The morning at the garage was slow. Jesse and Leon had busied themselves with a 1999 Blood Red modified Jetta. Jesse was ecstatic with it and was going all out. Mia was working on paperwork in the office, every once in a while bothering Dom, who was working on a Honda Civic 2000. Letty and Jezzie were working on Jezzie's car.
"You busted the tank!" Jezzie screamed as she rolled out from under the car. Letty looked down at her, hands on her hips, a wrench in one hand.
"I did not! It busted itself!" Letty replied, shaking the wrench at her. Jezzie sat up.
"Whatever. Just get me...uhh...2 pliers and a wrench, por favor." Jezzie said, saying 'por favor' just like it looks, and waving her hand around as she thought. Letty handed her the wrench in her hand and went to get her pliers.
"Hey Dom!" Jezzie yelled; leaning back to look under the Honda Dom was working on. He turned his head to look at her.
"What?" He asked.
"I need a new NOS tank. Mine got busted." Dom stared at her.
"Why are you telling me?" He asked.
"So you can tell Mia to order me a new one." Jezzie said, starting to get annoyed.
"Why can't you?" He replied.
"DOM!" Jezzie screamed. Dom laughed but nodded and rolled out from under his car. He walked over to the office to tell Mia. Letty went back over to Jezzie and handed her 2 pliers. Jezzie rolled back under the car and started taking the tank out. She and Letty were almost done they heard a car pulling up. Letty turned around.
"Oh J, you gotta see this." Jezzie rolled out from under the car and sat up.
"Aww shit." Jezzie whispered as Brian stepped out of the Tow truck and stood next to the junk of the car on the tow truck.
"What the hell is this? What do ya got there?" Dom asked as he leaned against the side of the garage door.
"This is your car." Brian replied, smiling.
"You must be on crack monkey boy." Jezzie said, chuckling. And he must have been. The car on the tow truck was a complete mess. It looked as if it had ran into a few walls in it's short lived time.
"My car? I said a 10-second car, not a 10-minute car." Dom said, laughing.
"You could push this across the finish line...or tow it." Jesse said, tapping the door.
"You couldn't even tow that across the finish line." Dom said. Everyone in the garage was laughing.
"No faith!" Brian said.
"Oh, I have faith in you, but this isn't a junkyard, this is a garage."
"Hey, pop the hood." Brian said to Jesse.
"Pop the hood?" Dom asked.
"You have got to be shitting kittens Spilner. Pop the hood?" Jezzie asked.
"Pop the hood." Brian repeated.
"Bring it around the back." Dom said. Letty chuckled and patted Jezzie's shoulder as Brian pulled the car in through the back. The two girls went back to work. Letty lifted the empty tank out as Jezzie held the tubes shut with the pliers. Letty leaned over the car and looked at Jezzie through the empty space.
"What do you make of him?" Letty asked, wiping her nose to get rid of the grease, but only making it worse. Jezzie closed off the last tube.
"He's trying to damn hard. It just doesn't make sense." Jezzie rolled out from under the car and took the rag Letty handed her. Jezzie turned her head and watched as Jesse and Brian worked on the car. "He's searching for something and he's hiding something." Jezzie stood up and looked at Letty.
"I ain't gonna be nice to him though, I've known Vince too long to just turn my back on him. I'm afraid I gotta go with Vince on this one..." Leon walked over and handed Jezzie the new NOS tank. "Thanks." She placed it gently on the ground and looked back at Brian while sitting back down. "He smells like a cop." Jezzie rolled back under and Letty helped her put the tank in her car.
"Whoa, one minute you're going to be nice, the next you're not? What's up wit chu?" Letty asked, leaning over the car. Jezzie hesitated.
"When I talked to Harry he told me that Brian won't let up and that he can't. What does that say to you?" Jezzie asked. Letty's jaw dropped, then she closed it.
"Cop."
"Smells like a cop? Come on Jez. Why you being so mean?" Leon asked as they drove back from the store for food. They were having a barbeque and they had needed food. Jez sighed.
"Because he's trying too damn hard! It makes sense Leon! He's probably here to find out who's been doing the hijacking and everyone knows Dom is the king of the streets. They know he's the one to go to for info." Leon tapped his fingers on the wheel. He knew what she meant. Dominic Toretto was the most known name in L.A., everyone knew him.
"Alright, I'll give ya that, but tune it down. Don't let him know you're on to him, Dom'd rip you a new asshole." Leon said, trying to be serious.
"Please! Dom won't even yell at me." Jezzie laughed. Leon nodded and smiled. He knew that much, no matter how much Dom would be pissed at her, he wouldn't even barely yell.
"Alright, I'll give ya that too, but seriously, tune it down. Dom seems to have taken a liking to this kid, give him a chance." Leon didn't like the kid either, but he owed it to Dom to be nice, to give him a chance.
Too bad Jezzie didn't feel the same way. She was together with Vince on this one, no matter how much Mia was into this guy, he was bad news. She'd pretend to be nice for a while, but then she'd drag it out of him, not telling Dom of course. The last thing she wanted was for her best friends boyfriend to get his ass kicked, even if he was a cop. She had mixed feelings about him, she didn't like him cause she had a feeling he's a cop, but then she wanted to be nice since he was on Dom's good graces and Mia's.
"Alright, alright, I'll back off. We better get this food home before Dom takes a shit." Jezzie looked in the rear view mirror, Letty was right behind them, and Vince was behind her, he had the bags of food.
"Right J, right." Leon shifted gears and they were off down the street. Minutes later they pulled into the driveway and Leon turned off the car. "Remember J, he's almost family now, be nice." Leon reminded her. Jezzie laughed and got out of the car. Leon got out and walked over to her side. Vince stopped halfway up the driveway, seeing Brian, he handed the bags of food to Leon.
"I'm outta here." Vince turned and started walking to his car.
"Damnit, V!" Jezzie yelled. She looked at Leon; he motioned with his head for her to go get him.
"Vince, get over here and give us a hand." Dom said. Jezzie walked down to Vince.
"V, don't do this." Jezzie grabbed his arm gently but he pulled away, not looking at her he opened his door. She hated it when Vince got mad and would be an ass, but no matter what, she always stuck up for him. It's how she was. She'd stick up for any member of the team, no matter what they did, they were her family, and she was theirs.
And now Brian was ruining the family. He was turning them against each other. Vince and Jezzie were on one side, and everyone else was on the other, no matter what they said. Leon could agree with her all he wanted, but he did it to make her happy, but he knew deep down inside that he was really on Dom's side, he always was. And Jezzie knew this, but she never confronted him about it, she loved him too much to do that.
"Looks like you got all the help you need brotha!" Jezzie grabbed his arm.
"V, liste-look at me!" He looked at her. She leaned close to him. "You know I don't like him either, but for the sake of the team...don't run off." Vince sighed and Jezzie loosened her grip.
"I'm not staying here with that punk!" He got in the car and Jezzie backed away; Vince pulled out of the driveway and tore off down the street, his tires squealed as he roared away. Jezzie shook her head and walked up to the group. She walked up beside Dom, who was at the grill with Brian.
"Don't take it out on him when he comes back Dom." Jezzie said. Dom looked at her.
"Why shouldn't I? He des-" Jezzie held up her hands and stopped him.
"No, he doesn't. You know how Vince gets. He's just being his stupid self. He'll cool down." Jezzie gave Dom a serious look and he nodded.
"Fine..." Jezzie squealed and gave Dom a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
"Thank you!" Dom laughed. "Don't ask me why I'm so happy, I'm just looking out for my coyote." Jezzie replied, walking to the table. Dom nodded and laughed.
"Alright." That was how Dom liked it, his team sticking up for each other, that was how it was supposed to be. Jezzie watched as Leon played basketball, and Dom and Brian grilled.
Half an hour later they all sat down at the table with the food, ready to eat. Dom was at the head of the table; Leon was at the other end. Jesse, Brian, and Jezzie were on the left side of Dom, while Mia and Letty were on the right side. Jesse reached in and grabbed a piece of chicken.
"Hey, hold up. Since you were the first out of everybody here to reach in and grab the chicken, you say grace." Dom said to Jesse. Jesse wiped his hands and nodded. Everybody folded his or her hands in front of them.
"Dear heavenly uh-" Jesse started.
"Spirit." Leon said, helping him out.
"Spirit, thank you. Uh, thank you for providing us with direct port nitrous uh injection, fork lore in coolers, ball bearing turbo's and um titanium valve springs. Thank you." Everyone clapped and said amen.
"Now that's my kind of prayer!" Jezzie said as she reached for a piece of chicken.
"Praying to the car gods man." Letty said, everyone laughed.
"Look who it is." Leon says. Jezzie turned and saw Vince walking up; she smiled. "Ol' coyotes'r'us. Haha. I thought you weren't hungry pumpkin?"
"You know I gotta eat." Vince replied.
"He's always hungry." Letty said, a little cold.
"Well that's all you boys do; eat, fight, race, fuck, eat some more." Jezzie smiled at Leon as he chucked a biscuit at her.
"Alright, sit down." Dom says. Vince walks over and kisses Dom's head and then sits next to Letty. Silence engulfs the group, but finally Letty breaks the silence.
"Alright, let's eat some grub man." She pats Vince on the back and everyone starts eating. "Hey Jez, why don't we tell them the story of the guy who came into the garage while we were there this morning." Letty suggested.
"So some ass came into the garage today." Jezzie started saying, shoving a piece of chicken in her mouth. "I told 'im we was closed, but he said it'd only take a minute."
"He says, 'Look hunny, I'm looking for the man that runs this joint.' I looked at him and was like, 'Well he ain't here, but you looking at the Woman who helps him.'" Letty continued.
"He takes one look at Letty and laughs! Fucking laughs! So I said, 'Look mister, I'm an honest woman, I make an honest living here, I work on cars, we're decent folk. But you ain't never laugh at the Letster here.' He looked at Letty then at me and goes 'Why?'" Jezzie said.
"She chuckles and then goes, 'Well for one, she's Dom's girl, and second...she'll knock you on your ass so fast you'll wonder how many lifetimes dun gone by since you hit tha floor!' He just gives her a confused look." Letty took a bite of chicken.
"So I said, 'She'll knock you out and you'll spend a lifetime in a coma asshole.' He huffed and puffed and marched his ass outta there!" Jezzie finished, laughing.
"You ever find out why he was there?" Dom asked. Letty and Jezzie exchanged a look and then they nodded.
"Yeah..." Letty started quietly.
"So, why was he there?" Dom asked; Letty laughed.
"He was looking for tha bathroom." Letty and Jezzie burst out laughing while the rest of the team gave them odd looks.
"Let, J...I can't believe you guys did that." Mia said.
"Aww, come on Mia. Ya shoulda seen this ass. Bitch walked like he was all dat and a bag of greasy Lays potato chips." Jezzie said, accentuating the 'a' in 'potato'. The team laughed.
The next day, the team started working on the supra. Brian and Jezzie were the two working on it that morning. The rest of the team was busy working on cars coming in.
"54! 54!!!" Jezzie screamed as she twirled around the car. Brian crossed his arms.
"We are not writing 54 on the car." Brian said calmly. Jezzie stopped at the back and nodded.
"Alright...then how about...69!!!" Brian rolled his eyes and held out the wrench. Jezzie sighed and took the wrench and rolled under the car, muttering and cursing under her breath.
Brian lowered himself to the ground so he could look under the car and watch her work, in case she needed something. He was confused about things. Jezzie was sometimes nice to him and then other times she was a bitch, he didn't completely understand it. He knew that she was on Vince's side, that much was true, so he guessed she was only nice because of Dom. Brian had only known them a few days but he could tell that Jezzie and Dom were best friends, close.
"Hello?" Jezzie said, snapping Brian out of his thoughts.
"Huh?" He asked.
"Hand me that hammer." She said, pointing to the hammer lying a few feet away. Brian gave her a confused look but handed it to her. She took it and gently banged out a dent, and then she put it back on the ground.
"This front frame is going to have to completely go. There's no use in saving it, it's going to be an ass to punch back in." Jezzie rolled down to the engine, looking it over. "We may save this, but it's going to have to be re-worked. I'm telling ya Bri, this is going to be a lot of work. And like Jesse said, it'll take about 15 grand. I'm lucky as fuck Jesse's doing the engine, I'd fuck it up." Brian and Jezzie laughed and started to get to work, clearing things out.
"Excuse me? Are you Dominic Toretto?" A man asked. He walked up to Dom and Dom nodded his head.
"Yeah, what can I do for you?" They shook hands. Dom studied the guy; he was about 6'1, sort of muscular, tanned, nice, ironed jeans, and an ironed white button up shirt. He looked too nice for this place.
"I'm Jeff Tipton and I need to get my NOS system fixed. I let my friend borrow my Mitsubishi Lancer the other night and he somehow fucked up the NOS system." The man explained. Dom nodded. Dom couldn't believe that he had a tricked out car. I bet he can't race it, Dom thought, laughing to himself.
"Alright, I'll have J work on it and it should be done today or tomorrow. 2 days at the most, as you can see, we're getting busy around here." Dom said; Jeff nodded. "Alright, go with my sister Mia and sort everything out." Jeff handed Dom the keys.
"The cars right outside." Jeff walked with Mia to the office. Dom wasn't sure about this guy, but something was different.
"J!" Dom yelled. Jezzie stuck her head out from under the car.
"What Dom?" She asked. He walked over to her and kneeled and held out the keys.
"Some guy just dropped off his Lancer, NOS system is fucked up. You need to work on it when you're done here." Jezzie nodded, grabbed the keys, and pulled her head back under the car.
Jeff watched from the window as 'J' stuck her head out from under the car. It was her; she looked just like she did back in 8th grade. He watched as a few minutes later, she came out from under the car, wiping her hands with a rag. So she gets down and dirty everyday...figures. A guy walked over to 'J' and gave her a kiss. Must be her guy, he thought. Wonder how dirty she gets with him at night, how loud she screams out his name as she rides him over and over again to the brink of climax, how she plays him. Jeff turned around and smiled at Mia, Dom's sister.
"Your name?" She asked.
"Jeff Tipton." She smiled and typed something in her computer.
"Address?"
"482 Bulsberry Lane." Mia smiled at him.
"Close to the store where J and I usually work at." Jeff smiled, perfect. A few minutes later Jeff said goodbye and left the office. He heard J laugh and turned his head to look at her. She was talking with Dom and the guy she kissed. She turned her head and saw him. Did she recognize me? He was worried. She dropped the wrench in her hand and it made a loud 'bang' as it hit the floor, her smile faded from her face. Shit, he thought. She recognizes me. Jeff turned his head and walked out of the garage.
"J?" Leon asked. Jezzie stared after him. No, it couldn't be him, she thought. It's been 10 years; he wouldn't come looking for her, would he? She looked at Leon.
"You ok?" He asked. Jezzie nodded.
"Fine, it just slipped, that's all." She looked at Dom. "Who was that?" She asked, motioning towards the door.
"Oh, that was Jeff Tipton, the guy who brought the Lancer in." Dom replied, not fazed by anything. Jezzie nodded and looked back towards the door.
His eyes had bore a hole in her, a burning, wretched hole. They reminded her all too much of the same eyes that screamed with delight as he took her life, her soul. The same eyes that taunted her all through 8th grade.
After lunch Jezzie started on the Lancer. Letty had driven the car into the garage for her. It was beautiful. The body was hand painted; a dark green color with a light green lightning bolt. Jezzie ran her hands gently over the exterior of the car, it was extremely nice and he must of put a large amount of money into it for this. She stopped at the hood and popped it. She stared in it and felt her stomach drop, there was a load of shit in it, and it was perfect. But she could see where the NOS were fucked up; one of the main tubes was burned.
She got to work on it, quickly replacing the tube. After she finished that, she checked over the whole system, most looked fine, but she had to replace a couple more wires and re-wire some stuff. She opened the car door and sat in the drivers seat. The interior was black leather, everything was shined to sparkle and glow. She went to place the key in the ignition when she stopped. Her jaw dropped in horror as she stared at a picture that was stuck in the visor on the driver's side. It was her in 8th grade, her 8th grade yearbook picture. She let go of the keys and let them fall to the floor. She reached up and took the picture down and stared at it.
Everything from 8th grade came flooding back to her. The kids who used to glare at her or just ignore her. Painting horrible words on her locker, pouring 7up in her book bag and spraying shaving cream in her locker. The words, the looks, the gestures. It made it so hard for her to go there. IT ruined her 8th grade year, IT made her move, and IT almost killed her emotionally.
And now IT was here...Jeff Clemmons was here...for her. He was here to do something, he knew where she worked, and he probably knew where she lived. She put the picture back in the visor and sat still for a moment, her jaw still open. Her hands were shaking with fear; she didn't know what to do. She leaned forward and felt along the floor for the keys, she found them and picked them, sticking them in the ignition and starting the car. She opened the NOS screen on the passenger seat and checked everything. It was good to go. She shut it down and turned off the car, quickly getting out and shutting the door. She shut the hood of the car and walked to the office.
She still wasn't sure what to think. Why was he here? Surely he wouldn't be apologizing, not after all those years of torturing her with letters and calls. He was the kind of guy who didn't apologize; he thought he was always right. Jezzie walked into the office and found the file on his car. She sat at Dom's desk and filled out the necessary work and stuck the file in the 'finished' tray, still hanging onto the keys, and exited the office.
She looked around the garage. Brian and Dom were working on the Supra; Letty was working on an Eclipse; Leon and Jesse were working on another Jetta. Jezzie walked over to the supra. Dom was on the inside of the car, where the engine would be, and Brian was on the outside, helping him take out a couple of the leftover parts. Dom and Brian looked up at smiled at Jezzie.
"So, how was it?" Dom asked as he handed some wires to Brian, Brian discarded them on the floor, in a pile with others.
"One of the main tubes was burned almost completely through. Luckily we had one lying around and I was able to fix it. No big deal, only a few hundred bucks. I also re-wired some of the other parts, whoever did his NOS first was an idiot, no wonder it got burned." Dom laughed and handed Brian the rest of the parts and stood up and climbed out of the car.
"Alright. Park it out back." Jezzie nodded and walked over to the car. She got in and parked it behind the garage; several other finished cars were sitting back there, along with the Team's cars. Jezzie got out and set the alarm on the car and walked back into the garage. Dom, Brian, and Jesse were going over a list, probably for parts for the Supra. Jezzie walked back into the office and put the keys in the 'finished' tray and once again exited the office. Everyone was standing in a circle.
"Ok everyone, listen up," Dom said as Jezzie joined the group. "We're going to head over to Harry's a drop off the list. We're going to pick up whatever parts he's got and head back over here. Ok?" Dom asked. Everyone nodded. "Ok, J, ride wit Leon. Me and Leon'll be upfront. Brian in da middle, and Jesse and Letty'll follow. Aight?" Everyone nodded again.
Everyone got in the respective cars and they headed over to The Racers Edge to pick up some parts. An hour later they headed back to the garage. Everyone helped Brian get the boxes of stuff in the garage and soon the parts were laid out around the Supra.
Two days later Brian, Jezzie, and Jesse were busy working on the Supra. Jesse was working on the engine, with some help from Brian, while Jezzie was working on the back bumper. Everyone once in a while, she'd let out a yell and there'd be a loud thump and another dent for her to work out, from where she kicked it in frustration.
Jeff walked in the garage and saw Dom in the office. He quickly walked over to the office and knocked on the door.
"Come in." Dom's gruff voice called. Jeff opened the door and stepped in the office. Dom looked up and smiled.
"Hey, J finished your car the day you brought it in. She's quite the expert on NOS, lucky for you." Dom stood up and handed Jeff the keys. "Come with me and I'll show you to your car." Dom led Jeff out of the office and through the garage, past Jezzie. Jezzie stopped what she was doing and her eyes followed Jeff out the back door.
She sighed and turned back around. It was him, most definitely, but what was she going to do? He hadn't done anything to her yet, and she wasn't the same girl she was 10 years ago, she could fight for herself now, she wasn't shy and reserved, she was strong and outspoken. She could kick his ass anytime.
She chisled off some of the grungy orange paint. When they repainted it, it would look better if the old paint was gone. The back bumper was nearly perfect. It'd look better if it were new, but they were only going to buy a new frame if they had to, and from the looks of it, they didn't have to. But she was tired of working on it, and she was only done with the back bumper, she still had the rest to do. She figured she was doing more bad than good.
"Mine as well buy a whole new frame." Jezzie muttered under her breath. She sighed and started working on another section. Dom came back in the garage a few minutes later, he walked over to Jezzie.
"Do you know him?" Dom asked. Jezzie stopped chisling and looked at Dom; she shrugged.
"Don't think so, why?" She tried to play innocent, and Dom would follow along for now, but he knew different. He leaned in closer to her.
"Because you stop everything whenever he comes around, you get scared and sheltered." He whispered to her. He backed away. "You're going to talk to me later. Got it?" He asked, she nodded and went back to work.
She figured Dom would figure it out, but she wasn't counting on talking to him about it. She didn't know what to tell him. She didn't want to tell him that Jeff was the one she's feared for the last 10 years of her life, but she didn't want to lie to him either. She was stuck in the middle.
She walked around the car to the front and stuck her head next to Jesses' and stared at the engine, or where it was supposed to be.
"What we lookin at?" She asked, they looked at each other and he laughed.
"Just imagining what this car is gonna look like." He replied. They both stood up and stared at it for a while.
"I think we're going to need to buy a new frame. This shit ain't working out, it's dented too and I think I'm just making it worse." Jezzie said. Jesse nodded.
"Alright, I'll put it on the list and get it to the racer's edge later." Jesse said.
"Naw, I'll go put an order in for it later. Gotta pick up the decals Harry got for the Supra anyways." Jesse nodded and muttered an ok. Jezzie smiled and walked over to Dom.
"Hey." Dom said when she reached him.
"Hey Dom. I'ma run over to the racer's edge, pick up a few things, aight?" Jezzie said. Dom nodded and Jezzie walked off to get her car. She headed out back and got in her car. She turned it on and listened to it hum for a while. She hadn't driven it for a few days. It feels nice to be behind the wheel again, she thought. She looked around the floor in the back and found her CD case, she flipped through it until she found a CD and stuck it in the player. She pushed the 'next' button a few times and landed on the song 'Wide Awake' by Milk Inc, a Belgian trance/dance group.
She pulled out of the parking lot and down the side of the garage and finally pulled onto the road and down the street she went. She stopped at a red light and sat in her car, tapping her fingers on the wheel and singing the song.
"I'm wide awake, it's time to make it on my own." She sang. She stopped singing and thought for a minute. No wonder I never wanted to be a singer, she thought. She knew her voice was ok, but it'd never make it the music business, that's why she stuck with cars. The light turned green and she sped off down the street. She saw the familiar 'Racers Edge' sign and pulled in, in front of the store. She turned off the car and hopped out, shutting the door, then setting the alarm. She walked in and said hi to Callisa. She saw Harry walk out of the back.
"Harry!!" She said, waving. He waved and walked over to her.
"How's one of my favorite customers doing?" He asked, hugging her. She smiled.
"Eh. So, I need a few things: 1, those decals I ordered for the Supra," She started, Harry nodded. "2, I need to order a frame for the supra, I've made a few extra dents today. Oh and go ahead and order orange paint." Harry nodded and walked behind the counter. He typed in a few things and then looked at Jezzie.
"That's all?" He asked. Jezzie thought for a minute.
"Yeah, that's all." Harry nodded and typed a few things.
"Wait here. I'll go get your decals." Harry said. Jezzie nodded and waited while Harry went to the storeroom. The front door opened and Jezzie turned and saw Jeff walking into the store. Jezzie turned her head back around and prayed that he wouldn't notice her. She held her breath. He walked up next to her.
"Hey, you know where Harry is?" He asked. Jezzie let out her breath.
"Yeah, he's in the store room, he'll be out in a minute." Jezzie stared at the counter, while Jeff looked down at her.
"Hey, you're J from DT's Automotive, right?" He asked; he was trying to make conversation, get on her good side.
"Yeah. My name's Jezzie, but the guys call me J." She reluctantly stuck out her hand and he shook it. "You're NOS system wasn't too far off, but whoever hooked it up first was an idiot, it was bound to burn." She added, taking her hand away.
"Oh, seriously?"
"Yeah. That shit was wired wrong, it's a wonder it worked at all. You ever had any problems with it?"
"Not really, sometimes it'd fuck up and not go all the way, but it usually worked pretty good."
"You mind if I ask where you got it installed?"
"Naw, it was a shop called 'Pete's Auto' out in Detroit, Michigan." Jezzie's heart stopped, but she forced a smile and nodded.
"Figures. Anyone whose shop is named 'Pete's Auto' isn't going to get NOS installed very well. I see that shit all the time. I'm the resident NOS fixer upper at DT. NOS is my best friend." The two laughed and Harry walked out of the back, a long bag in his hand. He handed the bag to Jezzie over the counter and smiled.
"Make sure you let me see the Supra after ya get it done. I like to know what my parts are put into." Jezzie took the bag and smiled.
"Always Harry. It was nice seeing ya Harry. Stop by the shop sometime, or maybe the store." She turned to Jeff and gave her best fake smile. "It was nice to meet you. You ever have any issues with the NOS, or anything, bring to the shop. We're the best around." Jeff nodded and Jezzie left the store, gagging on her lunch.
She put the bag in her car and drove back to DT. It was almost closing time when she got back, so everyone was cleaning up the garage. Jezzie put the decals with the rest of the Supra's stuff and helped clean up.
That night, after dinner, Dom dragged Jezzie outside to talk. She sat on a chair and Dom stood a few feet from her.
"Talk to me J, where have you seen him before?" Dom asked, not looking at her. Jezzie sighed. To tell, or not to tell...that is the question. "And don't lie to me." Jezzie lowered her head.
"It's Jeff...Jeff Clemmons, he just changed his last name." Dom's head snapped up, his face was red with anger.
"WHAT?" He half yelled, half whispered. "That asshole comes into my grage and pretends like he doesn't know you? I swear I'll..." Dom started to threaten him, but Jezzie interrupted.
"I saw a picture of me from 8th grade in his car. It's him. I know it is; I can see what happened that night in his eyes. They burn a hole right through me." Jezzie kept her head lowered, but when she didn't hear anything, she looked up. Dom was gone. "Dom?" She called out. She stood up and looked around. A few seconds later Leon and Dom came charging through the back door. Leon looked at her, confused as hell.
"Tell him Jezzie...tell him." Dom said, pointing at Leon. Jezzie sighed and sat down. Not again, oh god, not again.
"Tell me what?" He asked. Leon sat on a chair next to Jezzie. "Tell me what Jez?" He asked again.
"The reason I moved here was because I was raped in 7th grade, by a guy whose name was Jeff Clemmons. He was one of those popular guys, the guy every girl wanted. I was tormented in 8th grade because we were at a party when he did it and I called the cops and some people got arrested. I finally broke down and told my parents in 8th grade and they moved me here." She paused. "The guy who came in the other day with the Lancer...that was Jeff Clemmons, he just went by a different name. When I was checking out his car, I found a picture of me from 8th grade in his car." Jezzie looked at Leon, there were so many emotions on his face. So many things were running through his mind. He was hurt, angry, ready to kill that guy, but he was also confused.
"Why didn't you tell me?" He finally said.
"I was scared and ashamed and...I don't know..." She looked away. Leon put his head in his hands.
"I can't believe it. For the last year...Jesus, 10 years and you never told anybody?"
"I told Mia a couple a years ago, before I met you. And I told Letty some of it." She stopped and choked back the tears. No crying, she told herself, no crying. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you before, but I was so ashamed of myself." Leon looked up at her.
"There ain't any reason to be ashamed. It wasn't your fault." He wrapped his arms around her shoulder and put his forehead on hers. "I'll always love you J, no matter what. But you shoulda told me before. But this doesn't change anything, cept for the fact that I might go to jail for kicking that guys ass." Leon smiled and Jezzie smiled a bit.
"I love you too Leon." She looked from Leon to Dom. "But you guys gotta promise me you won't do anything to him. I don't want to lose either of you. You guys are my life; we'd be nowhere without ya'll. Promise me." Leon frowned but nodded.
"Aight, I promise." He said. Jezzie looked at Dom.
"Dom...promise me..." Dom sighed.
"Alright, I promise." He said reluctantly.
"Thank you. Now, let's go inside."