Quater-Mile// Dominic Toretto

28

I drive through the desert with Letty in the passenger's seat.

"Come on, Toni. So where are you taking me?" Letty asks.

"They say an open road helps you think about where you've been, where you're going," I tell her. "So, you don't remember any of this yet?"

"That's not fair. You know I don't," Letty says. "So, what is it exactly that you're trying to show me?"

Over the horizon I can see cars and tents.

"That. Race Wars," I tell her.

"We used to come here?" Letty asks.

I laugh. "Come here'? You, me, and Dom. We invented it."

After pulling into the event, I let Letty race my car. I'm hoping it'll jog her memory.

"Keep it under 9,000 RPMs," I tell her. "Kid's gonna fry his pistons after the first 200."

Letty looks at the car next to her before looking back at me. "You know that's not my style. I gotta ride or die, right?"

"How about you just ride on this one?" I tell her.

I walk over towards Dom.

"She's got nothing to worry about," Dom tells me.

I nod my head. "I know. Racing is in her blood."

We stand and watch as both cars pull up to the starting line. The flag girl throws her arms down and both cars are off. Letty may not remember who she is, but I can see she never forgot how to race a car. Like I told her the guy fries his pistons before the finish line. Everyone cheers as Letty wins.

Letty pulls back up to us. She is surrounded by people as she steps out of the car. A blonde girl steps out of a truck.

"Hey! That's the girl I heard so much about. Where you been at, ghost girl?"

Everyone starts to cheer again. Hector laughs as he picks Letty up. When he puts her down Letty punches Hector in the nose.

"Letty, what the hell?" Hector remarks. "Huh?"

I look at her worried. Before I can get to her, Letty gets in my car and takes off.

"Damn, dawg! Girls still got that swing, homie," Hector states.

"You never could take a punch," I remark.

Hector laughs. "Right, right. Hey, girl. I'm glad you're back, girl. It's good to see you!"

I smile slightly as I hug him. "Good to see you, Hector."

Dom and I find Letty exactly where I thought she would be. Her own grave.

"First time I saw this, I thought it was kind of funny. I guess now the joke's on me," Letty says. Dom picks up a sledgehammer. "What are you doing?"

"What I should've done a long time ago," Dom tells her.

"Stop it!" Letty shouts. Dom stops. "Look at it. It's the truth. That's the date that I lost my memory. That's the date that Letty died, and I was born."

I shake my head. "No. You never died."

"Do you know how hard it is for me when you look at me and you see me through 15 years of memories?" Letty asks. "Every beautiful moment we've ever had. I see it in your eyes. I can't give that to you. I got nothing."

"You got me," I tell her.

"And you've got only a piece of me. I have to find myself. For me. Goodbye," Letty tells me before leaving.