Bleeding Hearts (Sophia Toretto Sequel)

Nine

There was a noticeable absence that could be be felt all around the Toretto home. It was like someone had drilled a hole in their lives once again and the only person that could fill that void was nowhere to be found.

It was not easy. Having to get on with their lives and continue. Not for Brian or Mia, and certainly not for Letty and Dom.

Olivia has aways been a force to be reckon with. Her presence demanded to be felt. The kind where the world stops for a moment when she walks in the room and everyone will know in an instant that she is and will always be way out of their league.

Though she was a woman of few words around their family, everyone has had a glimpse of who she really was at some point. Despite her quiet and reserved nature around the Toretto's and her vast knowledge about a lot of things, Olive, was after all, still a child.

Mia had seen her walk out of Dairy Queen with Alex when she came to pick up some groceries one day. She saw the huge smile on Olive's lips as she beamed over a simple ice cream and laughed along with Alex over what must be an inside joke between them. Then there was this time when Dom had a peek of Olive's uncharacteristically messy flat when he came to drop off her one day. Then of course, there was the ever growing collection of random things Olive accidentally left in their house or in the garage. The Toretto's quickly learned that despite the fact that Olive was someone incredibly smart for her age or that she knows morse code by heart, she was a forgetful person...just like Letty was.

The irony of that hit a little too close to home for Letty.

Olive was a completely different person around them compared to when she's with Alex or Eric. Her smiles were a little brighter, her laughs a little louder and her eyes a little happier. It was this side of Olive that Dom and Letty desired most to see but was never allowed to. It was the Olive that was only reserved for those people she gave the privilege to be considered a part of her life.

Unfortunately for them, they ran out of time.

Olive's absence loomed over the whole family like a dark cloud whose rain never seems to fall. It was unspoken but felt and seen by everyone.The uncertainty of what the future holds for them is a reminder that Olive was never theirs to begin with. The short time they had with her has always been borrowed because they had lost the chance to be in her life years ago.

When Letty told the family what she had done, she expected them to be disappointed and upset over what she had done. After all, none of the was able to say goodbye and even Dom who was already in the airport that day, didn't have the chance to see his daughter for what may have been the last time. But they understood. They understood what she had to do for Olive's sake.

"I remember when you were pregnant with Olive, I was always scared you'd forget that you can't drink that stuff," Mia says, sitting next to Letty on the stairs of their front porch and nodded at the half-filled Corona dangling on Letty's hand. "So I kept an eye on you. But you never forgot. You didn't even seemed tempted even though you practically drank that on a daily basis back then."

A small chuckle escaped Mia's lips. She remembered how not too long ago, they were just a bunch of underage teens with bottles of beer in their hand without a care in the world. Now they have children of their own.

"I didn't want to do it." Letty admitted, her gaze meeting Mia's already awaiting ones. "I didn't want her to go."

"But it was the right thing to do." Mia finished her sentence.

"I just- I don't know. I mean look at me Mia. I don't know the first thing about being a mother." Letty chuckled miserably.

"My kid was right there in front of me for years and I didn't even see her. When I finally did, It was already too late. I've already lost her."

"That's not fair, Letty." Mia quickly replied. "That's not fair. You've always been an amazing mother. I know because I was there. I watched you all those years pretend like everything was okay. That everything was fine when the truth was you were falling apart inside. You- you used to celebrate her birthday every single year, you would blow a candle for her with Dom. I saw how much you missed her for so long and you still did what's best for her. Not a lot of people can do that, Letty." Mia says, placing aw hand on top of her sister's.

She had always admired Letty' strength above everything else. After all the things that had happened to their family, Letty's strength remained unwavering. Even in the midst of losing her daughter at such a young age and the grief that she went through the following years in result, she took care of Mia and the rest of their family. She set her grief aside in order to help provide for the family she has left.

"I saw the way you looked at her that night in Spain. You didn't seem surprised when we told you about her. You seemed...relieved. I think deep down, you've always known who she is."

All Mia could hope for Letty is that one day, she would finally get what she had always deserved. Happiness.

"I know one day, Olive will see how lucky she is to have you as her mother. That I know for sure."

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Mia's words surely got through Letty. They were all parents in the house but there were just some things that only mothers can truly understand. Still, despite everything Mia had said, Letty still found herself leaning on the doorframe of what was supposed to be Olive's room that she never got to use.

The first time Letty entered the room that was her daughter's nursery, it was like stepping into a time machine. The room was left untouched since its owner first left. The cream colored walls had turned into a light shade of white from the thick layers of dust that had settled into pretty much every surface. The drawers were still filled with all of Olive's clothes as a baby, some of which she never had the chance to use. The old crib was still there with the stuffed-toy cars hanging right above. There was still diapers in some of the drawers and feeding bottled that had remained untouched through time.

The nursery was the perfect reminder of the life they can't get back. A room filled with regrets and missed opportunities of what if's and a future out of their reach.

"You never would let any of us touch this room." Letty's head whipped to the direction of the voice. And there he was. The man she knew so well but knew nothing about.

Letty watched as Dom paced around the newly refurbished room, now with a bed instead of a crib and a desk in the place of a changing table but still no owner.

"I asked for years and every time you would say no. It's like you always knew she'd come home one day."

And she did. Nearly a decade later, with a different name and as a different person. But still, she came home.

"Yeah. Mia told me. I was hoping she would get to use this room this time around. I guess that's not going to happen either."

Dom took a seat on the bed and turned the table lamp on, illuminating the darkened room. He could hear the disappointment in Letty's voice as she spoke.

"What you did was right. We can force her to stay but...Olive would've never been truly happy." Dom says, his gaze meeting hers. "At least not now." This was the first time they were talking about what had happened. Dom didn't want to pressure Letty into any conversation that she wasn't ready for.

"You didn't even get to say goodbye, Dom. It's not fair." Letty's voice broke. "It's not fair."

"But you did. That's good enough for me." He walked towards her and placed a hand on her cheek like all those years ago when he first found out he was going to be a father.

"We'll figure it out." Dom wraps his arms around Letty. "I promise."

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btww, NEW CHARACTER ALERT for the next chapter coming real soon.

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