Ride Home To Me

Chapter 30

That was the night my world truly turned upside down. Losing Tony and Dom being put away made things hard, but I finally broke the day I stood in the hospital clutching Mia and Letty as the doctors told me that my mami didn't make it. Mia fortunately was sitting in the backseat on the other side, so she wasn't injured, just shaken. After the accident we spent the rest of the afternoon and evening at the hospital and as soon as they let me in I didn't leave her side.

"Gabi," my ma says quietly. "Can I tell you something mija?"

"Yeah ma of course," I say, leaning forward.

Her eyes shine. "I'm so proud of you Gabi. And I'm so glad we came here. You have no idea how happy it makes me to know you're finally being yourself and not hiding who you are anymore."

"Ma," I sigh, finally letting a tear escape my eye.

"Really. And let me tell you," she whispers. "You're all my hijos at this point baby, you know that." She nudges me playfully. "I know you kids. I can tell how you feel about Letty mija. And if you give her a chance you might be surprised."

My ma was awake long enough for us to talk for a bit, and long enough for me to tell her that Letty and I actually were together. After that, she gave us both a kiss and said she needed to sleep. And she did. She just never woke up.

I'm lying in bed, same as I have been most days for the past couple months. I should probably eat something. I manage to get up and creep down the stairs. It's light outside but I can't tell if it's morning or afternoon. I assume the latter when I suddenly hear voices in the kitchen.

"Yeah. Nothing much has changed." That's Vince. "She stays in her room usually. Sometimes comes out for a bite but... Yeah, Dom, I know."

Ah, so he's on the phone with Dom.

"I'm worried about her man," I suddenly hear Letty say. She sighs. "I got a feeling this is about more than just her mom."

I hear a faint what do you mean? coming from the phone.

"She barely got to process what happened to both you and Tony, Dom. She was too busy taking care of the rest of us. She's gonna need time."

"Yeah," Vince sighs. "We still need her though. We ain't winning as much from the races as we were before. You know she's taking over the streets right Dom? She's the only one that comes close to you when we're racing." I can hear the pride in his voice and in Dom's when he responds. I sigh and decide to come in.

"Hey guys," I say, pretending I hadn't heard them. "What are you doing?"

"Hey," Letty comes over and gives me a small kiss on the nose. "Can I get you something to eat?"

"Sure."

"Wanna say hi to Dom?" Vince asks, handing me the phone. I take it and jump up to sit on the counter, slapping my forehead at the words I immediately hear in my ear.

"I told you to take care of yourself, stupid," he chuckles.

"Ha ha, funny," I say.

Vince leaves the kitchen and Letty goes over to the fridge to get some food. Dom's voice softens.

"I'm sorry sister," he says. "I really wish I was out there right now."

"Yeah me too," I sigh. "How are you though? I can't imagine how it must've been to get the news."

"Can't lie, I almost didn't believe it."

"Yeah, I-" I take a shaky breath. "I keep thinking she's gonna come down the stairs at some point and start bothering us to turn the TV off and get some sleep or something."

"Yeah or go running after Leon or Vince cause they wouldn't let her give 'em a kiss."

I chuckle, much to my surprise. "Yeah."

Dom sighs. "I gotta go. You take care of yourself Gabi. For real, hear me?" he says. "And... and just remember your ma ain't the only family that you have anymore. This is hard but we're all right here with you. Well, mostly." He chuckles.

I wipe the tear that's escaped my eye. "Thanks. You too."

I put the phone back and take the sandwich that Letty offers me.

"Thanks," I say.

"Of course," she says, turning. I take her hand and stop her.

"No I mean like... thank you. For being patient with me. And taking care of me. I know this hasn't been easy for you either."

Letty's eyes soften and she leans forward, resting her forehead on mine. "Yeah, it hasn't been. But it's your turn to be taken care of, yeah? Don't you worry about me."

I sigh. I know exactly what it's like to push it down, and I don't want Letty to do that to herself just because I'm grieving. I fiddle with her hands and look at her.

"Tell you what," I say. "We can take care of each other. Besides... I kinda wanna get back out there a bit. Any races coming up?"

"There's one tonight if you're up for it. But if you aren't that's okay."

"No I want to go actually," I say, surprising myself.

"Really?" Letty grins. I nod, smiling a little, and she leans forward and kisses me.

"Hey how's-what the hell?!"

Letty and I jump apart at the sound of Mia's voice at the kitchen doorway. We look at each other. Vince must've brought her home without us hearing. Finally, I just shrug.

"Whoops," I say, and as Mia stands there gaping at us Letty and I just collapse into a fit of giggles, laughing in a way I haven't laughed for a while.

•-•-•-•-•

When we step out of the cars I'm swarmed by people. The familiar smell of gasoline and sound of booming hip hop music is comforting as I say hi to people with the rest of the team.

"Our queen is back y'all!" I put a smile on when I hear Hector's voice call out over the crowd. I go over and take his hand, letting him pull me in for a hug. He says quietly in my ear, "I'm really sorry, girl. It's good to see you."

"You too hermano," I say. "So what's the deal today?"

We figure a 3K buy-in and I race with some old friends. I'm out of practice and barely manage to pull through, but by the end I've defended my title as queen of the streets and I climb out to a cheering crowd jostling me around. When the police scanners are confirmed clear, they get another race going while I look around for the rest of the team. Suddenly I shriek in surprise as I'm lifted into the air from behind and recognize Leon's strong grip around my waist.

"There's our girl," Jessie cheers.

I laugh for a moment but frown when I notice Letty's missing. Vince turns me toward the road.

"Your girl's on the streets, sister," he says.

"They drifting or doing the quarter mile?" I ask.

"Drifting." Damn. I'll have to wait until they get back.

Suddenly I catch a chick standing next to my car, admiring it. I find myself smirking and walk over.

"Did her myself. You like what you see?" I ask. My smile vanishes as soon as the girl turns around and looks me over.

"Yeah, I do. And she looks way better than when I saw her last," she says. Her face breaks out into a grin. "Hey Gabi."

For a moment I'm unable to speak. I'm washed over by a familiar feeling of humiliation, of shame; for a second it's as though I've been thrust back into the body of my 18-year-old self that landed in California two years ago. But this time, the expected tightness in my chest and quickening pace of my heartbeat doesn't turn into another panic attack. My mouth just hangs open in shock until I finally find my voice again.

"What the fuck are you doing here?"

A/N: Whoops, it's been longer than I thought haha. Sorry for the inconsistencies in updates guys, life's been pretty crazy at the moment so honestly I'm not sure how much better it's gonna get right now but I will do my best :)