Well here's two more chapters from the chapter vault. Thanks to Bye-Bye for
the review. I am playing with the dialog. Thanks for the advice. I can't
see me re-writing this one, it's too damn long ( but I will most deffinity
look at that for my next fiction I am planning now. I appreciate the fact
that you took the time to make that suggestion. Here ya'll go..
Chapter 7, The long ass night.
Dom woke up at 3:30. He could not figure out why. He was trying to drift off again when he heard a funny noise. It took him a minute to figure out what it was. He was not use to sharing this floor with anyone and had forgotten about the girl. It was Torrie making the noise. She was crying or moaning in her sleep. He waited for a minute or two but she didn't stop, so he got up with a groan and padded next door to check on her. He normally had a hard enough time getting any sleep let alone falling back asleep once he was up. He went into Torrie's room. She was asleep on her side clutching a pillow. She was crying and making noises that would likely be screams if she was awake; she was thrashing around like she was trying to get free from something. He went over to the bed and got down on his knees beside it. "Hey Torrie, wake up. It is just a nightmare. Wake up. Torrie. Torrie. It's Dom, I'm here. Wake up."
She came to from the nightmare that had her in its grip and launched herself at Dom, sobbing. She was inconsolable, crying as though her heart was broken or she was deathly afraid in her dream. "Shush Torrie. It's ok. I'm here. It can't have been that bad Torrie. Calm down it was just a bad dream." He crawled into the bed since she was locked around his neck and it seemed like the only way to get her back into bed. He hauled her up against him. "Shush it's ok. I'm here for you. You're fine, it was all just a bad dream. You can calm down you're fine." She took a shuddering breath and calmed down somewhat. She kind of hiccupped to a stop over the next ten minutes, still shaking like a leaf against him. She was clearly terrified of something in that dream. "What was your dream about Torrie? It will help if you talk about it."
Maybe he was right and she should talk to someone about it. She never had and the nightmares had been getting worse. It was one of the reasons why she was so weak. She had hardly been sleeping at all since the death of her father. But she just wasn't sure about sharing it with him. It seemed like more personal details on top of personal details and she hardly knew anything about him. Well nothing that was not rumour anyway. "I don't think it will help Dom. They center on something that no one knows about. No one. How do you know it will help?"
"I had the same thing happen to me when my dad died. I had nightmares afterward and they got better when I told my mom about them. I swear it helped me."
She decided to tell him, baring one thing. "Can you keep a secret? I don't want anyone to know about this. It was kept very hush hush at the time."
"If you ask me not to tell anyone then I won't." Of course Dom had already found out about the accident and now he was going to find out why it was kept secret he figured.
Well you know my mom died in a car accident right?" She began. Dom nodded. "Well I was not totally forthcoming about that. I was in the car with her. We were driving home from my school's Christmas concert and we meet a drunk driver. He was in our lane. Mom swerved to avoid him but he side swiped us anyway and then the car went over the guardrail and down into the water. Mom was unconscious and could not get out. I got out just barely and tried to save her but I could not get her out of the car. It was underwater and I was so cold and weak. I had also gotten a broken arm in the crash. I couldn't save her, no matter how many times I tried. By the time the EMT's got there is was too late and she was gone. I relive the car filling up with water and not being able to save my mom when I have these nightmares. I never told anyone about them before. I was too scared. Then on top of that guilt I have the guilt that had I went to my dad and talked to him about it all it might have made us closer and he may not have died of a broken heart like he did. I couldn't save her. She's dead cause I was weak and I couldn't break the window out to get her. I couldn't save her." Torrie was now sobbing again.
Dom was glad to finally know what had happened with Torrie's mother but he had never thought it would have been that bad. He hadn't wanted to go into it but he thought hearing about his experience might help her.
"Ya, I do know how it feels to try to save someone and not be able to. I watched my dad die in a car wreck. Then I bet the guy who ran him off the track so bad that now he can't drive anymore. I did hard time for that assault too. I know what you are going through. You never forget but it gets easier to remember the good things as time goes on. That is not your fault baby, you don't know if being physically stronger would have done anything. You need to forgive yourself and move on. You tried to save her several times in ice cold water with a broken arm. You did everything. You'll do better now that you got it out of your system. It helps to talk about it. I'll leave you now so you can get some sleep." He kissed her forehead like he would if she were Mia and having nightmares and moved to leave.
"Dominic" Oh man when she used his whole name he was not going to like what came next. "Would you stay with me till I fall back to sleep. Normally once I have a nightmare if I go back to sleep it just comes back but maybe if I know you are here I will be able to sleep awhile longer." Torrie was still curled up against him like a small cat seeking a warm place to nap. It felt right and comfortable and he really had no desire to move back to his own room anyway.
"Sure kid, I will stay with you till you're asleep alright?"
"That's great Dom. Don't leave me." Her voice was already getting sleepier and in her sleepy state she curled up even closer, her head on his shoulder. He figured that he may as well make the best of it and he held her close and went to sleep himself.
Dom woke up and blinked. He was in the wrong room. And he had no memory of bringing a girl upstairs. But he had one curled up against him. He thought he had made it an early night. He looked at the girl in his arms and the whole night came back to him. They were wrapped around each other, he on his back with her against his side. Her head was on his shoulder and her breath was tickling his neck. Her hair was all around them. Man she had fantastic hair. Their legs were a tangled pile and his arm was around her. He slowly slid out from under Torrie and got up. He did not want to be there when she woke up, didn't want to look at the reasons now. She looked so peaceful and young lying there asleep. He went back to his own room. Ah hell it was 10 am. He had not planned on sleeping in that late. But he had not planned on sleeping in Torrie's room either. He would let her sleep another half hour or so then go wake her. He hoped things did not get too weird between them after last night. Maybe she would not even remember. He often had not remembered details or his mom coming into his room. He waited the half hour then went to wake her.
"Hey Torrie, wake up. Time to start the day. Come on wake up." She was ignoring him. He could tell. She had wrapped the blanket closer around her and hid her head down under it. It seemed that Torrie was not a morning person. He shook her by the shoulder. "Come on wake up lazy, I already let you sleep in longer then I was going to." Still no response from the blanket pile that was Torrie. Dom decided to do the only thing a guy could do in the situation. He hauled the blankets off her and started to tickle her. She stopped pretending to be asleep and started to scream. She was very ticklish.
"Get off me you big bully I'm up, I'm up." She jumped on his back and started to strangle him from behind. Well as much as a small girl like her could strangle a guy with a neck like Dom.
Vince, Leon, and Jesse came to see what all the commotion was about. They laughed at the sight of Dom getting smacked around by the small girl he was trying to wake up.
"Don't look at me like that guys she would not get up. I am not a bully but no one gets to sleep this late on weekdays."
The guys walked away laughing still. "Dom has it bad Dawg." Leon made this statement to the group in general.
"Naw man, he is just feeling protective of her right now man, he is not ready to get involved with a girl yet." Vince hoped that was the case at least cause he thought he might like a chance with the dark haired beauty. The guys walked back down the stairs chuckling.
"Ok Dom I am up now so go away and let me get dressed. What is the rush anyway? What is on today's agenda?"
"We need to make plans to get your remaining stuff, show you the garage and get you ready to start working on cars. Or would you rather help Mia in the grocery store?"
"Oh no, cars please. I am way better with cars then I am going to be with working in a convenience store. I know cars inside out. My dad taught me so we would have a hobby together. What kind of work do you do in your garage?"
"We do a lot of custom work for people. Lots of engine rebuilds and lowering. We do custom painting and decals and stuff too. We are getting more and more business now that street racing is becoming more and more popular. I spend my time mostly at the garage but I have to spend some time at the store with Mia too. You will see a lot of Jesse and Leon though. And no doubt more then enough of me too. But there is time to go into details later. Get dressed. Do you want to get your stuff and get that over with today? I can get Brian, Vince and Leon to help us with that today if you want?"
"That would be great Dom; I want to sell the house soon as possible before I think about it too much. If I dwell on it I am going to find it much harder. If we get all the stuff I need out of it then I can get you to give me some time off to find a realty agent."
"Ok, sounds good." Dom walked out of her room and closed the door behind him so she could dress. Things looked better during the light of day. He would have to start her race training soon too. She was going to be one heck of a driver. Torrie met him in the kitchen about 20 minutes later, dressed in a red tank top and black shorts. She was ready for whatever. She and Dom ate breakfast and then they all headed down to 'The Racers Edge' in Vinces's car. She ran in and picked up the keys to the truck. She took a second to tell the manager she was taking it and when she planned on having it back. She introduced Dom to the staff and gave them his number in case they ever needed to call her. While she was not watching Dom told the asshole manager that if he ever hurt Torrie's feelings again he would be looking for a new job. The poor man just sputtered and stammered how sorry he was. They all knew they should keep Dom Torreto happy. While Torrie might not have any say in the matter right now, when it came to 'The Racers Edge' they wanted to keep Dom Torreto happy. The manager was not impressed and Dom guessed the extent that the man had been bullying Torrie had been underestimated.
He went out to meet Torrie in the parking lot. She was leaning up against the red ford truck the store owned and the guys were standing in a circle around her laughing at something she said. The guys had all taken to her right away which he found surprising. He came over to them and she smiled up at him. He smiled back and said it was time they headed out. She tried to climb in the truck and before she could Vince lifted her onto the seat. She laughed at him for it and thanked him. Dom was not amused at Vince playing the gallant hero. She and Dom drove in the truck while Leon, Jesse and Vince followed in the car. Dom was quiet and Torrie did not bother trying to fill the silence. It was a companionable silence, not the awkward kind.
With the four of them it did not take long to get all her personal stuff loaded up and taken back to the house. The moved all the other stuff upstairs and set her furniture up in her room. Although the guys hardly let her do more then 'supervise' because she was to save her strength. She was strong but she decided to that advantage of the break for now. They returned the truck and went home. The garage was a short drive from the house. Dom took her back and showed her around. They worked on a car together till supper. She was a hard worker and Dom was impressed.
They ate supper then watched some TV. Everyone was home taking it easy as there were no races and not much going on. Torrie excused herself around 11 and headed up to bed. She was careful to use the hook lock on the door while she showered. Dom went to bed around 12. He peaked in at Torrie and she was sound asleep. She made it through the night this time, no nightmares. The next several days passed uneventfully. She settled in and the guys started to wonder how they had gotten along without her. She was funny and smart and a hard worker. She felt comfortable and safe with them. She only had nightmares once and Dom stayed with her only till she was asleep. She never seemed to remember the day after anyway.
Chapter 7, The long ass night.
Dom woke up at 3:30. He could not figure out why. He was trying to drift off again when he heard a funny noise. It took him a minute to figure out what it was. He was not use to sharing this floor with anyone and had forgotten about the girl. It was Torrie making the noise. She was crying or moaning in her sleep. He waited for a minute or two but she didn't stop, so he got up with a groan and padded next door to check on her. He normally had a hard enough time getting any sleep let alone falling back asleep once he was up. He went into Torrie's room. She was asleep on her side clutching a pillow. She was crying and making noises that would likely be screams if she was awake; she was thrashing around like she was trying to get free from something. He went over to the bed and got down on his knees beside it. "Hey Torrie, wake up. It is just a nightmare. Wake up. Torrie. Torrie. It's Dom, I'm here. Wake up."
She came to from the nightmare that had her in its grip and launched herself at Dom, sobbing. She was inconsolable, crying as though her heart was broken or she was deathly afraid in her dream. "Shush Torrie. It's ok. I'm here. It can't have been that bad Torrie. Calm down it was just a bad dream." He crawled into the bed since she was locked around his neck and it seemed like the only way to get her back into bed. He hauled her up against him. "Shush it's ok. I'm here for you. You're fine, it was all just a bad dream. You can calm down you're fine." She took a shuddering breath and calmed down somewhat. She kind of hiccupped to a stop over the next ten minutes, still shaking like a leaf against him. She was clearly terrified of something in that dream. "What was your dream about Torrie? It will help if you talk about it."
Maybe he was right and she should talk to someone about it. She never had and the nightmares had been getting worse. It was one of the reasons why she was so weak. She had hardly been sleeping at all since the death of her father. But she just wasn't sure about sharing it with him. It seemed like more personal details on top of personal details and she hardly knew anything about him. Well nothing that was not rumour anyway. "I don't think it will help Dom. They center on something that no one knows about. No one. How do you know it will help?"
"I had the same thing happen to me when my dad died. I had nightmares afterward and they got better when I told my mom about them. I swear it helped me."
She decided to tell him, baring one thing. "Can you keep a secret? I don't want anyone to know about this. It was kept very hush hush at the time."
"If you ask me not to tell anyone then I won't." Of course Dom had already found out about the accident and now he was going to find out why it was kept secret he figured.
Well you know my mom died in a car accident right?" She began. Dom nodded. "Well I was not totally forthcoming about that. I was in the car with her. We were driving home from my school's Christmas concert and we meet a drunk driver. He was in our lane. Mom swerved to avoid him but he side swiped us anyway and then the car went over the guardrail and down into the water. Mom was unconscious and could not get out. I got out just barely and tried to save her but I could not get her out of the car. It was underwater and I was so cold and weak. I had also gotten a broken arm in the crash. I couldn't save her, no matter how many times I tried. By the time the EMT's got there is was too late and she was gone. I relive the car filling up with water and not being able to save my mom when I have these nightmares. I never told anyone about them before. I was too scared. Then on top of that guilt I have the guilt that had I went to my dad and talked to him about it all it might have made us closer and he may not have died of a broken heart like he did. I couldn't save her. She's dead cause I was weak and I couldn't break the window out to get her. I couldn't save her." Torrie was now sobbing again.
Dom was glad to finally know what had happened with Torrie's mother but he had never thought it would have been that bad. He hadn't wanted to go into it but he thought hearing about his experience might help her.
"Ya, I do know how it feels to try to save someone and not be able to. I watched my dad die in a car wreck. Then I bet the guy who ran him off the track so bad that now he can't drive anymore. I did hard time for that assault too. I know what you are going through. You never forget but it gets easier to remember the good things as time goes on. That is not your fault baby, you don't know if being physically stronger would have done anything. You need to forgive yourself and move on. You tried to save her several times in ice cold water with a broken arm. You did everything. You'll do better now that you got it out of your system. It helps to talk about it. I'll leave you now so you can get some sleep." He kissed her forehead like he would if she were Mia and having nightmares and moved to leave.
"Dominic" Oh man when she used his whole name he was not going to like what came next. "Would you stay with me till I fall back to sleep. Normally once I have a nightmare if I go back to sleep it just comes back but maybe if I know you are here I will be able to sleep awhile longer." Torrie was still curled up against him like a small cat seeking a warm place to nap. It felt right and comfortable and he really had no desire to move back to his own room anyway.
"Sure kid, I will stay with you till you're asleep alright?"
"That's great Dom. Don't leave me." Her voice was already getting sleepier and in her sleepy state she curled up even closer, her head on his shoulder. He figured that he may as well make the best of it and he held her close and went to sleep himself.
Dom woke up and blinked. He was in the wrong room. And he had no memory of bringing a girl upstairs. But he had one curled up against him. He thought he had made it an early night. He looked at the girl in his arms and the whole night came back to him. They were wrapped around each other, he on his back with her against his side. Her head was on his shoulder and her breath was tickling his neck. Her hair was all around them. Man she had fantastic hair. Their legs were a tangled pile and his arm was around her. He slowly slid out from under Torrie and got up. He did not want to be there when she woke up, didn't want to look at the reasons now. She looked so peaceful and young lying there asleep. He went back to his own room. Ah hell it was 10 am. He had not planned on sleeping in that late. But he had not planned on sleeping in Torrie's room either. He would let her sleep another half hour or so then go wake her. He hoped things did not get too weird between them after last night. Maybe she would not even remember. He often had not remembered details or his mom coming into his room. He waited the half hour then went to wake her.
"Hey Torrie, wake up. Time to start the day. Come on wake up." She was ignoring him. He could tell. She had wrapped the blanket closer around her and hid her head down under it. It seemed that Torrie was not a morning person. He shook her by the shoulder. "Come on wake up lazy, I already let you sleep in longer then I was going to." Still no response from the blanket pile that was Torrie. Dom decided to do the only thing a guy could do in the situation. He hauled the blankets off her and started to tickle her. She stopped pretending to be asleep and started to scream. She was very ticklish.
"Get off me you big bully I'm up, I'm up." She jumped on his back and started to strangle him from behind. Well as much as a small girl like her could strangle a guy with a neck like Dom.
Vince, Leon, and Jesse came to see what all the commotion was about. They laughed at the sight of Dom getting smacked around by the small girl he was trying to wake up.
"Don't look at me like that guys she would not get up. I am not a bully but no one gets to sleep this late on weekdays."
The guys walked away laughing still. "Dom has it bad Dawg." Leon made this statement to the group in general.
"Naw man, he is just feeling protective of her right now man, he is not ready to get involved with a girl yet." Vince hoped that was the case at least cause he thought he might like a chance with the dark haired beauty. The guys walked back down the stairs chuckling.
"Ok Dom I am up now so go away and let me get dressed. What is the rush anyway? What is on today's agenda?"
"We need to make plans to get your remaining stuff, show you the garage and get you ready to start working on cars. Or would you rather help Mia in the grocery store?"
"Oh no, cars please. I am way better with cars then I am going to be with working in a convenience store. I know cars inside out. My dad taught me so we would have a hobby together. What kind of work do you do in your garage?"
"We do a lot of custom work for people. Lots of engine rebuilds and lowering. We do custom painting and decals and stuff too. We are getting more and more business now that street racing is becoming more and more popular. I spend my time mostly at the garage but I have to spend some time at the store with Mia too. You will see a lot of Jesse and Leon though. And no doubt more then enough of me too. But there is time to go into details later. Get dressed. Do you want to get your stuff and get that over with today? I can get Brian, Vince and Leon to help us with that today if you want?"
"That would be great Dom; I want to sell the house soon as possible before I think about it too much. If I dwell on it I am going to find it much harder. If we get all the stuff I need out of it then I can get you to give me some time off to find a realty agent."
"Ok, sounds good." Dom walked out of her room and closed the door behind him so she could dress. Things looked better during the light of day. He would have to start her race training soon too. She was going to be one heck of a driver. Torrie met him in the kitchen about 20 minutes later, dressed in a red tank top and black shorts. She was ready for whatever. She and Dom ate breakfast and then they all headed down to 'The Racers Edge' in Vinces's car. She ran in and picked up the keys to the truck. She took a second to tell the manager she was taking it and when she planned on having it back. She introduced Dom to the staff and gave them his number in case they ever needed to call her. While she was not watching Dom told the asshole manager that if he ever hurt Torrie's feelings again he would be looking for a new job. The poor man just sputtered and stammered how sorry he was. They all knew they should keep Dom Torreto happy. While Torrie might not have any say in the matter right now, when it came to 'The Racers Edge' they wanted to keep Dom Torreto happy. The manager was not impressed and Dom guessed the extent that the man had been bullying Torrie had been underestimated.
He went out to meet Torrie in the parking lot. She was leaning up against the red ford truck the store owned and the guys were standing in a circle around her laughing at something she said. The guys had all taken to her right away which he found surprising. He came over to them and she smiled up at him. He smiled back and said it was time they headed out. She tried to climb in the truck and before she could Vince lifted her onto the seat. She laughed at him for it and thanked him. Dom was not amused at Vince playing the gallant hero. She and Dom drove in the truck while Leon, Jesse and Vince followed in the car. Dom was quiet and Torrie did not bother trying to fill the silence. It was a companionable silence, not the awkward kind.
With the four of them it did not take long to get all her personal stuff loaded up and taken back to the house. The moved all the other stuff upstairs and set her furniture up in her room. Although the guys hardly let her do more then 'supervise' because she was to save her strength. She was strong but she decided to that advantage of the break for now. They returned the truck and went home. The garage was a short drive from the house. Dom took her back and showed her around. They worked on a car together till supper. She was a hard worker and Dom was impressed.
They ate supper then watched some TV. Everyone was home taking it easy as there were no races and not much going on. Torrie excused herself around 11 and headed up to bed. She was careful to use the hook lock on the door while she showered. Dom went to bed around 12. He peaked in at Torrie and she was sound asleep. She made it through the night this time, no nightmares. The next several days passed uneventfully. She settled in and the guys started to wonder how they had gotten along without her. She was funny and smart and a hard worker. She felt comfortable and safe with them. She only had nightmares once and Dom stayed with her only till she was asleep. She never seemed to remember the day after anyway.