Nearly a week passed in the Torretto house and things slowly went back to normal. Of course everyone felt Leon's absence, especially Laura, but they accepted he needed time away. Friday finally arrived and as they got ready to go to races Laura heard Vince mutter things about it being weird going without Leon. The team may not have hated her for Leon leaving but they certainly weren't happy with her either.
"We all ready?" Dom looked around the sullen expressions and sighed, "let's go then."
They made their way to the normal meeting place and it was only until the crowd surrounded Dom and things got hyped that the team came out of their shells. No one could be pissed at races! Laura had arranged to race again, only this time she'd be racing in the city. As usual they watched as Dom raced and came first, winning yet another 6 Gs. The team, followed by hundreds of other cars, went to a second racing venue and Laura took in her surroundings. The road was smaller than the one Dom always raced on but it was still a lot more daunting than the first time she had raced. For a start there were hundreds more people here to watch and the racers she would be racing against had better cars. She wondered why Dom had entered her in a race that was harder to win. She hadn't even won her first one! Of course she wouldn't be racing Brian this time…
Mia gave her a quick good luck smile as Laura pulled up to the start line. She was racing against an Evo, an Impreza and a Civic. Her heart was thumping as the girl once again raised her arms and dropped them, signalling the beginning of the race. Laura pulled off with ease and immediately fell into first place. The other three racers were good but not good enough and Laura finished in first place. She slowed to a stop and jumped out of her car, screeching at the top of her lungs.
"That was unbelievable," she said as Dom came walking up to her smiling.
"Yeah, you've definitely got a lot of potential. You could end up as good as Brian."
She smiled as he handed her 3 Gs. She looked at the wad of notes and then handed them back to Dom,
"I'm supposed to be paying you back."
"Yeah, but you always keep your first win. Start paying me next week."
Dom walked off towards Letty and Laura admired the money in her hand…she had never held so much cash before and it felt great! Brian came over to her grinning,
"Feels good, huh?"
"Amazing…"
"So you wanna go somewhere…we can celebrate?"
"Uh…sure. Where did you have in mind?"
"It's a surprise…follow me."
She nodded, still grinning at how much she had won in only one night. She got back into her car, put the money in the glove compartment and followed Brian out of LA towards Santa Monica. She had to concentrate to be able to keep up with him. They eventually pulled up outside a small restaurant and Brian led her inside.
"Hey, I've booked a table for two…O'Connor." He said to a waiter at the door, while grinning to himself.
Laura looked at him with disbelief,
"You had a table booked? How'd you know I'd win, and what time we'd be coming…and if I'd even agree to come!"
Brian just laughed and stared at her for a minute before answering,
"I just knew you'd win…not many people can keep up with me the way you did last week. And I guess I was just hoping you'd agree to come. I did win that bet anyway so you owe me this…"
She grinned as he sat down at the table they had been led to so he was facing her. The restaurant was full of couples glaring at each other over candle lit tables. Laura immediately felt out of place but kept a smile on her face so she didn't upset Brian, he had obviously gone to some bother to arrange this.
"So you weren't put off by Leon's…outburst?"
"Maybe a bit at first…but I couldn't get you out of my head all week. Every time…" he stopped, looking a little embarrassed.
"Every time what?"
"Every time I saw you my heart was in my throat…and every time you would brush past me my skin would tingle… I guess I've got it bad…"
Laura smiled and felt her checks go bright red. She couldn't believe he felt this way…exactly how she did. He reached over and touched her hand and she felt a bolt of electricity run through her… He just stared into her eyes for what seemed like a lifetime and Laura realised what people meant when they said they were on Cloud 9. The moment unfortunately had to end when a waiter came over to take their order.
An hour later they were finishing their food and Brian changed the subject to high school. He seemed to forget that she had really only left high school. He had graduated ten years before her. Their age difference suddenly struck her and Brian noticed she looked uneasy.
"What's up? Did you not like high school?"
"It was fine…I remember it well, I only left last year…"
Brian saw what she was getting at and frowned,
"You aren't weird about our age difference are you? It's nothing when your older…it doesn't make a difference."
She just smiled, not really sure how she felt about it. It didn't really matter, although it did mean he had experienced a lot more than she had. In a lot of ways… and that thought made her a little uncomfortable. She put the subject to the back of her head and Brian once again changed the subject. They sat for another half an hour talking about their childhood, families and dreams. He definitely wanted to know everything about her. And she was glad she knew more about him. Everything he told her…about his friends he had when he was a kid growing up in Barstow, about his dreams he had since he was a kid, the shit he'd got into with his friend Roman Pierce…it all made her feel like she was a part of it all, it made her feel so much closer to him. She noticed how he acted so interested in everything she told him…he was probably feeling the same way she was.
They left the restaurant a little while later and as they walked into the cold Laura shivered. Brian took his jacket off and put it over her shoulders, rubbing her arms to try and warm her up.
"Thanks…"
"No problem."
She looked up at him and into those deep eyes. They looked as though there was a whole world in them and as she smiled he leaned down and kissed her lightly on the lips. Her whole body tingled and her eyes fluttered. She felt a pang of guilt as she thought about Leon. He had wanted this with her…but she felt nothing like this when she kissed him. Brian was in a whole different league.
Brian was like her in that he couldn't stop smiling. They drove back to the house and were met by the usual loud music and drunken fans of Doms. Letty grinned at Laura as she made her way into the kitchen, Brian close behind her. She didn't mind him following her like a little puppy, but it had annoyed her like hell when Leon had done it. Why did she keep thinking about him anyway…?
"It's always the same here on a Friday night." Brian said as he handed her a drink.
"I know, I don't see how it can be fun every time. It gets so repetitive after a while."
She caught Brian's eye and knew he wanted to leave as much as she did.
"You wanna go back out? We could go for a drive or something…"
Brian smiled and nodded and they made their way back outside. They only took the one car this time, Laura insisted they take hers…just so she could drive. Brian seemed content to sit in the passenger seat and stare at her.
"So, you glad I took you out then?"
Laura smiled, "Definitely."
"Do I have to win a bet to be able to take you out again?"
"No…you could just ask me this time."
He laughed, "Well then, would you go out with me again?"
"I'll think about it…"
She laughed at the disappointed look on his face. He smiled when he realised she was joking. They drove for a little while longer, talking about the team mostly. He seemed keen to avoid the subject of him and Mia and Laura was fine with that. It meant he knew not to ask her about Leon either. She pulled into the car park she usually stopped in along the coast.
"So, how long did it take for Letty to accept you?" he asked as he flicked through the radio stations and settled on an acoustic version of 'Colds' song 'End of the World'.
"A while. But she's a great person when you get to know her."
He nodded and smiled at her,
"Of course, who wouldn't love you?"
"Uh, a lot of people don't like me that much at the minute. Vince and Jesse both blame me for Leon leaving…and I guess that's justified but I wish they'd forgive me already. I don't like having them angry at me."
"Don't worry about them. They'll get over it. And I doubt Jesse is angry at you…"
"Mm…I dunno."
"Leon was crazy for leaving…"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, if I hada been him I wouldn't have given up so easily. I woulda stayed and fought for you."
Laura laughed. She couldn't believe Brian kept saying things like that, she felt like the luckiest girl on the planet. She couldn't stop wondering why she was so special, why did he like her over all the other girls he could have…over Mia? Brian smiled, as usual he knew he was softening her up. She realised that at times like this she would do anything for him…absolutely anything.
Just as Brian leaned in to kiss her again an engine revved behind them as it pulled into the car park. They both looked round and saw a Black Honda S2000 stop right behind the car, blocking it in.
"What the…" Brian muttered as he saw three Chinese guys get out of the car.
"Oh fuck," he said as he looked over at Laura, panic in his eyes.
Brian looked around the car park for a way to escape as the three guys slowly walked over to the car. Two of them went to Brian's door and one went to Laura's. They all had semi-automatics in their hands and Laura suddenly felt very sick.
"Brian, what's goin' on?" she asked, her voice shaking as she stared at the guy at her door.
"Laura, we need to get out of here. Now…!"
She went to start the car, planning to drive straight through the fence in front of her, over the grass and onto the highway. As she reached to turn the key the guy at her door knocked her window and wagged his finger. She heard one of the guys at Brian's door speak,
"If you have any sense Brian, and if you care at all for the girl, you'll get out of the car."
Brian looked over at Laura and at the guy at her door and then back at the guy who had just spoke. He slowly nodded his head and opened the door. As soon as he stepped out of the car the two guys dragged him onto the ground and started beating the crap out of him.
"What the hell are you doing! Get the fuck off him!"
Laura climbed over the seats and was able to catch them off guard and push one onto the ground. Before she could do anything else though the guy who had been guarding her door ran round and grabbed her. She watched in horror as Brian rolled around the ground, blood pouring out of his mouth and a hundred cuts over his body. The two guys kept kicking him until Laura was sure every bone in his body would be broken. She didn't even realise how much she was screaming. The tears streamed down her face as a lifetime passed and the two guys finally stepped away, gulping for breath. Brian lay lifeless on the ground and Laura couldn't even tell if he was breathing.
"Tell him this isn't the last of it," one of the guys said to Laura, "He'll wish he hadn't touched my brother by the time I'm finished with him."
With that the two guys jogged over to the S2000 and called for the guy who was clutching her. She only just realised it wasn't a gun that was pressing into the base of her back as he rubbed against her and then threw her to the ground.
"You sick fuck!" she shouted as he got into the car grinning. As they drove off he winked at her and Laura felt sick to the stomach.
She crawled over to Brian, not able to stop the sobs escaping from her throat.
"Brian, Brian please wake up. Oh God, what do I do!"
She looked around only to see empty roads and sidewalks. She realised her tires had been slashed. They must have done it when the guy was still holding her and the other two had supposedly ran back to their car. She got up and ran over to the Skyline, opening the glove box to retrieve her phone. She dialled 911 as quickly as she could and was just about able to tell the operator the details. She couldn't stop crying and the woman could hardly make her out. She hung up and ran back over to Brian, dropped down beside him and put his head onto her knees.
"Brian…please," she sobbed through gritted teeth, "you can't die. Please… you can't leave me. I love you…"
She heard sirens in the background but she didn't look up as the ambulance pulled into the car park. She kept her eyes on Brian the whole time, stroking his hair, making sure his chest kept rising and falling. She prayed to God that he would be ok and as the paramedics put him on a stretcher and carried him onto the ambulance she quietly swore the bastards who did this wouldn't get away with it… She would quite happily kill all three of them.