Chapter 8

Vince pulled up in the driveway and shut off the engine. He stepped out of the car, and adjusted the cast on his arm, then closed the door and locked it. He looked up as the other two cars were parked at the kerb - Dom's RX7, and Leon's Skyline - he knew they'd be lost without them and arranged for Hector and two of his cousins to follow him down to Mexico.

Vince walked up to them and did some fancy handshake with Hector and thanked him, "hey thanks for the favour man. I'd ask you in... but who knows what it's like in there." He nodded to the house and Hector nodded his head in understanding, saying something about wanting to see some people while he was down in Mexico anyways. Then Vince watched as Hector and his cousin got in the fourth car that had followed, and they headed further down the road.

Vince took a deep breath in and slowly ascended the stairs and knocked on the door. He waited patiently for a second before the door swung open and Cassie stood in front of him. He smiled weakly, and she did the same. "Missed ya." He whispered as Cassie wrapped her arms around him.

"Missed ya too man. It's been forever and a day." She ushered him inside and watched as he took in the new surroundings. "Do ya wanna see the others first, or tell me why you're alone?"

He looked over at her and dropped his head, "Mia didn't wanna be here. Something about not being able to handle Dom's shit anymore. And Jesse... he... um... he died in the ER."

Cassie felt as though her heart fell through to the floor. She covered her mouth with her hand, making sure she didn't scream or start crying again. Vince licked his lips and adjusted the cast again, "you can't tell the others yet." She said quietly after she had regained her composer. When Vince looked at her confused, she shook her head, "a lot of shit went down in the last day. I don't think any of them could handle one more thing."

Vince nodded in understanding until he heard the familiar booming footsteps Dom made when he walked. Dom appeared in the archway that connected the living room and the hallway and when he saw Vince he froze. "Holy shit! V!" He boomed and ran up to Vince and hugged him.

Vince chuckled, trying not to show the pain he was in, "good to see ya too, dawg."

Leon realised what he could hear were cars driving down the road, and stopping outside the house. He saw Letty standing out on the porch still, and approached her. "D'you hear that?" he asked her, and she nodded, and beside each other headed inside to check if their suspicions were real.

Leon lit up when he saw his best friend standing in the lounge in Dom's arms. He wanted to rush up to him, just as it seemed Dom had, but remembered that maybe Dom wasn't all for being in the same room as him right now. As with Letty. She stood back, lingering in the archway between the kitchen and the lounge, and smiled a little as they reunited before her eyes.

Leon stepped forward, hands in his pockets, reserved, though with a twinge of excitement wanting to show he appreciated that his friend was here, and okay.

Dom released Vince from his vice grip and patted him on the back, very manly like, "good to have ya back, man."

Vince noticed Letty and Leon standing in the other room and looked over to Cassie. She shifted her eyes away and he looked over to Dom. Dom followed his line of gaze to the two in the kitchen. He sighed and nodded towards Vince - in a way saying a sort of truce between them for now.

"Y'all got some explainin' to do." Vince said to Cassie and Dom as Leon and Letty approached him. He outstretched his arms as best he could and walked towards them, "c'mon... don't be a stranger!" He laughed and embraced them both.

Leon's stern face crumbled and a smile broke across his face, whilst Letty, still quiet, chuckled a little and smiled gently, happy to be feeling Vince's presence. She missed him, as did everybody else.

Faith also, stood by Cassie, watching them happily reunite. "I'm hopin' he always plays the peacemaker," she muttered to Cass and nudged her gently.

Cassie chuckled and nodded, "usually. If he's having a good day." She watched as Vince hugged Letty and kissed her on the cheek, whispering something calming to her, "he's a good judge of character though. It's just a matter of believing him." Cassie glanced over to Dom who smiled weakly and shook his head in a 'don't start with me' manner. She patted him on the shoulder.

Dom looked over at Vince curiously, "Yo, V. Where's Jess and Mia?"

Vince hesitantly turned, then put on a straight face, "Dom, can't a dude get some rest first? It's been a long day!"

Dom nodded, "a'ight bro." Then he looked over at Faith, "err... I don't think you've been introduced."

Cassie laughed, "Oh yeah, Vince ... Faith. Faith ... Vince."

Vince walked up to Faith and shook her hand, "Nice to meet ya."

Faith smiled gently and nodded her head. "Right back atcha, boy." She looked down at the cast on his other arm and frowned. "Ow..." she pointed towards it and then looked back at him. "Wrestle too hard?"

Vince laughed and nodded, "Yeah, well you try wrestling with a truck and gettin' out without a scratch." He punched Dom on the arm playfully.

Dom dropped his head. "Aww c'mon!" Vince yelled, "what's with all the droopy faces, I thought you'd be happy to see me?"

Dom put Vince in a headlock and dragged him away to the kitchen, "we are man, it's just been a long ass day."

Faith shook her head and patted him lightly as he headed into the kitchen with Dom, then looked over at Leon and Letty, both looking beat up. "I got an idea. Seeing as it's my afternoon off, why don't I call up some people, arrange a party, we can all have a good time...seeing as you're all so happy to see your friend," she quipped. "It'll be fun, and you can just, relax..." She headed off out to the telephone on the table in the hall, leaving Letty, Leon and Cass all just standing there, exchanging looks.

"Yeah... sounds great." Cassie mused to herself mostly as Faith exited the room. She looked over to Letty and Leon for only a second before she returned to her room upstairs.

Dom and Vince continued outside to the beach that was Faith's backyard. They both sat on the sand and stared out into the ocean. "So what's happened in there?"

Dom flicked some sand around him with his hand and shrugged, "lots of shit, man. Letty cheated on me... with Leon. It's why Cassie left."

Vince looked up at Dom. "What! You're fuckin' jokin' right?" Dom shook his head slowly. "So what about the baby?" Vince continued.

Dom's head shot up, "What?"

Vince blinked once, "shit. You didn't know?" He sighed, "Cassie was pregnant. She ran here so she could have it ... well that's what she told me."

"Whoa..." Dom stated and stared out to the ocean again, "who's was it?"

Vince shrugged, "Was? What do you mean, was?"

"Well, there's no kid here. I'm guessing she didn't have it."

Vince sighed, "guess not." They both sighed simultaneously, "did she tell Leon?" Dom shrugged at Vince's question, "do you even care?"

Dom sighed again, "yeah, I do. I can't be angry at them. We've been friends too long to let something break us up. We've been through so much worse together."

Vince nodded in agreement.

"So, what about Mia and Jess?"

"Cass told me not to say anything when I walked through the door. I can see why now." He ran his hand through his hair, "Man, Mia's not comin'. She said she wants to finish school, and doesn't wanna put up with your shit anymore. You really gotta talk to her... I'm not your fucking messenger to tell you this. And Jesse... Jesse... didn't make it. The ambulance got there too late... he died in the ER." Vince dropped his head.

Dom froze. He sat there quietly, staring out to the horizon. Seeming unmoved, but shattering to pieces inside, and for the first time in years, he actually let his tears flow freely. "Fuck." Was all he managed as he dropped his head into his hands and cried.