Thanks for the reviews. Warning: Long chapter.

Chapter 56-Separation

Two weeks later...

in Miami...

Carter Verone sat in his living room staring out the large glass windows that revealed the outside world he could no longer explore. He had been on home confidement for the past few months and he couldn't take it anymore. It felt like being back in a cell. He couldn't be more than a hundred feet from his home without the cops showing up in a flash. Enrique and Roberto were both arrested in the shooting of Tej and charged with attempted murder in the first degree. The judge assigned them both ten years in the Florida penetentriary.

Now Carter was alone in his mansion. He had no women, no guards, no friends. Quite frankly, it was driving him nuts. He couldn't stand being alone constantly. He still had all his money and cars and material things, but had no one to enjoy it with. He knew the cars parked around the house were the police, so they'd watch anything that came to and from his house.

Figuring he had had enough, he picked up his cell phone.

"Ralph, it's Carter. Get down here, we need to talk," he barked into the phone.

"But why Dad-" Ralph began to object.

"Just get your ass down here now!"

Carter shut his phone back and tossed it at the wall, watching it shatter to pieces. He cursed under his breath and flopped down on his sofa. He wanted revenge. He knew only one person could be responsible for his 'new prison' sentence. Brian O'Conner. He had to put an end to Brian and fast.

Thirty minutes later, there was a knock at the door. Carter pulled his .44 Cobra Magnum pistol from his waistband and held it to his side while he approached the door. After checking the peephole, he unbolted the door and let Ralph in.

"I was here, but the cop around the corner decided to check my car," he said, closing the door behind him. "What's goin' on Pop?" Ralph asked, sitting down next to his step-father.

"I'm bustin' out. I-I can't take it in this place. I haven't left the neighborhood in three months!" he struggled, becoming enraged by his capture.

"Dad, there's no way you're getting out of here. At least not with a bullet in you," Ralph reminded, only angering him further. Carter smacked Ralph across the face with the butt of the pistol, blood flying from his face.

"Shut the hell up and listen to me you little shit. You're the reason I'm in this hell anyways. If you didn't try and be a tough ass, neither of us would be in this predicament," Carter was pacing the floor like a madman. He had truly lost his mind being locked up for so long.

"What do you mean? I'm not in anything!" Ralph yelled, standing from the couch.

"What do you call that?" Carter yelled, pointing the gun to Ralph's mechanical leg. During the large altercation he encountered with the men of Team Toretto, he suffered a three shots to the back of his right leg. The tissues and bone were so severed that the doctors couldn't save his leg. So they ordered in a mechanical leg that he's been sporting since the incident.

"Whatever. What do you have in mind?" Ralph asked, not appreciating his father bringing up his leg.

"Have one of your punks round up some plane tickets. To Los Angeles," Carter said, a sadistic smile on his face. "Oh and Ralph? I'm gonna need them by next week," Carter said, disappearing around a corner in his home.

"Fuck Dad. I don't want anymore trouble," Ralph mumbled to himself, walking to the door.

In L.A. ...

Vince and Sasha hadn't spoken a word to each other since their big fight over Charlie. He came around more, but only when Vince was out or at the garage. He and Sasha would meet up and spend time together. He went shopping with Letty and taught his older brother, Tony, just how to use the accent. They went clubbing together to test out the lessons. Boys will be boys, Brianna would say.

Vince made sure he spread the word about Charlie being a cop. Dom bitched for about two hours, then got over it. He knew they had nothing more to hide, so there was no reason to worry. He spent time with Charlie, really welcomed him to the family. Nobody else cared about Charlie's profession. He seemed like a loyal guy and that's al they cared about.

Leon was weary of Charlie once he heard. Vince went on about Brian being a cop, and he really turned out to be one, which ended up fucking them over royally. Leon was worried the same would happen again. He was worried that Vince would be underestimated again, and it'd blow up in their faces.

Sasha and Diana were having lunch together at a local cafe. Desmond was with Jesse, Jayden, and Jessica putting Jessica's new walker together.

"You and Vince always fight like this?" Diana asked after swallowing a mouthful of chicken salad.

"Girl, you have no idea. It was so much worse during the pregnancy of Dez. Like, I can't control him. I mean, not that I want too, but it's just-" she struggled to find the words to explain how she felt about her husband. "I just can't deal with the fighting anymore. You know we haven't slept in the same bed together since the fight?" Diana rose her eyebrows in surprise. "Yeah, he sleeps down in you and Jesse's old place. Di, I don't know how long I can take this," Sasha admitted, using her fork to scrape around the scraps of spaghetti on her plate.

"What do you mean? Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Diana asked, dropping her fork to her plate.

"I think so," Sasha said, her face cringed with pain.

"Sasha, you can NOT get a divorce. You and Dez are all Vince has. And vice versa," Diana said, her voice raising.

"What else am I supposed to do Diana? I can't take the shit that Vince pulls. This isn't just about the Charlie thing. This goes way back to the beginning. He doesn't trust me, he's constantly arguing with me. He hates for me to do anything without him because he thinks that I'm out whoring. I don't know what else to do. I'm not even saying divorce. I'm just saying, maybe we should just take a break for a while," Sasha said, tears welding up in her eyes.

She honestly couldn't picture her life without Vince. The thought of not being with him tore her up inside. But she wanted some kind of breakthrough with him. She wanted him to change his jealous and angry ways. She never wanted him to change before, but now, it was becoming unbearable.

"I think you need to think about this before you take action. If you think that it'll only get worse from here, then tell him you want a break. But I don't know how much seperation you're going to get. You two share the same house," Diana replied. She didn't want Sasha to divorce or separate from Vince, but she didn't want her best friend feeling pain when she doesn't have too.

"I don't know. I'll probably talk to Charlie and go stay with him in Pasadena for a while. Who knows," she responded, paying for the check. "Let's get out of here."

Later that day, Sasha decided she'd call Charlie in advance, just incase she went through this seperation.

She crossed her legs Indian-style out on the backporch. Vince was inside with Desmond watching the television.

"Ello?" Charlie answered.

"Hey Charlie, it's Sasha. Would you mind if me and Desmond came to stay with you for a while? Not long, just a few-"

"Sasha, shut it mate. You're more then welcome to come stay with your li'l brother. You mind if I ask why though?"

"Vince and I are having some trouble. I just want to be away from him for a while," Sasha said as low as possible.

"It isn't because of me is it? Listen, sis, I didn't mean to cause problems with you and the ol' chum. I'm sorry-" he began to apologize.

"No babe, it's not you. We were having troubles before you came into the picture. I just need out of here. I'll call you when we're ready to leave."

"Okay. I'll borrow my friend's Tahoe and be down there in a jiffy. Call me later sis," he said, hanging the phone up.

Sasha took a deep breath and swallowed the tears that were coming to her eyes. Now was the time. She had to break up with Vince. At least for a while. She needed to get away from him. He needed time to himself to cool off. They had been together for over a decade and it was being put on hold. Sasha took a deep breath and stood up front porch, making her way inside.

Upon entering the living room, she noticed Desmond sleeping in his carrier on the couch next to Vince, who was oblivious that his heart would be broken in the next few minutes.

"Vince, we need to talk," Sasha said the painful words she had been dreading all day. She stood a few feet away from the couch, shifting her weight back and forth on her legs. Her arms were cross and her heart was aching. Her lowering lip was trembling, but she refused to let the tears fall.

V turned and looked at her, his face emotionless and calm. He stood from the sofa and followed Sasha out to the backyard, temporarily stopping to yell for Jayden to listen out for Dez. Sasha sat on the swing on the porch whilst Vince set on the steps.

"Look, I'm not sure how I'm supposed to do this. I don't know how to say it or how you'll react when I do. Just don't interrupt me," she said, trying to prepare herself. "Ok. I love you Vince. I've never loved anyone in my life, but I love you. We've been together so long and I wouldn't trade what we have for anything in the world. You've given me so much, but on the flipside, you've taken so much from me. You took my will to fight. You took my confidence and you've taken my soul. We've said so many hateful things to each other, I don't understand how we manage to sleep at night," she took a deep breath, mainly to try to calm her racing heart. "Vince, you've become something I don't love. You yell and you scream and you fight. You did all those things before, but you did them for a reason. Now, you just do them for your mere pleasure. You don't trust me and you're constantly accusing me doing things that I have no intent on doing. Now I'm not saying I'm perfect, because I'm damn sure not. But I've done nothing but love you since the very day I met you Vincent. I opened up to you and gave my heart to you. I let you see sides of me that I wouldn't have done let anyone else see. But now, the rage and pain that I felt so long ago, you bring that back. The yelling and throwing things and storming out of the house, Vince my dad done those same things to me as a child. That's why I was so angry before. I don't want that pain. It scares me Vince. I'm scared of you," Sasha admitted, tears pouring down her face.

By then, Vince's face had softened. He let the words she said play through his mind over and over again. I'm scared of you, he repeated in his mind. You've become something I don't love, he played the words over and over again in his mind. How could you do that Vince? You've become exactly what she's afraid of. You've become her dad. You hit her the way he did. Though you only hit her once, regardless, you hit her. You curse and scream at her like she's the enemy. You're hateful to her Vincent. You should be dead you idiot.

"Say something please," Sasha said, trying to keep her tears light. She was afraid he'd snap at that moment. Vince snapped out of his battling thoughts and looked at her.

"You gave me a reason not to trust with you Ricky. And I didn't take your will to fight because you seem to love picking the fights," What the fuck are you doing Vincent? Why are you still fighting with her? You're suppose to be apologizing, not screaming. Why can't you stop V? What's wrong with you Vincent?

"That's exactly what I mean V. I just poured my heart out to you, and you still want to argue. I'm trying to give you my all right now and do something I don't want to do. But it needs to be done. Vince, you know I love you more than I love myself. But we need a break. We need to stop acting as if everything is okay, because it's not. We need a break Vince," Sasha forced out, feeling like a weight had been lifted from her shoulder. She was still crying, but she felt less pressure.

"So what are you saying? You saying you want a divorce?" Vince asked, seeming unfazed. On the inside, he felt like shit. But he had too much pride to let her know that she hurt him.

"No, I don't want a divorce Vince. I love you, I'd never want to be without you," she replied quickly, not wanting him to get the wrong idea.

"So why are you doing this? Why are you trying to break up our family?" Vince asked, his voice cracking. He tried so hard to keep his walls up. He didn't want to cry, but he felt it coming. Watching her cry alone was making him tear up.

"I'm not trying to break up our family Vincent. You know that! I just don't know how I'm supposed to deal with all the anger in the house. Jayden and Desmond shouldn't have to be around that constantly. Not only with you, but with me too. We need time apart from each other Vince. Everyone can see that. I just need you to see it," Sasha said, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"So what, you want to see other people?" Vince asked, knowing the answer would be no. He just wanted to be sure.

"NO! I only want you and I want you to want me too. But we need to be out of each other's hair for a while. Please just accept this Vince. I know it's for the better. I love you," Sasha said, hoping he'd understand why she did what she did.

He opened his mouth to speak, but closed it just as soon. There was nothing for him to say. He wanted to tell her that he loved her too. He loved her so much it hurt him. Instead, he stood from the porch and went inside, slamming the screen door shut behind him.

Sasha allowed herself to cry in his absence. She sat on the porch for another hour until the midnight chill forced her inside. Making her way upstairs, she stopped in Jayden's room to get Desmond. As she entered, she noticed Jayden crying in the corner of her bed. Desmond was in his carry-cot, sound asleep. Shutting the door, Sasha approached the girl.

"Jay, what's wrong babe?" she was still upset herself, but she wanted to be strong for the girl.

"I heard you and Uncle V. You guys have been fighting a lot lately. Please don't go Aunt Sasha," Jayden said, tossing her arms around Sasha's neck, tears falling onto her skin.

"Oh babe. I didn't mean for you to hear that. But this is for the best okay. It'll give your Uncle Vince and I some time to clear our minds," Sasha said, rubbing soothing circles on her back.

"Can't you do that here?" she asked in between sniffles. "I don't want to you to go. And I don't want Desmond to go either. Please Aunt Sasha," she begged, pulling away from me.

"Look, I'm not going to be gone long, I promise that. And Desmond can even sleep in here with you tonight. He's all yours tonight. I'm gonna go call Uncle Charlie then pack. We're leaving tomorrow," Sasha said, standing from the bed.

"Will you at least call me?" Jayden asked, sad to see Sasha go. She was the one who rescued Jayden from home. She was her guardian angel.

"Every day," Sasha smiled, backing out of the room.

She made the call to Charlie and told her she wanted to be out of the house early. He offered to pick her up at 7:00 AM. Sasha thought it was fine, considering Vince didn't wake up until eleven AM. She packed two suitcases full of her things, such as clothes, toiletries, and other things she would need. She packed Desmond's things in a smaller suitcase and re-packed his diaper bag.

By the time she was done packing, it was 1:45 A.M. She decided she needed to do one last thing before she went to bed. She pulled her notebook from under the bed and grabbed a pen.

Dear Letty,

Hey sis, by the time you've read this I'll probably be in Pasadena. If you haven't heard already, Vince and I broke up. Things were just going from bad to worse and I figured we needed time to clear our heads. No we aren't getting a divorce. Just taking some time apart. Dez is with me, we're with Charlie. I figured there's no point in hiding out. I don't know when I'm coming back, but I know it'll be soon.

Letty help him for me. I helped all I could. Make sure he takes care of himself. What am I doing? I'm talking like I'm moving a thousand miles away. It feels like it though. Anyways. Keep Vince out of trouble. And Jayden, keep her out of trouble too. Don't let Chrys talk her into anything. And don't let Ricky alone with Vince, after she hears, she'll probably be a little pissed.

Well, I gotta go sis. Sorry you had to find out this way. I love you. Take care of my boy.

Love, Sasha

Sasha folded the paper together and placed it in an envelope. Tossing it to the side, she grabbed another piece of paper.

Dear Vince,

Hey there. Vince I want you to know this is not a permanent thing. If it was, I would have asked for a divorce. I don't want that. I love you V. I don't want anyone but you. But right now, I want you to find out what you want. You need to find another way to express your feelings. The outbursts and fighting, V it has to stop baby. That's why I'm getting away. We both need to re-find ourselves again. We lost our hearts long ago. I'm not going far, just to Charlie's place in Pasadena. Dez is going with me. You can come and see him whenever you like.

Vince don't lose hope for us okay? I haven't. I can still see us being the loving family we were long ago. I want to start over. I wanna do things right. I'm willing to go halfway. Meet me there Vince. You know how they say you don't miss something 'til it's gone? Vince, I miss you when you're right there. I know we're at two different places and I want to get on the same level.

When I come back, we start over. Everything will be done right. We'll go on dates or we'll sit up at three a.m. playing boardgames. We'll do everything we used to do. We're be us again. Deal?

Take care of Jayden, Vince. She needs you more then ever. I'll be home sooner than you think. I love you to death Vincent Palmeriti.

Love, Sasha.

Wiping the tear that almost fell, Sasha folded Vince's letter and placed it on the table next to her bed. She placed Letty's note next to it and shut out her lights. "The shit you get yourself into," she mumbled to herself.

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I know, I'm mean for making this seperate. But it's not permanent, I promise! And Carter is up to something...read & review!

-Kita