Thanks for the reviews.

Warning: Long chapter.

Chapter 38-The Dying Sister

Sasha's POV

Later that day, while the garage was closing, I took Jayden out back to look at my car for the first time. It was parked behind the building along with the DT Mechanics towing truck. The look on her face when she got a first glance made me extremely proud of my baby.

"Where in the world did you get this car?" Jayden asked, her mouth gaping open like a fish.

"My brother-in-law built her for my birthday. She's a beauty huh?" I asked, pulling my keys out my pocket. Jayden walked around the side, sliding her fingers down the paint. Usually, I'd gut someone for running their filthy hands over my beauty, but I was making an acception here. I pressed the button on the keychain, both doors popping open. She looked at me wide-eyed. "Get in, let's go," I said, crouching down into the driver's side. She didn't hesitate to follow my actions. She loved the interior as much as the outside of the car. Jayden ran her fingers down the leather seats. I smiled as we pulled off.

We drove back to Jayden's house, which looked worse with the little light illuminating from the sky. The grass was almost two feet high. The two front windows were broken and covered in dirt. The paint from the whole, which was a egg-shell color, was chipped bad. The house looked abandon. It was horrible.

"You sure your mom's here?" I asked again as we got out the car. Jayden nodded and ran up the cement walkway.

She pushed the door open, it letting out a loud creak. The inside looked even worse. The floors were covered in dust, as if they hadn't been swept in years. Broken glass lie on the floor, along with ripped and torn furniture. Jayden walked into the kitchen, leaving me to inspect the house further. There was an small, old television set in the middle of what I presumed was the living room. Although it looked it hadn't been 'lived' in for ages. There was a small end table next to a couch, a picture frame lying face-down on it. I picked it up. There were two children in the picture, both smiling happily. The young girl was small with bright red hair and dark brown eyes. The boy, who looked to be a few years older, had dark hair and incredible blue eyes. The boy's arm was wrapped tightly around the girls' neck, her arm sitting on the boy's shoulder. I took the back off the frame and slid the picture out. I read the back of the photo. 'Victoria and Big Bro '94'. At that moment, Jayden walked back in the room.

"I'm gonna go get packed. My mom's in the kitchen if you still wanna talk. I don't think you're gonna get much out of her though," Jayden said, walking up the staircase. The steps seemed to creak with every one she took. I cradled the picture in my hand as I slowly walked to the kitchen.

I found Jayden's mother sitting at a small roundtable in the center of the kitchen. She had a cigarette in her hand and was staring at some papers. She had dark red hair and wore a frilly, white dress. She looked to be in her mid-thirties. Her voice was hoarse and cracked.

"Lemme guess? You're one of Jay's teachers at the school and you think I should go talk to the Board? Well you can forget about it. She fucked up and she's paying for it. So you can leave now," she snapped, never looking up from her paper. One side of me wanted to knock this woman's light's out. But the other side knew I had to compose myself for Jayden's sake.

"No, actually I'm a friend of your daughter's. I came to talk to you about letting her stay with me for a while. She told me about you being um, disabled, at the moment and I told her she could come stay with me for a while," I explained, walking around the table to face her. She had very light brown eyes, similar to those in the picture I was still clutching in my hand.

"You must be mistaken. My daughter doesn't have any friends, okay. She doesn't need them. And I'm not disabled. So I guess you can leave now," Ms. Parish replied ever-so-rudely.

"Well, I can't do that. I'm not leaving this house without her. Look at you. You're in no condition to take care of a child. She needs to be somewhere safe and comfortable. She sleeps in the damn attic!" I yelled, immediately regretting it. I didn't want to get on this lady's bad side. I didn't want her to take it out on Jayden later.

"How do you know what I'm capable of? I didn't tell the bitch to sleep in the attic, she chooses too," Victoria yelled back. At that instant, without hesitation, I slapped Jayden's mother across the face. She wasn't about to talk about that little girl that way.

"Don't you dare talk about that girl that way. Have some fucking respect. What happened to her father?" I asked, trying to calm my nerves.

"He walked out on us the day she was born. Nobody would help me take care of her. Everyone walked out on me," I found this as the perfect time to sit down next to her.

"Ms. Parish, who is this guy in this picture? What's his name?" I asked her, placing the picture down in front of her.

"I can't remember the last time I looked at this picture," tears weld up in her eyes as she glanced at the old photo, "this is me and my step-brother. He was such a good boy. It's been about fifteen years since I last saw Antonio," she said, running her finger over the picture.

"Antonio? Antonio who? Where does he live, do you know? I need to know so I can contact him," Ms. Parish let out a terrible cough as her forehead was sweating heavily. She looked ill. "Ms. Parish are you okay? You seem sick?" I asked her.

She hesitated for a moment. Like she wasn't sure if she should tell me anymore information.

"I-I have AIDS," she whispered. My breath caught in my throat. I never met anyone who was infected with the deadly disease. Hell, I never knew anyone who knew someone with it. "Jayden doesn't know. I contracted it from the needles at the 'House," she finished, lighting up another cigarette.

"Ms. Parish, how long have you been infected? And I need more information on Jayden's uncle," I said, remembering most of the reason I had stopped by.

"I've been infected for about three years now. It's been worse for the past few weeks. I feel really weak. I told the doctor's that I didn't want any treatment. If God made this the way for my life to end, so be it. I won't fight it," she said so nonchalantly, "as for Antonio, his real name is Vincent. I always hated that name. Anyway, his father was married to my mom. They were constantly out living the lavish life, usually leaving us with our grandfather. When they died, instead of keeping both of us, Vince was sent out here to live with his grandmother. When I got pregnant, I moved out here to find Vince. To see if he could help me. But I decided it was for the best not to bother him. He was living his own life and I had to somehow manage to raise her on my own. I thought I was doing good, but something happened and I fucked up. Now her whole life's ruined," by the end of the story, Ms. Parish was in tears. I put my hand on her shoulder.

"I think you did a great job. Jayden is a wonderful girl and very talented. That's why I want her to come stay with me. I think my husband will love her. She already gets along with my one year old son. She needs a family and I want to give her one," I explained.

As the seconds passed, I started to think about Ms. Parish's story.

Those incredible blue eyes ... V was from Vegas ... Vince lived with his grandmother ... Vince's middle name was Antonio ... oh what the fuck.

"Ms. Parish, please tell me your step-brother's last name isn't Palmeriti..." I said, dropping my head into my hands. Vince never told me he had a sister, nor did he mention having a niece!

"Wow, do you know him?" Victoria seemed to glow. I could tell she missed him.

"Yeah ... he's my husband," I said dryly. She only stared at me. Her eyes grew dark and empty. Her eyes watered, but she didn't cry.

"Y-y-you mean you two are together? You have a son by my brother?" she asked in disbelief.

"Yes, I do. How come her never told me about you? I never knew Vince had a sister."

"Well, he's probably ashamed of me. I mean, I did disagrace the family name. How is he?" Victoria asked, stubbing her cigarette out.

"He's incredible. He should be home tomorrow evening. But Ms. Parish, I came here to ask you if Jayden could stay with me and my family. She'll be safe. I just want her to stay out of trouble and be somewhere she feels comfortable," I said, my voice full of sincerity. I could tell she let it register threw her mind.

"Okay. On one condition," I nodded, willing to agree with whatever she wanted, "tell Vince to come by and see me sometime. Soon preferably," she let out a nervous laugh. I could only smile.

"Will do. You take care of yourself Ms. Parish. I'll make sure Jayden does the same," I said, standing from the table.

"Please, call me Victoria," I gave her my name in return, "What a pretty name. Take care of her please. I'm sure you can be a better mother to her then I ever was," Victoria said, staring off into space.

As if on cue, Jayden walked into the the kitchen, a gym bag on her shoulder.

"Ready to go?" I asked her. She nodded. I looked at her, then nodded to her mother. I exited the kitchen, but stood by the door waiting. Victoria stood and gave her daughter a hug.

"I'm sorry I couldn't do better. Be good and stay outta trouble will ya?" Victoria smiled, kissing her daughter's forehead. Jayden nodded. "I love you honey. Always have," Vicky smiled, letting Jayden go. She told her mother she loved her back and grabbed her bag once more. I gave Ms. Parish an assuring nod as we left the house.

In the car on the way to the Toretto home, Jayden broke the silence.

"I know she's sick," she said, her voice void of emotion.

"How? Were you listening?"

"No, I have known. We talked about it in Reform school. Mom had all the symptoms. Plus, I found her release forms from the doctor. Had AIDS patient written plain and clear," Jayden replied, fiddling with her bag.

"You're okay with that?" She seemed content with herself for a girl who's mother is infected with a deadly disease.

"Of course not. But it's a part of her life. For some reason, I can't cry over it. I can't be sad about it. Maybe because all the years she mistreated me. Maybe it's because she never really showed emotion towards me. We never really had that bond. How can I cry for someone who wouldn't cry for me?" I understood where she was coming from.

xxx Vince's POV xxx

We made our next stop in south-western Texas. We were almost home. Thank God. Dom suggested that we save some of our money and stay at a cheap motel. No one argued, we just wanted sleep. We pulled over at a run-down motel that looked almost vacant. I grabbed my duffle out the trunk of the Rx-7 and followed the Team into the building, minus Roman, who stood outside with Cupcake. There was a short, stubby lady sitting behind the counter. She had thick glasses with red frames and gray-white hair.

"How many rooms?" she said, smirking a bit.

"Three please," Dominic replied. We all looked at him. How were we all supposed to fit into these rooms? I didn't know, but I guess it'd work.

Much to our surprise and relief, the clerk didn't ask any more questions. We paid the two hundred bucks and took the keys she handed over.

"How are we doing this?" I asked Dom as we walked to the rooms.

"It's you, Leon, Elijah, and I in one room. Jesse, Diana, Danny, and Cupcake in another. And Rome and Brian in the last one," he explained, handing the keys out.

Everyone went to their assigned rooms and unloaded for the night. Dom and Elijah got the bed, Leon had the sofa, while I took the floor. I didn't waste anytime getting to sleep that night. It was the staying asleep part that was killing me.

Flashback

Las Vegas (Vince-twelve years old)

Today would be my last visit to Las Vegas for a while. I had been here once every two months to visit my sister, Victoria. Well, she was my step-sister. Our parents, my dad and her mom, were both killed in a plane crash last year. Their private jet pilot was drunk as he lifted them into the air, away from us once again. How freakin' ironic.

We lived with our grandad until he decided he couldn't take care of both of us anymore. They sent me to live with my grandma in California when I was eight.

Now today would be my last time visiting. My grandma said she couldn't afford to keep sending me up here. I was sad. Vicky was my best friend, besides my friend Dominic back in California. I didn't want to leave her, especially for good.

"Vince, you and Vicky come inside now," our grandfather, Luis, yelled from inside the house.

I dropped the basketball we were playing with as we both ran inside. My things were packed at the door.

"The plane leaves in an hour. We gotta get going," Grandpa Lu said, grabbing his car keys from the table.

I nodded and grabbed my bags. Vicky gave me a weak smile as she followed Grandpa outside. I tossed my bags in the trunk of his Station Wagon. On the ride to the airport, I tried to think of everything but leaving my sis. She was only nine. Would she be lonely without me? Better yet, would I be lonely without her?

"Last call for Flight 397, Los Angeles, California," the flight receiter announced over the intercom.

I stood from my chair and looked out the window. I didn't want to leave. When would I see her again? Would I ever see her again? As if she could read my mind, Vicky put her hand on my arm.

"It's okay V. We'll see each other soon. And I'll write you every day," she said, wrapping her arms around my waist. I didn't want to cry. For the few years I knew him, my father told me one thing. That was that boys didn't cry. They were tough. I nodded and wrapped my arms around her back, blinking back the tears.

"I love you little sis. I'll see you soon," I said, pulling back from the hug. I hugged Grandpa one last time and made my departure.

When I made it back to L.A., Dominic was waiting on my porch for me with the basketball. I walked up to him and hugged him. Later that day, we were sitting in his dad's garage. He was talking to me about parts. I heard him, but I wasn't listening. My mind was elsewhere.

"You miss her huh?" Dominic asked, breaking my concentration. I only nodded. "It's okay brother. How 'bout this, if you still miss her in about two months, I'll ask my dad if he could send you up there to visit," Dom said. My eyes grew wide with happiness.

"Oh thankyouthankyouthankyou!" I yelled, jumping on him dog-pile style.

Flashback

Fuck Vince, I thought we got through this. I hadn't seen my little sister in almost fifteen years. I missed her so much. The last I heard of her, she was living the fast life. She had been arrested numerous times on a count of prostitution, drug possession, and DUI. The sad thing was that time I heard of her, she was on the news. For some reason, I felt ashamed. The nerve of me right? I just couldn't believe how she had grown. Last I seen her, she was playing with her dolls and wore her hair in pigtails. Now she was playing with drugs. I couldn't believe it. That was almost five years ago. I had Jesse search for her one last time. This time, nothing came up. It was like she had completely vanished. Either she was on the lam or in prison, or worse, dead. I wish I could see her one last time.

I wiped the sweat from my face as I stood from the floor. I grabbed the room key and some money from the table. I grabbed the motel key and exited the room. I walked down to the lobby barefoot, where there were snack and pop vending machines. I put a dollar into the pop machine, it thrashing out a Cola in return. I made it back to the room, only to find Dom sitting up on the bed, waiting for me.

"Still upset over Sasha?" he asked me. Thanks asshole. I had put that to the side for a while. I shook my head. "Then what is it?" Sometimes I wondered why Dom was so caring at some of the most awkward times. It was almost three in the morning and he was up worried about me. I guess that's why I loved him.

"I miss Vick," I said simply, crawling back to the floor. I twisted the top off my drink and took a gulp before tossing it next to me.

"I know you do. How about we have Jesse run a file on her tomorrow?" Dom asked. I know he meant well, but I wasn't in the spirit of searching for her anymore.

"Naw, it's no use Dom. She's out there somewhere. I don't wanna get my hopes up, then be let down. You know I hate disappointment," I answered, lying back down on my pillow.

"Get some sleep brother. She's thinking of you somewhere man," Dominic said, before I hear him ruffling back under the sheets.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There's 38. They'll be home tomorrow! I'll have the next chapter posted as soon as possible. Stay with me folks. Read&review.

-Kita