Home Is Where The Heart Is (Dotty)

Chapter One

Letty's POV

Today marks a year. A year since I last seen or heard from Dom. I never imagined a world where Dom didn't exist in it. I thought we were going to grow old together. Have a beautiful family together. Live happily ever after in a place we called home. I was so sure of it. Everyone was. A year from today changed all of that. A week before his disappearance, he started acting strange. He was no longer the Dom I fell in love with. He became distant from everyone and everything. Even from me. It crushed me into a million pieces when I woke up that morning to see that he was gone. No note, no voicemail, nothing. There was nothing left behind explaining why he left.

After nine months of Dom being gone, I came to the conclusion that he was never coming back. I had to move on. I couldn't keep living my life hoping and waiting that Dom would just show up. I could no longer be that sad girl who lost the love of her life. So I moved on. I graduated high school and got a job at a local car shop that wasn't too far from my two bedroom apartment. Vince has been hanging around a lot lately to help me out and to make sure that I was doing okay. He's the one that got me hired on at the shop. 

And now I'm here. Living my life and not holding anything back. It feels good for once. It's different but it works.

 Crying comes through the baby monitor, shoving all of my thoughts away. I get out of my not so comfortable bed and walk to the other small bedroom. When I appear in front of her crib, she stops crying and smiles. 

"Hey, baby girl." I tickle her stomach causing her to laugh and kick her feet. "Is someone thirsty?" I ask with my baby talk voice and a goofy grin on my face. I put her in my arms before walking to the small kitchen to grab her bottle and warm the milk up. Once the milk is done, I walk into the living room and sit down on the couch. I place her in a comfortable position before giving her her bottle. As she drinks her milk, a knock sounds at the door.

"It's open." I say loud enough so they can hear. The door opens before Mia pops her head in. Her eyes land on the baby before smiling big.

"How is my girl doing?" she asks, before closing the door and coming to sit down beside me. 

"She is doing just fine." I say with a smile, before passing her over to Mia. She gladly takes her in her arms before smiling at the baby. "Where is Brian?" Normally Brian is with her when they come over.

"He's getting ready for some race tonight. He's hoping that one day he will see Dom there." Mia's voice instantly drops.

"We all know Dom is gone, Mia. He's never coming back." I say sourly, before getting up and going to the kitchen. I grab a bottled of water before sitting down next to Mia again. 

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up." Mia looks at me with a sad expression. She rests her hand on my knee to comfort me. "Has Vince been by?" she asks, thankfully changing the subject. 

"He said he couldn't swing by until late tonight." 

"Do you want me to stay with you until he gets here? Maybe I can take her off your hands so you and Vince..." she trails off before wiggling her eyebrows. I slap her on the arm.

"Mia! It is not like that." I respond truthfully. "Vince is just trying to help me."

"Letty, Vince has liked you since the beginning of senior year. I honestly doubt he is helping you because he wants to be a good 'friend.'" She quotes her fingers when she says friend. 

"You really think he has feelings for me in that way?" I ask, thinking about it. I mean I never really paid much attention to see if he ever flirted with me. Maybe he does. Even if he does, should I do something about it? Should I try and see if I feel something for him? I've been so wrapped in work lately and dealing with the baby that I never really thought about having feelings for Vince.

"I know he does! I can tell by the way he looks at you when you are with her. Or when you two are together when you aren't looking. I say go for it if he tries to make a move!" Mia smiles, nudging me on the shoulder.

"And what about her?" I ask, looking at the sleeping baby in Mia's arms.

"She loves Vince and Vince loves her just as much. Just at least try and see where it goes. Okay?"

"Fine." I give in before taking her from Mia's arms. I get up and take her to her crib before laying her down gently. I smile at how peaceful she looks while sleeping. Mia walks beside me before peering down at her.

"She looks just like her father." Mia states, before running her hand gently across the baby's soft cheek. 

"Yeah she does." I respond with a sad smile.

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I slightly stir in my sleep when I feel an arm wrap around my waist and pull me close to them. I can feel the warmth of their breath hit my neck. I slowly open my eyes to see Vince staring at me already.

"Sorry I'm late. You didn't try to wait up did you?" He asks, before moving a strand of hair out of my face. My heart flutters a little at the small gesture. I shake my head with a small smile before resting my head on his chest. My head goes up and down as he breathes. I can hear his heart beat beating which is faster than a normal beating heart. Am I making his heart beat fast by being this close to him? We are always in this position before we go to sleep but it was something that was just natural with him. I didn't think anything of it till now. All the signs were there. Vince likes me. But do I like him?

"What are you thinking about?" Vince asks, seeing that I still have my eyes open and staring off into space.

"This." I respond before bringing my lips to meet his.

That is the first chapter! Please let me know what you guys think! I appreciate feed back. I'm not sure if anyone will read this but I decided to do a second book. I haven't decided on a name for the baby so I will let ya'll decide from the list. Whatever has the most votes, will be the name for her. 

1. Emily

2. Claire

3. Kate

4. Serena

5. Amelia