Chapter 46-Clutching
No POV
Brian's skin paled as he took the phone from Mia. Mia told Angel to dump her bowl and to go get ready for bed.
"Hello?" Brian choked into the phone.
"Bri, it's Jimmy. You know how we said Carter was out for someone? Yeah well he got Tej. I called by his house after I found out Verone was out but he didn't answer. I drove over there about an hour ago and found Tej drowning in his own blood. The house was a mess, totally trashed. I took Tej to the hospital and that's where I'm at now," Jimmy finished, his breath haggard and quick from panic.
"Calm down Jimmy. Is he gonna be alright? How is he? And how do you know it was Verone?" Brian fired out questions.
"Hey, you calm down. Tej is okay for now. Got popped in the chest twice and once in the waist. One bullet grazed his lungs so he's got a machine breathing for him. One bullet was still lodged in his ribs last time I was informed. But the last thing he said before he passed out was 'Verone'," Jimmy replied, stress evident in his voice. "What we gonna do Brian? I can deal with anymore of this shit. Carter's got power man," Jimmy continued.
"For damn sure," Brian looked at Mia, whose tear-stricken face still looked worried, "Look Jimmy. I want you to close down the shop for awhile. Once Tej gets better, take him with you and go to Tokyo. I'll be up there in three months after I deal with everything," Brian said.
"What are you gonna do Bullet? Cause I know Carter ain't forgot about you and Rome. He's coming dawg," Jimmy retorted.
"I know Jimmy. But if he does anything it won't be for a while. Even though he got out early, he's on probation. He can't leave his state without a legitimate reason for at least a year. I'll make damn sure the DA's know about that in Miami. I'm gonna call up the other guys. Look after Tej for me Jim. I'll see you guys soon," Brian slowly hung the phone back on the receiver. He ran his hands over his growing blond hair.
"Brian is Tej okay? What's going on? He okay?" Mia fired out inquiries just as quick as Brian had on the phone.
"He's okay. Carter Verone shot him. He's got a bullet lodged in his ribs and he's on a breathing machine, but other than that, he's fine. Go get some sleep, I have to make another call," Brian said, kissing her cheek, then her forehead.
-x-
Rome woke in the middle of the night by the sound of the house phone ringing constantly. The first time it rang, he ignored it and rolled over, cuddling up closer to Lillian. The second time, he groaned loudly into Lily's ear, receiving a smack on the head from her. The third time, he launched the cordless at the nearest wall, only not hard enough for it to break. By the forth time, Lily was awake, forcing him to answer it. Rome grunted and stood from the bed. He picked up the cordless from the floor and walked out to the kitchen for a snack. He pulled a half-eaten sandwich from earlier. He glanced at the clock on the stove and answered the ringing telephone.
"It's 2:30 in the morning. If it ain't important, expect an ass-whooping later on," he said, the sleepiness making his voice sounding deeper than Dominic's.
"Well if ya punk ass would've picked up the first time I called, you wouldn't be up right now," Brian's voice held humor despite the current situation.
"What the hell you want Brian? We do have work in the morning you know," an irritated Roman replied.
"Yeah, well I think Dom'll make an exception. Tej is in the hospital. Verone got to him."
Roman sighed heavily and took a seat on a chair at the counter.
"He alright?" Roman hesitantly asked.
"Yeah, for now. Got shot three times. I sent him and Jimmy to Tokyo for a while until things calm down. I'm gonna get on the phone with the DA's in Florida to keep Carter in the state for a while until I know Jimmy and Tej made it out alright," Brian finished.
"I'm sick of this shit Brian. Ever since I took that job, shit happens nonstop with you Toretto," Rome tried to yell in a whisper.
"Newsflash Roman Pearce! This isn't Toretto shit, this is ours! We gotta take Carter out before he starts picking us off one by one," Brian replied in the same hushed tone.
"Aight man. I'm gonna sleep on it. And quit calling me this late. I'll holler at you tomorrow," Roman said, finishing off his sandwich.
"Alright bro, bye," Brian responded, hanging up.
Rome stomped his way back to his bedroom and placed the phone back on the hook. He crawled back into bed, refilling the indention his body made in the bed.
"Who was it?" Lily asked, snuggling her body closer to his.
"Brian. We'll talk about it in the morning,"
Roman said, feeling the slumber began to drape over him once more.
xxx
The next day...
It was Wednesday, only a few days before Chrystal's big race. The whole team was nervous, especially Jayden and Ricky. Jayden didn't want her best friend to lose; that'd mean they'd both belong to the other team. Dom, of course, wouldn't allow it if she did lose. Sasha had taken her to practice every chance she could and could tell Chrys was getting better. Ricky was still fretting over the bet, but often caught herself encouraging her sister to do well and clutch quickly.
Dom and Letty were far from doing any 'clutching' anytime soon. He still hadn't arrived back at home since their fight the previous night. It didn't surprise Letty. She knew he was probably hung over or driving around to avoid coming home to another fight. She told the children that Dom was on another business trip so that they wouldn't fret over it too much. She was still determined to deal with the baby situation. Abortion was never an option for her. To Letty, it was one of the cruelest things you could do. Adoption may be a consideration, but she didn't want her baby to feel the way she had. Not knowing who her real parents were. Finding out that her whole life was a lie. Letty didn't want that for her child. She didn't know what she wanted anymore.
Brian explained to the gang at the garage that day about Tej being in the hospital. Everyone was upset, except for Diana, who was out with Jessica. They decided that Jesse would be the one to tell her. They knew she'd be upset. Letty was dying to get revenge considering her and Tej were good friends. She liked him right off the bat. Everyone was on edge.
"Let's talk about something else," Leon suggested, noticing how riled up everyone was getting, "Sasha, how's training going?"
"Really good, actually. This girl's awesome you guys. I mean, she has one fucked up past, but she's killer at the wheel," she replied enthusiastically. The team looked at her skeptically, but all nodded.
"Then she fits right in here," Letty added jokingly, causing the group to laugh. Just as the group was beginning to let loose of a tense morning, Diana and Dominic walked in.
"Found him walking around the block. Seemed kinda on edge," Diana nodded to Dominic, giving him a wink. She caught the look of sudden remorse on the team's faces. "What's up guys?" Nobody spoke.
"We sure do know how to kill a party," Dom said lowly. He ignored the death glares Letty gave from across the room.
"Sasha," Diana turned to her friend, "What's wrong? Who died?"
Sasha exhaled and walked over to Diana. She put her arm on her shoulder. Leon walked over and took Jessica out of her hands and carried her over to the couch.
"Let's take a walk," Sasha said, walking out of the garage, Diana following.
She had to think of a easy way to tell her that Tej was in the hospital. Though he would live, she knew Diana wouldn't take it as easy as the others did. She walked down the street with her friend, stalling to find a way to explain what had happened. She found a bench a block away from the garage and took a seat. Diana sat with her, bracing herself with whatever was about to come out.
"What's going on Sasha? Is it Jesse? Is he drinking again?" she fired out questions with a look of worry on her face.
"No babe, it's not Jesse. It's Tej," Sasha said, wanting to get it over with.
"What's up with him? He okay?"
"Not exactly," Sasha took a deep breath, "he's in the hospital. Carter Verone's people shot him," Sasha said, finding more interest in the large ant crawling across the ground below her. Diana stared at her, unaware of the tears forming in her eyes.
"Well - well is he okay? I mean, he's not dead is he. I mean, Tej was so good to me. He took care of me and Jessica when Jesse wouldn't. He was like a second father to her. He adored her. He adored me. He was one of my best friends. I don't know-" she rambled hysterically.
"Di, calm down baby. Tej is fine. I mean, he's on a breathing machine right now and he'll probably have chest pains from the bullet lodged in his ribs, but he's fine. Brian's gonna make sure the DA's don't allow Verone under ANY circumstance out of the state for at least a year. That should give us some time to prepare for whatever he's ready for. But don't worry, Tej is okay, but he lost a lot of blood," Diana was still crying after Sasha finished talking. The thought of possibly losing Tej drove her over the edge.
Back inside the garage….
Dom walked into the office and changed into his dark blue Torettos coveralls. He zipped the coveralls up to mid-chest, allowing some chest to be shown. He felt another presence in the room, but didn't turn to acknowledge it. He ran his hand over his head and took a deep breath.
"Look Letty, I'm sorry alright. I just…I fucked up okay. I really want this kid though," he turned around to face his wife. She was leaning against the closed door of the office, "I don't want you to do anything you don't want too. If you don't want a child right now, hey, I can wait. I'll wait for you," he said, sincerity pouring from his mouth. He sat on the edge of the desk, watching Letty as if she'd disappear in only a few seconds. He wanted to run to her and hug her, but he was afraid of rejection. Dominic hated that more than anything in the world; rejection.
Letty bit her bottom lip as she stared at Dom intently. Inside, she was still pissed as how inconsiderate he was the night before. But she knew he truly sorry. She wanted to run to him and tell him it was okay. She hated giving into to him. Letty hated that more than anything; defeat.
"Dominic, we have forever to have another kid. You think I don't want this kid? I do Dominic, I really do. I want another kid. Just not right now. We have so much shit to deal with, we can't possibly be thinking of bringing another kid around at a time like this," Letty responded, now standing in front of him. His eye twitches and his face scrunches up in disgust.
"So what? You're gonna get an abortion? If that's what you're considering, you can't possibly expect me to accept that? I'll die before you kill our baby!" Dominic yelled.
"I never said that! There you go again being controlling. I'd NEVER get an abortion alright?! I thought about carrying it for a few more months then maybe think about adoption," she said barely above a whisper.
"What? Why would you put your child what you went through?"
"Dominic what the fuck?! You said you'd wait, why are you acting like this? You don't need to remind me that my childhood was hell because I know. This is my decision. The kids said they're more than happy to wait. They understand so why can't you?" Letty yelled, backing away from him.
"Whatever Leticia, I'm going to work," Dominic said, giving up. He pushed past her out the office, leaving her pissed off.
Back in the garage, Sasha and Diana made it back. Diana's face was still red and puffy, but she seemed to be calmed down. The team was hard at work, with the exception of Leon, who was playing with Jessica, and Vince, who was rocking Desmond to sleep. They glanced at the angry look on Dominic's face, but decided to let it go. They watched Letty stomp out the office and out the garage. A engine roared to life and tires squealed.
"Letty's pregnant," Dominic said, after almost an hour of not speaking. The guys cheered and clapped, but stopped once they caught the look on Dom's face.
"What's the problem? Isn't that a good thing?" Vince asked, trying not to wake Desmond.
"She wants to give it up," he said, not looking up from the Honda 2000 he was working on. The room grew silent.
"What do you mean give it up? Abortion?" Sasha asked incredulously.
"Adoption," said Dominic, dropping the wrench to the floor.
"Whatever she does Dominic, it's for her own good. It's her decision. You know she wouldn't do anything she didn't think was for the best. This, Dominic, is a choice she needs to think thoroughly. Though both of you are the parents and want the child, she has to go through the pain of carrying it. Maybe she thinks it's not the right time," Sasha defended her sister.
"That's what she said," Dominic replied, looking up with tears in his eyes.
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There's 46. Sorry it's taking so long to get these up. Only three more days of school left so bare with me folks.