Chapter Four
Looking at her niece, Mia mirrored Thalia's look of worry. She decided that she should ask a few questions.
"Why do you say that sweetie?" she asked her niece figuring that she'd be able to quicker from the little girl than anyone else.
"Because when mommy gets mad she always drops me off with Aunt Marissa and Uncle Robert, or with Uncle Room." Thalia told her aunt. By the look on the little girl's face you could tell she was scared. She was frowning and her eyes were bright with the tears that had begun to form. As Rome looked down and saw this he immediately picked her up and began to comfort her. He hated to see Thalia cry and always did everything he could to keep her from doing so. Knowing he needed to get her mind on other things, a light bulb quickly came on inside his head. If there was one thing he knew about this little girl it was that, like her mother and even at her young age, she loved being around cars.
"Hey Talli! You wanna go and see Uncle Rome's new car?" He asked in a excited voice to catch her attention. The tears in Thalia's eyes disappeared as soon as the question had left his mouth. Her face was completely brightened by an enormous smile and she was on her way to choking Rome she was hugging him so tight. While she was still hugging him, Rome could hear Mia mutter under her breath 'Oh yeah, that one is definitely a Toretto. We couldn't deny her if we tried.' From her spot on the porch swing, and Letty sitting next to her nodding her agreement. Unwrapping herself from around her uncle, Thalia suddenly looked him in the eyes.
"Can I drive your car?" She asked every inch of her voice filled with hope.
"Sorry I'm not your mom." Rome said thinking about the countless times he'd seen Antoinette let Thalia drive her car around the parking lot of her apartment complex, while sitting on her lap. He couldn't help but think 'That's never gonna happen. No matter how much this kid begs.' "I don't let small children drive my car."
"I promise I won't wreck it."
"Sorry Talli, but darlin' it ain't gonna happen no matter how much you beg." He said voicing his thoughts.
"Big meanie," Thalia said glaring at him the best she could, and sticking her tongue out at him. Then as an afterthought to his previous comment she looked at him and said, "I'm not small, I'm still growing, duh."
Rome couldn't help but laugh at her comment. Even Letty who had heard it was having a hard time keeping a straight face. They all knew that she had inherited her mother's attitude as well.
"Fine then, I'll call you shorty." Rome said knowing that it would probably make her mad. He loved the look she got on her face when someone upset her. Sure enough the look on her face changed.
"I'm telling mommy on you." She stated her small eyebrows furrowed together, lower lip stuck out slightly in a pout, and arms crossed over her chest. It took Rome all the strength he had in him to keep from laughing, or even cracking a smile. Pretending to be scared, he leaned his forehead on her and whispered to her in a hushed voice,
"If you don't tell I'll take you to Sonic, and then we can go shopping." He knew he'd won this one. Thalia could never pass up a chance to eat at her favorite fast food place and go shopping right after that.
"Otay, I won't tell, but you gotta promise not to call me 'Shorty' ever again."
"Okay, I promise. Now stay here while I put your car seat in my car."
"But I hafta say bye to everyone."
"Okay go do that then." And with that he sat her down on the ground and headed towards his car. It wasn't until he had the car seat almost completely strapped in he noticed something was different. There were cars missing from the house, four of them to be exact. And one of those cars happened to Brian. 'Oh shit,' Rome thought, 'They're all gonna be so dead when Anni gets a hold of their asses.' He had realized that while he's been wrapped in his conversation with Thalia, Dom, Vince, Leon, and Brian had all left the house and he didn't need to be a rocket scientist to figure out that they'd went after Anni. As soon as Thalia had said goodbye to the remaining three people at the house, Jesse, Mia, and Letty, the two of them were headed for the nearest Sonic.
Antoinette didn't know where she was going, and in all honesty she really didn't care at this particular moment. She just knew that she needed to be as far away from her childhood home right now. She also knew that she needed to clear her head so she could think straight. She was mad, hell mad was probably the understatement of the year, she was completely and totally furious. Antoinette couldn't believe what her brother had done. She knew she would have said things that she would have regretted later if she had stayed. She had a hard time grasping the concept that her brother could have done something so stupid. She was still trying to convince herself that it was just some huge joke that they were playing on her, but deep down she knew that wasn't the case. That was only half of the reason she had left. As much as she tried to deny it to herself, seeing Brian again had stirred up all the hurt she'd felt when he'd first left. She wanted to hate him for it, and for a while she could honestly say that she did. But after a while all the anger and hurt she felt had gone away and she couldn't find it in herself to hate him anymore, so she decided to try and forget him completely, and as hard as she tried, that didn't work either. After driving around for a while she found herself in front of 'The Racer's Edge'. She remembered when she'd tag along with Vince and Dom when they came in for new parts for their cars. Her and Letty we're always in the shop with the two boys, and Harry considered the two of them daughters. Getting out of her car she walked slowly towards the door, taking in all the changes that had been made to the store since the last time she had been there. As she walked around she came to the section for wiring. As she looked at the various colors it came in she felt the presence of someone beside her. Glancing to her left without moving her head she saw that it was Harry.
"Can I help you with something miss?" He asked her as she kept examining the wire.
"Umm... Yeah, I was wondering, do you have any pink neons?" She asked him, finally looking directly at him.
"No but I can order them."
"Overnight? I need them immediately."
"Sorry miss, but I only do that for my best customers."
"I can't believe that you don't recognize me! And here I thought that you loved me" She said pouting slightly. It was that particular look on her face that made him realize who exactly he was talking to.
"Antoinette Toretto, When did you get back in town?" He asked still a little in shock at seeing her after all these years.
"Today actually. So now that you know who I am, how about my neons?"
"Have I ever told you no?"
"Thanks Harry! You're the greatest." And with that the two of them started for the counter. As soon as she paid him they began to talk again. She told how she'd been living in Barstow since she left and what she'd been up to in the last five years. Looking at the clock behind Harry she noticed it was getting a little late.
"Okay, well thanks again Harry, but I've really gotta get going. I'll see ya tomorrow."
"Alright, and bring in that daughter of yours I wanna see her in person."
"Yeah, lord knows I've got enough pictures of her to last a life time."
"I'll see ya tomorrow Anni."
"See ya then Harry." And with that she walked out the door. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't notice anything around her for a little while. It wasn't until she was about fifteen feet from her own car did she notice the one that belong to the last person on earth that she wanted to see at that time. 'Goddamn him. Doesn't he know when to leave me the fuck alone?' She thought, 'Maybe I should buy him a clue.' She realized as he stepped out of his car that if she didn't get out of there quick she might actually be within twenty feet of him. Hurrying the rest of the way to her car, she got in and was about to slam the door shut when a hand grabbed it. She didn't need to look up to see who it was. She already knew that the hand belonged to Brian. Bending down so he could look her in the face, he said,
"We need to talk." In a tone that showed he meant it. She could tell that he wasn't in the mood for games, and it was then she realized that she wasn't either and that she really didn't feel like talking to him.
"No Brian, I really don't think we do." Antoinette replied in a tone that could have made it snow in Australia. Brian already sick of all the games decided that it was time to get serious and that he was going to do everything that he could so that they had this discussion.
"Antoinette, don't make me pick you up outta this car just so we can talk."
"You wouldn't even think it, Brian." She said disbelievingly. She didn't think that he would have the balls to do that, especially not to her.
"Wouldn't I?" He asked know that she was testing him. 'Well,' he thought to himself, 'this is one test that I'm not gonna fail.' And with those thoughts he reached into her car and around her steering wheel, pulling her keys out of the ignition, and pocketing them. He then leaned over, put her arms over a shoulder, and grabbing her behind the knees, lifted her out of the car. As he did this he also locked her car up.
"Put me down, Brian!" She yelled at him, but she was ignored. "Put me down DAMMIT!!" By then they had made it to the passenger side of his car.
"Fine your wish is my command." And with that he opened the door sat her inside and headed around to the other side of the car so he could get in.
A/N: Hey everyone!! Well here's the newest chapter. I hope ya'll enjoyed reading it. Here's a little sneak peek into the next chappy (which I'm hoping to have up by tomorrow, or at latest Saturday) Brian finds out a big secret!! Wanna know if ya can't already guess... I guess you'll just have to read and find out. I wanna say thanx to all of you who review. And a huge THANX to Cheer for all her help with the plot. I was having troubles but ya helped me and now the story has a lot more going for it. I love ya all and keep Reading and Reviewing!!
Jess
Looking at her niece, Mia mirrored Thalia's look of worry. She decided that she should ask a few questions.
"Why do you say that sweetie?" she asked her niece figuring that she'd be able to quicker from the little girl than anyone else.
"Because when mommy gets mad she always drops me off with Aunt Marissa and Uncle Robert, or with Uncle Room." Thalia told her aunt. By the look on the little girl's face you could tell she was scared. She was frowning and her eyes were bright with the tears that had begun to form. As Rome looked down and saw this he immediately picked her up and began to comfort her. He hated to see Thalia cry and always did everything he could to keep her from doing so. Knowing he needed to get her mind on other things, a light bulb quickly came on inside his head. If there was one thing he knew about this little girl it was that, like her mother and even at her young age, she loved being around cars.
"Hey Talli! You wanna go and see Uncle Rome's new car?" He asked in a excited voice to catch her attention. The tears in Thalia's eyes disappeared as soon as the question had left his mouth. Her face was completely brightened by an enormous smile and she was on her way to choking Rome she was hugging him so tight. While she was still hugging him, Rome could hear Mia mutter under her breath 'Oh yeah, that one is definitely a Toretto. We couldn't deny her if we tried.' From her spot on the porch swing, and Letty sitting next to her nodding her agreement. Unwrapping herself from around her uncle, Thalia suddenly looked him in the eyes.
"Can I drive your car?" She asked every inch of her voice filled with hope.
"Sorry I'm not your mom." Rome said thinking about the countless times he'd seen Antoinette let Thalia drive her car around the parking lot of her apartment complex, while sitting on her lap. He couldn't help but think 'That's never gonna happen. No matter how much this kid begs.' "I don't let small children drive my car."
"I promise I won't wreck it."
"Sorry Talli, but darlin' it ain't gonna happen no matter how much you beg." He said voicing his thoughts.
"Big meanie," Thalia said glaring at him the best she could, and sticking her tongue out at him. Then as an afterthought to his previous comment she looked at him and said, "I'm not small, I'm still growing, duh."
Rome couldn't help but laugh at her comment. Even Letty who had heard it was having a hard time keeping a straight face. They all knew that she had inherited her mother's attitude as well.
"Fine then, I'll call you shorty." Rome said knowing that it would probably make her mad. He loved the look she got on her face when someone upset her. Sure enough the look on her face changed.
"I'm telling mommy on you." She stated her small eyebrows furrowed together, lower lip stuck out slightly in a pout, and arms crossed over her chest. It took Rome all the strength he had in him to keep from laughing, or even cracking a smile. Pretending to be scared, he leaned his forehead on her and whispered to her in a hushed voice,
"If you don't tell I'll take you to Sonic, and then we can go shopping." He knew he'd won this one. Thalia could never pass up a chance to eat at her favorite fast food place and go shopping right after that.
"Otay, I won't tell, but you gotta promise not to call me 'Shorty' ever again."
"Okay, I promise. Now stay here while I put your car seat in my car."
"But I hafta say bye to everyone."
"Okay go do that then." And with that he sat her down on the ground and headed towards his car. It wasn't until he had the car seat almost completely strapped in he noticed something was different. There were cars missing from the house, four of them to be exact. And one of those cars happened to Brian. 'Oh shit,' Rome thought, 'They're all gonna be so dead when Anni gets a hold of their asses.' He had realized that while he's been wrapped in his conversation with Thalia, Dom, Vince, Leon, and Brian had all left the house and he didn't need to be a rocket scientist to figure out that they'd went after Anni. As soon as Thalia had said goodbye to the remaining three people at the house, Jesse, Mia, and Letty, the two of them were headed for the nearest Sonic.
Antoinette didn't know where she was going, and in all honesty she really didn't care at this particular moment. She just knew that she needed to be as far away from her childhood home right now. She also knew that she needed to clear her head so she could think straight. She was mad, hell mad was probably the understatement of the year, she was completely and totally furious. Antoinette couldn't believe what her brother had done. She knew she would have said things that she would have regretted later if she had stayed. She had a hard time grasping the concept that her brother could have done something so stupid. She was still trying to convince herself that it was just some huge joke that they were playing on her, but deep down she knew that wasn't the case. That was only half of the reason she had left. As much as she tried to deny it to herself, seeing Brian again had stirred up all the hurt she'd felt when he'd first left. She wanted to hate him for it, and for a while she could honestly say that she did. But after a while all the anger and hurt she felt had gone away and she couldn't find it in herself to hate him anymore, so she decided to try and forget him completely, and as hard as she tried, that didn't work either. After driving around for a while she found herself in front of 'The Racer's Edge'. She remembered when she'd tag along with Vince and Dom when they came in for new parts for their cars. Her and Letty we're always in the shop with the two boys, and Harry considered the two of them daughters. Getting out of her car she walked slowly towards the door, taking in all the changes that had been made to the store since the last time she had been there. As she walked around she came to the section for wiring. As she looked at the various colors it came in she felt the presence of someone beside her. Glancing to her left without moving her head she saw that it was Harry.
"Can I help you with something miss?" He asked her as she kept examining the wire.
"Umm... Yeah, I was wondering, do you have any pink neons?" She asked him, finally looking directly at him.
"No but I can order them."
"Overnight? I need them immediately."
"Sorry miss, but I only do that for my best customers."
"I can't believe that you don't recognize me! And here I thought that you loved me" She said pouting slightly. It was that particular look on her face that made him realize who exactly he was talking to.
"Antoinette Toretto, When did you get back in town?" He asked still a little in shock at seeing her after all these years.
"Today actually. So now that you know who I am, how about my neons?"
"Have I ever told you no?"
"Thanks Harry! You're the greatest." And with that the two of them started for the counter. As soon as she paid him they began to talk again. She told how she'd been living in Barstow since she left and what she'd been up to in the last five years. Looking at the clock behind Harry she noticed it was getting a little late.
"Okay, well thanks again Harry, but I've really gotta get going. I'll see ya tomorrow."
"Alright, and bring in that daughter of yours I wanna see her in person."
"Yeah, lord knows I've got enough pictures of her to last a life time."
"I'll see ya tomorrow Anni."
"See ya then Harry." And with that she walked out the door. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't notice anything around her for a little while. It wasn't until she was about fifteen feet from her own car did she notice the one that belong to the last person on earth that she wanted to see at that time. 'Goddamn him. Doesn't he know when to leave me the fuck alone?' She thought, 'Maybe I should buy him a clue.' She realized as he stepped out of his car that if she didn't get out of there quick she might actually be within twenty feet of him. Hurrying the rest of the way to her car, she got in and was about to slam the door shut when a hand grabbed it. She didn't need to look up to see who it was. She already knew that the hand belonged to Brian. Bending down so he could look her in the face, he said,
"We need to talk." In a tone that showed he meant it. She could tell that he wasn't in the mood for games, and it was then she realized that she wasn't either and that she really didn't feel like talking to him.
"No Brian, I really don't think we do." Antoinette replied in a tone that could have made it snow in Australia. Brian already sick of all the games decided that it was time to get serious and that he was going to do everything that he could so that they had this discussion.
"Antoinette, don't make me pick you up outta this car just so we can talk."
"You wouldn't even think it, Brian." She said disbelievingly. She didn't think that he would have the balls to do that, especially not to her.
"Wouldn't I?" He asked know that she was testing him. 'Well,' he thought to himself, 'this is one test that I'm not gonna fail.' And with those thoughts he reached into her car and around her steering wheel, pulling her keys out of the ignition, and pocketing them. He then leaned over, put her arms over a shoulder, and grabbing her behind the knees, lifted her out of the car. As he did this he also locked her car up.
"Put me down, Brian!" She yelled at him, but she was ignored. "Put me down DAMMIT!!" By then they had made it to the passenger side of his car.
"Fine your wish is my command." And with that he opened the door sat her inside and headed around to the other side of the car so he could get in.
A/N: Hey everyone!! Well here's the newest chapter. I hope ya'll enjoyed reading it. Here's a little sneak peek into the next chappy (which I'm hoping to have up by tomorrow, or at latest Saturday) Brian finds out a big secret!! Wanna know if ya can't already guess... I guess you'll just have to read and find out. I wanna say thanx to all of you who review. And a huge THANX to Cheer for all her help with the plot. I was having troubles but ya helped me and now the story has a lot more going for it. I love ya all and keep Reading and Reviewing!!
Jess
