The Big Race - Lightning McQueen x Reader

Chapter 8

I woke up in a room I did not remember. As my windshield cover lifted, I looked around the room. It was different than I would have expected. Forest green cabinets lined the walls, with white marble countertops laid on top of them. An elaborately patterned rug covered the raw umber hardwood floor. In the furthest corner of the room sat a bowl of limes piled high on a wooden lazy susan.

The room looked so much brighter in the daylight. Under the cover of darkness so much was lost. You'd have missed the shining copper kettle placed atop the gas stovetop. My mind was so preoccupied by my newfound trauma that my eyes glossed right over the Limes.

I had never seen one in person, let alone so many. The bowl was filled above the rim, almost overflowing. They must have been fake; there was no way a single person could afford that many limes, it was inconceivable. I approached the limes slowly, as if they would bolt like a newly manufactured automobile in the presence of a gas ciphoner or a tire slasher. The shine on them implied a moistness no false fruit could convey.

As I got near, I felt my tire uncarsciously lift towards the wooden bowl. I anticipated the texture and the weight they may hold, but before I could gain traction, I was caught off guard by a husky voice.

"I love limes. I love them. They're great. I like them so much, and I like to present them like this in my house."

My hood swiftly turned as I took in the sight before me. His voice and appearance had brought back every memory from the night before, and oh my, how those memories brought heat to my hood.

He stood in the garage doorway, his one wheel parked up against the frame, and his eyes locked on mine.

"It's getting pretty late, you really slept in," His accent bustled through as he spoke. He dropped his wheel from the doorway and approached me. "Has anyone ever told you that you snore when you sleep?" He reached around me, picking up one of the limes and throwing it up in the air. "It's cute, made my experience a bloody hell of a lot better" The lime fell back onto his wheel, my eyes locked on it like a gps.

I was struck, I couldn't believe he just said that. "Cute?🤔 I'm not cute 🙅🏻‍♀️💁🏼‍♀️," I mean 👀 my carmpanions 👨‍👩‍👧 call 📞me 🙇🏻‍♀️cute🤗 but 🤔honestly 😅I've never ❌heard it👂🏻 from someone else before🤷🏻‍♂️, thanks I guess🤔🙇🏻‍♀️?

My engine skipped a beat, wait, I only snore when I don't have nightmares. I hadn't even realized, but thinking back my sleep had been untouched by my toxic memories. It had been months since I had last slept soundly, and that was due to the bottle of diesel I downed with Stella the night before. But this time it had been different. There was no depressant altering my hardware, this was something else. Someone else. I was getting overwhelmed. I could feel the gasoline pumping through my pipes.

Harry reached his tire out to push back my rear view mirror. "I'm gonna go grab my hair for the day and then we can grab a bite to eat okay?" His voice softened, maybe he saw the conflict in my console.

He left the room and my senses returned to me. He made me nervous, and that wasn't a good thing. I checked the time and cursed myself, I was late.

I bolted for the door. I knew I would feel bad for running out on Harry, but it was what was best for my engine, and my job. I skidded through the door and down the block, trying to find my way through this new neighborhood. After a few wrong turns I made my way back on track.

The first thing I noticed when I turned down the next block was that it was dead empty. The next thing was how familiar it looked to me. I couldn't put my tire on it, but something was making my AC turn on, cold air encapsulating my entire interior.