July Jones, Chapter 6
In the midst of yet again, redoing my entire room and rearranging it and getting things together for the garage sale next week, I put this chapter together, and two others. I've still got a large part to still edit (about 100 pages left!). I'm not sure how many chapters are left since I'm splitting it up at different intervals than before.
Anywho, here's the next chatper, again, I'm very thankful to those few who are reading this fic. Any and all feedback is appreciated.
Author: BloodyTearsOfLife
Title: July Jones
Rating: PG-13/R
Disclaimer: All characters from The Fast and the Furious belong to Universal Studios, yada, yada, yada. I only own the ones you don’t know. And no profit is made of this, this is just for mine and hopefully your entertainment.
Summary: July Jones has just learned she's been lied to for the last 10 years. Now she is in LA trying to find the real her but it won't be easy and what happens when she moves next door to the team.
[|All Chapters|] [| Previous Chapter|]
Chapter 6: Research and a Phone Call
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The evening continued on. July got to know everyone a little better. Everyone was laughing and joking by the time it got dark, everyone except Vince that was.
Vince was quiet and didn’t say anything even if someone said something to him. As Mia and Brian began to clean up, everyone headed into the living room to watch a movie. July started up the back stairs, but Vince grabbed her by the arm, stopping her. He dragged her over to the picnic table and stood still for a second.
“What the heck do you want?” she asked, mad that he just grabbed her after the way he acted yesterday. She stared at him and finally he looked up.
“Look, I just…I wanted to apologize for yesterday,” Vince said in a rush, stuffing his hands into his pockets and staring at his feet. He’d really prejudged her yesterday, something he was raised not to do. He had no right to do what he did and he owed her after she didn’t tell on him.
July couldn’t help but smile at the picture he presented. He looked like a little boy who had gotten into trouble. She stared off at the streetlights twinkling off in the distance as her brain processed everything she’d learned.
“Why did you ask me if I was a cop? Is it because of the racing thing?” July questioned, looking back at Vince and saw him studying her.
Vince was quiet for a few minutes and then looked away, taking a deep breath. He was trying to figure out if he should tell her or not. She seemed trustworthy and Vince didn’t get a bad feeling from her, but he didn’t know this girl for nothing and there was no way he was just going to spill everything because she had a pretty smile.
Where did that thought come from? he growled in his head, mentally shaking it.
Vince finally settled on telling her a smidge of truth, he owed her that much at least.
“What I tell you is going to stay between me and you until everyone decided it’s okay for you to know. Deal?”
July nodded her head, very curious as to what Vince was going to tell her.
Vince took another deep breath and explained vaguely about how Brian was an undercover cop and how he tried to catch them for something, but wouldn’t say what. He also explained that there was an accident and that Brian saved his life and now was part of the team. “So that’s why I wanted to know if you were a cop because Brian was an undercover one and we don’t want any trouble,” he finished. He hadn’t spilled any team secrets and hadn’t told her anything more than what she’d hear off the streets.
July looked away in though, mulling over what he had said. It all did make sense in the end, why he asked her.
“Vince, it’s cool. I understand. You were just trying to protect your family. It’s nothing I wouldn’t do if I had a family,” July replied and offered him a small, sad smile. “You just didn’t want a repeat of what happened.”
“No, we don’t, but I guess it all didn’t turn out so bad,” Vince said, looking wistfully into the kitchen window where Mia and Brian were laughing and throwing soap bubbles at each other.
“Let me guess, you liked her, she didn’t see you that way, he came in and swept her off her feet and now you kind of owe him your life.”
Vince gave a growl of frustration at being read so easily. “Yeah, that’s pretty much it, but I’m over it. “At July’s raised eyebrow, he relented, wondering how she was able to read him so well. “I’m as over it as I’ll ever be. He makes her happy and that’s all that matters.”
“So, the scars are a nifty souvenirs from the accident?” she asked and Vince laughed.
“Never thought about them like that.”
“Well, yours beats mine,” she commented, raising her arm to point out her own scar.
“I guess they do,” he replied, wondering where hers came from but not willing to push his luck at the moment. “So I’m forgiven?”
“I guess so. If I have to,” she answered with a giggle, and Vince gave her a look of warning. “So friends?” she said, sticking out her hand.
“Friends,” Vince agreed, shaking her hand, ignoring the warmth that her hand in his created. “Come on, let’s get inside and join the others before they start to wonder what happened to us.”
“Yeah, they might think I kicked your butt, you big baby,” July teased, laughing and running into the house. She could hear Vince coming after her. She sprinted into the living room and everyone looked up.
“I’m gonna get you for that one July!”
“You wish Vince,” she called back, coming to rest behind the armchair where Dom was sitting. Leon and Letty were sitting together in another armchair and Jesse was by himself on the couch.
“So, Coyote, what were you two up to?” Leon asked, smirking from his chair.
“Coyote?” July repeated, raising an eyebrow.
“Yeah, it’s a nickname, and we were just talking,” Vince answered, sitting down on the couch. For whatever reason, Leon implying July was one of those girls upset him, but it wasn’t something he wanted to think about at the moment. So he brushed it off and focused on the movie playing.
“Sure,” Leon replied sarcastically.
“We really were talking,” July said not wanting anyone to get any ideas.
“Don’t worry girl,” Letty spoke up, “you probably were, Le just can’t get his head out of the gutter.”
“Hey!” Leon exclaimed.
“What?” Letty asked innocently and everyone laughed.
July sat down between Vince and Jesse on the couch. She snuggled deeper into the couch and turned her attention to the movie.
Once the second movie was over, almost everybody was asleep. Vince and Jesse had left a couple minutes ago to bed. Dom and July were the only ones left in the living room. July checked her watch and saw it was a little after midnight. She yawned and then stood up.
“I should get going,” she commented, feeling a faint flush fill her body as she realized Dom’s eyes were on her as she stretched.
“Yeah, it’s getting late,” he agreed, getting up and walking her to the door.
“Well, thanks for dinner.”
“No problem.” Dom opened the door and step out with her onto the porch.
“So I’ll see you tomorrow at two?” July asked.
“Yeah, just come over. We can take my car,” Dom replied, a half smile on his face.
“Okay, will do.” July turned to begin walking down the steps when Dom’s voice stopped her.
“You think you can make it to your house okay?” he asked looking around outside.
“Dom, I live next door, not a mile away. I’ll be okay walking the couple of feet to my door,” she teased and then started to walk down the steps.
“If you’re sure.”
“Don’t worry so much. See ya tomorrow.” July looked over her shoulder at him. The porch light outlined his large form but she couldn’t see his eyes.
“Yeah tomorrow…” Dom said and watched as she walked the short distance to her house and disappeared inside.
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Dom got up at eight the next morning and headed downstairs after dressing in his work clothes. As he came down the stairs, he saw Jesse and Brian in the living room watching TV.
“Morning,” Brain greeted and Dom grunted in response, not feeling too awake yet. He headed into the kitchen and found Mia making breakfast.
“Hey,” she said passing him a cup of warm coffee.
“Hey,” Dom replied, taking a sip.
“So…”
“So what?”
“You know what. What did you think of July?” Mia asked as she began cooking breakfast.
“She seems okay.”
“Well you haven’t scared her away yet so that’s good.”
Dom gave his sister a glare, even as she smiled at him.
“You better watch it. It’s too early,” he warned.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, quit your whining. So what did you really think of her, and be honest,” Mia demanded.
“I told you, she seems alright. I don’t know too much about her but I can fix that.”
“Jesse?” Mia mused with a frown, not always happy with her brother’s method of gaining information.
“Well for starters, but I’ll also talk to her today.”
“Yeah and we all know how that’s going to go.” Mia gave a laugh at Dom’s glare. “So what are the plans for this morning?”
“We got races tonight, so we’re going to head down and do weekly checks on the cars. And Jesse put some new parts in the Seven that he wants to check over,” Dom answered, grabbing the morning newspaper and sitting down at the table.”
Mia finished making breakfast and everyone dragged themselves into the kitchen, lured in by the smell of food. Breakfast was had and soon after everyone left to the garage.
Half way through checking over the cars, Dom headed over to Jesse.
“Jess, we got something to do.”
“What?” he asked, looking up from the engine.
“I want you to look up July for me.”
“Alright,” he said immediately, wiping his hands on a rag.
The two headed in to the office and Jesse started to work his magic on the computer. Within moments he had July file up and read it.
“Let’s see. Name, July Jones, age eighteen. Born August ninth, 1984. They have her current address as here in LA. No felonies or misdemeanors. A couple speeding tickets, but other than that she’s clean.”
“Does it say anything about where she use to live?” Dom asked, looking over Jesse’s shoulder.
“Ah, no but she has school records with San Pedro Valley High in Texas, so she wasn’t lying when she said she was from Texas.”
“Wait, if she’s eighteen, doesn’t she have a year of school left?” Dom asked.
“According to this no, she actually has extra credits. They already gave her a diploma,” Jesse said, bringing up a copy of a diploma and her transcript.
“What about her parents?”
“Let me check.”
Jesse was quiet for a few minutes and then he turned back towards me.
“What?” Dom asked noticing the sad look on his face.
“Dom, her parents are dead.”
“What?”
“There was an accident. Someone attacked them, her parents were killed and then some people adopted her and I guess when she turned eighteen she left.”
“No wonder she didn’t want to talk about it,” Dom thought aloud, remembering how July closed herself off last night when he asked where she was from.
“Yeah, I guess so.”
“Jess, let’s not tell anyone about this yet. I don’t know her well enough but I know she would be pissed if we all found out by looking her up.”
“Yeah, this is big.”
“Thanks Jesse.”
“No problem,” Jesse said as he shut down the computer.
“Let’s go finish up the cars.”
“Wait.” Jesse fished around in his pockets and finally pulled out a piece of paper. “Here.”
Dom took the scrap of paper from him and found Jesse’s jumbled handwriting on it. “What’s this?”
“A list of parts. It’s for July, for her car. Man, I can’t wait to get my hands on that Soarer,” Jesse said rubbing his hands together and a gleam appeared in his eyes.
“Down boy, it’s her car first off and second, you haven’t asked.”
“Fine, just give her that list and tell her it will make her car way better for racing.”
“Okay,” Dom said and put the list in his pocket. “Let’s go finish the cars first.”
By noon they had finished the team’s cars. They headed down to the store for lunch and then went back to work. Around one, Dom went home. He trekked upstairs and took a quick shower, then put on some jeans and a wife beater. He grabbed a black button up shirt as a last thought and threw it on. As he walked down the stairs, buttoning his shirt, the doorbell rang.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Earlier:
July’s eyes fluttered open and things slowly came into focus. She snuggled into the blankets and looked over at the clock, seeing it was a little after ten. She slowly stretched out her body and then curled back up. She had only been in the house for three days but it already felt like home and that freaked her out a bit. This was a totally strange house to her but yet she felt she was exactly where she should have always been.
She lay lost in thought when Mike popped into her head. He was leaving home today to come see her. A smile broke out on her face at the thought of seeing her best friend. July slapped herself on the head when she remembered what they talked about. She was supposed to call home.
Crap, crap!
July sat up in bed and grabbed the cordless that she had set up.
I guess it’s not too early to call over there, it would only be like noon. They should be home, she mused.
Turning on the phone, July punched in the number she knew by heart and listen to the phone ring. Each ring felt like it dragged on forever and just as she was about to hang up, someone picked up the phone and her breath caught as soon as she heard their voice.
“Hello?” a tired, feminine voice answered.
“Hello,” she replied, keeping her voice flat.
“July?” Mary asked and July could hear the hope in her voice.
“Yeah, it’s me.”
“Oh, July, honey, we were so scared. We thought something might have happened to you,” she sobbed.
“I’m fine. I’m just calling to say that I found the lawyer and everything is settled. I am staying here,” she deadpanned. It was hard to remain neutral. She wanted to yell in anger and jump for joy at the same time from hearing her voice. Half of July was mad at what Mary had done and the other half was just content from hearing her voice.
“You mean in LA?” Mary whispered into the dead silence the hung between the two.
“Yeah, in LA.”
“Mike came over yesterday for dinner and told us he was going to go see you,” Mary said after a moment.
“Oh.”
Mary gave a sigh and July could hear the tears in her voice.
“Look, July, we weren’t-”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” July said, cutting her off.
“July…”
“Mary, I don’t want to talk about it. I just called to let you know I was alive and I am going to be living in LA now, this is my home now.” July could feel the tears she was repressing slowly trail down her face as she said the words. It hurt more than anything to say those words to her but at the same time it felt liberating; she was free. It was terrifying and exciting at the same time.
“I’m sorry,” Mary softly said.
“Are you really?” July asked, her anger coming to the surface.
“July, we are so sorry, you don’t know how sorry we are, but please think about it. What else were we suppose to do?” she pleaded.
“I don’t know…look, I’m going to get going. I’ll call sometime,” July said in a rush and hung up. She put the phone back and stood up.
July went into the bathroom and stripped. She turned on the shower and stepped in and let the hot water wash over her. The tears came like a flood. She laid her head against the shower stall and let them fall. She cried for that little girl who lost her parents, she cried for that girl who lived a false life, she cried for that women who might never know the truth.
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Some time later when her chest hurt from sobbing, July cleaned up and got out, catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror. She felt as if she were looking at someone else. She dried her hair out and then stuck it up into a ponytail, leaving a few wisps of hair down to frame her face. She went back into her room and shifted through her drawers, finally pulling out a pair of black jeans she’d cut to mid-calf and a white tank top. After dressing she slipped on her sneakers and then headed down stairs.
July had some cereal for breakfast and then stood there; she was restless. With nothing else to do until she got the car parts, she cleaned the house and did what little laundry she had. She was sitting in the kitchen eating lunch when she looked up at the clock. It was one. She only had another hour till she’d go over to meet up with Dom. She finished eating and then headed out to the garage, doubled checking over the list she had made.
She zoned out and by the time she checked the clock again it was ten minutes to two. Stuffing the list back into her pocket, she headed up to her room. July grabbed her wallet, her keys, and some money and stuffed it all into her pockets.
She left the house, locking it behind her and headed over to Mia’s house. Walking up the porch, she couldn’t help but be nervous. She smoothed out her shirt and ran a hand over her hair. Satisfied that she looked okay, July stepped up to the door and rang the doorbell, hearing the sound of footsteps before the door swung open.
“Hey,” Dom said.
“Hi,” July replied.
“Ready to go?”
“Yup,” she said taking a step back from the door.
Dom grabbed his keys and then came out. He smelled masculine and clean and July couldn’t help but take a deep breath in; he smelled good. Dom’s shirt was unbuttoned on the top and she could see a smooth expansion of tan muscle. Tingles rippled across her flesh as she envisioned what lay beneath the shirt.
Snap out of it, he’s going to think something’s wrong with you if you just stand there staring, July said to herself.
“Let’s go,” Dom said after noticing that July was staring and decided to break her out of her reverie. He saw the faint blush that tinted her cheeks and started to study her. July looked up to see Dom staring at her just as intently as she had.
Well, two can play that game, July thought with a smirk.
“Okay,” she said and turned around. She confidently walked down the steps and looked over her shoulder to see if he was following; he hadn’t. “Yo, Dom, are you just going to stand there all day and look at my butt or are we going to go get parts?”
Dom couldn’t stop the shock expression that crossed his face but when he realized she was playing with him, he grinned back at her.
“Yeah,” he said, slowly walking down the steps.
“Yes to which part?”
“Both,” he replied laughing and July rolled her eyes at his typical make reply.
They both got into the Seven and after stepping down on the clutch, Dom started the car. Releasing the emergency brake, he slid it into reverse and rolled down the driveway.
“This is nice,” July said admiring the car. It was a really nice car; there was no doubting that.
“Thanks,” Dom said as he put the car into first and shot off with a squeal and a slight burn of rubber. July scrambled to get her seat belt on and Dom laughed at her. “Don’t tell me you’re scared.”
“No, I’d just like to live to see tomorrow,” she snapped back and Dom chuckled. He slowed down his driving a bit and saw her settled more comfortably into her seat. As Dom drove, July took mental notes of all the stops and turns and they soon arrived at Racer’s Edge.
“Here we are,” Dom said, pulling the car into a parking spot. “Oh, Jesse wanted me to give you this,” he said handing her the scrap of paper with the list of parts on it.
“What’s this for?” she asked reading it over.
“Jess just told me to give it to you and said if you wanted to race, this is what you would. We never really question what Jesse says about the cars, he’s always right. So if Jesse says you need this, then you need it.” He saw her read over the list again and glanced over at him.
“This is going to cost quite a bit,” July muttered and contemplated buying the parts. She had the money, more than enough, but she didn’t know if she should buy them.
“If money is an issue then wait or just buy a part or two.”
“No, it’s not really an issue, I’m just not sure whether to buy it,” she said and started to chew on her lip. This automatically caught Dom’s attention and he was drawn to her lips. Dom wetted his lip and started to lean forward, he didn’t have a clue what he was doing. They were both startled when Dom’s pocket began to ring. Dom quickly leaned back and took out his cell phone.
“Talk,” Dom growled into the phone. “Okay…Maybe…We’ll be back in a while…Bye.”
While Dom was talking, July figured that she would buy the parts but after this, she wasn’t going to touch the money unless she needed to. She would need a job; she wouldn’t be able to sit around the house all day and do nothing.
“So what was that about?” she asked Dom as soon as he hung up.
“Just Vince, Jesse wants a couple of parts while we’re down here.”
“Oh.”
“You still want to get the parts right?”
“Yeah, we didn’t make this trip for nothing. I’m not leaving here empty handed.”
“Believe me, you won’t,” Dom said.
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tbc…
Anywho, here's the next chatper, again, I'm very thankful to those few who are reading this fic. Any and all feedback is appreciated.
Author: BloodyTearsOfLife
Title: July Jones
Rating: PG-13/R
Disclaimer: All characters from The Fast and the Furious belong to Universal Studios, yada, yada, yada. I only own the ones you don’t know. And no profit is made of this, this is just for mine and hopefully your entertainment.
Summary: July Jones has just learned she's been lied to for the last 10 years. Now she is in LA trying to find the real her but it won't be easy and what happens when she moves next door to the team.
[|All Chapters|] [| Previous Chapter|]
Chapter 6: Research and a Phone Call
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The evening continued on. July got to know everyone a little better. Everyone was laughing and joking by the time it got dark, everyone except Vince that was.
Vince was quiet and didn’t say anything even if someone said something to him. As Mia and Brian began to clean up, everyone headed into the living room to watch a movie. July started up the back stairs, but Vince grabbed her by the arm, stopping her. He dragged her over to the picnic table and stood still for a second.
“What the heck do you want?” she asked, mad that he just grabbed her after the way he acted yesterday. She stared at him and finally he looked up.
“Look, I just…I wanted to apologize for yesterday,” Vince said in a rush, stuffing his hands into his pockets and staring at his feet. He’d really prejudged her yesterday, something he was raised not to do. He had no right to do what he did and he owed her after she didn’t tell on him.
July couldn’t help but smile at the picture he presented. He looked like a little boy who had gotten into trouble. She stared off at the streetlights twinkling off in the distance as her brain processed everything she’d learned.
“Why did you ask me if I was a cop? Is it because of the racing thing?” July questioned, looking back at Vince and saw him studying her.
Vince was quiet for a few minutes and then looked away, taking a deep breath. He was trying to figure out if he should tell her or not. She seemed trustworthy and Vince didn’t get a bad feeling from her, but he didn’t know this girl for nothing and there was no way he was just going to spill everything because she had a pretty smile.
Where did that thought come from? he growled in his head, mentally shaking it.
Vince finally settled on telling her a smidge of truth, he owed her that much at least.
“What I tell you is going to stay between me and you until everyone decided it’s okay for you to know. Deal?”
July nodded her head, very curious as to what Vince was going to tell her.
Vince took another deep breath and explained vaguely about how Brian was an undercover cop and how he tried to catch them for something, but wouldn’t say what. He also explained that there was an accident and that Brian saved his life and now was part of the team. “So that’s why I wanted to know if you were a cop because Brian was an undercover one and we don’t want any trouble,” he finished. He hadn’t spilled any team secrets and hadn’t told her anything more than what she’d hear off the streets.
July looked away in though, mulling over what he had said. It all did make sense in the end, why he asked her.
“Vince, it’s cool. I understand. You were just trying to protect your family. It’s nothing I wouldn’t do if I had a family,” July replied and offered him a small, sad smile. “You just didn’t want a repeat of what happened.”
“No, we don’t, but I guess it all didn’t turn out so bad,” Vince said, looking wistfully into the kitchen window where Mia and Brian were laughing and throwing soap bubbles at each other.
“Let me guess, you liked her, she didn’t see you that way, he came in and swept her off her feet and now you kind of owe him your life.”
Vince gave a growl of frustration at being read so easily. “Yeah, that’s pretty much it, but I’m over it. “At July’s raised eyebrow, he relented, wondering how she was able to read him so well. “I’m as over it as I’ll ever be. He makes her happy and that’s all that matters.”
“So, the scars are a nifty souvenirs from the accident?” she asked and Vince laughed.
“Never thought about them like that.”
“Well, yours beats mine,” she commented, raising her arm to point out her own scar.
“I guess they do,” he replied, wondering where hers came from but not willing to push his luck at the moment. “So I’m forgiven?”
“I guess so. If I have to,” she answered with a giggle, and Vince gave her a look of warning. “So friends?” she said, sticking out her hand.
“Friends,” Vince agreed, shaking her hand, ignoring the warmth that her hand in his created. “Come on, let’s get inside and join the others before they start to wonder what happened to us.”
“Yeah, they might think I kicked your butt, you big baby,” July teased, laughing and running into the house. She could hear Vince coming after her. She sprinted into the living room and everyone looked up.
“I’m gonna get you for that one July!”
“You wish Vince,” she called back, coming to rest behind the armchair where Dom was sitting. Leon and Letty were sitting together in another armchair and Jesse was by himself on the couch.
“So, Coyote, what were you two up to?” Leon asked, smirking from his chair.
“Coyote?” July repeated, raising an eyebrow.
“Yeah, it’s a nickname, and we were just talking,” Vince answered, sitting down on the couch. For whatever reason, Leon implying July was one of those girls upset him, but it wasn’t something he wanted to think about at the moment. So he brushed it off and focused on the movie playing.
“Sure,” Leon replied sarcastically.
“We really were talking,” July said not wanting anyone to get any ideas.
“Don’t worry girl,” Letty spoke up, “you probably were, Le just can’t get his head out of the gutter.”
“Hey!” Leon exclaimed.
“What?” Letty asked innocently and everyone laughed.
July sat down between Vince and Jesse on the couch. She snuggled deeper into the couch and turned her attention to the movie.
Once the second movie was over, almost everybody was asleep. Vince and Jesse had left a couple minutes ago to bed. Dom and July were the only ones left in the living room. July checked her watch and saw it was a little after midnight. She yawned and then stood up.
“I should get going,” she commented, feeling a faint flush fill her body as she realized Dom’s eyes were on her as she stretched.
“Yeah, it’s getting late,” he agreed, getting up and walking her to the door.
“Well, thanks for dinner.”
“No problem.” Dom opened the door and step out with her onto the porch.
“So I’ll see you tomorrow at two?” July asked.
“Yeah, just come over. We can take my car,” Dom replied, a half smile on his face.
“Okay, will do.” July turned to begin walking down the steps when Dom’s voice stopped her.
“You think you can make it to your house okay?” he asked looking around outside.
“Dom, I live next door, not a mile away. I’ll be okay walking the couple of feet to my door,” she teased and then started to walk down the steps.
“If you’re sure.”
“Don’t worry so much. See ya tomorrow.” July looked over her shoulder at him. The porch light outlined his large form but she couldn’t see his eyes.
“Yeah tomorrow…” Dom said and watched as she walked the short distance to her house and disappeared inside.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dom got up at eight the next morning and headed downstairs after dressing in his work clothes. As he came down the stairs, he saw Jesse and Brian in the living room watching TV.
“Morning,” Brain greeted and Dom grunted in response, not feeling too awake yet. He headed into the kitchen and found Mia making breakfast.
“Hey,” she said passing him a cup of warm coffee.
“Hey,” Dom replied, taking a sip.
“So…”
“So what?”
“You know what. What did you think of July?” Mia asked as she began cooking breakfast.
“She seems okay.”
“Well you haven’t scared her away yet so that’s good.”
Dom gave his sister a glare, even as she smiled at him.
“You better watch it. It’s too early,” he warned.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, quit your whining. So what did you really think of her, and be honest,” Mia demanded.
“I told you, she seems alright. I don’t know too much about her but I can fix that.”
“Jesse?” Mia mused with a frown, not always happy with her brother’s method of gaining information.
“Well for starters, but I’ll also talk to her today.”
“Yeah and we all know how that’s going to go.” Mia gave a laugh at Dom’s glare. “So what are the plans for this morning?”
“We got races tonight, so we’re going to head down and do weekly checks on the cars. And Jesse put some new parts in the Seven that he wants to check over,” Dom answered, grabbing the morning newspaper and sitting down at the table.”
Mia finished making breakfast and everyone dragged themselves into the kitchen, lured in by the smell of food. Breakfast was had and soon after everyone left to the garage.
Half way through checking over the cars, Dom headed over to Jesse.
“Jess, we got something to do.”
“What?” he asked, looking up from the engine.
“I want you to look up July for me.”
“Alright,” he said immediately, wiping his hands on a rag.
The two headed in to the office and Jesse started to work his magic on the computer. Within moments he had July file up and read it.
“Let’s see. Name, July Jones, age eighteen. Born August ninth, 1984. They have her current address as here in LA. No felonies or misdemeanors. A couple speeding tickets, but other than that she’s clean.”
“Does it say anything about where she use to live?” Dom asked, looking over Jesse’s shoulder.
“Ah, no but she has school records with San Pedro Valley High in Texas, so she wasn’t lying when she said she was from Texas.”
“Wait, if she’s eighteen, doesn’t she have a year of school left?” Dom asked.
“According to this no, she actually has extra credits. They already gave her a diploma,” Jesse said, bringing up a copy of a diploma and her transcript.
“What about her parents?”
“Let me check.”
Jesse was quiet for a few minutes and then he turned back towards me.
“What?” Dom asked noticing the sad look on his face.
“Dom, her parents are dead.”
“What?”
“There was an accident. Someone attacked them, her parents were killed and then some people adopted her and I guess when she turned eighteen she left.”
“No wonder she didn’t want to talk about it,” Dom thought aloud, remembering how July closed herself off last night when he asked where she was from.
“Yeah, I guess so.”
“Jess, let’s not tell anyone about this yet. I don’t know her well enough but I know she would be pissed if we all found out by looking her up.”
“Yeah, this is big.”
“Thanks Jesse.”
“No problem,” Jesse said as he shut down the computer.
“Let’s go finish up the cars.”
“Wait.” Jesse fished around in his pockets and finally pulled out a piece of paper. “Here.”
Dom took the scrap of paper from him and found Jesse’s jumbled handwriting on it. “What’s this?”
“A list of parts. It’s for July, for her car. Man, I can’t wait to get my hands on that Soarer,” Jesse said rubbing his hands together and a gleam appeared in his eyes.
“Down boy, it’s her car first off and second, you haven’t asked.”
“Fine, just give her that list and tell her it will make her car way better for racing.”
“Okay,” Dom said and put the list in his pocket. “Let’s go finish the cars first.”
By noon they had finished the team’s cars. They headed down to the store for lunch and then went back to work. Around one, Dom went home. He trekked upstairs and took a quick shower, then put on some jeans and a wife beater. He grabbed a black button up shirt as a last thought and threw it on. As he walked down the stairs, buttoning his shirt, the doorbell rang.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Earlier:
July’s eyes fluttered open and things slowly came into focus. She snuggled into the blankets and looked over at the clock, seeing it was a little after ten. She slowly stretched out her body and then curled back up. She had only been in the house for three days but it already felt like home and that freaked her out a bit. This was a totally strange house to her but yet she felt she was exactly where she should have always been.
She lay lost in thought when Mike popped into her head. He was leaving home today to come see her. A smile broke out on her face at the thought of seeing her best friend. July slapped herself on the head when she remembered what they talked about. She was supposed to call home.
Crap, crap!
July sat up in bed and grabbed the cordless that she had set up.
I guess it’s not too early to call over there, it would only be like noon. They should be home, she mused.
Turning on the phone, July punched in the number she knew by heart and listen to the phone ring. Each ring felt like it dragged on forever and just as she was about to hang up, someone picked up the phone and her breath caught as soon as she heard their voice.
“Hello?” a tired, feminine voice answered.
“Hello,” she replied, keeping her voice flat.
“July?” Mary asked and July could hear the hope in her voice.
“Yeah, it’s me.”
“Oh, July, honey, we were so scared. We thought something might have happened to you,” she sobbed.
“I’m fine. I’m just calling to say that I found the lawyer and everything is settled. I am staying here,” she deadpanned. It was hard to remain neutral. She wanted to yell in anger and jump for joy at the same time from hearing her voice. Half of July was mad at what Mary had done and the other half was just content from hearing her voice.
“You mean in LA?” Mary whispered into the dead silence the hung between the two.
“Yeah, in LA.”
“Mike came over yesterday for dinner and told us he was going to go see you,” Mary said after a moment.
“Oh.”
Mary gave a sigh and July could hear the tears in her voice.
“Look, July, we weren’t-”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” July said, cutting her off.
“July…”
“Mary, I don’t want to talk about it. I just called to let you know I was alive and I am going to be living in LA now, this is my home now.” July could feel the tears she was repressing slowly trail down her face as she said the words. It hurt more than anything to say those words to her but at the same time it felt liberating; she was free. It was terrifying and exciting at the same time.
“I’m sorry,” Mary softly said.
“Are you really?” July asked, her anger coming to the surface.
“July, we are so sorry, you don’t know how sorry we are, but please think about it. What else were we suppose to do?” she pleaded.
“I don’t know…look, I’m going to get going. I’ll call sometime,” July said in a rush and hung up. She put the phone back and stood up.
July went into the bathroom and stripped. She turned on the shower and stepped in and let the hot water wash over her. The tears came like a flood. She laid her head against the shower stall and let them fall. She cried for that little girl who lost her parents, she cried for that girl who lived a false life, she cried for that women who might never know the truth.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Some time later when her chest hurt from sobbing, July cleaned up and got out, catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror. She felt as if she were looking at someone else. She dried her hair out and then stuck it up into a ponytail, leaving a few wisps of hair down to frame her face. She went back into her room and shifted through her drawers, finally pulling out a pair of black jeans she’d cut to mid-calf and a white tank top. After dressing she slipped on her sneakers and then headed down stairs.
July had some cereal for breakfast and then stood there; she was restless. With nothing else to do until she got the car parts, she cleaned the house and did what little laundry she had. She was sitting in the kitchen eating lunch when she looked up at the clock. It was one. She only had another hour till she’d go over to meet up with Dom. She finished eating and then headed out to the garage, doubled checking over the list she had made.
She zoned out and by the time she checked the clock again it was ten minutes to two. Stuffing the list back into her pocket, she headed up to her room. July grabbed her wallet, her keys, and some money and stuffed it all into her pockets.
She left the house, locking it behind her and headed over to Mia’s house. Walking up the porch, she couldn’t help but be nervous. She smoothed out her shirt and ran a hand over her hair. Satisfied that she looked okay, July stepped up to the door and rang the doorbell, hearing the sound of footsteps before the door swung open.
“Hey,” Dom said.
“Hi,” July replied.
“Ready to go?”
“Yup,” she said taking a step back from the door.
Dom grabbed his keys and then came out. He smelled masculine and clean and July couldn’t help but take a deep breath in; he smelled good. Dom’s shirt was unbuttoned on the top and she could see a smooth expansion of tan muscle. Tingles rippled across her flesh as she envisioned what lay beneath the shirt.
Snap out of it, he’s going to think something’s wrong with you if you just stand there staring, July said to herself.
“Let’s go,” Dom said after noticing that July was staring and decided to break her out of her reverie. He saw the faint blush that tinted her cheeks and started to study her. July looked up to see Dom staring at her just as intently as she had.
Well, two can play that game, July thought with a smirk.
“Okay,” she said and turned around. She confidently walked down the steps and looked over her shoulder to see if he was following; he hadn’t. “Yo, Dom, are you just going to stand there all day and look at my butt or are we going to go get parts?”
Dom couldn’t stop the shock expression that crossed his face but when he realized she was playing with him, he grinned back at her.
“Yeah,” he said, slowly walking down the steps.
“Yes to which part?”
“Both,” he replied laughing and July rolled her eyes at his typical make reply.
They both got into the Seven and after stepping down on the clutch, Dom started the car. Releasing the emergency brake, he slid it into reverse and rolled down the driveway.
“This is nice,” July said admiring the car. It was a really nice car; there was no doubting that.
“Thanks,” Dom said as he put the car into first and shot off with a squeal and a slight burn of rubber. July scrambled to get her seat belt on and Dom laughed at her. “Don’t tell me you’re scared.”
“No, I’d just like to live to see tomorrow,” she snapped back and Dom chuckled. He slowed down his driving a bit and saw her settled more comfortably into her seat. As Dom drove, July took mental notes of all the stops and turns and they soon arrived at Racer’s Edge.
“Here we are,” Dom said, pulling the car into a parking spot. “Oh, Jesse wanted me to give you this,” he said handing her the scrap of paper with the list of parts on it.
“What’s this for?” she asked reading it over.
“Jess just told me to give it to you and said if you wanted to race, this is what you would. We never really question what Jesse says about the cars, he’s always right. So if Jesse says you need this, then you need it.” He saw her read over the list again and glanced over at him.
“This is going to cost quite a bit,” July muttered and contemplated buying the parts. She had the money, more than enough, but she didn’t know if she should buy them.
“If money is an issue then wait or just buy a part or two.”
“No, it’s not really an issue, I’m just not sure whether to buy it,” she said and started to chew on her lip. This automatically caught Dom’s attention and he was drawn to her lips. Dom wetted his lip and started to lean forward, he didn’t have a clue what he was doing. They were both startled when Dom’s pocket began to ring. Dom quickly leaned back and took out his cell phone.
“Talk,” Dom growled into the phone. “Okay…Maybe…We’ll be back in a while…Bye.”
While Dom was talking, July figured that she would buy the parts but after this, she wasn’t going to touch the money unless she needed to. She would need a job; she wouldn’t be able to sit around the house all day and do nothing.
“So what was that about?” she asked Dom as soon as he hung up.
“Just Vince, Jesse wants a couple of parts while we’re down here.”
“Oh.”
“You still want to get the parts right?”
“Yeah, we didn’t make this trip for nothing. I’m not leaving here empty handed.”
“Believe me, you won’t,” Dom said.
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tbc…