You ride. I ride.

42. Return

<Dom's POV> 5 years later after his escape

"You're a free man Toretto."

The words that I had been waiting for for the last 5 years. Luke Hobbs shook my hand whilst giving me the papers documenting my freedom. 

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

The same day I packed my bags and booked a last-minute flight from Brazil to LA. I had my friend Hobbs and also my ex-cop girlfriend do some checks on my family over the years. Never being able to let go of the fear of something happening to them. 

Mia was apparently finishing her degree in medicine at the time, Jesse, Leon, and Vince kept out of trouble and Letty had moved out of the Toretto household a few months after Dom's departure. He had told himself that she couldn't stand the house without him and left his life for good with it. But instead of leaving the topic alone, he still checked every few months to see whether she was doing okay. 

"Don't be nervous," Elena encouraged him as they parked in front of his old house, everything still looks pretty much the same. Two cars rowed up in the driveway presumably from the boys, some laughter coming from the background. 

I rang the doorbell, my hands shaking in nervosity. How do you return to your family after 5 years without any contact? 

"Open the door, Vince." 

"What idiot still rings the doorbell? I thought it stopped working years ago." 

It sounded like nothing had ever changed. 

"Hell no," Vince looked rather reserved about my return when he opened the door. I noticed that he had gotten slimmer while I was away. He had outgrown his beard and was now dressed in a rather nice button-up shirt. His hair was combed back, his clothes were clean and if you looked closely I even think I could see the glistening of gell in his brown hair. 

"Who's there?" Mia asked from the kitchen. I bet she took care of everything since the day I had to leave. 

"Your brother," he answered in the form of a question. I didn't understand why he wasn't happy to see me. I was aware that we hadn't talked, but I never assumed that anyone would resent me for what I did. Except for Letty of course. 

"Very funny Vince," I could hear her making her way to the door. 

"Dom!" She squealed happily, immediately jumping into my arms. Now that's the reaction I was looking for. And oh my god, did it feel great to hug her again. I had missed my little sister. She had been the only one I kept in touch with, talking to her every few months to check up on everything. 

"What? What are you doing here?" She asked, pulling me inside the house. Jesse, Leon, and then also Vince started hugging me, all somewhat politely but still a hint of awkwardness in their eyes.

I totally forgot about Elena who followed us in. "Whose the girl?" Leon made his way to her. He hadn't changed at all. 

"That's Elena, my girlfriend." 

The room grew quiet. Elena was visibly uncomfortable by this hostile greeting. 

"And you thought it was appropriate to visit us with your girlfriend?" Vince attacked me. Where is this coming from? 

"You don't have a say in this," I answered somewhat confused by his reaction. "I wanted you to meet her." 

"It's nice to meet you. Sorry about this drama, it's just been a long time since we've seen Dom," Mia explained hugging Elena reluctantly. 

"I totally understand and I didn't mean to intrude on your family reunion." 

"No, don't this is not your fault. Why don't you go outside with the boys to prepare the barbeque?" 

Elena followed the guys outside when the door opened and I could feel everyone tense up. 

"Sorry I'm late, but I did bring some extra beer to make up for it," the buster's voice echoed through the hallway. Everyone started breathing again. 

"What's with the faces?" He asked before seeing me. "NO way," he yelled before hugging me. 

A few minutes later after catching up with Brian we noticed that everyone else was outside. I was happy that they had upheld our tradition of Sunday barbeques. To be honest, I assumed that once I'd left that the gang would fall apart, especially once Letty moved away. I noticed one of the pictures of her and Mia was still displayed in the kitchen. Were the two still close? 

"Don't worry. She doesn't live here anymore," the buster explained reading my mind. 

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

"Can't believe you're the one grilling now Vince!" I exclaimed when he turned over the chicken that was almost burnt to a crisp. 

"Just filling in for Deck," he replied dryly. Who the fuck was Deck? 

Before I could ask I heard a little girl yelling behind me: "Mia! Mia!" she squealed while running at her at full speed. Mia lifted her up the ground somewhat hesitantly and swirled her around. 

Who is that girl? Did Mia have a daughter? Why didn't she tell me? 

"I swear to God," the raspy voice began. Instantly I froze up. Letty. She still sounded exactly the same. And when she came walking around the corner in the same leather clothes she used to wear, you could have thought that absolutely nothing had changed. She still looked perfect, the confidence in the way she walked, the hair framing her face perfectly, the slight grin playing on her lips. She didn't notice me as she kept talking: "that girl is so fast. She clearly inherited the ability to run from the cops." 

I almost laughed at the joke. She looked up and our eyes met for the first time in five years. How did I manage to live without her for that long? It felt like someone had knocked out the oxygen of my lungs. We both held the stare for a long time with everyone, including my girlfriend, watching. 

"Mommy, who is that?" The little girl asked Letty, looking at me challengingly. 

"Mommy?" I asked perplexed. Letty had a kid? How did I miss that? At a second look, the girl looked a lot like her. She had the same olive skin tone that glistened in the sun, the same wavy brown hair and the same attitude apparently. 

"Vince take her inside. Now," she ordered, Vince doing immediately as asked picking the little girl up against her will and carrying her inside, where you could hear her arguing with him. Was Vince the father? Vince and she had been always been close. I had never told her when we were together but it had always bothered me that they seemed to share some special connection.

"Don't tell me he's the father?" I asked almost accusatorily.