Torrie took off like a shot, music blaring, trying to drown out the
pounding of her heart.
You better lose yourself in the music, the moment You own it; you better never let it go You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow This opportunity comes once in a lifetime yo.
She was not doing too badly. She passed Hectors driver and then passed Edwin. She passed some other guy that she did not know all in rapid succession. All were gone in a blur of head and tail lights.
"Only Dom now" she thought.
He was just ahead of her now. His red car like a blur of light. She did not know how fast they were going. Did not want to know. It was the most exhilarating thing she had ever done. She had never driven this fast on public roads. She knew that desperation made her do it. She was living second by second and loving every nanosecond of it. She wanted to hit her NOS but she knew it was too soon. While she had never street raced, (her dad had been against his only child and a daughter at that risking her life that way) she had done some impressive quarter miles on the track. Had kicked ass on the track. Dom would just use his and beat her. She caught up to him a bit more. The finish line was just ahead. She hit her NOS. She flew ahead of him. She laughed. She did not know if it was because when she was racing she felt free or if it was hysterical laughter with the thoughts of what was going to happen if she did not win.
"Too soon girl" Dom thought, "I can still get you." He hit his NOS. His car was flying. Dom laughed in sheer pleasure. This is what he lived for.
She saw Dom coming up fast on the inside lane the side view mirror of her car, he had obviously just used his NOS. She hit her second charge. The finish line was right there. "Ohmygod I am going to win!" Torrie was so close she could taste the money. Everything was going to be ok, she was going to win. Just then Dom passed her and got over the line, his bumper crossed just ahead of hers.
"F*ck" Torrie screamed. "Oh god, what am I going to do." She banged her hands on the steering wheel. She stopped and took a few minutes to get hold of herself, drove back to the meeting place. She then got out of her car. Everyone was congratulating Dom on his big win. It was not every day someone won a car like that in a finish that was so close. She had no idea what she was going to do. Get out of her car and pretend like the world was not ending. She started to laugh; only she knew it was hysterical now. 'I may just have to go kill myself!" she though.
He's chokin, how everybody's jokin now The clock's run out, time's up over, blouww! Snap back to reality, Oh there goes gravity
Torrie almost passed out. She had no idea what she was going to do. She could have won. Would have won, should have won but she messed up. The bottom had just fallen out of her world. She felt so stupid. She misjudged that last shot of NOS by like less then a second and she lost. Well she had to keep her head up and go give Toretto the keys to her car, her baby, the only thing she truly owned. The last thing she and her father ever made together. Oh well it could be worse. She would sell the house and hope she got enough to straighten things out for awhile.
She walked over to Dom's team. They had all been patting his back and congratulating him but they stopped and stood back as she walked up to them. She handed him the keys to her car. "Here you go, that was an awesome race. I misjudged the timing at the very end and the best racer won. Take good care of him for me." She started to walk away. She felt light headed as she walked away and stumbled.
Dom reached out and stopped her, catching her before she fell over. He turned her around to face him and looked down into her eyes and saw the anger, and he somehow knew it was not (or mostly not) directed at him. She was mad at herself; she saw that she made the mistake of misjudging the timing of the race. She knew she messed up. But Dom saw something else too. He saw fear. She was scared. More scared then anyone he had ever met. She was more scared then Jesse when he took off on Tran. She just hid her fear better. He made up his mind then that he had to know who or what put the fear there. He saw too much of his younger self in her eyes. What others must have seen before he learned to control his expressions and emotions. But it was hard time that made that change in him and he would not wish that on anyone.
"Walk with me." It was not a question. When Dom used that tone he was use to having people do what he asked. She tried to hang back but Dom put his arm around her shoulders and started to walk her away from the crowd. "What's your name girl?" Dom asked.
"Torrie MacManus" she replied.
"Dom Torreto, nice to meet you" he answered her. "So tell me, Torrie, what made you so desperate for money that you put up a car that you obliviously love on a race that stood to net you about 20 g's. Doesn't seem worth the risk to me. 20g's doesn't keep anyone that long. I saw you look at your car and I know that it is important to you. Hell no one understands that like me."
"I don't want to talk about it; I mean I just met you. I can't just burden you with all my problems. It's a very long story anyway." Torrie really did not want to talk about it anyway. When she thought about her life it overwhelmed her and she did not know if she could go on. She was so scared that she was going to cry in front of this man. He was like her idol. She got into cars with her dad to spend time with him but mainly because she looked up to Dominic Torreto. She did not want him to know she was a pathetic broke loser.
"You are not likely to find anyone here with broader shoulders." Dom threw his arms out to the sides as if to emphasize that point. "I can handle it. And we got time girl, all the time you need." Dom found the fact that she wanted to keep her 'dirty laundry' secret was a very good indicator of her personality. She was not going to try to cry her way into keeping her car. He liked that. He had had his fill of manipulative women. She was trying to be strong and not cry. He could tell. He could also tell she was losing the battle. He did not want to see her cry, (he hated it when women cried) but he had to know. He was drawn to this girl. "Spill it girl. It will all feel better if you tell someone. I am good at knowing when people are hiding things and keeping things to themselves. If I can help you I will. I can see the fear in your eyes even though I bet you hide it well enough to keep it from others." Dom stopped speaking and waited for her to do as he asked and tell him how she came to be in this situation. She was looking at her feet, scuffing her boot around in the dirt. Dom put a finger under her chin and tipped her head up so he could look her in the eyes. The tears were shimmering there. "Come on girl, I'll do anything I can, I mean it." He didn't know why he cared about this girl, she was a stranger and he had no idea why he could not just let her go. But he had to know what had driven her to this point. She was not a racer chaser. She had too much class.
Torrie decided she may as well tell him. What would it hurt, really? She started her tale. It sounded like some sort of angsty novel to her but if he wanted to know so bad she would tell him. "Well, my mom was killed in a car crash about 9 months ago and it turns out that she had no insurance. She left behind a lot of bills. If I don't pay them off they are going to take our house. I guess I thought that if I could win that money it would pretty well catch me up to the point that the collectors would go away. I mean what good is a car to me when I have no place to live, no food to eat, and no way to put gas in it. I guess what I will have to do now is sell our house and use that money to pay off the bills. At least then if I get more for the house then the bills are I can use the leftover to start working on my new car. You know or try to find a place to live since I will have no car and no house." She laughed a sad little laugh that touched Dom more then he would ever let on. He was good at hiding his feelings and he was not making a judgment on her and her story till he heard the whole thing and had all the details.
She continued. "But that car is all I have left of my dad who died about 4 months after my mom. He could not live without her I guess. We built that thing from the ground up together and he would be so disappointed..." She trailed off for a moment and sniffled. "But anyways, he left me his store and the house and the cars. I sold off all of the cars but mine and that is why the bills are so low now, cause I paid a lot of it off. But the bank does not want to deal with a 22 year old girl who they say has never had to work for anything cause she had it all handed to her on a silver tray." She made a quick decision to leave out the criminal record from juvenile court. "The store pays for itself but there is nothing left over for me to live on, I hope soon it will turn a profit I don't have to reinvest into it. I could sell it but it was daddy's baby. I want to keep it cause as soon as the mortgage he took out against it is paid off then it will make me independent and I can then run it myself. But as long as the bank has such a large interest in it they appointed a manager and he stays till I own the store outright again. I can sell the house and live in the back of the store if it comes to it. But that manager would really love that." Torrie ended her story on a little sigh. She was fighting back the tears in earnest now. It did feel better to tell someone and like Dom said he was more then able to bare part of the burden for her. It did not change the fact that she hated to tell a stranger who she had always looked up to, and truth be told had a crush on, about her money and life troubles.
They had stopped walking. Dom knew how close she was to loosing her composure. Of course he also knew what is was like to lose your parents at an early age. He pulled her to him and gave her a hug; it was an impulse he could not resist.
"Hey, I've been there girl. Maybe not the exact same but I lost both my dad then later my mom too." He said. I guess the difference here is that I did not get left with this type of burden. Unless you count a little sister to raise." He chuckled. Dom thought about how he could help her. He could let her keep her car but as she pointed out that was not going to be much help to her when she had no money. He could give her money but he really did not know her all that well and he tried not to let on to the fact that he had money. It started people asking questions. Everyone would assume that the two businesses he owned would keep them well off but the fact that he still had millions in the bank from his illegal activities was a secret no one knew. Not even his team or his ex. So he had to come up with a believable idea to help her. It hit him all at once. It was crazy but then again so was he. But was it too crazy? He did not know this girl at all and he was not normally the trusting one. But it was the only workable solution. He thought on it a second longer then put it out to her.
You better lose yourself in the music, the moment You own it; you better never let it go You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow This opportunity comes once in a lifetime yo.
She was not doing too badly. She passed Hectors driver and then passed Edwin. She passed some other guy that she did not know all in rapid succession. All were gone in a blur of head and tail lights.
"Only Dom now" she thought.
He was just ahead of her now. His red car like a blur of light. She did not know how fast they were going. Did not want to know. It was the most exhilarating thing she had ever done. She had never driven this fast on public roads. She knew that desperation made her do it. She was living second by second and loving every nanosecond of it. She wanted to hit her NOS but she knew it was too soon. While she had never street raced, (her dad had been against his only child and a daughter at that risking her life that way) she had done some impressive quarter miles on the track. Had kicked ass on the track. Dom would just use his and beat her. She caught up to him a bit more. The finish line was just ahead. She hit her NOS. She flew ahead of him. She laughed. She did not know if it was because when she was racing she felt free or if it was hysterical laughter with the thoughts of what was going to happen if she did not win.
"Too soon girl" Dom thought, "I can still get you." He hit his NOS. His car was flying. Dom laughed in sheer pleasure. This is what he lived for.
She saw Dom coming up fast on the inside lane the side view mirror of her car, he had obviously just used his NOS. She hit her second charge. The finish line was right there. "Ohmygod I am going to win!" Torrie was so close she could taste the money. Everything was going to be ok, she was going to win. Just then Dom passed her and got over the line, his bumper crossed just ahead of hers.
"F*ck" Torrie screamed. "Oh god, what am I going to do." She banged her hands on the steering wheel. She stopped and took a few minutes to get hold of herself, drove back to the meeting place. She then got out of her car. Everyone was congratulating Dom on his big win. It was not every day someone won a car like that in a finish that was so close. She had no idea what she was going to do. Get out of her car and pretend like the world was not ending. She started to laugh; only she knew it was hysterical now. 'I may just have to go kill myself!" she though.
He's chokin, how everybody's jokin now The clock's run out, time's up over, blouww! Snap back to reality, Oh there goes gravity
Torrie almost passed out. She had no idea what she was going to do. She could have won. Would have won, should have won but she messed up. The bottom had just fallen out of her world. She felt so stupid. She misjudged that last shot of NOS by like less then a second and she lost. Well she had to keep her head up and go give Toretto the keys to her car, her baby, the only thing she truly owned. The last thing she and her father ever made together. Oh well it could be worse. She would sell the house and hope she got enough to straighten things out for awhile.
She walked over to Dom's team. They had all been patting his back and congratulating him but they stopped and stood back as she walked up to them. She handed him the keys to her car. "Here you go, that was an awesome race. I misjudged the timing at the very end and the best racer won. Take good care of him for me." She started to walk away. She felt light headed as she walked away and stumbled.
Dom reached out and stopped her, catching her before she fell over. He turned her around to face him and looked down into her eyes and saw the anger, and he somehow knew it was not (or mostly not) directed at him. She was mad at herself; she saw that she made the mistake of misjudging the timing of the race. She knew she messed up. But Dom saw something else too. He saw fear. She was scared. More scared then anyone he had ever met. She was more scared then Jesse when he took off on Tran. She just hid her fear better. He made up his mind then that he had to know who or what put the fear there. He saw too much of his younger self in her eyes. What others must have seen before he learned to control his expressions and emotions. But it was hard time that made that change in him and he would not wish that on anyone.
"Walk with me." It was not a question. When Dom used that tone he was use to having people do what he asked. She tried to hang back but Dom put his arm around her shoulders and started to walk her away from the crowd. "What's your name girl?" Dom asked.
"Torrie MacManus" she replied.
"Dom Torreto, nice to meet you" he answered her. "So tell me, Torrie, what made you so desperate for money that you put up a car that you obliviously love on a race that stood to net you about 20 g's. Doesn't seem worth the risk to me. 20g's doesn't keep anyone that long. I saw you look at your car and I know that it is important to you. Hell no one understands that like me."
"I don't want to talk about it; I mean I just met you. I can't just burden you with all my problems. It's a very long story anyway." Torrie really did not want to talk about it anyway. When she thought about her life it overwhelmed her and she did not know if she could go on. She was so scared that she was going to cry in front of this man. He was like her idol. She got into cars with her dad to spend time with him but mainly because she looked up to Dominic Torreto. She did not want him to know she was a pathetic broke loser.
"You are not likely to find anyone here with broader shoulders." Dom threw his arms out to the sides as if to emphasize that point. "I can handle it. And we got time girl, all the time you need." Dom found the fact that she wanted to keep her 'dirty laundry' secret was a very good indicator of her personality. She was not going to try to cry her way into keeping her car. He liked that. He had had his fill of manipulative women. She was trying to be strong and not cry. He could tell. He could also tell she was losing the battle. He did not want to see her cry, (he hated it when women cried) but he had to know. He was drawn to this girl. "Spill it girl. It will all feel better if you tell someone. I am good at knowing when people are hiding things and keeping things to themselves. If I can help you I will. I can see the fear in your eyes even though I bet you hide it well enough to keep it from others." Dom stopped speaking and waited for her to do as he asked and tell him how she came to be in this situation. She was looking at her feet, scuffing her boot around in the dirt. Dom put a finger under her chin and tipped her head up so he could look her in the eyes. The tears were shimmering there. "Come on girl, I'll do anything I can, I mean it." He didn't know why he cared about this girl, she was a stranger and he had no idea why he could not just let her go. But he had to know what had driven her to this point. She was not a racer chaser. She had too much class.
Torrie decided she may as well tell him. What would it hurt, really? She started her tale. It sounded like some sort of angsty novel to her but if he wanted to know so bad she would tell him. "Well, my mom was killed in a car crash about 9 months ago and it turns out that she had no insurance. She left behind a lot of bills. If I don't pay them off they are going to take our house. I guess I thought that if I could win that money it would pretty well catch me up to the point that the collectors would go away. I mean what good is a car to me when I have no place to live, no food to eat, and no way to put gas in it. I guess what I will have to do now is sell our house and use that money to pay off the bills. At least then if I get more for the house then the bills are I can use the leftover to start working on my new car. You know or try to find a place to live since I will have no car and no house." She laughed a sad little laugh that touched Dom more then he would ever let on. He was good at hiding his feelings and he was not making a judgment on her and her story till he heard the whole thing and had all the details.
She continued. "But that car is all I have left of my dad who died about 4 months after my mom. He could not live without her I guess. We built that thing from the ground up together and he would be so disappointed..." She trailed off for a moment and sniffled. "But anyways, he left me his store and the house and the cars. I sold off all of the cars but mine and that is why the bills are so low now, cause I paid a lot of it off. But the bank does not want to deal with a 22 year old girl who they say has never had to work for anything cause she had it all handed to her on a silver tray." She made a quick decision to leave out the criminal record from juvenile court. "The store pays for itself but there is nothing left over for me to live on, I hope soon it will turn a profit I don't have to reinvest into it. I could sell it but it was daddy's baby. I want to keep it cause as soon as the mortgage he took out against it is paid off then it will make me independent and I can then run it myself. But as long as the bank has such a large interest in it they appointed a manager and he stays till I own the store outright again. I can sell the house and live in the back of the store if it comes to it. But that manager would really love that." Torrie ended her story on a little sigh. She was fighting back the tears in earnest now. It did feel better to tell someone and like Dom said he was more then able to bare part of the burden for her. It did not change the fact that she hated to tell a stranger who she had always looked up to, and truth be told had a crush on, about her money and life troubles.
They had stopped walking. Dom knew how close she was to loosing her composure. Of course he also knew what is was like to lose your parents at an early age. He pulled her to him and gave her a hug; it was an impulse he could not resist.
"Hey, I've been there girl. Maybe not the exact same but I lost both my dad then later my mom too." He said. I guess the difference here is that I did not get left with this type of burden. Unless you count a little sister to raise." He chuckled. Dom thought about how he could help her. He could let her keep her car but as she pointed out that was not going to be much help to her when she had no money. He could give her money but he really did not know her all that well and he tried not to let on to the fact that he had money. It started people asking questions. Everyone would assume that the two businesses he owned would keep them well off but the fact that he still had millions in the bank from his illegal activities was a secret no one knew. Not even his team or his ex. So he had to come up with a believable idea to help her. It hit him all at once. It was crazy but then again so was he. But was it too crazy? He did not know this girl at all and he was not normally the trusting one. But it was the only workable solution. He thought on it a second longer then put it out to her.