J pulled up out front of the Toretto house and sat. She was glad to have time with Mia. She had missed her. J got out of her car and walked up the steps and knocked on the door. She heard some yelling inside and then the front door jerked open.
"What the hell am I to you people?" Leon said half angry, half joking. He turned to her and smiled. "Hey J. Mia'll be down in a second. You can come in if you want." J hesitated. Should she? She shook her head and smiled.
"No, I'm good out here. Thanks anyways." Leon frowned but nodded and left the door open and went into the living room. J turned and walked over to the railing, leaning on it and remembering days they used to spend here.
Flashback
J sat on the steps, next to Dom. Her head was on her knees. It had been 3 days since Dom's dad died.
"It's hard to talk about it, you know? He was there one minute and then the next..." Dom trailed off, looking into the pathetic excuse for a garden. Jez looked at him. Her face, just as everyone else's, was streaked with dried and fresh tears.
"Oh Dom. It's not your fault. I can't say I really know how you feel, but then again, I do. Tony was like my dad too. I spent so much time around here." Jez smiled at the thought. "You just gotta be strong now Dom. You gotta take care of Mia. She needs you..." Dom looked at her. "I need you." Dom smiled and gave Jez a hug. They were both hurting. Plus Jezzie was confused. A few days before Tony died, Jezzie started getting feeligns for Dom. She didn't want those feelings, she didn't want to be Dom's fuck of the week, she wanted to be Dom's friend. But things were becoming weird between them, but now that Tony's died, the feelings have settled down. But Jezzie was afraid they would come back, she didn't want that.
"I need you both, too, Jez. But I don't know how long I can keep this tough guy act up for. I just want to break down everyday." Dom pulled away and Jez smiled.
"I never figured you for a emotional person Dom." Jez stuck her tongue out at Dom as he frowned at her.
"Jez..." Jez held up her hands.
"I know Dom...I know." The two laughed for a second, but then embarrasment set in. They couldn't beleive they were laughing when Tony was dead. They looked away from each other and at the cold, hard, dead ground.
End Flashback
The picture of Dom in her mind faded away as J heard the door open and then shut. J turned around and sucked in her bottom lip as Dom stood before her.
"Dom." J said, scared out of her mind. She'd been such a bitch to him yesterday; he had every right to be mad at her. Dom nodded his head and grunted a 'hey'. He ran a hand over his head and J noticed car keys in his other hand.
"Going out?" She asked, trying to make polite conversation. Dom looked at his keys and then back at her and nodded and shrugged.
"Food. Seems I'm the designated grocery shopper since Mia's going out today." J smiled at Dom. He looked so cute and tough yet innocent while standing there.
"Sorry." J said. She felt kind of bad; she knew how much Dom hated to go grocery shopping. Dom smiled.
"It's ok. I better get going. See you later." They smiled at each other and Dom walked down the steps. He was half way across the lawn when J called out to him.
"Dom!" She shouted, her hands reached out at him. He turned back.
"What J?" He asked. He looked concerned. J pulled her hands back to her and blushed.
"I'm sorry about yesterday." She said, mentally cursing herself for not saying what she really wanted to say. Deep in her heart she wanted to run to him and jump in his big, strong arms and hold him and kiss him and tell him how much she's always loved him. Things have been so confusing for her and being back hasn't made it any easier.
J continued to stare at Dom as he shrugged.
"Don't worry about it J. I had it coming." Dom's carefree attitude triggered something. J thought it was years ago. She saw the image of her and Dom and Mia running across the front yard, playing, and laughing. J looked around and could have sworn her and Dom were 15 again. J breathed in as the ghostly image of her, Dom, and Mia ran into Dom's body and the reality came into focus.
Dom's eyebrows knit together as he watched J. She looked like she was remember something, or thinking about something. He watched, as her face grew pale. Dom took a step closer to her, in case she was going to pass out.
J continued to watch the yard as another scene unfolded before her. Dom and J were 18 and they had both just graduated from high school. J was moving in with them and Dom was helping her carry her stuff up the steps. J gasped back the tears as a smiling younger image of herself and Dom walked through her, fading from view.
Dom looked at J, taking a couple more steps toward her. He was really starting to become concerned. J's face was pale and the expression on her face made Dom hurt inside.
"J?" Dom asked. J snapped out of her trance and looked at Dom, the color coming back into her face. "You ok girl?" He asked, standing at the bottom of the stairs. J looked at him and smiled.
"Oh yeah. Sorry, I just remembered something. I'm ok, really. Thanks though." J smiled appreciatively at Dom and he nodded his head.
"Alright, but I'll stay here with you until Mia comes out. Don't want you passing out or nothing." J laughed goofily and nervously as Dom sat on the bottom steps. J rolled her eyes and mentally kicked herself for being stupid. J leaned against the post and waited for Mia to come out.
As J leaned against the post a song came to mind. At first it was just in her head, but she quickly, and quietly, sung it out loud.
"You Told Me, It's Alright To Be Free. You Showed Me, How Easy It Could Be. You Took Me, To Places Far Away. Now I Have To Leave, Why Can't I Stay? And As The Days Go By I Wonder, If Boy Meets Girl Again. And If They Do, I Hope It's You, And We'll Be Together Again." J closed her eyes as she sung, letting the words and the beat play over and over in her head. Dom looked up at her. If only she knew how much that song was true, he thought. He looked back at the ground and sighed. He knew that he should tell her and that he was only making things harder between them by keeping it in. But then again, he thought, why would she want me? She had been there all the times I cheated on Letty, she knows I'm an awful boyfriend, Dom rubbed his face and cursed himself silently for letting himself fall for her.
Dom looked up as a car pulled in behind J's. J stopped singing and looked at the car. It was a police car. What is a police car doing here, Dom thought. He stood up trying to keep calm as the cop got out of the car. The cop walked up the first set of stairs and stood on the lawn.
"I'm looking for a Jezebeil Marks." The cop said. Dom relaxed but then tensed up again. J stood up straight.
"That's me." She said, her voice shaking with fear.
"Hello Ms. Marks, I'm just interested in finding a Jeff Clemmons. He's been spotted in the area and we're afraid we've lost him. I was told you might know where to look for him. Do you know where he is?" The cop asked. J tensed up and tried to keep her balance. Who would tell the police I would know where to find Jeff? J thought. Her vision was fuzzy as she tried to think straight. Not him, oh god, not him again, she thought, grabbing her head. I was supposed to be rid of him when I left.
Dom looked back at J and jumped up the steps, holding her up. He put his head on hers.
"It's ok J. He's not here, just tell the cop what you know." Dom whispered. J breathed in and looked up, regaining her composure. She lightly pushed Dom away, just to let him know she could stand.
"The last time I saw Jeff Clemmons was about 4 months ago, I don't know where he is now. I'm sorry." J said, her voice stronger than before. She had to beat him; she couldn't let him get to her anymore. The cop frowned.
"Where was the last place you saw him?" The cop asked, scribbling something down in his pad.
"Uhh...it was at Race Wars, out in the desert." The cop finished writing and looked up at Dom and J, smiling.
"Thank you for your help ma'am." He gave another smile and turned and walked back to his car. Dom looked down at J. Her eyes followed the car as it rolled down the street, every strong bone in her body going with it. J turned around as Mia walked out, a huge frown on her face; it was red with anger.
"You ok Mi?" J asked, forgetting about everything that just happened. Mia smiled at J but then glared at Dom.
"You need to do something about Leon and his crazy attitude. It's pissing me off." She turned to J and smiled. "Let's go!" J laughed as Mia hooked her arm and they walked to her car, Dom stared after Mia as if she was crazy. Dom shook his head and walked back into the house. He stood in the door to the living room, studying the scene before him. Leon was sitting on the couch, his head in his hands, his feet tapping nervously on the ground. Silvia was on the other end of the couch, tears streaming down her face in a silent cry.
"What the fuck have you been doing Leon?" Dom asked, his voice smooth and calm. Leon looked up and frowned.
"Mia got on my case dawg." Dom frowned.
"About what?" Dom asked.
"Mia came in 'ere telling me that I needed to fix stuff up between me an Jezzie and that I needed to stop being so uptight about Jez. And I told her; Sil's my girl now. Jez left, and she obviously don't want me back and that's cool with me." Leon stared up at Dom. Dom sighed.
"Dammit Leon, what am I going to do with you? Just because you're with Sil doesn't mean you can't patch things up wit J. Damn man, I mean, she's got her own team now, for sure, but still." Dom looked over at Silvia. He closed his eyes and thought for a minute.
"Maybe deep in her heart, after all the fights, Jez knew it wouldn't work out between you guys. Maybe she was just taking the extra step you two needed." Dom opened his eyes and pulled out his wallet, opening it and pulling out a folded piece of paper. He walked over to Leon and handed it to him without a word. Leon took it and opened it.
Inside was a hand written note; Leon noticed it was Jezzie's handwriting. Leon read the note.
Guys,
I know you all will hate me for this, but I gotta do this. Too much is going on, nothing's right anymore. It's nobody's fault, just something I gotta do. I'll come back, maybe in a week, a month, a year, who knows. But I will come back. I can't say I'll be the same person, or that you guys will be the same people, but I'll be back. Keep the love for me and for each other. Don't stress out on Brian guys, he may be a cop, but he doesn't deserve to get his ass kicked. I love you all, more than you'll ever know. And now on a personal note:
Dom, don't get all pissy. Things happen for a reason.
Mia, don't hate me girl, you know I have a good reason for this.
Letty, don't get hurt. Ok? Be safe and don't kill Dom.
Vince, coyote, boy, keep your head up, but don't be so damn proud all the time. People lose.
Jesse, keep doing what your doing dude, you're great at what you do. You are such a sweetheart and I hope harm never comes your way.
Leon, I love you more than you'll ever know. But you never know, maybe a break is what we need. But it's not your fault I'm leaving. I'll never forget your sweet smile or your kiss.
See you guys soon.
Love, Jezebeil
Leon read the note over and over, soaking it all in. He couldn't believe that Dom had hidden a note from the team the whole time. Leon had spent the last 4 months thinking Jez never wanted to talk to him again and that it was his fault she left. Leon folded the note back up and set it on the couch next to him. With one swift move he was off the couch and he laid his fist into the side of Dom's face, knocking Dom back a couple of steps. Dom grabbed his face and looked at Leon, hate burning in Leon's eyes.
"Fuck you Dom. I've spent the last four months thinking it was all MY fault. She was my girl Dom! I loved her and then she was gone and you hid the only thing she left? What the fuck?" Leon screamed. Dom just stared at him. He knew what he did was wrong, but how could he explain it? "You better fucking answer me Dom! What was the whole point behind that? HUH?" Leon screamed again. Silvia was staring at Dom and Leon, scared out of her mind. She knew that if Dom and Leon really got in it, she wouldn't be able to do anything. She was afraid that if she left to get Vince and Jesse and Letty that Leon would be seriously hurt before she got back. Plus, she didn't even know where they were.
Silvia's eyes shifted to the kitchen door as Vince and Jesse stood there watching what was going on. Letty walked through the front door. Silvia let out a breath of release.
"What do you want me to tell you Leon? Huh, how I thought maybe it would be easier on all of us if she just left, plain and simple? I wasn't counting on her coming back dawg!" Dom said. Leon picked up the note on the couch.
"So what she said in this didn't mean shit Dom?" Leon said, throwing the note in Dom's face. Dom just stood there, letting it fall to the floor.
"Look Leon, you're with Sil now, why don't you forget about getting with J ever again? Huh?" Dom said, anger rising in his voice. He was tired of Leon's shit. And then he realized something. He was being a hypocryte. He was just telling Leon that he should be friends with Jez and now he's telling her to forget her. Dom silently cursed himself for being so stupid.
"Forget about getting with her ever again? Shit Dom! I was going to ask her to...to marry me." Leon dug in his pockets and pulled out the ring he always kept with him. It was in a small blue box. "Even after all the fights, I still loved her. I tried to forget about her, I tried everything. But nothing worked man. And now you give me that note? Shit Dom, I knew I shoulda looked for her." Leon let the box drop from his hand then pushed his way out of the house.
Silvia looked at the box that was on the floor. She couldn't believe it. Tears weld up in her eyes as she realized that Leon's heart wasn't ever really in their relationship. Silvia continued to look at the box as the tears sprung out and down her cheek. Silvia was suddenly mad at Jezzie. If Jezzie had never came back, maybe that ring would have been meant for her and not Jezzie. Anger clouded her mind as she thought of how nice it had been without her and now...the shit was happening again. Silvia had been there with Jesse and Vince as they fought for their lives in the hospital, Jezzie wasn't. Silvia had spent the cold nights with Leon, sleeping next to him and making his nightmares go away, Jezzie wasn't. And now she came back. Nothing would ever go back to the way it was. And now Jezzie was going to come work at the store with Mia and Silvia. This was the last straw for Silvia. She had to do something.
Letty looked at Silvia as she realized she was crying. She never really liked Silvia, mostly because she knew Leon and J were meant to be together. Letty had always seen the way Leon and J acted around each other, but then Silvia appeared and everything went downhill from there. Letty blamed Silvia; Silvia blamed Jezzie; Dom blamed himself; and Leon blamed Dom.
"Dom..." Letty said quietly. Dom didn't even look at her.
"I know I did wrong Letty, I just...I don't know what to say." Dom turned and looked at his ex-girl. Letty could see it in his eyes...he never wanted anyone to hurt. Not his team members. But then everything went wrong and Dom didn't know what to do.
"It's ok Dom. It's not your fault. Jez left on her own accord. If Leon had wanted to go after he, he would have. A note wasn't going to change all that. Would it?" She asked, realizing she didn't even know what the note said. Dom sighed and picked up the note, then handed it to her. Letty took it and read it. Suddenly realizing why Leon was so upset. She sighed and looked at Dom. "Ok, so maybe he had a reason. But who's to say they can't patch things up now." Letty shrugged and walked up to Dom. She lifted his chin. "Don't get down Dom. We need you to be strong. You gotta be strong baby." Letty kissed his chin and put the note in his hand then walked upstairs.
At the mall Mia and J were sitting down in the food court for a break. J took a sip of her drink and smiled.
"It's great to be shopping with you again Mi." J said. Mia smiled proudly.
"Well I am the best shopper in the family. I just feel kind of bad for leaving Dom with groceries. We both know how much he hates that." The two girls laughed. J looked at the piles of bags around the two girls. It had been a definite while since she had had a good shop. Suki was fun to go shopping with, but she was no Mia. Monica...well she was Monica. Always going on and on about Brian. J sighed and put a fry in her mouth.
Mia, on the other hand, was busy worrying about what food Dom was buying. She told herself that if Dom bought only meat, she was going to beat him up. Mia watched J eat, she seemed to be in better spirits, but something told her she was wrong.
"You ok Jez?" Mia asked. J looked at her and frowned.
"I miss Leon." J said quietly. It had taken her four months to admit that, and it seemed right that she would only admit that to Mia. Mia's jaw dropped as she heard the words come out of her mouth. She closed her mouth and thought for a while.
"You want him back, don't you?" Mia asked, more of a statement, than a question. J nodded as she felt the tears well up in her eyes. She took a deep breath and willed herself not to cry.
"But I don't want to steal Silvia away from him. They seem nice together." J said, suddenly becoming interested in her fries.
"Oh Jez, I hate to say this, but I don't think Silvia ever really had him." J looked at her, confused. "Leon won't say it, but he's still been hung up on you the whole time. He loves you, and I hope you love him." Mia said, leaning closer to J, hopping to get an answer. J looked down at her fries.
"I love him more than anything-" J started to say. She looked up at Mia has she clapped her hands together and smiled broadly.
"Great! Let's go to the house so you and Leon can talk. Maybe not get together already, but just talk." Mia stood up and grabbed her bags and J's hand and dragged her out of the mall.