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Dom and Brian arrived at the Echo Park home around a quarter to six, leaving them enough time to get cleaned up and help with setting the table. Dominic took the stairs two at a time, anxious for a hot shower to relax his tense muscles. He needed the relaxing sting of the hot water to clear his mind of work, and her. Dom flopped down on the bed for a moment of rest.
Brian's interrogation had done a number on his mental state, but he knew the Buster was right. If he wanted to completely rid her of his life, it was time he moved on to someone else. Dom wasn't sure if Billie was that person, but she was surely a candidate.
Dom's only problem was moving on.
He wasn't sure if he could ever get over Letty Ortiz. She was the only pure, unadulterated love he had known.
As he undressed for a shower, he remembered the first night encountering her vividly. Though it was nearly a decade ago, he would never forget nearly killing the only woman he'd ever loved. Though they had plentiful opportunities to meet, their paths didn't cross until the night he ran her down in his first open-road race.
Dom reached into his '69 Dodge Dart and pulled out every dime he made working in his father's garage all summer, and handed it to a short, stout Hispanic teen in baggy clothes.
"Five-hundred for my buy-in," Dom said. Hector smiled as he caught the wad of cash with ease.
"All right, holmes! Big Dom Toretto jumping in the with grown men tonight. We got Tran, Edwin, and my boy Rios. Line up in five."
"What's Tran doing here? That punk only races the tracks," Vince, Dom's best friend since grade school, griped to Dom about his arch rival since freshman year – Johnny Tran. They specifically came out to the Warehouse District to get away from Tran's arrogant crew, but now they were here.
"Don't sweat it, Vince. I'm not paying that fool any attention other than taking his money," Dom replied with a confident smile.
"Hey Dom," a nearly naked blonde with a busty chest greeted as she walked by, "Good luck tonight."
"Thanks Tammy," Dom returned happily as he watched the short skirt saunter off.
"You hittin' that, man?" Vince grilled his friend, who had been a big hit with the ladies since he starting working out.
"Not yet," Dom grinned before moving to get into the driver's seat, "Let's get to the line."
As he waited for Vince, Dom was distracted by an infectious laugh nearby. His eyes scanned the crowd of people, landing on fifteen year-old Letty Ortiz.
Dom was drawn in instantly; from the chunky black boots on her feet, to her skin-tight leather pants. He admired the small slither of midriff peeking out below her gray tank that clung in all the right places. Her breasts weren't large, but they were perky enough to hold Dom's attention for a long moment before he finally landed on her face, and he was pleasantly surprised.
He and Letty went to the same school, lived on the same block, but Dom never noticed just how pretty the weird Ortiz girl was. He had always heard stories of her crush on him from his sister, but he never took a second glance at Letty.
Until now. Her lips were full, almost always in a pout, but they were enticing. Pink and kissable, how he liked it. Her dark hair cascaded around her shoulders in waves, and framed her face nicely. Then he locked eyes with her, and he was hooked.
Letty's almost-black eyes were intriguing, frightening almost in all of the brutal honesty they held. They were the type of eyes that could easily read into your soul, and see past any facade you put in front of her. They were intimidating, but he couldn't look away. They held pain and mystery, but they were mesmerizing.
Letty Ortiz was not just pretty; she was beautiful.
"Dom, stop giving Ortiz googly eyes, man. Let's get moving."
Startled, embarrassed, and slightly aroused, Dom fired up his car.
"I wasn't giving nobody googly eyes."
Dom lined up his ride with the three other supped up cars, and prepared for his first street race. For the past two years, he was use to dominating the railroad tracks where the amateurs congregated, but the Warehouse District was the big time.
"All right, D. Just like we practiced," Vince tried to motivate as he stepped out, but Dom's attention was yet again redirected … on Johnny.
"Daddy Toretto finally let you ladies out to play with the big boys?" Tran taunted from the white Honda Civic next to Dom.
"I hate to disappoint you, Tran, but I ain't here to play with you. You're not really my type," Dom returned, getting laughs from nearby patrons, wiping the smug grin off Tran's face.
At the drop of the flag, the four cars were off the line, speedily hastily toward the finish a quarter of a mile away. Dom and Johnny battled for the first place position, while Edwin and Rios were left in the dust. Dom fought hard to push his car ahead of Johnny's when the Civic lurched forward, leaving Dom himself playing catch-up. Dom's panic set in as his eyes went to his new can of NOS. He had only used it once before in a scrimmage race against Vince, and even then it scared him.
Without second-guessing it, Dom pressed the red button, sending his car into a frenzied black blur down the straight-stretch. Dom held on tight for the wild ride as his Dart roared towards the Civic at dangerous speeds, eating up the pavement below to gain ground. With the finish line just feet away, Dom could see some motivation standing at the end, and it had the most perfect ass. He decided to put on a show for his audience, shifting hard while crushing the pedal under his boot, launching his muscle car past Johnny's just as they were crossing the line, giving Dom his first street-race win. Dom ripped the e-brake and jerked the wheel for a cool, drifting stop.
Only his car didn't stop. He could only grip on for dear life as his out-of-control car hurtled in Letty's direction. He watched as she thoughtlessly stepped into the street with her back to him. He prayed for a miracle.
"Letty!" he hollered and she turned around quickly, her eyes in sheer panic as the headlights beamed on her face.
Then his world went black.
Now soaking under the hot spray in the shower, Dom frustratedly punched at the wall in front of him. He hated that he couldn't stop thinking of her, even after she left him a year ago. Even after disappearing in the dark of night, she haunted his mind with her pouting lips and toned body.
Dom rinsed off and climbed out of the shower, no longer in the mood to be alone with his thoughts. He was sick and tired of silence in his home. It was easier to go on when he had a house full, which was a rarity now a days. With Mia and her family in Seattle, Dom was alone more than ever. It was eerie; his home was never this quiet. It was usually filled with obnoxious, rowdy men, laughter, yelling, something more normal than this.
"Dom, hurry up! Everyone's showing up!" Mia shouted up the stairs to him.
He smiled; he missed hearing his sister's yelling around the house.
As he pulled on his khaki pants, his eyes ran up the three-inch scar on his left calf. He remembered how lucky he was that night to keep his leg.
Dom let out a groan as he finally came to in his smoldering car. He tried to move, but his leg was trapped under the crushed dashboard of his Dart. He was disoriented and in pain as he choked on the heavy smoke coming from his car. He then realized he had slammed into an electricity pole.
"Dom, holy fuck! Hold on, brother, we're gonna get you out!" Vince screamed as he suddenly appeared at Dom's side.
In his daze, Dom heard a name that helped jolt his memory back.
"Oh my god, Letty!"
Visions of the crash flashed through his brain, giving him a new-found strength to get his leg untangled from the wreckage. In a dashing move, Dom yanked his leg free, slicing his appendage on offending metal in the process. Dom hurried from the smoldering car and limped his way over to the crowd surrounding Letty Ortiz. He pushed through the throng of people to find the pretty girl lying unconscious on the ground. She was covered in in dirt and blood, and Dom began to panic.
"Come on, Dom! We gotta get outta here," Vince tried to pull his friend away from the scene as police sirens were heard in the distance.
"I'm not leaving her!" Dom yelled and kneeled next to her as the crowd began to disperse quickly. Dom scooped Letty's limp body from the ground and turned to his car. The crushed hunk of metal was totaled, and he knew his Pops would tear him a new one for it. He considered walking, but he was too badly injured himself to take the chance.
Dom was really starting to freak out.
"Leave her, Dom! Come on!" Vince pleaded as the red and blue lights came in their direction.
Suddenly, another car skidded to a stop in front of them.
"Get in! We need to get her to a hospital," the driver – a scrawny teen in a black beanie – yelled.
Dom was weary of the two kids, but he was even more afraid of the cops showing up with a bleeding girl in his arms. They slid into the white Volkswagen Jetta just as the cops were closing in, but the scrawny kid surprised Dom with his driving skills. While his heart raced in his chest, his mind could only think about the gorgeous girl out cold in his lap. A slither of light coming through the window illuminated the curves of her face, giving her an almost-angelic look. Lying unconscious in his arms was the nicest he had ever seen her look. Staring at Letty, with all the noise and panic surrounding him silenced, Dom realized that he was curious about the mystery around her. He wanted to know Letty.
"She's gonna be all right," the driver of the Jetta turned to Dom with confident, blue eyes, "Letty's a tough girl. Sweet under that igloo she calls a heart."
Dom gave a small smirk; he knew Letty's reputation of being a hard-ass. He couldn't picture her being 'sweet'.
"You guys know her?" Vince asked.
"She's in shop with us. Letty's a cool girl, but she's tough as nails. If she woke up and saw you helping her, she'd cut your balls off, then say thank you," the driver said and they shared a laugh, "I'm Jesse, by the way. He's Leon."
"Thanks for the lift boys. I'm Vince, the deaf-mute is Dominic."
"Yeah, Toretto," Leon said distastefully, "The good driver."
"Hey it was an accident!" Vince said loudly.
"It was stupid. You just better hope she doesn't die," Leon warned.
Dom looked down once again and silently prayed that the girl in his arms didn't die. He couldn't ever live with himself if he caused her anymore pain.
The group rushed to a local hospital and Dom carried Letty inside, his heart in limbo as her blood soaked his tank top.
"Hang in there, Pretty," he whispered to her softly.
"Help! We need help!" Jesse screamed as they rushed into the ER, nurses hurrying to their aid.
"What happened?" one of them asked.
"I... uh... lost control of my car. She was standing in the street. I couldn't stop. It was an accident," Dom partially lied as he helped lay her on the stretcher. The nurse could see through his lie, but chose to ignore it for now.
"Okay... how old is she?"
"Fifteen, miss. Letitia Ortiz is her name," Leon replied.
"Okay. Fill out some more information for the doctors," she said to Leon and turned back to Dom, who hadn't left her side, "We're gonna do our best to help her," she said, looking into his eyes.
Dom nodded and watched as they carted Letty off past the operating doors. He moved back to the waiting area and flopped down in a chair, exhaustion wearing in as the adrenaline ran it's course. He thought about Letty, the crash, his car, and only came to one conclusion: "Dad's gonna kill me."
"Good news, Dom," Vince said as he appeared in the chair beside his friend. "Hector's uncle towed the Dart to the house, free of charge. And Hector's holding your two grand for you. Come on, we got a party to host."
Dom looked at Vince as if he'd grown another head, "Vince, I'm not leaving. I'm the reason she's in there fighting for her life. I'm not leaving to go party."
Vince frowned, "Hey, she was standing in the road. Not your fault, Dom. Quit acting like a pussy and let's get moving, brother."
Dom grabbed Vince by the collar of his shirt, "Either leave, or sit back and shut the hell up. I'm staying until I know she's okay."
Dom released him forcefully, and the two sat in frustrated silence as they awaited some news on Letty's condition.
"I dunno what she did to you, but I hope you snap out of this shit," Vince grumbled while bouncing his knee impatiently. He heard a distant moist sound beneath his foot, and looked down to the grisly sight of blood pooling at Dom's feet. "Dom, you all right?"
"Vince, please," Dom brushed off, already annoyed with his friend's selfish behavior.
"Dom, look!" Vince grabbed Dom's face and pointed to the red fluid beneath him, "You're bleeding, man."
By the time Dom remembered his leg injury, it was too late. He blacked out in the hospital waiting room. The face staring back at him when he woke wasn't his father's as he imagined, or even Vince's, but Letty's.
"Glad to see you're not dead. You're stuck on crutches for a week though, which absolutely sucks for you."
The voice turned him to stone, leaving him frozen in the uncomfortable bed. Dom looked over to see Letty Ortiz standing in the doorway, now dressed in a baggy t-shirt and sweatpants. Her hair was no longer in waves, but up in a messy bun on her head. Her chunky boots were replaced with flip flops, and her make-up was wiped free.
As she stood in her natural form, her good arm supporting her left arm in a sling, he couldn't believe that she looked even more beautiful than before.
"I don't know whether to kick your ass for being an arrogant prick," Dom dropped his head in shame, "... or thank you for not leaving me out in the street like my friends did."
"They don't seem like very good friends," he teased, and her scowl didn't falter.
"And Vince is any better?" her eyebrow raised, "That guy's a fucking caveman."
"Don't I know it," Dom mumbled, nervously massaging the back of his neck, "I'm sorry, if it helps any. You gonna make it?"
"I'll live. Busted up my elbow, thirty stitches in my arm, and a good knot my noggin. Other than that, Docs say I was lucky."
The guilt riddled Dom as he took in her injuries. Sure, she would heal in a few weeks, but it didn't make him feel better. This tiny, fragile girl could've been dead because of him, and that didn't sit well with his conscience.
"Dude, don't sweat it. Leon told me I stepped into your path. It was my fault I got hit. I know better than to stand so close."
"So why did you?" Dom asked, this time his eyebrow cocked.
Letty shrugged, "I liked your car. Too bad you couldn't handle her."
Dom scowled back, but swallowed his pride, "I shouldn't have been showing off for-" Dom cut off his words, "How can I make it up to you?"
"Bro, it's not that big a deal. We both survived – me death and you getting arrested for running down a pedestrian while illegally street racing," her soft lips curled into a small smirk for the first time, "We're even."
"Doesn't feel even. Can I take you to lunch?" Dom laid on the charm, but when Letty began laughing, he wondered just how hard she had hit her head.
Letty finally composed herself, "No. I know it might be foreign to hear those words coming from a girl, but no. Thanks for helping me out, but I don't see any need for us to make things more awkward."
Dom finally slid down to the cold linoleum floor and grabbed the crutches nearby. He placed them under his shoulders and took a few shaky steps toward her. Dom could see a quick flash of sympathy in her eyes before it was gone again.
"Maybe you can make it up to me then," her brows furrowed and she looked slightly offended, "I could've left you there on the street, but I didn't. I saved you. You owe me."
"I wouldn't have been bleeding to death if it wasn't-" Letty bit her tongue and sighed, "Fine. What do you want?"
"We both have shitty friends. Why don't you come by my dad's cafe? Just one lunch, as new friends."
Letty fumbled over the idea before caving, "Sure, but I'm not promising to be any fun."
"Neither am I," Dom gave her a smile that seemed to soften her up a bit. "I'm grounded for the foreseeable future after this, so I'll let you know when to stop by."
Dom couldn't help his laughter at their first encounter. It was a day that changed both of their lives, and it was a memory Dom cherished between them, even if she couldn't remember it. He wished that she could, though he knew it wouldn't make a difference. All he had now were the memories, and a hand-written letter that confirmed how big of a bitch karma had been to him.