Chapter 4
As predicted, he woke up with a massive hangover.
Fuckin Jack Daniels...
Her side of the bed was empty, but he smelled coffee brewing in the kitchen. He rubbed his head in frustration. He didn't want to face her. He felt guilty. But why? He didn't do anything. He didn't. So what. He found out she was in town, got piss ass drunk, passed out in a bar, slept it off in a slum hole motel, had dreams about her, woke up, and came home. What's to feel guilty about? Shit.
"I gotta tell her," he mumbled under his breath, trying to convince himself he was doing the right thing. He had to tell her. It was the only way. He had to tell her. Everything. It was the only way he could be free of...her. Debbie would understand. She was an understanding person. He would tell her about Letty. He had to tell her about Letty...
He pulled on a pair of sweat pants and headed out to face the music. He entered the kitchen to find Debbie sitting at the table reading the newspaper and sipping on coffee.
"Hey hun," she said when she saw him.
"Hey," he relied quietly.
"What happened to you yesterday? I tried calling you a few times and couldn't get a hold of you," she said as she flipped the page.
"Had to make a parts run for the garage. Got caught up."
Shit. So much for honesty...
"Oh. I was worried. You were gone late."
"Yeah. It was spur of the moment. Had to drive far. I'm sorry I was so late." He said, kissing the top of her head as he walked by.
"Oh, it's okay. I'm just glad nothing happened to you."
He walked over to the counter and poured himself a cup of coffee.
Tell her. You have to tell her.
"Deb?"
"Yeah babe?" she answered.
"I have to talk to you about something," he said sternly, still trying to convince himself he was doing the right thing.
"Sure hun. What is it?" she asked.
Shit. Here goes nothing...
"Before I met you, I was with someone."
Okay, that's a start...
"You mean, you were dating someone?" she asked, and Dom shook his head yes.
"Well, me too," she said laughing. He knew. She had told him all about her ex. He was a jerk. She had told him everything about him.
"I never told you about her. We were together...a long time," he said quietly.
"Oh really? How come you never told me about her?"
Well...
"It ended kinda...bad. So. I just never really wanted to talk about it. I'm sorry for not telling you," he said.
"Dom, its okay. You can tell me about it. But, where is this all coming from?"
Shit. Keep telling her. You're doing fine.
"Well, Vince called yesterday. Told me that Letty's aunt passed away and that she's in town," he stated.
"Letty?" she asked.
"Yeah," he replied.
"Interesting name."
"Yeah."
Quit stalling...
"Anyway, she was really close with her aunt. She lived with her most of her life."
Down the street from me...
"So, I kinda feel like I should see her ya know? Pay my last respects," he said.
There goes the honesty thing again... Well, he was being honest. He did want to pay last respects. He did want to be there for her.
"Aw, Dom. That's okay. I understand. And you should," she said as she got up from the table.
"Should what?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Pay last respects," she stated.
"Oh. Yeah," he replied.
"How long were you guys together?"
Shit.
"Um. I dunno. A while," he lied.
8 years...
Okay. Maybe he wouldn't tell her everything...
"Oh. Okay. Well, babe its fine. I want you to do what you need to do."
What he needed? Closure...
"But what I needed to tell you yesterday when called was that I have to go out of town," she said.
"What? When?" he asked, almost yelling. Why was he yelling?
"New York. On business. There's this huge account I need to close for a client out there and...well, I'm sorry it's so last minute. My flight leaves in a few hours. But I'll be back in a few days."
Shit. That's great. Just great.
"Do you need a ride to the airport?" he offered.
"No. They're sending a limo in an hour."
A limo. Accounts. New York. Limo's. Briefcases. Clients. That was his life now.
Running late, cursing, racing, yelling, oil stained clothes, barbeque's, watching movies, parties, guitars, Corona, tequila, techno music, running from cops, fighting, massages.... That was his life...then.
So different. So different in just four years...
They said their goodbyes and he saw her off. He didn't realize how late it was until he looked at his watch. Shit. He had to get to the garage. Maybe he'd stop at the house first and see Mia. He missed Mia... He hated having to drive from their condo in the city all the way out to the garage in Echo Park. It didn't take all that long, but it just wasn't the same as being able to walk down the street to get to it. But that was then...
She'd bought the condo about two years ago. Wanted to move closer to her new job in the city. She told him he could stay there whenever he wanted. He stayed over one night, and never really left. He packed up some of his stuff from the house, and for two years now, the condo's been his home. Or so he told himself...
But deep down he knew.
He had only one home...
He missed Mia. And the house. His house. Their house. He missed Leon and Vince. Sure, he saw them at the garage everyday, but it wasn't the same. It wasn't the same . At all. He missed Jesse.
Jesse...
Shit. Jesse. The heist. Tran. Brian. Vince. Cops. Running. Mexico. Letty...
He hated those moments. He wouldn't think about it for a long time, maybe even a year. And then all of a sudden it would come back to him like it was yesterday. His stupid decisions. His stubbornness. His complete ignorance to the warnings from his family. And that's what it ended up costing him in the end. His family...
The heist. Mexico. Letty...
"WHERE IS SHE?!" he roared, storming past Leon, as if he knew his way around the Mexican hospital.
"Dom, calm down man. She's in there," he said, pointing toward the room across the hall.
He walked over to the room that Leon pointed to and took a deep breath.
Calm down. You have to calm down.
He opened the door quietly. Walked over to her. Took a seat in the chair next to her bed. His eyes searched her face. Bruised. Cut. Blood stained. Swollen.
"Letty?" he whispered, gently taking her tiny hand in his.
Nothing...
"Letty?" he said once again, this time a little louder, rubbing his thumb lightly over the top of her hand.
Her eyes fluttered open. Struggling. Searching. Her eyes caught his.
"Dom?" she whispered, her voice hoarse and throat dry from the tube that been taken out a few hours ago.
"It's okay baby. I'm here. You're okay," he said reassuringly, stroking her hair lightly.
Her eyes fluttered shut again.
"I'm so sorry," he whispered through tears.
He held her hand. He stroked her hair. He didn't leave her side. Not one time.
"Hey brotha. Uh... I didn't think you'd be comin over today." Vince said, looking startled when he saw Dom come through the front door.
"Yeah, well," Dom said, completely oblivious to the strange vibe Vince was giving off.
"Where's Mia?" he asked, looking around. She was probably in the kitchen.
"Dom wait. Dom, I wouldn't..."
"Hey Mia," Dom called as he entered the kitchen, heading straight for the fridge.
She didn't answer, which was unlike Mia. She normally would have been bear hugging him by now.
"So what, you not talkin to me?" he asked over his shoulder as he grabbed a can of beer.
"Maybe..."
Everything stopped. The hair on the back of his neck stood up. That voice. He could recognize that voice anywhere.
"Maybe..."