You ride. I ride.

47. Talk to me

<Letty's POV>

I had sent Mia and Brian out with Tony, so I could talk to Dom today. Initially, I had thought that that was a good plan until I saw a blonde girl standing in the kitchen. 

"Elena, oh, hi," I said a bit surprised. 

"Letty, hi. I thought I was alone, you scared me," she smiled slightly. 

"Do you know where Dom is?" 

"He went out about an hour ago, said he wanted to clear his head. I don't know where he is though, sorry. "

"It's okay, thanks," I replied as if I had no idea where he was.

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

"How did you find me?" Dom said without real surprise in his voice. 

"You're not hard to find Toretto."

I sat down next to him, on the bench overlooking the whole city. We used to come here so often, staring down at the city, talking about everything and nothing. 

"Why are you here, Let?" He asked. He knew he was taking a risk by calling me 'Let'. It was his nickname for me once we got together. 

"I decided I should hear you out. You said you wanted a chance to make things right and get to know Tony. So how do you see that happening?"

"I want to spend time with her. I don't know, I haven't really thought about that." 

A little part of me was disappointed by the answer. I had hoped that he would show some real initiative. "Dom, this isn't just some kid you can visit once every few months. You can't live the life you do and have a relationship with her. You can't go to races. No more fights, no more adventures, no more fast cars. She means everything to me and I'm not going to put her in danger for you."

"Who says I would put her in danger?"

"Everyone around you is in danger, Dom! That's the reason you had to leave me behind. And I'm going to make sure that you don't do the same to her." 

"I didn't leave you Letty," he muttered. 

"Yes, you did." 

"I had to leave. You know that." 

"You could have taken me with you," I muttered. We could have had a life together, I thought. 

"It would have ruined your life and you know it."

I sensed that this was starting to drift off into a discussion so I changed the subject. "It doesn't matter now. It is how it is. You just have to understand that I want to keep my daughter safe and if you want to have any relationship with her, I need reassurance from you that she is not going to be in danger and that you're going to stick around. Not for a few months but forever. Otherwise, she's just going to end up hurt."

"I can't promise that I'm always going to be in LA. I don't know where I'm going to be but I do want to get to know her, Letty. I am serious about this." 

"Are you, Dom?" 

He didn't understand how serious this issue was. You can't just decide that you want a relationship with a child without thinking about it for a long time. This is a commitment for life. 

"Have you talked to Elena about it? How is she going to fit into this picture? How are you going to earn money? The garage is closed and you can't participate in races anymore?"

"I haven't thought about that." 

"That's what I thought. There are so many things you have to consider before making this decision. If you seriously want a relationship with my daughter, then you can, but you have to be committed 100%."

"I understand that, Letty. I want to have a relationship with her." 

"Okay, good. How about you spend some time with her without introducing the father thing and we'll just see how that goes?"

"Yeah, I'd like that." 

We sat there in silence until Dom's stomach started to grumble. 

"Hungry?" I asked, chuckling. 

"Yeah," he blushed a little.

"I know a good place around the corner." 

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

"Man, this place hasn't changed at all!" Dom explained as we entered the diner. 

It was my first visit since Dom left as well. Coming here without him would have been too painful. 

"Remember that girl that used to work here who would always stare at you?" I asked. That girl was one of many who were obsessed with Dom. Looking back, I could laugh about it.

"I wonder if she still works here?"

I laughed. 

"If she sees you in here, she'll gladly start working here again." 

He smiled. 

We sat down at our usual booth, both aware that this was the first time we were going to spend time alone with each other since we left. We both ordered food from a middle-aged guy who didn't seem familiar. 

"I don't think you're his type."

"What a shame, I really hoped that he would be," Dom replied. 

"It's so weird you know?" He started a little monolog. "I've been gone for so long and from the outside, everything looks the same as if nothing had changed. And as soon as you go back, life just surprises you out of the blue."

"All of that because of the man who waiters here now?" I ask rhetorically. I knew that he was trying to start a conversation about the past and us but I just couldn't have this conversation with him. 

"You know that's not what I mean, Let."

He was calling me Let again. 

"What do you want me to say, Dom? Yeah, things have changed. Of course, they have. But you changed as well. Your girlfriend is blonde. I always assumed that you were brunette kind of guy."

"I was a you-type of guy." 

God, why did he have to say stuff like that. He was a real asshole, wasn't he? Trying to get me back now that I had a life without him. 

"Watch it, Dom," I warned him. 

"I'm sorry, I'll stop," he immediately said, noticing that I was annoyed by his antics. "Tell me about Tony," he asked, changing the topic. 

Although it was a clear tactic to avoid awkward tension, he seemed genuinely interested when I told him about Tony. 

After a while, without noticing, I had drifted from Tony to Deckard. 

"And he is just great with Tony. They have this thing where they watch every game of the Lakers during the playoffs. And I don't know how he does it but Deckard always has tickets and takes her. It's adorable."

I noticed his clenched jaw and asked "Dom? What are you thinking?" 

"Nothing," he sternly said while avoiding eye contact. 

He was doing that thing were he shut himself off from everyone scared of revealing his emotions. At the beginning of our relationship that had been a real problem but it had gotten a lot better towards the end.

"Talk to me, Dom."