Chapter 35 - Why now?
It was late at night and they were in Dom's room, just talking. Torrie had been told by the paramedics, when Dom wasn't listening, to keep a close eye on him. So she hadn't left his side all evening, except when he took his shower. He was sitting on the end of his bed, she was behind him, just loving the feeling of his muscles playing across his back and the way she could feel his voice rumbling through her when he spoke. It felt like she could feel that voice right to her soul.
He was talking about the car he wanted to build to replace the Mazda. He wouldn't wait long to have a new car, right now he had nothing but the charger to drive and he didn't like to drive it everyday. It just wasn't that kind of car. He was debating if he wanted to go with a Nissan 300zx or maybe a 2003 Skyline, Leon would flip, or even another Mazda RX-7. What he really wanted was one of the new Mazda RX-8's but he didn't tell her that because they cost a boatload and he didn't know how he would explain the expenditure.
Torrie hadn't paid attention to a word he said anyway. Just that he was alive and talking to her and she thought she could spend the rest of her life with her legs on either side of his, her arms around his waist and her cheek pressed against his back.
"Torrie, I asked you a question, are you even listening to me? What kind of car should I buy?"
"Um, yes Dom of course. Whatever you want." She sounded sleepy. Dom growled and had her pinned under him so fast she wondered how he was so graceful. He was so big, and now injured and he went from in front of her to over her in a split second.
"You didn't listen to a word I said about the car I wanted did you?"
"Well, I did at first, but then your voice kinda put me in a trace and I kinda tuned out. It's been a long ass night."
"I thought that was my line." Dom laughed, thinking back to when the Trans had kidnapped Brian and him and destroyed Brian's car.
Torrie thought he meant that since he was the one that went through all that crap first hand that he was the one that should have felt tired. "Well I tried to get you out of the car all by myself till the guys got there you know."
"That's not what I meant Torrie. I said that to Brian the night the Trans wrecked Brian's Eclipse." He laughed down at the look on her face. He used his good hand to brush some stray hair off her face. He was still over her, holding most of his own weight on his elbows. She laughed.
"I get it now. You should be lying down; you're supposed to take it easy."
"I'm fine. I was hurt worse when I rolled the Charger. I'll be good as new by tomorrow." Dom rolled off her and started to unwrap his ribs.
"Hey, you're not supposed to do that yet. They said you needed that on for a week." She tried to stop him but he kept unwrapping.
"I'll be fine. I can't sleep with this crap on me. I'll never get comfortable." Dom finished and then stretched to test the soreness level. It wasn't too bad. He wouldn't be surprised if the rib was cracked not broken. "It's not even sore. See, no bruising." He pointed to his right side and sure enough you couldn't tell that it had been injured.
"I guess all those muscles hold everything in place. I still wish you would listen to the doctors and me this once." She lay down against his left side and looked up at him. "I was so scared that we wouldn't get you out. If Vince and Leon hadn't come when they did you and I would both have gone up with the car cause I wasn't leaving your side till you got out."
"I know. They told me how you fought Tony off you to run back to the car after they moved you. Vince said it must be how mother lions look on the hunt you were so vicious. I can't believe you kicked the window in. I hear I owe the cut marring my hansom face to you." Dom chuckled.
"That's not even funny. Do you know how scared I was you were dead when the glass cut you and you didn't even move? But I don't know how I got away from that huge guy yet." She shuddered at the thought of both of them going up in flames. He rubbed her back with his hand.
"You know what? The worst part of what hurts on me right now is my back and shoulders from driving that damn car all day. That's ironic isn't it? The car almost killed me but after that crash it's the stiffness from winnin races all day long that's killen' me."
"Why didn't you tell me earlier? Roll over on you tummy." He did with a look at her like what-are-you-gonna-do. She ran to the bathroom and got her body lotion. "Just ignore the smell." It was lavender and she knew he was going to protest smelling like a girl. She squirted a generous amount out on his back and straddled his butt. When she started to work the lotion in, with a very firm massage the smell was released by the heat of his skin.
"Oh god that's good." Dom moaned the caught a whiff of the lotion. "What the hell are you trying to do though, make me smell like I f. Uh, bathed in ladies perfume?" She hit a particularly tight spot with all her strength and he groaned it felt so good. She pretended she didn't know he had been about to say slept with a hooker.
"Well would you rather smell like lavender for one night when it's just you and me, or try to go to sleep all stiff and sore?"
"I'll smell, just don't stop doing that." She slowly worked her way from his lower back up to his shoulders and back down. By the time she was done he was breathing deep and slow and she figured he was asleep. He had his head turned to his left side and his arms by his sides. She lay down on her tummy by his left side and turned her head to the right so she was staring at his face. He looked asleep so she was startled when his eyes opened. "I'm so relaxed I don't think I can move."
"Don't then, just go to sleep."
"I have one more task to get done before I can go to sleep."
"What's that?" Torrie thought he did everything he had to do before they went upstairs.
"Well there's this pretty girl, and I wanna kiss her. I haven't kissed her since this morning some time and I think I'm in withdrawal or somethin." She laughed. He came up on his hands and knees with a groan, he really didn't want to move, he was so boneless, and then rolled her over. He kissed her and then started to nibble down her throat.
"Dom, don't start. You're supposed to take it easy and this is not taking it easy."
"I'll be careful if you will." He winked at her and licked her collar bone.
"Dom, they said no strenuous activity for the evening. This would count as strenuous." He was busy pulling her clothes off and she was busy letting him while she protested. She was such a pushover for him. She should make him stop. She put up one more protest. "Dom, please, you are supposed to lay down and relax and not exert yourself." He smiled at her. He knew she was ready for him, and he knew she wouldn't stop him. But if she didn't want him to exert himself.He joined them then rolled over on his back, taking her with him.
"Fine, you do the work and I'll just lay here and relax." She laughed. She loved it when it was just the two of them playing like this.
She fell exhausted onto his chest some time later. Dom was happy, tired but happy. He realized she was asleep on top of him. He reached over and turned the lamp off and pulled the blankets up over them. He would just let her sleep there. He drifted off to sleep, Torrie draped over his chest, the forsaken hair he loved so much was everywhere, tickling his nose. He moved it off to one side and that was his last act of consciousness before he slipped into sleep.
It had been hot that day; of course California in the summer was always hot. Even when it was night time it was hot. Even the water at the beach was hot. Being on the tarmac of a race track hadn't helped. But he was having a great time. He always got a lot of attention at these things. He smiled at a pretty girl then watched Mia and her friend Letty wander off to get sodas and hot dogs. They were only 16 and his dad made him watch out for them at these things. It always made him and his best friend Vince groan when Van Torreto reminded them to take care of his sister and her friend.
Well watching Letty was starting to become less and less of a chore. Since she turned 16 she had started to develop the assets that made a guy take notice, and he knew she was already into him. However he didn't know if she was into him for himself or because he could give her an outlet into her real passion, cars. The girl was car crazy. Always had been.
She would come around the shop he had opened and hang out and just generally be a pain. She would come around when he and his dad were working on their Charger and 'help'. He dad thought she was cute, and they all knew what kind of treatment she got at home, so she was always welcome. Even if she did fit in with Dom and his dad more so then Mia and Maria Torreto. But the two little girls were fast friends even if Mia was into dolls and dresses and Letty was into cars and tools.
He and Vince had walked up to a group of pretty girls. At 20, he and Vince felt so grown up, they had driven up here on their own to watch Dom's dad race. It was the last race of the year, thank god, and Dom expected that after this afternoon his dad would be taking home the final checkered flag and would have finally arrived at the top of the pro stock car circuit.
He had grabbed the girls because it was time to go to the stands to watch the pace car start the race. He remembered trying to ignore the looks that 20 year old Vince was giving 16 year old Mia. He knew that Vince was into her but he was not going to let that happen. No way was his sister dating his best friend. If it didn't work out it would mess everything up. Plus Mia was just not interested. However, Letty didn't have an older brother and Dom thought he was going to ask her out. He knew that people would say that at 20 he was too old for a 16 year old but there was just something between them he knew he couldn't ignore. He was going to ask her out soon. Maybe that weekend.
They hit the stands and got good seats because they could sit in the box for family of the racers. The first few laps went well with Van Torreto taking an early lead.
Since it would be laps and laps before the winner was decided they all thought they would wander off, get drinks and socialize. Just as they all stood up to go their separate ways Dom happened to glance out at the track. He saw another car come very close to his dad. He remembered saying something along the lines of that guy Linder is going to cause a crash, he's too close to Dad. Just as he said that the other man came far too close and clipped Van's bumper with his own.
Van's car spun out and hit the wall of the track at 120. The car crumpled like an accordion. Dom was over the wall in a heartbeat but the security held him back. He remembered the horrible screaming and at the time he thought it was his dad, but they told him after it had been him, and in truth he could hardly speak for days after. He remembered seeing Vince holding Mia and Letty back from coming after him. The car caught fire, then blew up. And the screaming. Always the screaming.
"Dom. Dominic. Sweetie wake up. Dom, it's ok, wake up." She shook him gently. He must be having some kind of nightmare, she though. Dom screaming, if you could call it that with his deep voice, was a freaky sound to hear. She turned on the light and realized that there were tears on his cheeks. He must be having a terrible nightmare. She shook him again, "Dom, wake up. It's just a bad dream."
Dom woke up with a gasp and unfortunately remembered the whole dream. With a groan he grabbed Torrie to him and held her against him while the sound of his harsh breathing filled the room. Why did this nightmare have to start again? It hadn't after he crashed the charger. Why now?
"You wanna tell me about it baby? Talking about my nightmares helped me."
"I just had the nightmare I told you about then. The one where I relive my dad's accident."
"Poor baby." She kissed his forehead and lay her head down on his chest. "How long has it been since you had one of those?"
"Years. I can't figure it out. I know I just had a bad car wreck but they didn't start after the charger crash."
"Well the charger didn't catch fire and burn up in front of you. Your subconscious likely put two and two together that you almost died in a fiery wreck just like your dad did die that way. So you had the nightmare."
"You're probly right." She turned off the light and snuggled down against him again.
"Try to get more sleep Dom, you need it." He exhaled forcefully and closed his eyes. It was hard to put it out of his mind. He finally fell back asleep after what felt like hours. It was really only minutes. While his brain didn't want to sleep his body had other plans because it needed the rest. Torrie was awake however, worrying about Dom. She heard the soft knock at the door and went to see who it was before they woke him. She quickly pulled on one of Dom's tee shirts and then opened the door.
Mia was standing in the door. "What happened?"
"Dom had a nightmare is all Mia, its ok now."
"Not the one about Dad was it."
"Yeah, it was the one where he relives the day your dad died."
"Damn, poor Dom. Is he ok now?"
"He's sleeping again, I'm hoping it was just the stress of the day combined with the fact that he basically just lived through the same accident that killed his father and they stop after he rests up some."
"I hope so too. I better go back upstairs before Brian wakes up. See you in the morning."
"Yeah, see you." Torrie went back to bed and Dom was still asleep. She crawled back in with him and went back to sleep herself. She decided that Dom was not getting up to the alarm the next day like he had planned and turned it off before she fell back asleep. Torrie found no rest in her dreams that night either. She couldn't shake the fact that the man in the crowd was the spiting image of her father. But it must have been a coincidence, she saw the car her dad had been in the day he went over the cliff, no one could have survived that crash. She tossed and turned all night, drifting off to sleep but never deeply and never for long.
It was late at night and they were in Dom's room, just talking. Torrie had been told by the paramedics, when Dom wasn't listening, to keep a close eye on him. So she hadn't left his side all evening, except when he took his shower. He was sitting on the end of his bed, she was behind him, just loving the feeling of his muscles playing across his back and the way she could feel his voice rumbling through her when he spoke. It felt like she could feel that voice right to her soul.
He was talking about the car he wanted to build to replace the Mazda. He wouldn't wait long to have a new car, right now he had nothing but the charger to drive and he didn't like to drive it everyday. It just wasn't that kind of car. He was debating if he wanted to go with a Nissan 300zx or maybe a 2003 Skyline, Leon would flip, or even another Mazda RX-7. What he really wanted was one of the new Mazda RX-8's but he didn't tell her that because they cost a boatload and he didn't know how he would explain the expenditure.
Torrie hadn't paid attention to a word he said anyway. Just that he was alive and talking to her and she thought she could spend the rest of her life with her legs on either side of his, her arms around his waist and her cheek pressed against his back.
"Torrie, I asked you a question, are you even listening to me? What kind of car should I buy?"
"Um, yes Dom of course. Whatever you want." She sounded sleepy. Dom growled and had her pinned under him so fast she wondered how he was so graceful. He was so big, and now injured and he went from in front of her to over her in a split second.
"You didn't listen to a word I said about the car I wanted did you?"
"Well, I did at first, but then your voice kinda put me in a trace and I kinda tuned out. It's been a long ass night."
"I thought that was my line." Dom laughed, thinking back to when the Trans had kidnapped Brian and him and destroyed Brian's car.
Torrie thought he meant that since he was the one that went through all that crap first hand that he was the one that should have felt tired. "Well I tried to get you out of the car all by myself till the guys got there you know."
"That's not what I meant Torrie. I said that to Brian the night the Trans wrecked Brian's Eclipse." He laughed down at the look on her face. He used his good hand to brush some stray hair off her face. He was still over her, holding most of his own weight on his elbows. She laughed.
"I get it now. You should be lying down; you're supposed to take it easy."
"I'm fine. I was hurt worse when I rolled the Charger. I'll be good as new by tomorrow." Dom rolled off her and started to unwrap his ribs.
"Hey, you're not supposed to do that yet. They said you needed that on for a week." She tried to stop him but he kept unwrapping.
"I'll be fine. I can't sleep with this crap on me. I'll never get comfortable." Dom finished and then stretched to test the soreness level. It wasn't too bad. He wouldn't be surprised if the rib was cracked not broken. "It's not even sore. See, no bruising." He pointed to his right side and sure enough you couldn't tell that it had been injured.
"I guess all those muscles hold everything in place. I still wish you would listen to the doctors and me this once." She lay down against his left side and looked up at him. "I was so scared that we wouldn't get you out. If Vince and Leon hadn't come when they did you and I would both have gone up with the car cause I wasn't leaving your side till you got out."
"I know. They told me how you fought Tony off you to run back to the car after they moved you. Vince said it must be how mother lions look on the hunt you were so vicious. I can't believe you kicked the window in. I hear I owe the cut marring my hansom face to you." Dom chuckled.
"That's not even funny. Do you know how scared I was you were dead when the glass cut you and you didn't even move? But I don't know how I got away from that huge guy yet." She shuddered at the thought of both of them going up in flames. He rubbed her back with his hand.
"You know what? The worst part of what hurts on me right now is my back and shoulders from driving that damn car all day. That's ironic isn't it? The car almost killed me but after that crash it's the stiffness from winnin races all day long that's killen' me."
"Why didn't you tell me earlier? Roll over on you tummy." He did with a look at her like what-are-you-gonna-do. She ran to the bathroom and got her body lotion. "Just ignore the smell." It was lavender and she knew he was going to protest smelling like a girl. She squirted a generous amount out on his back and straddled his butt. When she started to work the lotion in, with a very firm massage the smell was released by the heat of his skin.
"Oh god that's good." Dom moaned the caught a whiff of the lotion. "What the hell are you trying to do though, make me smell like I f. Uh, bathed in ladies perfume?" She hit a particularly tight spot with all her strength and he groaned it felt so good. She pretended she didn't know he had been about to say slept with a hooker.
"Well would you rather smell like lavender for one night when it's just you and me, or try to go to sleep all stiff and sore?"
"I'll smell, just don't stop doing that." She slowly worked her way from his lower back up to his shoulders and back down. By the time she was done he was breathing deep and slow and she figured he was asleep. He had his head turned to his left side and his arms by his sides. She lay down on her tummy by his left side and turned her head to the right so she was staring at his face. He looked asleep so she was startled when his eyes opened. "I'm so relaxed I don't think I can move."
"Don't then, just go to sleep."
"I have one more task to get done before I can go to sleep."
"What's that?" Torrie thought he did everything he had to do before they went upstairs.
"Well there's this pretty girl, and I wanna kiss her. I haven't kissed her since this morning some time and I think I'm in withdrawal or somethin." She laughed. He came up on his hands and knees with a groan, he really didn't want to move, he was so boneless, and then rolled her over. He kissed her and then started to nibble down her throat.
"Dom, don't start. You're supposed to take it easy and this is not taking it easy."
"I'll be careful if you will." He winked at her and licked her collar bone.
"Dom, they said no strenuous activity for the evening. This would count as strenuous." He was busy pulling her clothes off and she was busy letting him while she protested. She was such a pushover for him. She should make him stop. She put up one more protest. "Dom, please, you are supposed to lay down and relax and not exert yourself." He smiled at her. He knew she was ready for him, and he knew she wouldn't stop him. But if she didn't want him to exert himself.He joined them then rolled over on his back, taking her with him.
"Fine, you do the work and I'll just lay here and relax." She laughed. She loved it when it was just the two of them playing like this.
She fell exhausted onto his chest some time later. Dom was happy, tired but happy. He realized she was asleep on top of him. He reached over and turned the lamp off and pulled the blankets up over them. He would just let her sleep there. He drifted off to sleep, Torrie draped over his chest, the forsaken hair he loved so much was everywhere, tickling his nose. He moved it off to one side and that was his last act of consciousness before he slipped into sleep.
It had been hot that day; of course California in the summer was always hot. Even when it was night time it was hot. Even the water at the beach was hot. Being on the tarmac of a race track hadn't helped. But he was having a great time. He always got a lot of attention at these things. He smiled at a pretty girl then watched Mia and her friend Letty wander off to get sodas and hot dogs. They were only 16 and his dad made him watch out for them at these things. It always made him and his best friend Vince groan when Van Torreto reminded them to take care of his sister and her friend.
Well watching Letty was starting to become less and less of a chore. Since she turned 16 she had started to develop the assets that made a guy take notice, and he knew she was already into him. However he didn't know if she was into him for himself or because he could give her an outlet into her real passion, cars. The girl was car crazy. Always had been.
She would come around the shop he had opened and hang out and just generally be a pain. She would come around when he and his dad were working on their Charger and 'help'. He dad thought she was cute, and they all knew what kind of treatment she got at home, so she was always welcome. Even if she did fit in with Dom and his dad more so then Mia and Maria Torreto. But the two little girls were fast friends even if Mia was into dolls and dresses and Letty was into cars and tools.
He and Vince had walked up to a group of pretty girls. At 20, he and Vince felt so grown up, they had driven up here on their own to watch Dom's dad race. It was the last race of the year, thank god, and Dom expected that after this afternoon his dad would be taking home the final checkered flag and would have finally arrived at the top of the pro stock car circuit.
He had grabbed the girls because it was time to go to the stands to watch the pace car start the race. He remembered trying to ignore the looks that 20 year old Vince was giving 16 year old Mia. He knew that Vince was into her but he was not going to let that happen. No way was his sister dating his best friend. If it didn't work out it would mess everything up. Plus Mia was just not interested. However, Letty didn't have an older brother and Dom thought he was going to ask her out. He knew that people would say that at 20 he was too old for a 16 year old but there was just something between them he knew he couldn't ignore. He was going to ask her out soon. Maybe that weekend.
They hit the stands and got good seats because they could sit in the box for family of the racers. The first few laps went well with Van Torreto taking an early lead.
Since it would be laps and laps before the winner was decided they all thought they would wander off, get drinks and socialize. Just as they all stood up to go their separate ways Dom happened to glance out at the track. He saw another car come very close to his dad. He remembered saying something along the lines of that guy Linder is going to cause a crash, he's too close to Dad. Just as he said that the other man came far too close and clipped Van's bumper with his own.
Van's car spun out and hit the wall of the track at 120. The car crumpled like an accordion. Dom was over the wall in a heartbeat but the security held him back. He remembered the horrible screaming and at the time he thought it was his dad, but they told him after it had been him, and in truth he could hardly speak for days after. He remembered seeing Vince holding Mia and Letty back from coming after him. The car caught fire, then blew up. And the screaming. Always the screaming.
"Dom. Dominic. Sweetie wake up. Dom, it's ok, wake up." She shook him gently. He must be having some kind of nightmare, she though. Dom screaming, if you could call it that with his deep voice, was a freaky sound to hear. She turned on the light and realized that there were tears on his cheeks. He must be having a terrible nightmare. She shook him again, "Dom, wake up. It's just a bad dream."
Dom woke up with a gasp and unfortunately remembered the whole dream. With a groan he grabbed Torrie to him and held her against him while the sound of his harsh breathing filled the room. Why did this nightmare have to start again? It hadn't after he crashed the charger. Why now?
"You wanna tell me about it baby? Talking about my nightmares helped me."
"I just had the nightmare I told you about then. The one where I relive my dad's accident."
"Poor baby." She kissed his forehead and lay her head down on his chest. "How long has it been since you had one of those?"
"Years. I can't figure it out. I know I just had a bad car wreck but they didn't start after the charger crash."
"Well the charger didn't catch fire and burn up in front of you. Your subconscious likely put two and two together that you almost died in a fiery wreck just like your dad did die that way. So you had the nightmare."
"You're probly right." She turned off the light and snuggled down against him again.
"Try to get more sleep Dom, you need it." He exhaled forcefully and closed his eyes. It was hard to put it out of his mind. He finally fell back asleep after what felt like hours. It was really only minutes. While his brain didn't want to sleep his body had other plans because it needed the rest. Torrie was awake however, worrying about Dom. She heard the soft knock at the door and went to see who it was before they woke him. She quickly pulled on one of Dom's tee shirts and then opened the door.
Mia was standing in the door. "What happened?"
"Dom had a nightmare is all Mia, its ok now."
"Not the one about Dad was it."
"Yeah, it was the one where he relives the day your dad died."
"Damn, poor Dom. Is he ok now?"
"He's sleeping again, I'm hoping it was just the stress of the day combined with the fact that he basically just lived through the same accident that killed his father and they stop after he rests up some."
"I hope so too. I better go back upstairs before Brian wakes up. See you in the morning."
"Yeah, see you." Torrie went back to bed and Dom was still asleep. She crawled back in with him and went back to sleep herself. She decided that Dom was not getting up to the alarm the next day like he had planned and turned it off before she fell back asleep. Torrie found no rest in her dreams that night either. She couldn't shake the fact that the man in the crowd was the spiting image of her father. But it must have been a coincidence, she saw the car her dad had been in the day he went over the cliff, no one could have survived that crash. She tossed and turned all night, drifting off to sleep but never deeply and never for long.