Adopted by Heathers: The Sequel

We Don't Want A Repeat Of August 7th

I finally worked up the courage to take driver's lessons, and it was only around a month and a half before my sixteenth birthday. And after a few weeks of lessons, I had gotten my permit and I was in a random parking lot, behind the wheel of Elle's car with Red in the backseat and Elle supervising me from the passenger seat. 

"Mom?" I asked Elle before I could even turn on the car and back out of the parking space I was in. "What if I crash or something?"

"Oh Sunshine. I know this is scary, especially considering our family's crappy luck." Elle said. "But you won't crash. We're just in an empty parking lot, there's literally nobody here."

"Yay Cat!" Red cheered from the backseat of the car. I glared at her in the rear view mirror before backing out of the parking space and putting the car in drive.

"I'm doing it!" I squealed as I cruised around the parking lot. "Mommy! Look! I'm driving! I'm doing it!" 

I was actually having a lot of fun with this. I reached for the button to turn on the radio and pressed it, listening to whatever cheesy pop song was popular this week blaring from the speakers. I started giggling, I didn't know what I was so scared of.

"Catlynn! Pay attention, you're gonna run into a streetlamp!" Elle said, motioning for me to turn right. I did, and I started my cruising around the empty parking lot.

"Hey, Cat, can we go to Target? It's just down the road." Red asked. "I brought money with me, let's go get random crap!"

"Red, I don't want her driving on the open road for now." Elle said. "If you two truly want to go, I'll be the one driving you there." Elle motioned for me to pull into another parking space and stop the car, but I waved her off.

"No worries, Mom, I got this." I said. Elle sighed and sat back in the passenger seat as I carefully drove out of the parking lot and onto the main road. 

"She's confident." Red said, chugging a water bottle she brought then noisily crumpling it up and tossing it on the floor. Elle sighed and said, "A little too confident..." under her breath.

"Guys! We're here!" I said, pulling into a parking spot and stopped the car. "See? It wasn't that bad, was it?"

And that's when I realized I knew exactly what Target we were at. The Target that Jessica and Ryan took me to the day of the first crash, a few miles down from the local shopping mall. 

"Cat? Are you okay?" Elle said, putting her hand on my shoulder. I nodded and then Red grabbed my arm and pulled me in the Target against my better judgement. 

"Come on! Cat! Let's get some random stuff!" Red said as I chased her up and down the aisles of the Target, Elle giggling and following behind us.

_________

"That. Was. So fun!" Red squealed as we all piled back into Elle's car after our shopping trip. It took me a few moments to realize I was getting in the driver's seat of the car, and not the backseat like I normally do. We all buckled our seat belts and then Red pulled out the bag of chips she bought and noisily crunched them.

"Be quiet, I'm backing out!" I said, laughing. I successfully managed to get out of the parking space and onto the main road again. I was just about to make the turns needed to get home when Elle stopped me.

"I don't feel comfortable with you driving all the way home, at least not until you pass the test and get your license." Elle said. In that moment, I realized she was right. A few hours before this, I was scared to even cruise around a parking lot. But now, I felt a lot more confident and felt comfortable attempting to drive home.

"Calm down, Mom! I got this." I said, turning a corner and making my way down the street and turning on the radio again. Elle had her eyes focused on the road, making sure I wasn't in any grave danger.

Twenty minutes later, we made it home safely. No crashes, nothing to worry about.

"See? Calm down, Mom. I'm fine, you're fine, Red's fine, the car's fine, we're all good." I said before unlocking the door and throwing my bag on the couch.

"A month and a half before you may be able to drive for real." Red said, smiling.

I smiled too.

I really was growing up.

AN: This chapter was not supposed to be as fluffy as it was. You guys are lucky for now. Come on, you guys know how evil I can be. Hope you enjoyed! Catch ya later!