I stood with my brother as we both watched Letty sitting in her car, ready to beat the other race into the ground; I grinned when with the sound of squealing tires, Letty was gone leaving the guy behind to eat her dust.
She was way past the finish line by the time the guy even got there; it was an easy win for the Latina, not that she wasn't a good racer.
"My turn?" I questioned Dom, who kept delaying my chance to race someone since we had gotten here. The small slither of unsureness seeped through, and I understood his torment.
When I was with Owen after my 'accident,' I was terrified to race.
However, I was very confident in my skills; I guess working for a mercenary and dating a former MI6 agent would do that for you. I had yet to find anyone as good as I am, I was sure Dom would be on par with me, but I'd have to race him first.
Taking the keys from his hand, I quickly jump into his car as he leans against the door looking through the open window as I familiarise myself with his vehicle. "Keep it under 9000 RPMs," he said, glancing over at my overly confident opponent. "Kid's gonna fire his pistons after the first 200".
I scoff, wondering if he was serious. "You know that's not my style? I thought we were supposed to ride or die, right?" Dom's face pales at my words.
He taps the door with finality. "How about you just ride on this one" I just nod quietly as he moves to stand with a worried looking Letty, who was now stood with the crowd.
Hearing the crowd's voices and the noises around me made my head hurt; bending my neck side to side, I groaned as it became a little fuzzy, but I felt like my head was trying to show me something I had seen before.
A memory trying to get through, maybe?
"Are you ready?" The flag girl asks the guy next to me, who just winked at her, and then me making me groan in disgust, "I know you're ready!" She grinned, pointing to me before raising her hands, "Go!".
Doing wheelspin, I shot forward, trying to concentrate as the guy kept up with me before his bumper inched forward in front of mine. My eye twitched as I looked at the dial on the dash to see how I was doing.
My foot was dying to be pressed down, to fly forward and show this guy who he was dealing with. I'm Rose Toretto, and I don't lose. Shifting gears quickly, we were both next and neck. I glanced down again to see I was nearing 9000 RPMs.
Dom's words lay heavy in my mind, but I was just about to move faster when the guy's car next to me blew up.
Leaving him behind me as I drove away with a giant smirk on my face. "I guess Dom was right," I muttered, knowing I still would have won; the guy was totally inexperienced.
Turning the car back, I made my way over to the start point before getting out; I had people waiting for me, and as soon as my door was open, they erupted into cheers.
My back was patted, my arms were stroked, and even my waist was held briefly. A lot of strangers touching me that I didn't know.
"Hey!" I turned to see the head of the monster truck crew smiling at me as we fist-bumped. "That's the girl I heard so much about. Where you been at, ghost girl?" As soon as she said that name, a lot of people started whispering.
Ghost girl – it was because I was known around here and then disappeared, then I 'died' I was literally a walking ghost to these people.
My face dropped in realization before my heart began to pound. I looked up to see both Dom and Letty watching me closely before the older woman starting making her way over. I felt my head spin the more everyone began to talk over each other.
Gasping, I held onto my head when it felt like it was splitting into two. "Rose!" I heard Letty call, but my eyes were closed, seeing images I didn't even remember and was struggling to come to terms with.
"Rose!"
"ROSALIE!"
I was suddenly picked up from behind before I turned and swung my fist, hitting Hector, the race organizer, in the face. Everyone seemed to stop as I clutched Dom's keys tighter, getting back into the muscle car and speeding away.
Dom and Letty watch on as their girl sped away, looking like a frightened little lamb. They thought maybe bringing her to the last place they spent all together before everything went to hell would help.
They were wrong.
"Damn, Dom! Your sister's got a swing, homie" A few people around them chuckled as Hector wiped the blood from his face.
"You never could take a punch," Dom joked monotonously as he watched his car get smaller and smaller the further away his sister gets; he knew she'd be okay, and he also knew exactly where to find her.
"Right, right," The man says, trying to build his rep back up. "Hey, man, I'm glad you're back, man. It's good to see you" The two 'bro' hugged.
"Good to see you, Hector," The bald man stated as the group around them went back to partying and racing like nothing had ever happened, is that what it was like when they all went their own ways? Did people just pick up and carry on with their lives?
"She remembered something," Letty stated, glancing back at her man. "It didn't look like it was anything she wants to remember, though."
She was hoping this day out would spark something good for her Mija. After catching her asleep with the journal on her chest, she thought maybe her mind would be more susceptible to memories now she was opening herself up to them.
But she never wanted this to happen.
Dom took her car keys as they walked towards her car. "Let's go," the older man stated with an expressionless face; he knew what needed to be done to help his sister move on.
Not that she would like it.
