Coffee, Cigarettes and Apologies

By Jet-Indigo

Chapter Seven – Miles Away

Leon collapsed on the couch, flicking the television on and resting his feet on the cheap coffee table. Fiddling with a packet of cigarettes, he stared blankly at the 'idiot box' and tried to will himself into not craving nicotine. Placing the pack on the coffee table, he turned the TV up.

The news reader droned on and on about some politics but the change in story caught Leon's attention. 'A head on collision killed five people early this morning near the Mexican border. It was thought to believe that one of the drivers was a street racer, trying to overtake another vehicle when an oncoming car was heading their way. The bright orange Supra was totalled, killing both of the passengers straight away but the driver of the red Escort survived for two hours before passing away due to internal bleeding. An investigation is pending…In other news…'

Leon was stunned. Bright orange Supra. Oh shit…Surely it couldn't be. It sounded like the car they had all worked on together, restoring it. They had re-built it into an ultimate driving experience and customised the colours to suit Brian's taste. Heck that car was supposed to be Dom's but since he had taken such a shine to the guy, the car was as good as Brian's. But that meant…

Leon blinked, unable to think of anything to occupy his mind. It's like he had to concentrate on the blinking, like one's mind often has to think about something they are doing when they have been shocked in order to give themselves something to concentrate on. It was stupid, he knew that, but once you begin thinking heavily about a certain action, it got harder to block that out of your mind. He was stuck now.

He slowly sat up straight, thinking about his next moves. He had no idea for certain if it was Brian but they did say there were two in the car – so who else was with him? Dom? Mia? Who?

He sighed. He had to tell Letty. Tell her what though? 'Oh, I'm not certain, but I think Brian might be dead and its possible Dom was with him. How're you feeling by the way?' He didn't know anything. He knew he needed to calm down but this was one of those times when his mind would just not let him. One of those times when you get the most awful thought in your head, something about a family member dying in a horrific car crash and the fear that it might just come true. He hated that.

The past two weeks had been a big blur to him. Everything had happened so quickly and they had lost each other. That had been their biggest mistake – not sticking together long enough to find out what was going on, what had happened. They were falling apart, piece by piece and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

He swallowed thickly, trying to clear his throat. He was breaking out in a cold sweat and he could feel himself slowly begin to rock to try and stop him from doing anything else. What was going to happen to them? It was just him and Letty. And her child, he thought.

"Leon?" He came out of his daze and focused on Letty, stood before him waving her hand in front of his face. He blinked and she sighed, perching on the coffee table. "I thought you were like delirious or somethin'. Scared the hell outta me there man, I've had enough of that lately."

"Sorry girl musta just dazed for a while," he smiled, suddenly able to keep his calm exterior when she was around. She nodded at him sceptically before getting up and noticing the flashing red light on the answer machine.

"There's a message, has it always been flashing?" Leon twisted around to look; eyes squinted trying to remember if it has always been so persistent. He shrugged. "Should we answer it?"

"Why shouldn't we? It's not like we're answering the phone," he replied, climbing over the back of the couch and leaning back against it.

"Okay," Letty nodded slowly and pressed the play button.

The machine beeped and then began to talk. "You have two new messages," they were informed. Leon raised his eyebrows, how had they missed that?

"Hey V buddy, I think I figured out what's up with your car. If you bring it down to the garage I'll take another look. And pick up some smokes for me on the way." Jesse's voice resonated in their ears. Letty's breath had caught in her throat and tears had begun to well in her eyes. She looked away from the machine, listening as the next message beeped in.

"No one's home I guess," a heavy sigh. "I was going to call home but figured this was a safer bet. I don't know what else I can say to make what I've done seem any better in any of your eyes but…I'm sorry…"

Letty was now staring at the phone in disbelief. That was all he had to say for himself? After everything he had left them to deal with, he expected them to still be fit to meet him at the border so that they could run away from their problems. Had he not found out about Jesse, or that they had no idea what had become of Vince? She couldn't comprehend what his motives were and that was what hurt the most.

Leon watched her, trying to figure out what she was feeling. Was now the right moment to tell her that he thought Dominic Toretto, the man she had once loved, the father of her child, might be dead?

"Letty…?"

She looked up at him, the hurt and anger present in her eyes. He opened his mouth, about to spill all but instead he opened his arms. She walked toward him, falling into his strong hold and resting her cheek against his heart. This was becoming a common occurrence, just another thing that had changed since everything happened. The only other times they had hugged properly were when she had terminated her first pregnancy and the day Dom had gone to prison. At that point in time, both of them needed the support.

…

"So it was Brian's car?" Letty asked, staring at Leon inquisitively. He nodded, thankful to have the load off his mind now having told her his suspicions, or maybe fear. She had listened closely to him, obviously coming to the same conclusion he had that the other occupant in the car may have been Dom or Mia. They were laying side-by-side on the floor, staring up at the ceiling, a bowl of microwave popcorn by their heads which had been one of the only things in the cupboard. Ironic since Vince wasn't much good with microwaves.

"You okay?" He asked quietly.

"Yeah, I think so…At least there's still you."

"Fat load of good I am though, huh?"

"Don't say that," she said, turning her head to look at him. Though he could feel her watching him, he couldn't bring himself to turn his head, to look her in the eyes. She had a stare that could flaw any man, and most women. She sighed and he felt the warmth of her breath on his cheek, strangely worried that she was too close to him.

"We need to figure this all out Let. We need to get out of here, try and find Dom and Mia and Vince. Go-"

"I know…I know we need to do that Leon. But if the cops were gonna find us; surely they woulda made their move by now."

"I'm not worried about that."

"Why not? It scares the crap outta me, just knowing that they might find me and take me in…I can't stand to think about it but it's always in the back of my mind saying 'you know you deserve to go to jail for what you did'."

"Look," Leon began, sitting up and finally looking at her. "We're gonna be fine. I promise you."

"That's not a promise you can keep Leon, and you know it," she said, pulling herself to an upright position so that she could sit opposite him. He placed his hands on her shoulders, staring intently into her eyes.

"But it's a promise that I can try my fuckin' hardest to keep Letty." She sighed, unconsciously bringing her hand to her stomach. "Have you decided what you're gonna do?"

She blinked slowly, and nodded. "I'm keeping my baby. I don't know, maybe it's my stubborn self but I feel like I owe it to myself to do this."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah…"