Forever Again

Chapter 6

BRIAN'S POV

After barely escaping Reyes' men, we found an empty house, a small favela, to stay in just for tonight. Before bunking down, we were able to get food, I need to make sure that Mia eats something ... I'm gonna be a father. She's pregnant and we're gonna be parents and we're on the run. I don't want to be a disappointment to Mia or this baby and I'm worried that's all I can be. My own parents couldn't be bothered to parent me, then again, I still have pops.

"Hey Dom, what do you remember about your father?" I suddenly asked as we stood on the balcony.

"My father? He used to ..." he started to say with a soft smile. "He used to have a barbecue every Sunday after church, for everybody in the neighborhood. If you didn't go to church, you didn't get any barbecue. Every single day he was in the shop and every single night, he was at the kitchen table with Mia, helping her with her homework. Even after she went to sleep, he'd stay up for a few more hours so he could learn the next chapter and help her the next day. I remember everything about my father. Everything."

"That's just it. I don't remember shit about my dad. I don't remember him yelling, I don't remember him smiling. To be honest with you, I don't even remember what the hell he looked like. I don't remember. He just ... he was just never there." I sighed, thinking back to my childhood.

"You ain't gonna be like that, Brian."

I don't know if that's supposed to be comforting or big brother Dom telling me that I don't have a choice but to be better so I'm choosing the former.

"Yeah, I know that I won't because I had pops." I smiled.

"Laney's dad?" he asked.

I always called her Laney so I'm not surprised that he uses the same nickname.

"Yeah, that man changed my life. Laney got me through school and pops got me through the academy. Pops taught me my way around a car, how to cook, he taught me respect, and he gave me a family when I didn't know what that meant. I don't know where I'd be right now if it wasn't for them ... for him. Even after I disappeared for six years, when I called him for the first time, he said it was all good and how he was proud of me for doing something with my life. I told him I had to go away for a while again, that Laney would keep him updated. He told me to stay safe, that's his thing, stay safe, and that he loved me. That's the kind of dad I want to be." I said, looking at a sleeping Mia.

"You really love them." Dom said, making me turn to look at him.

"With everything in me. Laney's still upset with me but she still helped me. When I saw her at Braga's, I felt like I had something squeezing my lungs. That's my sister and I had to get her out of there."

"I know the feeling." Dom sighed, turning to look at Mia.

"We can't keep running, Dom. I don't want her stressed during this time or for our baby to be born in this either. We gotta get out. We gotta get out now." I told him.

"You're right and here's how we're gonna do it." he said, holding up the chip. "We're gonna use this. We're gonna do one last job. We're gonna take all of Reyes' money, every last dime of it, and disappear. Forever."

"New passports, new lives with no more looking over our shoulders, and we're just gonna buy our freedom." I elaborated, liking this already.

Delaney's right, I'm an idiot. A loveable, Golden Retriever sort of idiot.

"That's right." Dom said.

"You do realize that we're talking about going up against the most powerful guy in all of Rio?" I asked just for the sake of clarity.