Title: Past Not Forgotten
Author: aliensister aka liddaanne
Disclaimer: I don't own the movie 'Fast and the Furious', it belongs to the people who created it … I am just borrowing so please, don't sue.
Pairings: Vince/OFC
Rating: Adult
Summary: Isabelle Rodrigez only had one best friend, but her cousin Letty abandoned her to a family who never wanted her in the first place. She's been hurt for so long, but now, seven years later Isabelle has stumbled on something that gave her hope. Now in LA will she find more then just the best friend she lost?
Authors Note Set after the first movie, the team were never busted because Brian ran to Miami. He did a job for Bilkins in exchange for the team's name being cleared of any suspicion. Jesse was shot but he didn't die.
Isabelle Rodrigez parked her black 1969 Ford Mustang in front of Toretto's garage and pulled out an aged worn letter she had in her glove box, opening the letter up she re read the bits that mentioned the shop, she really hoped she was in the right place. Isabelle ran her fingers through her long dark brown hair, pulling it into a sloppy bun and bit the back of her labret between her teeth like she always did when she was nervous, she really hoped her cousin didn't tell her to leave as soon as she saw her, though she thought she probably deserved it. Stepping out of the car Isabelle took a deep breathe and began to walk towards the garage all traces of her nerves hidden underneath her glasses.
Vince was leaning against a new Skyline that had been brought in that morning chatting with Leon about what the problem was when they saw the mustang pull up. Vince stared as the driver stepped out of her car and began to walked over to them, the mid morning sun on her caramel skin making her look like she glowed, tight blue jeans and white tank top showed off her sexy curves, the small rectangular glasses perched on her nose made her look like a librarian but the phoenix tattoo that covered her left arm to the elbow said this girl wasn't an innocent. Leon let out a low whistle of appreciation when he noticed her and Vince nearly growled, he saw her first and Leon could keep his grubby eyes off her.
"How can we help you, sugar?" Leon asked wiping his greasy hands on a rag he pulled from his back pocket as Isabelle reached them.
"I'm looking for Letty, she works here right?" Isabelle asked with a hopeful smile as she began to unconsciously fidget with the hem of her shirt. Vince could only stare at her bare fingers as they tugged and twisted the fabric; it was so unusual around here to see a girl without painted nails, except Letty but he didn't really see Letty as a girl, she was more one of the guys. He noticed the only jewellery she wore was the small silver ball pierced below her lip and a chunky silver ring on her right hand thumb and a long silver chain that ran down into the cleavage hidden by her shirt.
"I'm Letty, what of it?" Isabelle whirled around to face the darkened garage where her cousin stood in a white wife beater and greasy coveralls tied at her waist.
"Holy shit!" Letty laughed in amazement and anger as she took in the sight of the girl who had been her cousin and her best friend until her family had turned on and disowned her for street racing and dating Dom.
"Alright, before you hit me or send me away just hear me out, please Ticia!!" Isabelle pleaded and Letty could see all the guys staring at them and snarled, she hated being the centre of attention and so nodded for Isabelle to follow her into Dom's office. Isabelle walked into the office after Letty and quietly shut the door behind her and turned stare nervously at her cousin who had draped herself across the swivel chair and picked at her nails in what looked like boredom but Isabelle knew it was Letty's way of hiding her hurt.
"Well go on then," Letty said with a raised eyebrow.
"You don't have to be a bitch you know…"Isabelle sighed and sat down on sofa across from Letty "I was only fourteen, Ticia; I thought you abandoned me like my mom and papi did, you know, your parents came that summer and you weren't there and when I asked they told me you had run off to be with some boy and that they had no way to contact you but I kept thinking that you would try and contact me but you never did" Isabelle rubbed her eyes under her glasses trying to ward of the tears that threatened at the memories of that summer she would check the mail every morning only to be disappointed.
"They kicked me out on my sixteenth birthday 'cause they found out about Dom and as for not writing you, I did, once a week for like six months…wait if you didn't get the letters how did you know where to find me?" Letty said with a frown, putting her feet back down on the ground so that her knees nearly touched Isabelle's.
"Oh I got them…a month ago when I was going through nanan's belongings after her funeral, five years late," Isabelle said bitterly and Letty longed to reach out to her younger cousin who had looked up to her growing up.
"They all said it was my fault you turned out like you did Let, everything I touch I turn to shit, they said they should of left me out in the cold when mama dropped me on their door step, that even at six the devil had a firm hold on me and like rotten fruit I should have been thrown away…" Isabelle cried out in frustration, growing up she had listened to thousands of lecture about how wicked she was from her bible bashing grandparents.
"When I found the letters I asked Pop if he knew they were there and he said that they had all decide that it was better for me not to have contact with you, they already had one worthless grandchild and they didn't want another one," Isabelle kept her head down and pulled her knees up to her chest as she began to cry, Letty had always told her that crying was a sign of weakness but Isabelle was never as strong as Letty.
Letty took shuttering breath and forced back her own tears, it wasn't the hate from her family that shook her, she had come to terms with that a long time ago but the sight of Belle huddled on the couch, crying about the nasty words their family had inflicted on both of them bought back the memories of huddling in the barn of their grandparents farm where Belle lived and Letty was sent to every summer, trying to stay out of the way of their hateful family.
Getting up Letty crossed the short distance to the lounge to sit down next to her weeping cousin but Belle was more then just a cousin to Letty she was more like a sister, growing up she had been Letty's shadow, always following her around, wanting to be just like her, she was the only person who knew what it was like to be Letty, who saw past the tough shield and saw that her parents and grandparents hateful words wounded her because they hurt Belle the same way. Letty wrapped an arm around Belle and pulled her close with a sigh and laid her head on top of Belle's.
"Don't cry chica, they ain't worth it," Letty whispered into Belle's hair, Belle always brought out Letty's protective streak cause at the end of day when they were growing after the summer was over she got to come home and get away from the family by going to the fort back when Mr. Toretto had still been alive but Belle had nowhere else to go just that farm three hundred and sixty five days a year.
Isabelle's sobs slowly stopped as Letty soothingly rubbed her hand up and down Isabelle's arm and Letty noticed the funny dry feeling of the skin there, lifting her head Letty's eyes widened at the sight of the black and grey phoenix tattoo there with its head resting on the top of her cousin's shoulder and its tail wrapping around her inner elbow.
"Wow, you got a tattoo!" Isabelle lifted her head and looked down at her arm, her proud smile lighting up her face.
"Yep, isn't it gorgeous, I got it in Phoenix two weeks ago…I had to sit for three hours and it hurt like hell but it was so worth it," Isabelle said with a laugh looking up at her cousin who nodded.
"What ever will the family say?" Letty said with an evil smirk, her family hated tattoos; they were against god, if he had wanted to you to have tattoos he would have given them to you himself.
"Don't know, don't care…I left there a month ago after I found the letters and I'm never going back," Isabelle said in a tone that left no doubt, she would be going back over her dead body.
"So where are you going to go?" Letty asked with worry, her cousin was naïve and not worldly and LA was a dangerous city, especially for someone like Belle who trusted too easily.
"I don't know yet, I've just sorta been driving all over, seeing things, I saw the Grand Canyon," Belle said smiling at Letty's frown.
"How did you afford it?"
"Well, I had some money I've been stashing since you went away when nanan decided that the devil makes mischief for idle hands and got me a job cleaning for our neighbours…and I sold a few her expensive jewellery that she used to hide in the attic," Isabelle looked ashamed at having stolen from their dead grandmother but Letty figured it was nothing compared to what she and the team had done and plus with the crap their Nanan had put Belle through she deserved some pay back.
"Wasn't like she needed it anymore," Letty said shrugging and squeezing Isabelle's shoulders just as Dom walked through the door, a curious look on his face at scene in front of him, his notoriously tough girlfriend with her arms wrapped around another girl who had obviously been crying.
"Something I should know about Letty?" Dom asked with a smirk, he couldn't help it he really liked stirring up his little firecracker it was part of what had made him fall in love with her in the first place.
"Don't be a dog Dom," Letty said rolling her eyes as she and Isabelle stood up. Isabelle held her hand out to shake Dom's.
"You really weren't kidding about him being tall were you, Let," Isabelle said with a smile as she looked up to see Dom's face, she was only a breath taller then Letty but it still made Dom look fairly tall. Dom chuckled as he reached out his hands to shake Isabelle's.
"Dom, this is my cousin Isabelle," Letty said exchanging a smile with Isabelle, Dom nodded with a small cautious smile, he could see the resemblance between the two girls but it was only a small resemblance where Letty was small, Isabelle was curvaceous, Isabelle looked naïve and pure and he knew Letty was nothing like that. Dom couldn't help but worry; he remembered the pain Letty had been through when her family disowned her but he trusted her to make her own decisions, she was a big girl and he would be there to pick her up if anything should happen.
"Belle, you should stay at the fort with us," Letty said not even glancing at Dom, if Dom could bring home strays whenever he wanted, she could invite her cousin to stay, it was her house too and plus if he really had a problem with it she would make it up to him later with a 'massage'.
"I don't want to put anyone out," Isabelle said nervously biting her lip as she looked at Letty, she could really use a place to stay and hotels were expensive and it would mean a chance to be closer to her cousin.
"You wouldn't be," Dom said causing the girls to flash him matching mischievous grins; uh oh Dom thought to himself, maybe Isabelle is more like Letty then previously thought.
"You have to come meet the guys," Letty said grabbing Isabelle by the arm to pull her out of the office, her hand giving Doms a quick squeeze in thanks on the way past. Isabelle couldn't control her smile, she had been so worried that Letty would turn her away even after she told what had happened but Letty was giving her a second chance to prove just how much she loved her cousin. Letty came to a halt in the middle of the garage causing Isabelle to bump into her back; Isabelle giggled and came around to stand beside Letty as her cousin laughed and slung an arm around Isabelle's shoulders.
"Guys come meet my baby cousin," Letty said with a smirk, Jesse was the first to see them coming out of the office and jumped up from his work on the computer and bounded over to where they were standing, Leon and Vince came over from the Skyline they had been pretending to work on.
"This is Jesse, he's our mad scientist," Isabelle giggled at the name, which caused Jesse to blush and smile bashfully, Isabelle could see herself being good friends with him.
"Leon and Vince, who you met earlier," Isabelle smiled and nodded.
"How you doen, sugar," Leon asked with a deep southern drawl and a smile, Isabelle laughed and tried not to roll her eyes, she had plenty of southern boys try it on growing up and they just held no interest for her but the intense blue eyes next to him had Isabelle's knees weak, she hadn't taken much notice of them on the way in because of her nerves over seeing Letty again but now those eyes were focused on her, Isabelle was drowning in them. She coughed to cover herself placing her well practiced poker face on and smiled, trying not to look over at Vince no matter how much she wanted to, she didn't want to look like some love sick teenager, especially when Letty already thought she was unworldly.
"Better now," Isabelle said looking at her cousin who echoed her large smile.