Chapter 14: Lost

Vince stormed through the front door of the house, throwing his keys on the coffee table and slumping on to the couch. "No luck?" Mia asked, walking into the living room from the kitchen. She passed him a glass of water and some aspirin and sat down in the LAZBOY chair in front of him. Vince shook his head and downed the meds, grimacing at the headache that was starting to grip him.

"Maybe she found some friends and hooked up with them," Mia said, but instantly regretted it when Vince turned towards her and stared her down. Seconds later, Dom and Jesse burst through the front door. Dom's face held a scowl but Jesse's held a scared look- the duo intriguing Vince.

"You found something?" Vince asked, standing up from the couch and facing them. "I called a friend of mine over at the precinct. I just wanted to check if her car had been picked up or anything, but it turns out that Matt was pulled over for a speeding ticket," Dom said, sitting down on the couch.

Vince looked between Dom and Jesse and frowned. He took in Jesse's tense posture and the fact that his body was shaking and instantly knew that something was wrong. "What are you not telling me?" He asked in a murderous tone. "Jesse hacked into the police department database and he found out that the arresting officers had reported to central that they were taking her into custody to transfer her to the county hospital," Dom replied.

Vince shook his head and balled his fists up. "I want to see her," he said. Dom stood up from the couch and motioned for Mia and Jesse to leave them alone. They got the message and left the room, leaving Dom and Vince with each other. "Supposedly she was speeding and the cops pulled her over. When they did they claimed that she was bruised and battered. They thought she had been beaten up or worse, raped, so they took her in," Dom said, placing a hand on Vince's shoulder and staring at in him the eye.

"You believe that fucking lie? She left this house fine, Dom. We were downstairs and we were…" Dom shook his head and took in a deep breath. "It sounds fishy to me. Matty's capable of taking care of herself. The officers were male. Matty's been around cars since she was young. The speeding shit was probably a lie to get her to stop, but what really tipped me off was this," he replied, reaching into his back pocket and pulling out a computer print out.

"What the fuck does this have to do with anything?" Vince asked, his eyes scanning the print out. "Manuel Ricardo Alonso is a prosecuting attorney in this state. He's made enemies with the worst criminals in the freaking state and he isn't known as one of the friendliest people in the world either. Vince, Alonso is Matty's father."

Vince stared up at Dom, not believing what he had just heard. "You think that maybe these police officers were crooked or some shit?" Dom shrugged his shoulders and took in a deep breath. "Anything's possible, Vince. I'm just laying out all this shit on the table, trying to make sense of it myself."

"I want to see her," Vince mumbled, rubbing a hand over his face and shaking his head softly. Dom nodded and grabbed his car keys off the table, motioning to the door. "What do you feel for this girl Vince? Don't build her up for shit. She's Hector's sister. I feel like she's a responsibility to me," Dom said.

"Fuck you, Dom! This girl is it right now for me. Forget Mia and every other girl that even grazed my fucked up life. She's the only that fucking isn't scared of me. She'll go toe to toe if necessary. She deserves someone to have her back," Vince replied. Dom shrugged and headed for the door, letting him walk through first. "I think yall got a good thing going. Let's try to salvage what's left of it." Dom shut the door behind him and they walked off towards his car.

--

Dom glared daggers at the police officer that nodded at him curtly. He detested authority with a passion and would do anything and everything in his power to piss them off. He glanced at Vince, taking in the waves of nervousness that was rolling off of him. The officer stepped aside from the doorway, letting him walk into the room first. Dom motioned for him to go first, knowing that his friend needed some time alone.

Upon Vince's entrance into the room, his heartbeat slowed down. It seemed to him like the world had stopped to focus on the fear that was exploding inside him. It was moving slow enough for him to take in every little detail that surrounded him. She wasn't hooked up to any machines, which was a good sign, but she was utterly quiet.

He took a step forward and tried to put a smile on his face, not wanting her to know how much he worried. Matty was currently dressed in a hospital gown, her hair loose and covering her face. She was lying on the bed on the side, her back facing the door. "Matty?" Vince whispered upon reaching the bedside. She stirred and mumbled something underneath her breath.

V walked around the bed and tried to look at her, but she kept covering her face. He placed a hand on her shoulder, ceasing all movement. "I don't want you to see me," she whispered, shrugging his hand off. "This is me, Matt. There's nothing that you could possibly do or say that would scare me off and you know it," he replied, sitting on the edge of the bed.

Matty pulled her hands back from her face and faced him. His stomach churned at the sight of her. Matt's face was completely swollen. How she survived a beating that bad brought tears to his eyes. "You in pain? Do you want me to get the nurses to give you something?" He asked, running a hand over the top of her head. She shook her head.

"I want to go home. I want the questions to stop. I don't want no more medication. I want to be alone," she muttered, turning away from him. The room turned deadly silent, the only sound was their beating, but Vince was sure that you could hear how hard his heart was pounding.

"I'll see how soon we can take you home," he muttered before exiting the room. He found Dom sitting outside the room in a chair, falling half asleep. Vince walked over to him and kicked his chair with his foot. Dom sat up rapidly and glared at him. "How bad?" He asked. Vince slumped down into a chair next to his and ran a hand over his face.

"Bad as shit, Dom. She's fucked up, Dom. I don't know if we'll be able to fix this," he whispered, groaning. Dom placed a hand on his friends back and patted him softly. "Come on, let's go see if we can take her home. I don't think a private space and some of Mia's chicken noodle soup will be so bad right about now for her," he said, getting up from the chair.

--

V and Matty walked into the living room, Matty leaning on V's body for support. The house was deadly quiet as they made their way towards her bedroom. "Where's everyone else?" She asked in a soft voice. "Mia made them leave for a few hours. She didn't want them to overwhelm your or some shit," he muttered, opening her bedroom door and helping her in.

He sat her down on her bed and retrieved a duffel bag from upstairs. Vince opened it up and pulled out a small white paper bag. He pulled out different bottles of pills and some tubes of crème. She glanced at him as he laid them out on his nightstand table.

When he was done he turned to her and stared at her intently. He didn't know what to say or do except what the doctor instructed him to- monitor her medication and her dressings. "Let's cut the bullshit here, Mat. Doc said I have to make sure you take ALL your medication. The choice is yours," he said, motioning to her nightstand. She nodded and lay back slowly on the bed, closing her eyes. "Holler if you need anything."