<Dom's POV>
I run my fingers through her silky hair. She looks beautiful in the morning. She smiles as she awakens by my touch.
I lean down and kiss her. She tastes amazing.
"You know, for these few moments in the morning I forget about everything," I whisper into her ear. She runs circles on my skin. "It's just you and me."
I know I sounded cheesy and totally love-struck but I didn't care. Letty had seen my vulnerable side. Instead of lashing out when things got complicated, she took care of me and that was so admirable.
"You sound cheesy," she says.
"Admit it. You like it," I tease.
"I do."
I smile. I must admit, this commitment thing was pretty great. Although Letty and I weren't a couple or even exclusively dating, something about our relationship had changed. We acted like a couple.
-------------------
"Dom, you have to go back out there. You have to be around here again," she tried to convince me.
She pulled me towards the garage, her hand pulling me. The garage was spotless. The dodge charger had been removed, the broken walls fixed, the shattered glass thrown in the trash.
Letty must have cleaned after my outburst.
"You're a God's sent," I kissed the top of her head. She disappears into the office, leaving me alone in my thoughts. I should get back to work.
"Dom and Letty, sitting in a tree," Vince and Leon began to chant.
"God, you're annoying," I smiled. They both hugged me, glad that I was finally doing a little better. Mia had returned to school, taking care of the Café part-time. Letty had been leading things in the garage, taking care of the cars, the money and also the mortgage on the house.
"So, what can I do today?"
"Jensen Interceptor, Torino Cobra or Toyota?" Vince asked, pointing to the different cars.
"Jensen Interceptor, of course," I grin and get to work.
After a while I notice Vince and Leon disappearing in the office with Letty. What were they doing? I got up and opened the door, noticing their guilty facial expression as they tried to hide a stack of papers.
"What's going on?" I ask.
"Nothing," Vince and Leon reply immediately. Letty avoids my question.
"Letty!" I know that she wouldn't lie to me.
"Uh-" She begins to stutter. I tear the papers from her hands.
-1,345
-2,328
-4,552
What is this? The mortgage on the house. The rent from the cafe. The costs of new car parts. I groan.
"Is this-?" I ask, Letty nodding weakly.
"The garage and the cafe aren't bringing in enough money to cover the costs of the mortgage, food, utilities-" She sighed.
"How is this possible?"
"Well, Mr. T worked on the tracks, apparently making a shit ton of money."
"Letty, this isn't your job!" I yelled, getting frustrated. She knew I wasn't mad at her. "Don't worry about this. I'll take care of it. Don't tell Mia. I'll handle it. Okay?"
"How are you supposed to do that?" Letty asked once Vince and Leon left the room.
"I got college money from my Dad, which I wouldn't have used anyway. And the races pay some money too."
"Don't you think-" I cut her off with my lips. She smiles into the kiss and pulls me closer towards her. We hadn't slept together after the death of my father but we had some passionate moments like this.
"Stop worrying Letty, trust me," she laughed hoarsely as I told her to trust me. I nudged her in the side. It was so refreshing to be with her. We were best friends. We were family. And our relationship wouldn't change that.
--------------------
"Dom, are you going tonight?" Vince asked me. I shook my head. I couldn't be around the racing tracks.
"Come on, man. You gotta get out there again it's been two months now."
I shook my head again. In the last few weeks my conversation has been kept to a minimum. The only one I really talked to was Letty.
"Letty's out of town tonight, Mia went with her. Come on, I don't want you to stay home alone."
"All right."
He grinned and kissed me on the back of my head. "Let's go, Leon, Jesse?" They came sprinting down the stairs.
"Let's roll."
I wondered where everyone else was but kept my mouth shut.
-------------------
The scene hadn't changed at all. The broken wall from my fathers crash had been fixed, the tire tracks cleaned up and the wreck of a car had been removed. Everyone was laughing and chatting, completely oblivious to the fact that somebody had died there a few weeks ago. Was my father already forgotten? Did he mean nothing to all these people?
I closed my eyes as I heard the screams of my father repeating themselves in my brain. I could sense the smoke, I could feel the tears streaming down my face. I saw the crash. Kenny Linder being transported into the ambulance.
I opened my eyes but still saw him. Kenny Linder. He was here. I saw him smile. He was about to get into his car. He didn't deserve to live.
I heard the screams again. I closed my eyes and still heard them. I saw Kenny Linder. I opened my eyes. Everything was him.
People were screaming. Somebody was holding me back, yelling at me.
"Dom! Dom, stop!" I feel hands tearing me away. But I still only see him. Linder. I don't see my father. All I see is him.
Somebody is pushing me against a wall. But I can't see what is happening. My arm feels heavy. Something is ripped from my hand. A wrench. Where did I get a wrench?
"You have the right to remain silent. Everything you say can and will be used against you."
What? My heart is racing. I hear Vince yelling after me. I hear sirens. I'm pushed into something soft. I'm moving. I'm in a car.
But all I see is Kenny Linder.
He's all I ever see