She knocked on the Toretto door lightly, glancing back at her still home just behind her shoulder. Her mother was probably still pacing upstairs where she had left her. Uniform ragged, unwashed from the night before. Tears would be in her eyes; she'd be asking God why shit was happening the way it was. She always turned to god. She tried to get Myra to understand when she was younger, but the spiritual never held a part of her life.
Myra frowned, turning her head away and whipping the tears from her eyes. She couldn't think about that right now.
The front door opened and a tired looking Dominic looked down at her. He was half dressed, jeans hanging low on his hips, arms crossed over his chest. He squinted at her, the room behind him dark, the bulb above her having burnt out ages ago.
"Myra?"
"Can I crash here?"
He didn't respond, just stared down at her. He was trying to figure out what was going on, and she wished he wouldn't do that. She wanted him to nod and let her in, no questions asked, no thought on the matter. But Dom didn't function that way. He said he didn't care much for the drama of the group, but he was turning more and more into his father with each passing day. His eyes drifted across the street to her quiet home. It was nearing 1 AM, and the lights were still on, only house on the block.
"Sure." His voice was rough, and he sighed. She pulled open the screen door and he moved aside so she could step in with bag in hand. "Vince is in the basement."
"I know."
Once again she could see the question in his eyes. Her blush crawled up her cheeks quickly, making her neck red. But he didn't ask. With bag in hand Myra quickly let herself into the basement. There was a faint glow coming from the TV. Vince was barely awake, his eyes on the TV, half shut. He was in boxers, the thick summer air making it hot in the house. At night they turned the AC off, Vince only had a small window to get the cold air from outside. He didn't move when she came in, rather his eyes shifted to her, watching as she dropped her bag in the corner.
"Mind company?" She was shaking.
"Not at all." He shifted a little and Myra sank down into the couch beside him. His arm wrapped around her body tightly and he pulled her into his chest. With a soft kiss to her hair she felt comfortable.
"Want to talk about it?"
"Not particularly."
The single night turned into two, and then five, and then fourteen before she knew it. Every time she stepped out of the Toretto house to follow the boys to the shop and work she felt the pang in her heart. Sometimes her mother's car was there, sometimes it wasn't. Sometimes she could see the woman's shadow through the screen door, watching her baby girl get into a sports car with a boy. It was guilt that Myra felt, her chest filled with it.
Her nights at the Toretto's though were how she had imagined them to be. No one questioned why she hadn't left yet, just included her in everything and moved on. She quietly thanked them by helping Mia with her homework and doing the dishes. It was a nice change, a busy change. It wasn't until the lights went out and Vince crawled into bed beside her did she think about her mom. About leaving the woman alone, about the conversation she had overheard. The pain the woman was feeling, knowing not only her husband had left her but now her daughter. Myra was too stubborn to apologize though, so she willed the thoughts away by kissing Vince and eliciting other activities out of him.
"Myra!" Letty carried the large crate into the shop with ease, dropping it down onto the ground with a little grunt before putting her hands on her hips. "Where you want this baby girl?"
"Uhhh... can you push it up against the wall for now? I'll sort it out and store it here shortly."
"Mr. T sure is lucky to have you around. Shop hasn't been cleaner since." Leon carried in a matching crate and followed Letty to the wall where he put it down. He turned around with a large grin and wrapped an arm around Myra's neck, pulling her in for a hug. She muffled out a cry of shock, chuckling as she returned the hug.
"Come on Leon, I need her to breathe." Vince was quick to come to the rescue, wrapping his arms around Myra from behind and wiggling her out of Leon's hold. Myra blew her hair out of her face and smiled up at the boy with his arms around her. "Hello baby."
"Hey."
His grin was wolfish. She could already see the things he was thinking about like a movie screen on the sheen of his eyes. His fingers dipped into the hem of her pants and she winked before giving him a quick kiss and pulling away. He groaned and Leon chuckled, tossing his hands up in the air as he returned to the great outside.
"You good putting this all away by yourself?" Vince tipped one of the two crate open, looking in at the office supplies and miscellaneous car parts.
"I can manage. Shouldn't be too much work. I practically have the shop to myself today."
"Toretto's out?"
"They're at the track. Mr. T is trying to get Dom ready for some race. It's a few months off though. I don't think that man knows much about his son's night life."
"Definitely not."
They shared a laugh and Vince gave her one last squeeze and kiss, lips lingering on hers to place a few more chaste pecks before he followed suit to the great outdoors. Myra was left alone, the soft rock playing from the stereo up on the top shelf the only noise in the room.
She enjoyed this.
Humming along she started unpacking, taking the stuff out carefully and placing it on the table in front of her. Making sure the inventory list matched up with what she had, she was satisfied. With great care she began to unpack everything and put it away. After having spent a week in the shop Mr. T had let her do her thing. With a new system in place, Myra quickly sorted everything and made things a little more efficient. The office became her domain and she was learning how to file invoices when they popped up. Mr. T was going to show her how to place orders soon too.
As she finished up the last of the second box her phone buzzed in her pocket. She flipped it open without looking at the number, breathing out a, "Hello?"
"Myra?" Her mother's voice was so tired. Myra's eyes scanned for the clock on the wall and realized it was 4 PM.
"Why are you up? Don't you have a shift in six hours?"
"They keep bouncing me around. Look, I had a talk with Mr. Toretto."
"You did what?"
Her mother sighed, probably running her fingers through her hair as she paced around the kitchen. There would be an unfinished cup of coffee on the counter, a chocolate chip cookie, and an Excedrin piled up next to it. "I had to make sure you were ok."
"I'm not a child anymore."
"You don't think I know that?" The desperation in her voice was strong. She needed to sleep. "Look I just talked to him to make sure you were ok. He said he didn't want to come between all of this, just that he couldn't turn you away."
"Why are you telling me this mom?"
"I just..." There was silence, a silence so thick. Myra could hear her mom shuffling, hear the springs of a bed squeaking as she sat down. "I miss my baby girl." The sob was so soft she hardly picked it up, but she could feel it. The guilt washed over her quickly as she listened to her mom try to stifle the tears.
"Look mom, I'm at work. I'll swing by and we can finish this conversation tonight ok?"
"Yeah. That would be nice." A sigh. "Tonight, yeah. Ok."
"Ok mom. I gotta go."
"Ok baby girl. I love you."
"I love you too." Myra quickly pulled the phone away from her ear and flipped it closed, ending the call. Her ears rang as she stood there, Led Zeppelin playing behind her. She closed her eyes and willed away her own tears, a few drops leaking out of her eyes, caught by her tongue. It would be ok.
She sighed.
"Myra, can you come help me with this?" Mia's voice was loud and clear in the silence, the door to the diner slightly ajar as the younger girl peeked in. Myra opened her eyes quickly and smiled reassuringly before nodding. It would be ok.
The house was quiet. She didn't announce herself as she opened up the front door and stepped in, letting the screen snap shut behind her. She walked through the lower level quietly, noting the piling up trash and cigarette packets. She kicked the empty packs on the ground near the trash confused, eyes drifting towards the ceiling when she heard the shift of the bed.
She moved up the stairs quickly, heading down the hall to her mother's room. But it was empty, the moon light cascading down on an empty unmade bed, barren, no sheets. The boxes in the corner were half open, some of the clothing spilling out onto the floor.
Myra turned and headed back into the hall, making her way towards her own room. Pushing the door open quietly she saw her mom there, curled up in a ball on the bed. The sheets were stretched out over the mattress, a comforter balled up at the bottom. The windows were open, a small lamp on the nightstand beside the bed. A half rank bottle of Jack Daniels sat closed, her mother's hand around it.
She was asleep, her steady breathing slow and shallow. Myra sighed, moving towards the woman and unlatching her hold from the bottle. She tucked her mom in, taking her shoes off and tossing them onto the floor. Scanning the room for a second, Myra pulled the curtains shut and left the windows open. She leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her mom's forehead before finding a notebook in the closet and scribbling a note, placing it beside the bottle.
Call me when you're sober.
Xo Myra
It pained her to leave but she headed down the stairs quickly with fresh tears in her eyes. She locked the door behind her and ran across the street. Her hands shook as she pulled the key to the Toretto's out and she fumbled for a few minutes before finally getting the door open. Closing it behind her she held in the sobs as she locked the door and headed into the basement. Vince was passed out, sheets around his legs. He slept naked.
Myra shrugged out of her clothes, not taking the time to look for the t-shirt she usually slept in. When she was bare she crawled under the sheets and sank into the mattress that smelled like old spice and ginger. Vince stirred and he pulled her to him. With her sobs he knew, his hand making soft circles on her back. He held her as she cried, kissing the remaining tears away. When her body was done weeping she reached down and grabbed Vince, eliciting a groan from him.
"I thought you were sad."
"I want to forget."
She didn't have to say anymore. Vince was there, warm and consistent. She lost herself in his touch and his kiss, willing the images of her mother out of her mind.