Fast Lane ━━ Brian O'Conner ¹

𝟮𝟬. turning of a wheel

     "I like it hot," Brian grinned, making the sisters shake their heads in amusement.

     Dominic quickly dug into his food, which made Mia furrow her brows as she looked at him. "Dom, what are you doing? You reached first, you have to say grace."

     Josephine slowly lowered her chopsticks and Brian tilted his head at Dominic as if he was saying, Go on. A faint smile slipped on the older brother's face and he clasped his hands together with a quiet sigh. Just like old times, I suppose. Josephine closed her eyes and respected the moment. She didn't notice Brian looking at her, his expression softening with a small smile. Mia briefly saw the action before she shut her eyes.

     "Thank you, Lord, for blessing this table."

     "With food, family, and friendship."

     Dominic and Mia decided to leave them to themselves around the dining table as they dispersed into their own worlds. They sat close to each other, Josephine facing Brian with one arm on the table. Her hands constantly turned into fists that made her feel the sting of the wounds on her knuckles that Brian had wrapped with a white bandage. Small tints of blood seeped through the fabric the more she clenched them but it didn't bother her.

     Brian looked at her, clasping his hands together with his elbows on the table, and leaned his chin on them. He seemed to hesitate for a second, just watching her pursed her lips now and then with a certain warmth in her hazel eyes as she swirled the mug of coffee she had. Then he mused, breaking the silence. "You asked me why I let Dom go."

     Josephine turned her eyes toward him, listening to every word he said.

     "I think it's because at that moment... I respected him more than I did myself," Brian said with an invisible lump in his throat. She gazed at him softly. There was this same troubled look in his eyes that he gets when he's at war with himself again. "One thing I learned from Dom is that nothing really matters unless you have a code."

     Her lips hinted at a slight smile. "And what's your code, Brian?"

     He was quiet for a second, just looking at her like he always did. Like he'd burn the world down for her. "I'm working on it."

     It only took a minute before something went wrong again. Only this time, it completely baffled Josephine. Suddenly, Brian's cell phone began to ring loudly at the same time Dom stalked back into the living room with a deathly look on his face. He was furious. That alone his sisters could tell as they all rose from their feet with caution. Dominic was going in one direction and it was straight at an extremely alarmed Brian O'Conner.

     "Oh, shit. Hey, Dom." Brian went to meet him, not realizing he was walking straight into danger. 

     "When were you gonna tell me?" Dominic demanded with a certain edge to his tone. 

     Mia rushed toward Josephine with a worried look on her face. "Dom, what are you doing?"

     "What's going on, Brian?" Josephine asked frustratedly but their questions were left unheard.

     "Dom. Let me explain━"

     "When were you gonna tell me you were running Letty?"