CHAPTER TWENTY: Speed Bumps

"Mari. James. I think it's time for you two to go get ready." I said walking into the living room from the bathroom, where I just got out of the shower. They smiled and ran to their rooms. I went up to my own room and decided to wear something nice. My hair was still damp, so I threw it up into a nice looking bun. I put on a nice white shirt and nice black dress pants. I felt like I had a job interview, but I didn't. I was going to see my son, who I hadn't seen in three months. Feelings of guilt suddenly went through me. I sighed and fixed my hair. I was about to walk out of my room where I was confronted by the photo album I put together for DJ's birthday. There was a picture on top of it; it was of Dom and I just yesterday. I didn't take this picture. There was a folded piece of paper under it. I picked it up and read it.

'Call him…

864-8064

Joe'

I took a deep breath then let it out. I looked around; my cell phone was sitting on the dresser. I picked it up, opened it, and dialed the number. I picked up and carried it out of my room with me. The phone just kept ringing. I got the answering machine.

"Hey. You have reached Dom and Mike's place. Sorry we couldn't get to the phone right now but we're most likely not home. Leave your name, number, message, and who your calling for and we'll get back to you as soon as we can. Thanks." The answering machine beeped. I sighed and decided to leave a message.

"Dom. It's Letty. Where are you? I guess you weren't serious about seeing DJ? We're about to leave. Unless you can get here in fifteen minutes, we're leaving without you. Call me. 585-3790. Bye." I hit the end button and slipped it into my pocket. I wiped my eyes because they were watery. I walked down to the living room and Mari was sitting on the couch. She didn't even look at me. She was looking at her lap. I walked closer to her and I noticed she was dressed nice. She was like me; she'd never be caught in a dress.

"He's not coming, is he?" She asked. I swallowed hard and she looked up at me.

"No, baby, I don't think he is." She looked back down and I frowned. James walked out of his room. "You two ready?" They nodded and Mari stood up. She was trying to hold back tears, she was a tough kid, and she didn't like to cry even if she knew she was supposed to. I looked at her, but she wouldn't look up at me. "Come on." I opened the front door and they stepped out. I closed it behind me and took my keys out of my pocket and we walked to my car. I got them into the car all buckled up and everything. I got into the drivers seat and started the car. I shook my head and pulled out of the driveway. I looked in the rearview mirror at Mari and she was still upset, I could tell in her face. James looked over at her and smiled a little, but lost the smile when he realized she was sad.

"What's wrong, Mari?" He asked. She looked at him and then back at her lap. "Mari?"

"Nothing." She whispered. I frowned. I looked in the passengers seat and saw the picture of Dom and I sitting there on top of the album. I sighed and picked it up. I held it against the steering wheel and looked at it. I looked back at the road and sighed. I ripped the picture in half and Mari looked up at me. I looked at her through the rearview mirror and she sighed. I put the half with me on it back down on to album and ripped up the other one more. I put down the window and tossed out the ripped pieces. I sighed and leaned back a little. "He promised he'd come." Mari said after about ten minutes passed. James and I both looked at her. "He lied." James looked up at me and I looked at him, then back at Mari.

"Mari. I'm sure he tried." I started. She shrugged and looked back down. I wiped my eyes. Sheesh, only Mari had that power over me. I sighed and turned a corner a little harder than I meant to. I looked in the back and James and Mari were clutching the edges of their seats. I chuckled a little and leaned into the steering wheel. I pulled into a driveway and turned off the ignition.

"Where are we?" James asked. I looked at him and he smiled a little. I opened the door and walked to the other side of the car and opened James' door. He looked over at me and smiled a little. "Where are we?" He repeated.

"Grandma's." I said. Mari gave me a funny look and I chuckled.

"Why are we at grandma's?" Mari asked. I smiled at her and shrugged. I helped James out of the car and reached over and helped Mari out. Mari and James stood there, uncertain of what to do. I just shrugged and closed the car door.

"Come on you two." I said leading them up the long driveway. Mari seemed really bummed. "What's wrong, Mari?" I asked bending down and picking her up. She rested her head on my shoulder and I looked at her.

"I wanna see my bubby." I nodded and looked at James. When we reached the door I rang the doorbell. There was no answer so I knocked. The door opened and a little head popped out. James jumped back, not knowing what else to do. I laughed at his action. He looked at me and Mari giggled.

"Who are you?" The kid asked. I smiled a little.

"I'm Letty. Who are you?"

"I'm Kiwi." Kiwi? I raised an eyebrow and Mari gave me the same look back. "Can I help you?"

"I'm here to see Maria." She nodded and pulled the door open. "Thank you, miss." I said walking in the door. She smiled and closed the door.

"I'll go get her for you." She ran down a hall and I stood there with the kids. I took a deep breath and Mari looked at me. I walked over and sat down on the couch. James stood in front of me and Mari put her head back on my shoulder. I scooted Mari off my lap and leaned back a little. I took a deep breath and stood when I saw a woman, who looked like me, walking back up the hall the girl just ran up.

"Can I help you?" She asked. Her hair was short and very well maintained. "Oh yes, that's right. It's Dominic's birthday." She pulled an envelope out of her pocket and handed it to me. "That should do it." I opened it and pulled the contents out. I knew it was a check. It should be for five hundred and fifty dollars. It wasn't. My eyes shot up at her. Kiwi, I'm not assuming that was her real name walked back in the room. "Kiwi." I guess it was her real name.

"Yes ma'am?" She asked.

"Take these two to your room so they can… play." She nodded and I looked at Mari. She looked at me and I motioned to Kiwi. Mari followed James and they followed Kiwi down the hallway. I looked back at the woman. She wasn't just some random woman, obviously if she was giving me money. She was my mom. We never talked except for every three months when she gave me five hundred and fifty dollars.

"What's this for?" I questioned looking at her.

"Well, I figured if I gave you less money, you'd come around more often to get more." She said. A man in a suit walked in the room and I stiffened. He handed my mom a wine glass and she drank it quickly. He offered me one but I declined. It was way too early to be drinking. My mom took the drink made for me and the man walked away.

"That's funny. You're the one who said you didn't want me around. Remember? All because of that Toretto fuckhead." Her jaw dropped and I sighed.

"How dare you swear in front of your mother." She sounded shocked, like I'd never done it before. I chuckled and shrugged like I didn't care, I didn't.

"I do believe there were worse words coming out of my mouth on another particular night. I bet you remember that."

"Shut up." She stated firmly.

"Oh, why? The night you kicked me out. No, it wasn't because of Toretto. You know it wasn't. Why did you kick me out?"

"It was too because of Toretto." I sighed and shook my head.

"No it wasn't. You had no reason not to like him. He never did anything to you. Hell, he never did anything to me. Not till I was at least eighteen. So tell me why you kicked me out. Tell me why I was on the street. I deserve that much."

"Because you slept with my husband!" She shouted loudly at me. I took a step back and away from the couch. I raised an eyebrow and chuckled a little.

"I didn't sleep with dad. Eww… why would I do that?"

"I saw you." She said she said through gritted teeth.

"Ya think possibly it could have been Kendra?" I questioned. She looked at me like I was kidding. "I'm not kidding. I didn't sleep with him. I didn't even lose my virginity until I was eighteen. You can ask Toretto."

"I'd rather not." I shook my head and started up the hallway. I literally stopped in my tracks when I saw my sister, Monica, walking toward me. A grin appeared on her face and she kept approaching me.

"What are you doing here?" She asked. "I thought the two of you didn't get along."

"We don't." I snarled at her rudely.

"Mari and James are straight down the hall. They look bored out of their minds." I rolled my eyes. She was trying to get on my good side, something I knew would never happen again. She walked passed me and I shook my head. I walked down the hall and stopped when I came to the last room. The door was already open so I just leaned in and looked. They were just sitting around a table, literally staring at each other.

"Mari. James." They both looked at me and jumped up. They ran over to me and hugged my legs. "You two seem happy to see me." They nodded.

"Let's leave." They pleaded. I chuckled and we walked down the hall. We walked passed my mom who was still standing there. I opened the door and she cocked her head to the side. I pushed the kids out in front of me and I looked back at my mom.

"Bye mom." I said. She sighed and I left the house, closing the door behind me. We got back in the car and we were on the road again.

See… a long chapter is good every once and a while. Yeah. :Laughs at myself: Kiwi… Please don't ask where that came from. I have no idea. I wanted something out of the ordinary. I guess that's what I gave. But… for the races… I'm going to need a character. Does anybody want to help me with that? Female. I'm not good with names. Which is why my names suck. Let me know if you wanna help me with that. Thanks. Review. Thanks again.