The Other O'Conner [HIATUS]

Chapter Nine

N I N E

'I need a translator.'

- Luke Hobbs

She sat in the chair next to him bathing in the sun, her dark hair seeming to float on the breeze. Her face turned up with shades covering the brown eyes that always looked deep into his soul.

"What you writing about?"

"I'm trying to decide if I should ask Dom to teach me how to drift. I've seen him, Han, and Mia do it the best so I just really wanted to give it a shot. Maybe it'd help me win more races."

"Why'd you have to write that down?", she turned towards him and removed her shades.

He flashed the drawing he had clumsily drawn out, an unfinished car that he wanted to build once he had enough money.

"Who taught you how to draw?"

"It's amateur."

"It's actually pretty good. Maybe you could draw me," Letty's smile just sealed the deal like every other time she flashed it at Zack.

/

"Nice drawing, kid. Didn't know you had other talents?", Dom leaned over and wondered aloud as he spotted the sketch that Zack was staring down at.

He found some time to check up on the younger O'Conner seeing as he had been more mute then usual. A lot of times Dom would be the one that Zack came to for advice on many things. After Letty's death and him being sentenced to jail time, it seemed like he couldn't really stop and think about how this was affecting the kid.

Zack shrugged breaking from his thoughts. He had been thinking a lot lately and now he really felt like he should try and move on.

"I was going to burn it."

"I got you something," Dom lifted the chain and watched Zack's reaction. He could see the hurt that the kid was holding in.

"Why would you give that to me?"

"You're the only person who deserves this. Do you want to know why?"

Zack shrugged.

"You gave love to someone who hadn't been able to find it in a long time. She deserved you as much as you deserved her. I wish everything had been different but I can't change what happened. Neither can you," the deep voice of Dom's cracked just a little as he let the chain slip into Zack's hand.

Zack didn't know how to feel. This gift wasn't much of a gift but it held a piece of Letty and he wasn't willing to let it go.

"The nightmares..."

"You mean the dreams I've been having at night that make all of you walk on eggshells around me?"

"Kid, what's really going on inside of that head of yours?"

Dom had been there for him when he needed him the most. Times when his brother couldn't or didn't have the right words. He mentored him through a lot of things and now...

"She didn't deserve to die all alone. The way she did. I thank you and Brian for finding out the truth but this thing is killing me. If it isn't her murder haunting me it's the memories."

They sat in silence. Zack staring at his drawing and Dom out towards the darkening sky.

"No matter what is going on, I have your back. If you don't feel up to it then tell me. We are still going to split this money with everyone involved."

"I'm okay. I need to do this. It's our last job, right?"

Dom shook his head knowing the promise of a last job was just to keep his sister's mind from worrying.

"Right."

2 of 5!!!