Fic: Wild Force (pt. 3)
[ disclaimers and header info] [prologue]
[ part 2]
Cale managed to talk Mia into letting her head home before going to the Toretto's for the evening. Cale flashed her I.D. at the main gate before driving into cul-de-sac which housed the mansion she grudgingly called home. She guided her Mustang through the property gates and up the drive.
The Campbell mansion resided in one of the small, up-scale communities reserved only for the incredibly wealthy and those in public office. Bryn Campbell just happened to fill both categories, as he headed the pro bono division of one of the largest law firms this side of the country.
It was a world away from the streets where Cale had grown up with her mom, and she hated it.
While her father had tried to dote on her and provide every luxury she could ever want, despite his frequent business trips, Cale had insisted on paying her own way. Unlike her spoiled half-sister, Lynn, Cale had a job at a bookstore in town and was able to provide for nearly ninety-five-percent of her needs. It was always a source of contention between the two girls, since Lynn had no idea what it was like to truly earn something and Cale didn't want to know what it was like to merely have it handed to you, gift-wrapped and tailor-made.
Their father had given up on trying to reconcile the two.
His wife, Nancy - Lynn's mother - disliked Cale as much as Cale disliked her. If there was ever anything in Nancy's world that was wrong, Cale was it, even if Lynn was the one to blame. It was a pure Cinderella story, but Cale refused to play the part.
Cale pushed these thoughts away as she pulled up in front of the house. She had something else to worry about, and it had nothing to do with the people she lived with. As she skipped up the steps and unlocked the door, her mind raced over details that had been banished years ago.
Up the stairs she ran, and headed straight for her room. Once there, she opened the closet. From under a loose floorboard, she pulled out a metal box and tossed it on her bed. The key hung on a nail between the back of the mirror of her vanity and the wall.
"It's all on you, Marc," she said softly, unlocking the box and pulling out the picture that rested on top of her most private possessions. The picture was of her, Marc Davis, and his team, taken only months before the scandal that had changed her life. "I know the legend of Wild Force is whispered throughout the streets of Rockport. Question is, how much of me did you include?"
She replaced picture, box and key in their respective spots and sighed. She'd find out how much truth the legend of Wild Force carried tonight, when she stepped into the centre of L.A.'s street racing ring.
***
The Toretto's home was a modest, two-story deal. The neighbourhood was distinctly middle-class, and the house reflected it well. She parked her Mustang behind Mia's Integra and grabbed her bag from the backseat. Locking her car, she headed up the walk, apprehensively. The cars of Toretto's crew filled the driveway, and she could hear the music filtering out from an open window.
Oh, this is just lovely. I have to deal with his team, too...
Cale didn't have long to wait for Mia to answer the door. Her friend beamed and yanked her inside, slamming the door shut behind her. To say that there was a party going on, would be an understatement. Cale's glance into the family room netted her an eyeful. She couldn't make out the team, as she had never met them, but her eyes did alight on one figure she knew: Dominic Toretto.
Everyone in the race-world knew him. She had seen him once, through the crowd, at one of her very first races. She had watched him compete that night, in awe. The man was good, no doubt, and the way people flocked to him had intrigued her. She had never felt his allure then, and she sure as hell didn't feel it now.
That didn't stop their gazes from locking, however. Thankfully, no flicker of recognition crossed the street-racer's face, as his eyes played over Cale's features. Cale almost sighed in relief. Whatever Marc had said to cover the events that had occurred two years ago, it didn't include Cale. Score one for that. Now they won't suspect me for trying to fuck them up...
Cale felt herself flush madly as she realized she was staring at him. Mia came to her rescue, as the girl shoved a cold drink in her hand. Cale blinked and looked down at the bottle of Snapple.
"You okay, Cale?" Mia looked amused.
"Yeah," she replied, shaking it off. "I'm good."
"Mia?" The gruff voice of Dom Toretto interrupted the conversation. Cale turned to take in the man, who was now leaning casually on the doorframe, as if he owned the entire universe. Cale tried not to roll her eyes.
"Dom, this is Cale, my friend from psych-class. Cale, this is my brother, Dom."
The two shook hands, their eyes fixing on each other again. "It's nice to meet you, Dom."
"Likewise," the street racer stated.
Before he could say anything else, Cale turned to Mia. "I brought the rest of the notes you're missing, Mia."
The siblings both gave Cale a curious look, before Mia smiled. "Sure. C'mon upstairs. Less noise and more privacy."
Cale followed Mia up the stairs, sparing a final glance at a bewildered Dom.
Chew on that, race-boy. Not all girls fall at your feet in a puddle of drool, hoping for the privilege of being the one to service you, she thought, as she entered the relative quiet of Mia's room.
Dom watched Cale head up the stairs. Did she just ignore him in lieu of studying with his sister? He'd never had a girl rebuff him like that before. What the hell did he do wrong? He frowned, staring at the upstairs landing. A snort from someone behind him made him turn and he looked into the amused faces of Leon and Vince.
Vince was grinning. "So, how'd it go?"
Leon gave Vince a look. "Couldn't you tell? She couldn't get enough of him. Had to run upstairs to collect herself, the poor thing. Hey Dom, you want me to go and see if she needs a hand?"
Dom gave his friends his back the fuck off look. It was a look they knew well. The street racer pushed past the slightly cowed duo and headed back into the room. He flopped onto the sofa to watch Jesse play Grand Turismo and almost immediately was accosted by female hands.
"C'mon, Dom. Let's go upstairs and..."
"Piss off, Letty," Dom rumbled softly, pushing her away. "You lost any rights to taking me upstairs a long time ago."
Letty glared at him. "I thought we discussed this."
"We did." Dom turned to look at her. "And we decided that it was over. And by ‘we' I mean ‘me'."
Letty nodded, miffed. "Ah. So you'd rather hook up with some tramp your sister brought home than take back a good thing."
Dom gave her a long, hard look. "No, Letty. I'd rather hook up with a girl who won't run to another man when the heat comes down," he said quietly before getting up.
Without sparing her another glance he headed upstairs, taking them two at a time. With a final look at Mia's bedroom door, he went into his room and spent the rest of the night thinking about Cale's outright rejection.