Author's Note: Warning for mention of death. Letty's world turns upside down.

Chapter 3

It was only months after Marina completed her rehab when Alejandro got deployed again. This time to the middle east, Iraq. War was always dangerous, but for so long he'd been able to defy the odds and they just kept thinking he would.

It was a late Sunday afternoon when the doorbell rang at the Ortiz household. Letty was helping her mother chop some vegetables for dinner so that she could go down the street and hang out with Mia until it was ready.

Marina Ortiz dried her hands on a towel and went to the door. Letty could vaguely hear the voices of two men and her mother, but she paid it no mind, more intent on getting her chore done so she could see her friend.

That was until she heard her mother begin sobbing.

Letty set down the knife, trying to push down the horrible feeling in her gut as she stepped out of the kitchen.

"Mom?"

When she came into the front room she saw there were two soldiers with her mother, who was collapsed on the ground in tears. One of the men, she recognized him as a friend of her father, had her arm around the sobbing woman. The other man was older and only vaguely familiar. Yes, he'd been her dad's superior for a long time now. She remembered he'd been at his promotion ceremony.

But… why were they here? Why was her mother crying?

A part of her knew the answer at once, but she just refused, absolutely, to believe it. Her father always came back when he went away. He promised that he would. That they would finish building the car together. And he always kept his promises, so it couldn't be what she thought. It must be something else.

The man soothing her mother looked up and saw her. She met his gaze and saw only sorrow and sympathy in his eyes. She couldn't take it. She wouldn't listen to him tell her that her father was dead. That he was gone and he was never coming back.

"No!" she turned and ran back through the kitchen and out the back door, the screen slamming shut behind her.

Away from the sympathy and the sorrow and the sound of her mother's wrenching sobs. She ran, her sneakers pouding asphalt until her lungs were burning and her legs were aching and as she doubled over to catch her breath she had to hold in the threatening wave of tears.

She found herself between two brick buildings in a narrow alleyway with a dumpster and a nearby pile of broken-down boxes. Catching her breath she straightened up and dashed at her eyes, blowing out a furious exhale through her nose.

How could he just go and die? How could he leave them here? With him gone Letty knew it was only a matter of time until her mother spiraled back into her bad habits. Why did he have to go off and die in some stupid war? Over what? For what did he give his life?

Angry and hurting she lashed out, slamming her fist into the brick. It hurt like a sonofabitch. Her knuckles were bloodied at once, but she didn't even care because the pain in her hand was overriding the pain in her heart, so with a loud cry she punched at the wall again, furious tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Hey, hey kid!"

Someone's voice cut through the fog in her head and Letty immediately turned away, swiping her arm over her face before she glanced back over her shoulder at the person who had called out.

He was just a kid too… but older than her. It took her a minute to recognize him, but she spent enough time at Mia's place over the year since moving in to know it was Dominic Toretto. Mia complained about him plenty, and she knew he worked at the shop often with his dad. He'd said hey to her now and then but didn't really seem to know or care who she was.

"What the hell are you doing?" he asked, coming closer to her.

Letty took a step back, glaring at him from beneath the dark fall of her bangs. "Leave me alone," she hissed.

He stood still, holding up his hands in surrender. "Okay okay." He said and fell silent for a moment. "You live around here?"

Letty refrained from rolling her eyes and nodded briefly.

"You okay?" he asked.

She was silent. She could tell him she was fine and go back home. But she wasn't. She dropped down to sit on the ground, pulling her knees against her chest. Her right hand was bloody, dripping onto the pavement and smearing on her jeans but she didn't care and Dom didn't say anything about it.

He took a step towards her slowly, then another and sat down beside her, just a few feet of distance between them.

"Did something bad happen?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said, the word almost a whisper. There was a lump in her throat, she couldn't say anything more, but he didn't ask either.

He didn't apologize, or offer platitudes, and Letty knew that he could understand. Mia had told her about how their Mom had died a couple years back. If anyone understood loss wasn't it them? But it helped just to have him sit there for a moment, in silent camaraderie. In commiseration of her agony.

After she felt steadier and the pain in her hand had become throbbing, Letty pushed herself to her feet. Dom stood as well and she looked at him.

"Thanks," she said, then turned and made her way back towards their block. He didn't follow, just watched until she disappeared.

She wasn't ready to go home and explain herself to her mother, so she walked down to the Toretto house where she knew Mia would be home alone. The other girl would help her bandage her hand and hold her close while she cried. And she'd get through this day and the next, even when it seemed like she wouldn't.

But nothing would be quite the same.