Laura woke with a splitting headache at 7.23 am exactly. Brian snored quietly beside her, looking as irresistible now as he had the night before. Her heartstrings pulled and she realised how bad she had fallen for him. She got up and made her way to the bathroom, looking in the mirror on the way past the wardrobe. She looked like absolute shit. She splashed her face with water and decided a shower was her best option.
She turned the taps on and stepped under the harsh drops of lukewarm water. Her head was spinning. What the hell had she drank last night? Nothing had ever had this effect on her before…not after only four glasses!
"Hey babe you feelin' ok?" Brian asked through the door. She could hear the concern in his voice.
"I'm ok I guess. Just havin a shower. I'll be out in a mo."
"K"
Ten minutes later she walked back into the bedroom towel drying her hair to find no Brian but a note stuck on the door.
Went out for some air…thought I might have a little chat with Dom. Wont start anything I swear. Be back soon Love you, Brian.
"Shit." She muttered as she threw the towel down and ran out the door, "Won't start anything my ass."
She found Brian in a café about two hundred metres down the street with most of the team eating their way trough a few hundred pancakes. The sight of food made her want to hurl.
"Hey," she said to Brian as he saw her appear beside them, "Where's Dom?"
Brian frowned, "I dunno Laura. Are you really that worried?"
"N...No I didn't mean I was worried I just… never mind."
Brian's expression softened and he smiled, moving up more so she could squeeze in beside him, "Sorry I'm a little touchy this mornin babe."
"S'ok." She said trying her best to look at anything but the syrup.
"You sufferin' from last night then?" Letty asked, careful to avoid the argument.
"Yeah…" Laura said smiling, "In more ways than one I think."
The whole team stayed silent for a while, the only noise being the other customers. Dom finally turned up about twenty minutes later. He didn't look as if he had actually slept…neither did Letty for that matter. Typical.
"Everyone ready to split? We need to get on the road as soon as possible." Dom said trying hard not to look at Laura. His nose was a little swollen but it didn't actually look that bad. Laura felt extremely disappointed.
"Sure." Brian said icily, looking Dom straight in the eyes, not even flinching for one second. Laura knew Brian was letting Dom know he knew what had happened and Dom seemed to get the message. He looked at Laura for the first time and then back at Brian, not sure what to do.
"Ok then. Meet you all out at the cars."
Dom made a quick exit, followed by Jesse who seemed eager to leave for Monterrey. That had been the first time Laura had ever seen Dom truly uncomfortable.
"Well I'm not leavin' till I finish these pancakes!" Letty said grinning.
Laura couldn't help but laugh. Letty was like a female version of Vince!
Half an hour later and the whole team was back on the road. Laura felt extremely sick for many reasons. One, she had a hangover. Two, she felt uneasy at what would go down with Dom, Brian and Letty in Monterrey. Three, Letty had been kind enough to inform her Leon would be waiting for them in Monterrey. Laura had completely forgotten about him. And Four, the roads in these parts where shit and every bump made her stomach scream out "I'm gunna barf!"
The radio didn't help either. She couldn't find one station that played decent music. And her CD player didn't seem to want to work…just perfect. So she was forced to drive alone and in silence for hours upon hours. They had left at 9 am and it was now pushing 4 pm. They hadn't stopped for a break once and Laura's headache had only got worse. This day could only get better.
A shrill ringing noise pierced through her thoughts and the pain shooting through her head made her want to scream. She realised her cell phone was ringing. Where the hell was it though? She reached into her jacket pocket…no phone. Where was the ringing coming from…the back seat? She looked round and saw the phone ringing away. How the hell did it get in there? She managed to answer it before it rang off.
"Hello," she said, relieved she hadn't crashed in the process of leaning into her back seat.
"Hey babe you Ok?"
It was Brian.
"Shit how long are we gunna go before we stop Brian? The silence is drivin' me crazy…I have absolutely no music to listen to. And I am not gunna be the one to call Dom and ask to stop…but its been 7 hours!"
"Yeah I know I was thinkin' the same. I'll call him. Just hang on in there, and just keep thinking we only have 4 hours to go."
"Whoopty doo…" she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm, "speak to you in a minute."
Laura waited patiently for any sign they were going to stop. Sure enough, ten minutes later, Dom indicated into a small car park outside a café. Did this town actually have a name? It consisted of a café, a motel, a bar and two houses, both looking pretty derelict. All the small towns down here looked the same!
Laura pulled up and got out of the car. She needed to talk to Dom. This whole situation could not get blown out of proportion in Monterrey. Suddenly the thought of revenge on him didn't seem too appealing.
"Hey Dom," she said quietly, stepping up beside him, "can we talk?"
He looked at her for a second, trying to hide a look of surprise, "Sure give me a minute."
She nodded. She wasn't planning to act all nicey nicey to him but she had to clear the air.
"Ok guys we'll stop for an hour, get something to eat and then drive on. I think it'd be better if we arrived in Monterrey tonight." Dom looked around the group of nodding heads and then turned to Laura sighing, "Come on."
He motioned for her to follow him across to a bar beside the motel. The rest of the group made their way inside the café. Letty and Brian looked less than happy to see them both walk off together but Laura gave Brian an 'it's ok ' look and he nodded.
Dom made his way into the bar, holding the door for Laura and then leading the way over to the barstools.
"What you havin'?" the barman asked.
"I'll have a beer, any kind just make it cold and she'll have…" Dom looked at her as she sat on a stool beside him.
"Oh uh, just a glass of water thanks."
The barman nodded and Dom looked at her questioningly.
"In case you haven't realised, I have a hangover and a beer would not help the situation, " she said, fatigue finally catching up with her.
"Ok so what do you want to talk about?"
She gave him a 'you know full well ' look and he nodded slowly.
"Look Dom I'm fine with what happened in LA. You got caught up in the moment and I get that it meant nothing. But you didn't even apologise. And then you act as if nothing happened, messin' around with Letty and all. I mean, have you no conscience?"
He looked at her for a minute not sure how to react to such a question. She thought he would blow up again but his next move surprised her,
"I've never really thought about my relationship with Letty as bein' serious…although it quite obviously is. I don't like being tied down. And, in case you haven't noticed, my dick rules over my head."
She smiled, "Yeah I kinda realised that."
"But I am sorry for what happened. I got alota pride you know? I don't like to admit when I'm wrong."
She nodded her head, sipping on her water, "Apology accepted. And I'm sorry for goin' off on one last night. Everything was gettin' at me and I don't like to be told what to do. I guess we've both got a lot of pride."
Dom smiled, "That's probably why we don't get along sometimes. Our personalities clash cuz we're so alike."
"For sure…uh, but I have to warn you, Brian's on the warpath. He's plannin' to maybe kill you…or somethin'. I'd watch yourself when we get to Monterrey. And if you don't want Letty findin' out about it all then keep her away from him…he might find it fulfilling to blab. Not that she shouldn't know though. Maybe she has a right to…"
"No, she can't know. She gets hurt too often by the shit I pull. I'll end up losin' her but I can't help myself sometimes, you know?"
"Funny…I never thought you'd be the kind to have a heart to heart with. You do have emotions after all…"
Dom laughed, "Very funny. Don't get used to it…you don't see this side of me very often. And you're one to talk…you never show your emotions!"
"Tell me about it."
They sat in comfortable silence for a while before Dom decided to speak up,
"So you worried 'bout seein' Leon in Monterrey? I only spoke to him for a few seconds on the phone the night we left LA but he seemed uneasy at the thought of seein' you."
"Well thanks for lettin' me know…I feel a whole lot better at the thought now…!"
"Sorry…didn't mean to make you anxious. Maybe it'll be good for you two to clear the air though. Leon can't hide forever. The team wants him home…although where that is right now is Monterrey. But when we go back up to LA in a few months Leon will be comin' with us. You do realise that…"
"Yeah I guess so. I'm ok with seein him. I do miss him you know…it'll be awkward but we'll sort it out."
Dom nodded again, "Good to hear. So can I ask…what made you want to forgive me for bein' an ass?"
"I got tired of the idea of revenge, " she laughed, "and I didn't realise I would hurt Letty in the process. Letty doesn't deserve that. You don't deserve her."
"I know. I guess you could keep an eye on me…stop me from bein' stupid in future."
Laura laughed, "I'm not gunna be with you all the time…but yeah, for Letty, ill keep an eye on you."
Dom smiled and Laura began to see his true colours. He was just like any other guy, ruled by lust, too stupid to see what he's got until he finally loses it. Everyone has faults; he just lets his show a little more clearly.
"We should get back to the others. I need food before we get drivin again. Oh and before we go," Laura said as she got up and followed Dom outside, "could we maybe take a look at my CD player? It ain't workin' and the thought of drivin' another four hours without music kills me."
"No problem. Could you do me a favour then?"
"Sure."
"Make sure Brian keeps a lid on it. If Letty finds out what I tried to pull with you she'll never forgive me."
"I can't promise anythin' but I'll try. Although I'm still tryin' to figure out why you deserve to get away with it…again."
Dom just smiled slyly, "Cuz it'll cause a whole loada shit and now isn't the time… and you know I deserve another chance…"
"I'm not so sure about that…" she said laughing. Dom really was a chancer!