proves that people can overcome their differences and stuff like that... and the fact that you're both my favorite people in the world!' she said, sounding a little overly ditzy.
'Your favorite person in the world? But you're always complaining about him!' Letty said putting her feet up on the coffee table. Mia shrugged.
'That's because he's a pain sometimes. But he looks out for me, and sometimes he can be really nice and friendly. And to me, that sort of outweighs the other shit he puts me through.' She said talking the video out of its case. Letty nodded.
'I know what you mean.' She said quietly. Mia smiled and turned toward the TV.
'Okay, let's get this puppy juiced up!' she said pushing the video into the VCR. Letty laughed as Mia pressed random buttons, until finally the TV buzzed and a picture came on. But it was fuzzy and kept sliding in and out of focus. 'Dammit! Dom usually does this, so I don't know...' she trailed off pressing more buttons.
'Mi, it was better before!' Letty said as the TV started blinking oddly. Suddenly there was a sound of the front door opening and a pair of legs appeared. The rest of the body was blocked by a couple large brown boxes.
'A little help please?' Dom's muffled voice said from behind the boxes. 'Heavy objects, not getting lighter!' Letty smiled and got up, throwing the blanket to the side and grabbing one of the boxes from Dom. Finally his head was unblocked and he smiled back at her as she walked into the kitchen.
'Where do we put them?' she asked looking around. He grunted and gestured toward the floor next to the table. She put the box Dom, as did he, and he stood, stretching out.
'You didn't have to.' He said finally as she pulled her ponytail up. 'Mia should have helped too.' He said grabbing a Corona out of the fridge. Letty shrugged.
'She's getting the movie ready.' She said walking into the living room, closely followed by Dom. Mia was kneeling in front of the VCR, pressing even more buttons.
'Mi, Mi, Mi.' Dom said shaking his head and walking over to the TV. 'You have no idea what you're doing.' He said as he shoved her to the side and bent down himself. He then pressed a few buttons and Letty saw that the picture was starting to come into focus. Then Dom promptly looked up and hit the side of the television. The picture came into clear focus, then the screen turned black.
'You were saying.' Mia said angrily as the television refused to turn on. Dom shrugged.
'It WAS an old TV.' He said rubbing the back of his neck. 'Dad'll have to replace it.'
'Now what are we supposed to do?' Mia said crossing her arms and glaring at Dom, who shook his head and continued to look at the floor pensively. Letty sighed.
'We could use my TV.' She said softly. They looked at her and Dom frowned.
'What TV?' he said, crossing his arms, so that he and Mia were standing in almost the exact same way. Letty raised her eyebrows.
'You know. The TV at my house.' She said as if they were both being stupid on purpose. Dom and Mia uncrossed their arms and exchanged looks and then looked at her as if unsure. She sighed again, 'Look, I'm fine! And I have a VCR! Why waste what we have, when all we have to do is go a couple doors down?' She felt as if she were as much trying to convince herself, as she was them.
'Well. If you feel that way...' Dom said rubbing his neck again. 'I guess...'
'Good.' Letty said, her voice a little high pitched, as she strode to the coffee table and grabbed the candy bags and walked briskly to the door.
Dom ran up to her side, as Mia wrestled with the VCR to get the movie back.
'You're sure about this?' Dom asked. 'We don't have to, we could always go to Vince's...' Letty stopped walking and turned to face him, letting out a sigh, her face earnest.
'The truth is Dom, I'll have to face the house sometime, so I might as well get used to it now.' She said, her voice almost pleading. 'I really am fine. So why don't you stop worrying and just try and have some fun.' She said. With that she turned and continued walking toward her old house, bags on her arm, and Dom in tow.
They reached the gate and Letty inhaled deeply. She pushed the rusty gate open and stepped forward, taking in the old white house, the paint peeling off the walls. She climbed up the porch steps, watching the hammock sway in the slight breeze. She took another deep breath and opened the screen door and put the key in the lock and turned it, making a familiar click. The door swung open and she walked inside. The house was just how she and Mia had left it. Blankets and pillows lying on the floor. She looked around the corner and flicked the lights on, just as Mia ran up the porch steps. Letty knew it sounded crazy but she felt like her home had become spooky and haunted. Which was stupid. It was the same house, same as when she'd left it. She shrugged and pointed to the VCR. Mia walked over and pushed the video into the slot and they all sat down to watch and munch on the candy.
Letty, unfortunately, didn't enjoy the movie as much as she wanted to. Threw the shouts of 'I'll be bach!' she felt to tense to actually take in the plot. She had said she was fine, but really, inside, she felt so uncomfortable. After a couple of hours, Silence of the Lambs was drawing to an end. Mia was lying on the floor, her chest rising and falling evenly, signifying she'd fallen asleep. Dom was sitting next to Letty on the couch and he had not overlooked the fact that she was anxious and stressed. He slowly reached around her and pulled her close.
'Hey!' she said, more in surprise than defense. She looked up at him, his eyes still fixed on the movie, though he was smiling. She smiled back. 'Dom, what are you doing?' she said, her eyes wide with hope. His grin grew slightly wider.
'Just relax, watch the movie. You're safe with me.' Letty gawked at him as he said these words. Maybe he wasn't as oblivious to her feelings as she'd thought. She smirked. She never was very good at acting, and obviously her act wasn't working on him.
She leant her head on his shoulder as she felt her eyelids grow heavy. She stared at the screen on which Anthony Hopkins was occupying but she wasn't taking in the story. All she could see, feel, smell was Dom. He was all around her and she couldn't escape him. Not that she was complaining. In fact she wished that this could go on forever. But unfortunately, life caught up with her...
'WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?!?' she sat bolt upright and whipped around to see her mother, Maria Garcia, starring around at the three of them. Her eyes were blood shot and she had an almost empty bottle of vodka in one of her hands. She had an expression of surprise, which quickly turned to one of drunken anger. Mia was awake now, since Maria's shriek and she was looking around confusedly.
'Maria...' Letty said standing up, Dom following suit and standing behind her, glaring at Maria. Maria looked between the two of them accusingly, apparently either too angry, or too drunk to form words. She pointed at the door.
'GET...OUT...' she bellowed, her arm shaking in suppressed rage. Mia quickly got up and rushed toward the door, followed by Dom and Letty. As Letty passed, Maria stretched out her hand and grabbed Letty's wrist, pulling her back. 'Where do you think you're going?!' she shouted in Letty's ear, 'Not you!'
'She's coming home with us!' Dom said, his voice raised as he stood still at the door. Maria looked up at him and nearly spat.
'Get out of my house!' she yelled again, still holding Letty back. Letty was giving Dom a fearful look as if saying just-go-without-me. But Dom ignored it and stayed still.
'Not without Letty!' he yelled back, his fists shaking at his sides. Maria's eyes widened dangerously as she twisted Letty's arm painfully around and forced her daughter to drop to the floor on her knees.
'She...IS MY DAUGHTER!' Maria spat at him as if she were under attack, 'AND SHE WILL REMAIN HERE!' she roared, throwing Letty down so that she had her face down on the floor, cradling her arm. Dom looked down at her, and then at Maria, raw hatred in his usually tender brown eyes. He stepped closer to Maria, who took a step backwards, obviously intimidated by Dom's large frame. He was at least seven inches taller than her and a lot bulkier.
'She comes with me.' He said in his forced calm voice, as if his rage were bottled up and waiting to erupt. Maria shook her head, though she did look a bit frightened.
'No!' she screamed and stood in front of Letty's body, which was lying on the floor. 'She is my daughter and if you try to take her, I'll call the cops on you!' she yelled, furthering Dom's anger. 'NOW GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!' she screamed at the top of her lungs. Dom was about to lunge for her when he felt a hand on his shoulder.
He turned to find his father standing behind him. Tony's eyes were dark, he was frowning and he seemed to have many hard lines etched into his forehead. He shook his head.
'Go home Dom.' He said quietly. Dom's eyes widened.
'What?!' he bellowed incredulously. 'But what about Letty?!?'
'Let me handle this.' Tony said looking over Dom's shoulder at Maria, who was seething and glaring at Dom. Dom was about to argue further but Tony pushed him, hard toward the door. 'Go! Go take care of Mia!' Dom was about to yell back, but his father was already turned toward Maria, talking heatedly. Dom took one last look at Letty, lying on the floor, shaking, probably crying, while cradling her injured arm. He then forced himself to look ahead as he walked past the paint peeling walls, down the porch steps, threw the rusty gate, and down the vacant street. Rage throbbing throughout his body.
After that day at the morgue, she hadn't let anyone come to see her, unless it was Tony bringing her up a plate of food, which usually remained untouched when he returned for it.
She hadn't attended class for two weeks and kids at school were beginning to wonder where she had disappeared to. Rumors spread, she ran away, she was pregnant, she was sitting high in a basement with her mother some where on the south side of town. Dom became angry every time one of the girls gossiped around him, and would immediately tell them it wasn't their business and promptly relocate himself.
Finally, on Monday of week three, Letty opened the bedroom door. She walked down the hall, trying to be silent. It was six fifteen and Mia, Tony and Dom were still asleep. Or so she thought...
She wondered down into the kitchen and headed straight for the fridge, beginning to rummage around for leftovers, when she heard footsteps behind her. She stood up quickly and turned slowly to face a drowsy looking Dom. He smiled sleepily as he sank down in one of the kitchen chairs.
'Hey Lett.' He said in a groggy voice. Letty nodded back, leaning against the counter. Dom had decided that treating Letty as if she were fragile would only make her cry again. Then again, he couldn't be too rough either.
'So what are you up to today?' he said, grabbing an apple that was in the basket on the kitchen table. Letty raised an eyebrow.
'I... I dunno. Watch TV I guess.' She said shrugging. Dom smiled as he took another bite of his apple.
'When are you coming back to school, Lett?' Dom said trying to settle her back into small talk. She shrugged again.
'I dunno. Not...not yet.' She said looking down at her feet, inhaling deeply as if she were going to hyperventilate. Dom nodded.
'That's okay. You're not missing much. The most interesting thing that's happened all week, was when Torynn chased Edwin around the school for calling her 'his nigga'. She was ready to beat the crap outta him.' Dom said smiling.
Letty let out a small laugh, not forced, just small. She continued to smile slightly. Dom liked that. He hadn't seen her in almost two weeks; it was good to know that she could smile again.
'And Vince asked Nikki out.' Dom said biting into his apple again. Letty looked shocked.
'Really?' she said in a dry throaty voice. Dom supposed it was that way because she hadn't used it in a while. Dom nodded. 'I guess I always thought he was into Mia.' She said slowly, drawing a deep breath. Dom raised an eyebrow.
'Say what?' he said dropping his apple.
'Oh come on, don't act like you didn't know.' Letty said standing up straight, a small smile on her face. Dom just stared at her. 'Oh my god! You didn't know!' Letty rasped. 'God, didn't you feel your Dommy senses tingling, or whatever the fuck happens when you get a strange feeling.' She said. It was a weak attempt at a joke, but Dom smiled and shrugged.
'You know me.' He said throwing the apple remains in the trash. He wiped his hands on the boxers he was wearing and promptly stood. 'Well I gotta get ready. Vince is picking me up early and I have a feeling I'll be talking to him about a certain sister of mine.'
'Dom, you only have one sister.' Letty said as she passed him, going into the living room. He smiled.
'No I have two.' He said leaning over and kissing the top of her head. 'Gotta fly baby girl. See you after school.' He said running up the stairs to his room. Letty felt her eyes begin to water, but banished them back. She'd already done enough crying. Of course this was for a different reason. Dom thought of her as a sister? As much as she hated to admit it, she'd developed feelings for him over the last month. Knowing that he didn't feel the same, put another crack in her already aching heart.
She sighed as she sank down on the couch. Of course. Of all the guys at her school, most of whom had developed a boner for her ever since that first encounter when she'd 'transformed', the one guy that she wants, she can't have. Because he won't love her back. No that's not true, she told herself bitterly.
'He loves you as a 'sister'.' She emphasized her last word with a low, deflated voice. It just made her so mad. What the hell more did he want? Was her butt too big? Her chest too small? Was she too young? Was she too ugly? Hadn't she been in bed with him, both stripped down to their underwear, crying into his shoulder as he consoled her? Didn't he understand she wouldn't let just ANYONE do that?
'Good morning Letty.' She turned to see Tony leaning against the doorframe, smiling sleepily. She forced herself to smile back, not sure how convincing it was.
'Good morning.' She replied, looking around as if the room interested her, as if she'd never seen it properly before.
'It's good to see that you're up,' he said sipping his coffee and dropping his morning paper on the coffee table. 'how are you feeling?'
'Better.' Letty replied, nodding her head. She actually did. After having that lighthearted conversation with Dom, the pain of her father's death was starting to finally, slowly ebb away. 'How's Mia? I'm sorry I didn't talk with her or you or Dom...'
'It's alright. I understand, and I'm sure they do too. Mia's good, at first she was a little on edge but I think she's starting to get back to her normal self. I dare say, you'll need her happy, energizing personality.' He said matter-of-factly, before sipping his coffee again. Letty nodded.
'I'm not ready to go back to school.' She said looking back up at him, her face almost pleading with him. He nodded and rested his hand on her back.
'Just tell me when you are. I don't want you to feel rushed.' He said, finally standing, looking at his watch and sighing. 'Well I have to get to the garage. MIA!' he yelled as he wandered over to the stairs. Letty heard a loud thundering sound as Mia bounded down the stairs. She smiled at her father and then looked at Letty who was sitting and looking back at her. Her mouth opened a little and her eyebrows contracted.
'Letty.' She said softly. 'I thought you were still in bed.' She said looking at her as if unsure of her reaction. Letty smiled in reply, trying to put her friend at ease.
'I'm better now.' She said shortly and nodding at her. Mia seemed to relax a bit and smile back, a big warm smile that seemed to sum up Mia's happy personality.
'I'm really glad.' She said picking up her school bag from the floor. 'I promise when I get home, we can do something. Like rent a movie or whatever.' She said. Letty smiled. Mia was so excited for her to be up. And that made Letty happy.
'You bet.' She said nodding again.
'Who's getting a movie?' Dom said, coming down the stairs, pulling a white tee shirt down over his rock hard abs. He rounded the corner and saw Letty smiling.
'Me and Letty. We're gonna hang, since she's feeling so much better.' Mia said smiling, still watching her friend.
'Am I invited?' he asked pocketing his wallet and looking between the two of them.
'Of course.' Letty said softly, tilting her head. Mia stared at her as if she'd just swore loudly. It was Mia's look of polite shock. She soon shook it off as she saw Dom smile at her and pass Tony and her. Although she did stare after him as if he had just grown another head.
'I'll be home around five okay pop.' He said looking at his father.
'Okay, make sure you get those parts from Harry for me!'
'Yeah, yeah!' Dom yelled from outside.
'I'm serious Dom! DON'T FORGET!' he yelled after his son as the sound of the truck door opened and slammed shut. He shook his head, inhaling deeply, rubbing the back of his neck. Then he suddenly realized he'd been yelling and looked to Letty with a look of apology. She just stared. What was she suddenly made of? Glass?
'Well Mia, if you're ready, we better leave, I've got a lot of appointments today.' He said trying to usher Mia toward the door. She nodded.
'Okay daddy.' She gave Letty one last assuring look. 'See you!' she said walking out the door, closely followed by Tony. Letty just smiled and waved. She then sunk down in the sofa cushions and sighed, then smiled. It was a lot easier to smile and be happy, than it was to cry and be upset. She then silently decided that the rest of the day would be dedicated to trying to act normal again so that that night when Dom and Mia were watching the movie, she could be as normal as possible. Maybe even get Dom to realize that she liked him in a way that was a little more serious than 'sisterly love'.
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'Letty?!' came a shout from the front door, as Mia entered the house. Letty peered around the corner, a small smile on her face. Mia gave a large grin, holding up two bags of chips and candy and two movies.
'Holy crap Mi, did you buy out the Sugah Shack or somethin?' Letty said folding her arms, bemused by her friend's sweet tooth. Mia smiled and walked into the living room, setting all the junk food on the coffee table.
'Ha ha.' She said sarcastically. 'I just couldn't decide what to get. And anyway, Dom will try to eat it all, and we'll be lucky if we get any at all.' Letty sighed. Mia froze for a moment and raised an eyebrow, then stood up straight, putting her hands on her hips. Letty just stared at her as she fell back on the couch.
'What?' she finally said, as a knowing smile crept up on Mia's lips.
'You're falling for Dom.' She said shortly, a little chuckle tacked onto the end of her comment. Letty's eyes widened and she tried to look as if the statement both confused and angered her.
'What the hell are you talking about?' she said, her voice laughable. 'Did you make brownies today or something?' she said shrugging and breaking eye contact with her friend. But Mia looked unconvinced.
'Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about.' She said walking into Letty's line of vision. 'I saw how the two of you looked at each other this morning. How you wanted him to come watch the movies with us, and how he actually accepted. You like him!' she let the last sentence out in a little squeal. Letty jumped a bit then crossed her arms frowning.
'Even if I did... which I don't!' she said as Mia had a look of triumph dawning on her face, 'I don't see why you're so happy about it!'
'Oh come on Lett!' she said sitting next to her. 'You're the one girl who's ever been interested in Dom because of him, not because of his body or his badassedness!'
'Kay, Mi, first I don't think badassedness is a word, and second, I am not interested in him!' she said the last bit loudly, dropping her arms to her sides. The door slammed and both Mia and Letty jumped a little.
'Interested in who?' Dom said as he walked into the hall and into the kitchen, dropping his school bag and opening the fridge. Letty glared at Mia and then forced a calm voice.
'Shawn Remirez.' She lied, hoping it sounded plausible. Dom walked into the living room, a beer in his hand, sipping it gingerly. His eyebrows shot up.
'I thought that was a given. He did try to rape you remember?' he said jokingly. Letty smiled. It was good for him to try and joke around her.
'Exactly. Don't be stupid Mia.' Letty said, smirking at Mia, who smiled sarcastically back.
'Hey, who got the sweets?' Dom said, reaching for the two bags. Mia quickly grabbed them off the table, and Dom glared at her.
'I got them from the Sugah Shack, and you're not gonna make a pig of yourself and eat it all.' She said matching his glare and sticking out her tongue. He huffed and gulped his beer, then sat down next to Letty, and not half way across the couch, right next to her, so their legs were touching. Letty looked down the looked back at Mia, who was smiling again, her smug little grin.
'Shut up.' Letty said, raising her eyebrow. Mia raised her hands.
'Hey, I didn't say nothin!' she said standing up and winking at her. Then she did a double take and stared at Dom and then at the kitchen.
'Dom did you get those parts for dad?' she said looking back at Dom again. Letty watched him slap his hand to his forehead and let out a low sigh.
'Shit.' He muttered about to stand up, sliding to the edge of the couch, when Mia put her hand on his shoulder and pushed him back. He looked at her, obviously confused.
'Don't worry, I'll get them.' She said smiling slyly. Letty frowned. She knew what Mia was doing and was not at all impressed. Thankfully Dom stood up and pushed Mia out of the way lightly.
'Don't be an idiot, Mia, Harry's is twenty minutes away by car. It'd take you all night to get those parts.' He said as if she were being stupid. Mia sat back on the couch, and leaned back.
'Fine, but hurry up, or we'll start the movie without you.' She said closing her eyes, as Dom walked out the door toward his car. When Letty was sure he'd gotten out of earshot she hit Mia in the shoulder.
'You bitch!' she said playfully, though she was actually kind of pissed. 'Don't think I didn't know what you were trying to do!' Mia merely shook with laughter.
'Oh come on!' she said snorting a little, 'It's not like you were complaining about him sitting so close to you! And from the looks of things, neither was he!' WHAP! Letty had slapped Mia's arm again and Mia ran away, practically cackling. Letty shook her head. That crazy hoe! She thought, though she was smiling slightly. So Dom didn't mind... Always good to know.
'Okay so which movie are we watchin first?' Mia interrupted. She raised the two movies, 'Terminator 2: Judgment Day' and 'The Silence of The Lambs', which were two of the hottest movies that year. They had just come out on video and Mia knew that Lett was DYING to see them. Letty smiled appreciatively and looked between the two. Then she pointed to Terminator.
'We'll save Mr. Hannibal for later, that way we can really be scared shitless when it gets dark.' Letty said grabbing the blanket at the end of the couch and draping it on her bare legs. Mia looked a little unsure but nodded. Letty was a whole lot braver than her when it came to bloodbath movies.
'You just wanna watch Hannibal later so that you can jump Dom and pretend you're scared!' Mia teased as she waved Terminator around. Letty threw one of the pillows at her.
'You watch yourself girl!' she said trying to point a threatening finger at her. Mia simply giggled.
'Oh god, I sooo want you two to hook up!' she said. Letty snorted. Then she realized that Mia was being serious.
'Why?' she asked shaking her head.
'Because... well, you HATED each other. And now... I guess it just proves that people can overcome their differences and stuff like that... and the fact that you're both my favorite people in the world!' she said, sounding a little overly ditzy.
'Your favorite person in the world? But you're always complaining about him!' Letty said putting her feet up on the coffee table. Mia shrugged.
'That's because he's a pain sometimes. But he looks out for me, and sometimes he can be really nice and friendly. And to me, that sort of outweighs the other shit he puts me through.' She said talking the video out of its case. Letty nodded.
'I know what you mean.' She said quietly. Mia smiled and turned toward the TV.
'Okay, let's get this puppy juiced up!' she said pushing the video into the VCR. Letty laughed as Mia pressed random buttons, until finally the TV buzzed and a picture came on. But it was fuzzy and kept sliding in and out of focus. 'Dammit! Dom usually does this, so I don't know...' she trailed off pressing more buttons.
'Mi, it was better before!' Letty said as the TV started blinking oddly. Suddenly there was a sound of the front door opening and a pair of legs appeared. The rest of the body was blocked by a couple large brown boxes.
'A little help please?' Dom's muffled voice said from behind the boxes. 'Heavy objects, not getting lighter!' Letty smiled and got up, throwing the blanket to the side and grabbing one of the boxes from Dom. Finally his head was unblocked and he smiled back at her as she walked into the kitchen.
'Where do we put them?' she asked looking around. He grunted and gestured toward the floor next to the table. She put the box Dom, as did he, and he stood, stretching out.
'You didn't have to.' He said finally as she pulled her ponytail up. 'Mia should have helped too.' He said grabbing a Corona out of the fridge. Letty shrugged.
'She's getting the movie ready.' She said walking into the living room, closely followed by Dom. Mia was kneeling in front of the VCR, pressing even more buttons.
'Mi, Mi, Mi.' Dom said shaking his head and walking over to the TV. 'You have no idea what you're doing.' He said as he shoved her to the side and bent down himself. He then pressed a few buttons and Letty saw that the picture was starting to come into focus. Then Dom promptly looked up and hit the side of the television. The picture came into clear focus, then the screen turned black.
'You were saying.' Mia said angrily as the television refused to turn on. Dom shrugged.
'It WAS an old TV.' He said rubbing the back of his neck. 'Dad'll have to replace it.'
'Now what are we supposed to do?' Mia said crossing her arms and glaring at Dom, who shook his head and continued to look at the floor pensively. Letty sighed.
'We could use my TV.' She said softly. They looked at her and Dom frowned.
'What TV?' he said, crossing his arms, so that he and Mia were standing in almost the exact same way. Letty raised her eyebrows.
'You know. The TV at my house.' She said as if they were both being stupid on purpose. Dom and Mia uncrossed their arms and exchanged looks and then looked at her as if unsure. She sighed again, 'Look, I'm fine! And I have a VCR! Why waste what we have, when all we have to do is go a couple doors down?' She felt as if she were as much trying to convince herself, as she was them.
'Well. If you feel that way...' Dom said rubbing his neck again. 'I guess...'
'Good.' Letty said, her voice a little high pitched, as she strode to the coffee table and grabbed the candy bags and walked briskly to the door.
Dom ran up to her side, as Mia wrestled with the VCR to get the movie back.
'You're sure about this?' Dom asked. 'We don't have to, we could always go to Vince's...' Letty stopped walking and turned to face him, letting out a sigh, her face earnest.
'The truth is Dom, I'll have to face the house sometime, so I might as well get used to it now.' She said, her voice almost pleading. 'I really am fine. So why don't you stop worrying and just try and have some fun.' She said. With that she turned and continued walking toward her old house, bags on her arm, and Dom in tow.
They reached the gate and Letty inhaled deeply. She pushed the rusty gate open and stepped forward, taking in the old white house, the paint peeling off the walls. She climbed up the porch steps, watching the hammock sway in the slight breeze. She took another deep breath and opened the screen door and put the key in the lock and turned it, making a familiar click. The door swung open and she walked inside. The house was just how she and Mia had left it. Blankets and pillows lying on the floor. She looked around the corner and flicked the lights on, just as Mia ran up the porch steps. Letty knew it sounded crazy but she felt like her home had become spooky and haunted. Which was stupid. It was the same house, same as when she'd left it. She shrugged and pointed to the VCR. Mia walked over and pushed the video into the slot and they all sat down to watch and munch on the candy.
Letty, unfortunately, didn't enjoy the movie as much as she wanted to. Threw the shouts of 'I'll be bach!' she felt to tense to actually take in the plot. She had said she was fine, but really, inside, she felt so uncomfortable. After a couple of hours, Silence of the Lambs was drawing to an end. Mia was lying on the floor, her chest rising and falling evenly, signifying she'd fallen asleep. Dom was sitting next to Letty on the couch and he had not overlooked the fact that she was anxious and stressed. He slowly reached around her and pulled her close.
'Hey!' she said, more in surprise than defense. She looked up at him, his eyes still fixed on the movie, though he was smiling. She smiled back. 'Dom, what are you doing?' she said, her eyes wide with hope. His grin grew slightly wider.
'Just relax, watch the movie. You're safe with me.' Letty gawked at him as he said these words. Maybe he wasn't as oblivious to her feelings as she'd thought. She smirked. She never was very good at acting, and obviously her act wasn't working on him.
She leant her head on his shoulder as she felt her eyelids grow heavy. She stared at the screen on which Anthony Hopkins was occupying but she wasn't taking in the story. All she could see, feel, smell was Dom. He was all around her and she couldn't escape him. Not that she was complaining. In fact she wished that this could go on forever. But unfortunately, life caught up with her...
'WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?!?' she sat bolt upright and whipped around to see her mother, Maria Garcia, starring around at the three of them. Her eyes were blood shot and she had an almost empty bottle of vodka in one of her hands. She had an expression of surprise, which quickly turned to one of drunken anger. Mia was awake now, since Maria's shriek and she was looking around confusedly.
'Maria...' Letty said standing up, Dom following suit and standing behind her, glaring at Maria. Maria looked between the two of them accusingly, apparently either too angry, or too drunk to form words. She pointed at the door.
'GET...OUT...' she bellowed, her arm shaking in suppressed rage. Mia quickly got up and rushed toward the door, followed by Dom and Letty. As Letty passed, Maria stretched out her hand and grabbed Letty's wrist, pulling her back. 'Where do you think you're going?!' she shouted in Letty's ear, 'Not you!'
'She's coming home with us!' Dom said, his voice raised as he stood still at the door. Maria looked up at him and nearly spat.
'Get out of my house!' she yelled again, still holding Letty back. Letty was giving Dom a fearful look as if saying just-go-without-me. But Dom ignored it and stayed still.
'Not without Letty!' he yelled back, his fists shaking at his sides. Maria's eyes widened dangerously as she twisted Letty's arm painfully around and forced her daughter to drop to the floor on her knees.
'She...IS MY DAUGHTER!' Maria spat at him as if she were under attack, 'AND SHE WILL REMAIN HERE!' she roared, throwing Letty down so that she had her face down on the floor, cradling her arm. Dom looked down at her, and then at Maria, raw hatred in his usually tender brown eyes. He stepped closer to Maria, who took a step backwards, obviously intimidated by Dom's large frame. He was at least seven inches taller than her and a lot bulkier.
'She comes with me.' He said in his forced calm voice, as if his rage were bottled up and waiting to erupt. Maria shook her head, though she did look a bit frightened.
'No!' she screamed and stood in front of Letty's body, which was lying on the floor. 'She is my daughter and if you try to take her, I'll call the cops on you!' she yelled, furthering Dom's anger. 'NOW GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!' she screamed at the top of her lungs. Dom was about to lunge for her when he felt a hand on his shoulder.
He turned to find his father standing behind him. Tony's eyes were dark, he was frowning and he seemed to have many hard lines etched into his forehead. He shook his head.
'Go home Dom.' He said quietly. Dom's eyes widened.
'What?!' he bellowed incredulously. 'But what about Letty?!?'
'Let me handle this.' Tony said looking over Dom's shoulder at Maria, who was seething and glaring at Dom. Dom was about to argue further but Tony pushed him, hard toward the door. 'Go! Go take care of Mia!' Dom was about to yell back, but his father was already turned toward Maria, talking heatedly. Dom took one last look at Letty, lying on the floor, shaking, probably crying, while cradling her injured arm. He then forced himself to look ahead as he walked past the paint peeling walls, down the porch steps, threw the rusty gate, and down the vacant street. Rage throbbing throughout his body.
