Luke sat down at the kitchen table and waited for Dom to get back. He could hear Samantha and Brian talking away about the mechanics of what sounded like Sonic the Hedgehog. Mia came into the kitchen eyeing Luke. She didn't seem upset that Luke had asked Dom to tell him more about Val's accident, she looked more upset over the fact that she was going to have to relive that moment all over again. She sat down at the kitchen table with Luke, but didn't say a word.
Brian and Samantha were laughing and goofing off while they played their video game. Dom came into the kitchen carrying a medium sized box and set it on the kitchen table gently. He opened it and peered inside before reaching in and pulled out a small photo album. He opened it and flipped through the pictures slowly as guilt twisted his features. He took a deep breath before he started.
"They were racing a mile. They were supposed to go a half mile, spin the cars around, and come back. I should have known something was up the moment the race started, but Jason was good at covering it up. He acted like he popped the clutch and stalled his car out. It gave enough time for Val to get a good distance ahead of him. She spun the car around and got the car going when he suddenly turned into her and hit her head on." He snapped the photo album closed and handed it to Luke.
Luke opened the small photo album and he felt his breath catch. Judging by the way the car looked in the picture, it was the one that Val was driving when she was in her accident. The entire front end was smashed and the windshield was gone. The entire roof was smashed in. The driver's side of the car was crushed beyond repair. He couldn't even tell what kind of car it was it was so smashed. It appeared the photos were taken of the car after it had been transported to an impound lot.
"How did she even survive this?" Luke asked as he flipped the page. All of the pictures in the album appeared to be of the car, but his gaze lingered on one in particular. It was of the driver's seat, or whatever was left from it. It was covered in blood.
"She didn't," Mia said in a low voice. Luke shot her a look of surprise then looked at Dom who sank into one of the chairs. He laced his fingers together in front of him and cracked his joints before reaching into the box for another album.
"As soon as he hit her and her car started flipping, I was running for her. I don't think I've ever run so fast in my life. When I got to her, she wasn't awake. I'm not sure if she was alive still at that point or not, but all I knew was that I had to get her out of there. I'm still not really sure how I got her out of there, but I did. And there was blood everywhere. That's when I realized she wasn't breathing." Dom paused and slid the album he just pulled out of the box to Luke.
Luke opened up to the first page and he suddenly felt sick to his stomach. Val was in a hospital bed. The entire side of her face was swollen and bruised. There was cuts and stitches all over her skin. She had a tube down her throat, but that wasn't what made Luke sick. It was the fact that half her hair had been shaved off and there was a long nasty gash along the side of her skull where they had performed the craniotomy.
"I kept doing CPR until the ambulance showed up. They had to use a defibrillator to bring her back. I rode in the ambulance with her while Vince drove Mia behind it."
Luke flipped through the pictures and watched as Val's wounds slowly healed, but also that she got skinnier and skinnier with each picture that was taken. Every last picture that he saw she wasn't awake. That was when he realized that all the pictures in the album he was looking through was when she was in her coma. The last picture in the album was of Dom and Val. Val was still in her bed, but this time she was awake. The tube was still in her throat and Dom was leaning over her. Val's hand was raised and touching his cheek. The next album was slid in front of Luke.
"It took her six weeks to wake up. The doctors kept telling me that I should just pull the plug on her and let her go. That even if she woke up that she was most likely never recover, but I refused to give up on her." Luke began flipping through the album. The first one was of Dom and Val. Dom was laying in the bed next to her with his arm around her. He stared down at his little sister adoringly while she snuggled into his side. She had a smile on her lips, but there was something off about her. There was something in her eyes. Like she wasn't all there.
The next picture had Mia sitting in a chair next to the bed while she painting Val's nails. Val watched Mia with a loving smile, but her eyes were still distant. They were slightly glazed over as if she was zoning out, but she seemed to still be aware of what was going on.
"She was in the hospital for another month before they finally released her. She kept telling them that she was ready to go home, but they wouldn't listen to her. That was all she ever talked about. She wanted to go home. One of her doctor buddies went and pulled some strings and got her out of there and even gave us everything we needed to care for someone in her condition." The next pictures was of her being in their home. Val was placed on the couch.
"She wasn't getting better. All of the tests were showing that she wasn't healing. Her short term memory was still shot. She was still having a hard time moving around. Her motor skills were gone. It had been months and she showed absolutely no signs of getting better. And I finally gave up." Luke shot a look to Dom. His eyes were dark and distant as if he was reliving the very moment that he had decided to give up. Luke didn't think that a Toretto had the ability to give up. He shifted his gaze to Mia to see the heartbreak in her eyes.
"Mia and I, we discussed our options on what we were going to do with her. Where we were going to send her. Everything." Dom reached into the box once more and pulled out another photo album and ran his fingers across it. Dom took a deep breath before exchanging a look with his youngest sister. She nodded giving him the go ahead and Luke got the photo album. He waited to open it.
"And that's when it happened," Mia said in a low voice. Luke stared at her for a moment. He wanted to urge her to continue, but he knew he couldn't do that. "Me and Dom, we were sitting right here talking about the final arrangements to send her away then we heard Val talking to someone. It was a little odd since we were the only ones here. So, me and Dom went into the living room to see who she was talking to. But there was no one in there with her. I remember her looking at us, then looking back to who or whatever she was talking to and said bye. Then she looked back at us…," she broke off for a moment as tears appeared in her eyes. She wiped them away and took a deep breath.
"She looked back at us and she said that mom and dad said hi and that everything was going to be okay from now on." Her voice was cracking so she stopped once more. Dom decided to take over.
"We took her back to get tests done the next day," he started then scoffed. "And she was healing. The doctors couldn't explain it." Luke took the opportunity to open the album. It was strange at first. It was just different angles of Val laying on the couch, but after looking at a couple more of the pictures, he noticed one thing that all of them had in common. Every last one of them had two hazy figures that was standing near Val and Val was staring directly at them in every picture.
"They would visit her about once a week and they would talk to her. And each time they visited her, her body would heal tremendously." Dom reached into a box and pulled out an old recorder with a cassette tape inside. Dom hit play and sat it down. It sounded full of static, but he could make out Val's voice. She was talking away just like she was talking to an old friend. When she would stop talking, there was something else that sounded like voices, but they were muffled. It was clear however that it was a man and woman.
"This is why she believes in ghosts," Luke suddenly said as if the switch had been flipped in his brain. Dom and Mia nodded their heads. Luke sat back in his chair and laid the album on the table in front of him. He had to let the story sink in. He understood now why Val thought the things she did. Why she didn't really believe that there was no damage there. She didn't believe in miracles. She had studied medicine. She believed in the facts. But the facts were that her healing the way she did was a bonafide miracle. Even Luke had to admit it.
"Dom, you're going to have to tell her the truth. She knows you're lying to her. The longer you wait, the worse it's going to be." Dom lowered his gaze and shifted in his seat.
"It's been too long. And honestly, I don't know what's worse; the fact that I lied to her about the reason why he tried to kill her, or the fact that by the time I wondered if I should tell her the truth, years had passed by and I decided against it because it had been so long." Luke could see it in Dom's eyes. It was subtle, but Luke's trained eye caught it. It wasn't that he was afraid Val would be angry with him or would even hate him when he told her, he was afraid of her being disappointed. He understood, Luke's heart had been ripped out plenty of times by Val's looks of disappointment.
"She deserves to know," Luke said in a low voice. Dom leaned back in his chair and took a deep breath. He acted as if he wanted to respond, but the familiar sound of Val's Barracuda grew louder and louder in the distance.
They heard the front door open and Letty's, Tej's, and Val's voices filled the living room. The sound of plastic bags moving filled Luke's ears as the voices moved closer to the kitchen. Tej was the first to enter the kitchen carrying a few boxes of pizza. Letty was next with carrying two liter bottles of soda. They were laughing over something. Val came into the kitchen last carrying a couple plastic bags filled with various things she needed from the hospital. She stopped dead in her tracks open seeing the familiar box filled with the most traumatic moment in her life. She bit her lip looking at Luke, but Luke was watching Dom. Dom stared at Val, the inward battle clear in his eyes.
Val deposited the bags quietly on the counter and started pulling the contents out. Tej set the pizza down on another part of the counter watching Val as she worked away at emptying the bags. There were various first aid items and other things that she was going to need for Leon's detox. Tej moved in close to her giving her a questioning look. Luke assumed that Tej knew about Val's accident in full since they had been friends for so long.
"You alright?" he asked in a low voice. Val hummed her answer though it wasn't very convincing. It made her uncomfortable; Luke could feel it radiating off her. Luke slowly stood from his chair eyeing Dom in such a way that it demanded that he tell Val the truth. Dom gave him a slight nod agreeing that he was going to tell her.
"Guys let me talk to Val for a sec," Dom said standing from his chair. Everyone nodded and left the kitchen and made their way into the living room. Samantha was sitting in front of the TV playing Sonic the Hedgehog on an original Sega. Luke was impressed that the piece of equipment still worked considering how old it was. Brian was sitting next to her with his signature grin giving her little pointers on how to play the game. Samantha was tense while she played and Luke wondered how difficult for someone of her generation to play a game like that. She appeared to be doing well since it looked like she was already on the second level. Brian looked to the small group of people as the came into the kitchen and his grin faltered. Mia walked passed him and brushed her fingers through his hair and gave him a reassuring smile before she headed upstairs to get Jack.
Brian watched her until she disappeared from his sight then turned his attention back to Sam and the video game. Luke wanted to be in the kitchen with Dom and Val so he could be there for her if she needed the comfort. He wasn't sure how she was going to react to the knowledge that she had craved for years. Would she feel relief? Anger? There was a multitude of emotions that could hit her all at once and he wouldn't be there for her, but he knew that in a moment like that, it had to be just between brother and sister.
He saw movement coming from the kitchen and he looked to see Val hurrying out with her head down. He could see tears in her eyes and she didn't look anyone in the eye as she walked through the living room and out the front door. Dom emerged from the kitchen next the hurt in his eyes clear for everyone to see.
"Is Val okay?" Samantha asked as Mia walked down the stairs carrying a barely awake Jack. Mia handed Jack to Brian where the boy snuggled into his father and stared at Samantha trying to figure out who she was.
"She'll be fine, but if you don't hurry up, you won't be," Brian said nodding towards the television. Samantha gasped and started playing the game again. Dom turned away and walked back into the kitchen. Luke heard him go out the back door. He frowned and went to stand up, but the sound of Morrigan roaring to life stopped him. He heard her pull out of the driveway and squealed the tires as she sped away.
Mia huffed and stomped her foot in frustration. She walked into the kitchen and pulled plates down from the cabinets for everyone and made Samantha a plate of two slices of pizza. She brought it back out and sat the plate down next to Samantha so she could eat between levels, a look of annoyance all over her features. She kept looking over her shoulder towards the back door as if waiting for Dom to come back into the house. Tej and Letty made their way into the kitchen so they could start eating. Mia came back out with a plate for Brian and looked to Luke.
"Are you hungry, too?" she snapped. Brian looked up at her with cautious eyes. It wasn't like Mia to get upset over anything. She was always the level headed one of the Toretto trio. She took a deep breath and ran her fingers through her hair as a way to calm herself a little. Luke tried to rack his brain to figure out why she was so upset, but he couldn't think of anything. "Would you like some pizza?" she asked in a much calmer tone just as she always did.
"I'll get it," Luke offered and moved to stand up, but she raised her hand and disappeared back into the kitchen. He heard her open the back door.
"Dom!" she yelled nearly flooring Luke at the harshness in her voice. Then she closed the door back. She appeared back into the living room carrying another plate of pizza and gave it to Luke. She turned back towards the kitchen and waited for a moment with her hands on her hips. She clicked her tongue and headed back into the kitchen. She opened the door one more time and screamed for her older brother. She slammed the door back and stomped into the living room. Luke wanted to stand and go look for Val, but with the way Mia was acting, quite frankly, he was afraid to move.
"You okay?" Brian asked looking up at his wife with an amused look. Mia glared down at him as if his cheery mood upset her even more. She turned towards the kitchen one more time and stomped to the back door. She opened it.
"Dominic Francis Toretto, you get your ass in here right now!" she snapped and Luke nearly fell off the couch. He had to cover his mouth to keep from busting out laughing. Francis? Dom's middle name was Francis? In his files it only showed a middle initial since it wasn't really all that important that Luke know his full name. He had all the information he needed, from his past all the way down to a personality profile, but never his middle name.
"His middle name is Francis?" he asked Tej who was sitting next to him on the couch. Tej nodded since he was trying not to start laughing as well. Luke had to look away from him since his reaction was making Luke want to start laughing even more. Mia came back into the living room looking very pleased with herself. Moments later, the back door opened and slammed. Luke could hear Dom's heavy footsteps coming into the living room.
When he appeared, he looked like he was ready to slap Mia. He stepped right up to her and got in her face, his own face twisted in anger. Brian just watching the two with his grin shaking his head.
"Do not use my middle name," Dom growled. Mia crossed her arms over her chest clearly not afraid of his hidden threat.
"Got your attention, didn't it?" she hissed back. Dom's glare darkened a little. "You need to get your head out of your ass, get in your car, and bring her back," she demanded. Dom sighed looking away from her.
"She doesn't want to see me," he said in a low voice.
"Oh, please, Dom, you're full of shit! This is a lot to process for her and she doesn't need to be doing it alone. So, go!" She pointed to the door for emphasis.
"And how am I supposed to know where she's going?" Dom reasoned with her. Mia rolled her eyes and huffed in frustration.
"Where did she always go when she was having issues concerning her accident?" she asked in such a tone that there was an unspoken "dumbass" in there. Dom sighed again and shook his head. Mia held his keys up for him to grab. He did so and headed out the front door. Just as he stepped out onto the front porch, Mia turned to Luke and placed her hands on her hips giving him a frustrated look.
"What?" Luke asked. Mia growled.
"Go with him, you idiot! We'll watch Sam until you get back." Luke blinked at her a couple times before shifting his gaze to Brian giving him a look that clearly said, "Are you going to let your wife talk to me like that?" Brian grinned at him with a shake of his head.
"I'd do as she says if I were you." Luke stood from the couch finally and looked to Mia.
"Thanks for watching Sam." He looked down to Samantha who had paused the game to watch the scene unfold. "Do your homework."
"Okay," she said cheerfully then turned back to the television to continue playing her video game. Luke scoffed and stepped out the front door to join Dom in the search for Val.
Author's Note: Alright guys, another chapter down! Hope you enjoyed hearing about Val's accident and you'll learn a bit more about her in the next chapter from Dom! Hope you liked the middle name I gave Dom. I did a little bit of research trying to find his middle name, but I couldn't find one so I was all like "fine, I'm going to give you the most ridiculous middle name I can think of for shits and giggles." And I was watching Deadpool while I was writing that part out and well… heh… it was just too good to pass up.
Also thinking about throwing a little bit more about Luke's past in the next chapter as well, but we'll see what happens. Either way, you're going to hear a little bit more about Luke's past soon.
Reviews and shit!
Aven