Some old Volkwagen*Fast and Furious*

Chapter 13 - Pull-out Sofa

*Hey guys, again another full chapter for the long wait you had!! - Hope you'll enjoy! Love, Jazzlin xxx*

When Nelly woke up the next morning, she heard Mia singing along to a song in the shower - proof that her friend was in an especially good mood. She sat up and rubbed her forehead. No, it hadn't been a mere dream, yesterday had happened. Dom Toretto had kissed her. He had kissed her. This was real - Nelly had never met a person who was more real than Dom. He lived his life. Unfortunately, this had brought him into conflict with the law.

Nelly loosely plaited her hair and went into the kitchen to brew some coffee; downstairs it was all quiet, Dom seemed to be still asleep or have left: it was still early, but Nelly would be at work the whole morning. Perhaps working would help her get any idea as to how to best catch a car-thief... An inner voice had Nelly hesitate. As a matter of fact, she didn't have to capture a thief and Dom and Brian would be loads better at devising a strategy. This was their fight, not hers. Nelly sighed while drinking her coffee - life with the Torettos was far more complicated than she'd bargained for. A few minutes later, Mia entered the kitchen: she was still humming a song and when she saw Nelly, a shy smile spread across her face. They hadn't had the chance to talk last night, so it was overdue. Nelly put down her cup of coffee and smiled as well. "So. How did it go? - Last night, I mean. Have you forgiven him?" - Mia was blushing slightly. "Well, I suppose so." She sighed. "Last year it all just... went wrong. He said he'd wanted to stay with us, but once he'd blown his cover there had been no chance to explain." - Nelly nodded slowly. "So you trust him again?" - "I guess so. When he started to work as undercover cop, he said he had meant to hand Dom in, but I'm convinced he would never have. He'd never been able to do it. If you want proof: he let Dom go. After all, he let him go. Brian would never have hurt us." - Nelly put some cereal in a bowl for a quick breakfast. "That's good to know." She opened the fridge and bent down to get a carton of milk. Mia was leaning on the counter, inspecting her fingernails. "What about you and my brother, then?" - The carton slipped Nelly's fingers and landed on the floor with a thud - fortunately, it didn't burst, but just got a dent. Nelly concentrated on picking it up and not looking towards Mia. "There's nothing. What do you mean?" - Mia laughed. "Come on! - I know my brother and I know how he behaves when he likes someone - I've watched him falling in love with Letty, after all. And I flatter myself to somewhat knowing you, after four months of flat-sharing. And come on, he didn't take you with him yesterday for no reason." - Nelly shrugged. "As a matter of fact, I don't know myself... He's just so..." Nelly waved her hands, finally looking up - she didn't have any words for it. Mia grinned. "I know what you mean - just in a sister kind of way."

When Nelly parked her little VW on a strip of grass close to the farm, she saw Tanner standing next to the horses' field. As soon as he recognised her car, he started walking briskly towards her. Nelly got out and put on her Wellies (= Wellington boots); she pretended not to have seen Tanner until he was standing right in front of her. He'd want explanations, but Nelly wasn't sure she wanted to talk. "Hey," Tanner said when he'd arrived at her car. "How're you doing?" - Nelly straightened up. "Fine. - You? How's Natasha?" - Tanner waved her aside. "Our days are in the past. It's never going to work out again between Natasha and me. - I broke up with her a few days ago." - Nelly felt a chill creeping up her neck - hopefully, Tanner hadn't ended his relationship for Mia's sake. "Look..." Nelly squeezed her eyes shut and then opened them again. "Mia's kind of... spoken for, I would think. A lot of things have happened..." - "Yeah, I was wondering about that: who was that guy the other night? Was he the cop?" - Nelly felt she couldn't give any more secrets about them away, so she answered cryptically: "Someone from their past... He's changed, though." - Tanner crossed his arms and looked at her curiously. "And what makes you believe I was thinking of Mia, I wonder?" - Nelly took a step back. So either he was asking how the thought had gotten into her head at all, or he was implying... Nelly turned around and started walking towards the stables, calling over her shoulder: "I've got to start work now; I want to be back at home at 1pm latest! See you later!" The rest of the morning Nelly's mind was governed by a single thought: avoiding Tanner.