❝I need to put me first❞ | Being back home isn't as good as Rose thought it would be, living surrounded by a family she doesn't know is taking a toll on her. As Rose tries to deal with her amnesia while she also comes to terms with trying to find ou...
The wind blew my hair away from my face from the open window as I quickly pulled the E-brake to begin drifting around the corner of the mountain road. Han had kept his promise of teaching me how to drift and took me to the mountains where people first started drifting.
Drifting is definitely fun, but it's also pretty tricky, so you're going to make a few mistakes initially, but Han seemed impressed with how quickly I had picked up the new skill. 'Must be that Toretto blood,' he had reminded me with a smirk.
Releasing the brake, I stepped back on the gas, maintaining the slide. "Keep going, keep going," Han chanted as we flew around the bend smoothly, unlike the first time I had tried and ending up spinning the car.
I gently bring the steering back in a straight line as I exit the drift with a laugh before getting ready for the next corner of the road. "Go, go, go, go!" The older man chanted as I sped up before once again pulling up the brake.
Turning the steering wheel, the car shook a little "Don't lose it! Don't lose it!" quickly hitting the accelerator, the vehicle quietened down as I completed another drift. Driving to the top of the mountain, Han and I sat in silence for a minute.
"You know I've never taught anyone how to drift?" The man said with a slight smirk on his face as he turns to look at me, "You did good. You picked it up quicker than I thought you would, but I've seen you drive before; I knew you wouldn't have a problem".
I laughed, flexing my finger on the red Mitsubishi Evo steering wheel that Han had let me borrow until I get the body of the car I was going to build up gets imported.
Somehow I had let Brian talk me into a Nissan Skyline, and what a shocker that he somehow just knew where an unused 1999 Skyline GT-R R34 was sitting. He said it needed some TLC and that he wanted weekly updates on it.
He seemed more excited about it than I was at first.
"Well, you were a great teacher, thank you, master Yoda" I mockingly bow to him as he snorts, opening a back of pretzels. He throws one into his mouth, rolling his eyes at me before motioning for me to start driving again.
After getting back down the mountain using my newly found drifting skills, Han sighs as he continues eating his snack. "Good job, my young Padawan."
Breaking hard in the middle of the road, I turned open-mouthed to see a bemused Han staring back at me with a mischievous glint in his dark eyes. "I knew you liked Star Wars! Han Seoul-Oh, my ass!".
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Pulling the red sports car back into the garage, I frowned, seeing people hanging around, they all looked younger than me, but I didn't bring it up as Han got out of the car. Their faces lit up upon seeing the older man casually walking towards them.
Closing the door of the Evo, I made no motion to walk towards them. It was best to just keep my distance from new people right now. I could deal with Han, I knew him and Dom trusted him explicitly.
It wasn't until I saw the matching plaid skirt and tie on the girl and the uniform on the boys that I realized they were definitely younger than me. Lifting up the hood of the Evo and looking down into it, I sighed, wondering why Han had a bunch of school kids hanging around.
Tinkering with the car, I tried to ignore the hushed voices behind me, not that I could understand as they were talking in Japanese. I still need to learn the language, I grumbled, trying to concentrate on the car while they were obviously talking about me.
"That's Rose," Han states in English. "She's the friend from America," I hear him explain before he calls my name. I quickly glance over my shoulder with an expressionless face. "This is Twinkie, Earl, and Reiko."
Eyeing each of them as they smile with a wave, I just nod with a 'hmm' before turning back to the car; it was better for them if they didn't get too comfortable around me. A short but confused-sounding conversation that I can't understand happens before Han quietly comes to stand by me.
"What's with the school kids?" I questioned, tightening some of the bolts before glancing at the taller man when he turned and leaned against the Evo, crossing his arms. Following his gaze, I saw the kids all laughing with each other as they sat in the upstairs lounging area.
"When I first came here, I wanted to keep my head down and just live" I bit my lip, knowing he was thinking about Gisele when a sad look overtook his dark eyes. "Then I met Earl and Reiko through the race scene before Twinkie came along."
That didn't explain much, but I stayed quiet and let him talk. "I guess in a way, they reminded me of myself; they looked lost. Then I bought this place, and it became a place for them to feel safe. Somewhere for them to go when they need to. It fills the silence up too".
Han's mouth turned down as he played with his fingers. That's when I realized all this was just a huge band-aid he had created to cover the wound in his heart: the girls, the cocky attitude, the school kid friends.
They were all just another facade for him to not think about the pain he'd endured by losing Gisele. I breathed softly, putting down the tool I was using. "In life, there are somethings we might never really 'get over,' but we can still get through it. It's who you surround yourself with and what you do that will determine how you get through it.".
The older man smiles as I lean against the car beside him. "When Owen found me in the hospital, I felt lost, then I thought I gained a family, but that lost, lonely feeling never truly left me. Even being back home with Dom, I felt out of place, like I was missing something".
Han watched me thoughtfully. "Your memories?" He asked with a slight frown.
I shrugged a shoulder. "No idea. It's unlikely I'll ever get them back, so now I just have to rebuild. Making me into the version of me I want to be, just like you are." Han quickly looks to the floor as I pat his shoulder, "but at least we're together."
Giving him a soft smile, I leaned my head on his arm silently. "Still not going to talk to them, huh?" He asks after a while of the teenagers, not so subtly watching Han and I talking. I get it; I'm the shiny new toy right now.
"I just think it's better if I don't" Taking in a long tired breath, I close the hood of the Evo, wiping my hands on a stray rag as Han studies my movements, almost as if he can read my mind with one look.
"So the 'new version' of you is someone who completely avoids other people?" The Asian man questions with a smirk, his dark eyes watching me knowingly when I quickly spare the teenagers another glance.
Rolling my eyes, I threw the rag at Han, who caught it mid-air. "How I deal with my emotional baggage is on me." Walking away, I sighed quietly, feeling 4 pairs of eyes following my movements as I shut myself away in my room.
Glancing around the small room, I noticed little details that I hadn't before and remembered what Han told me "I had some of the kids that hang out around here put it together." Letting out a groan, I rubbed a hand over my face. The 'kids' who put my room together are the ones who I just coldly ignored "Fuck my life."
