McQueen's Kid

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴇɪɢʜᴛ

Chapter Eight
The ride back to Radiator Springs was deadly quiet. Dad hadn't gotten any better and I began to feel like there was no help. Sure, meeting with Smokey and receiving the closure was a huge plus, but it wouldn't be enough. Cruz came along after Dad's embarrassing pleas. Yes, you read that right. Dad begged Cruz.

All of us exited from Dad's trailer, frowns on our faces. Everyone come over to greet us, but immediately stopped when they saw our long faces. I looked into Mom's blue eyes, but I couldn't return her smile.

Dad had been through a lot in the past couple of days. Storm had the fastest lap ever recorded and Dad's winning percentage was 1.2%, the lowest it had been his whole racing career.

We gently drove down Main Street, all of us headed to Flo's. To be honest, I'm surprised no one questioned why Cruz was with us. They had never met her, or even heard of her, unless Dad told them. "Stella, let's take a drive." Dad stated.

I looked towards Mom, who nodded her head. I wanted to make sure she was okay with us leaving her again. "Okay." I agreed, following him towards Wheel Well. We took it at a slow pace, both of us wanting to capture the scenery growing around us.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Dad smiled, looking around him. I nodded my head, driving beside him. I let my eyes wander, looking and listening to everything. Mom and Dad had brought me up here before, but I never understood why they loved it so much until now.

"It's gorgeous." I gasped as the waterfall came into view. It felt like my engine stopped. This place was so amazing. Why hadn't I noticed it before? The way the water made a misty rainbow against the bridge almost made me cry.

"You coming, Stel?" Dad smirked, now far ahead of me. I nodded my head, not taking my eyes off of the scene.

"I'll catch up with you." I whispered, making him chuckle and drive away. I slowly drove on the bridge, not because it was dangerously slippery, but because I wanted to feel apart of nature. This was what I was missing. This was why Smokey sent us home.

Eventually, I caught up to Dad at the top of Wheel Well. Since Doc's death and Dad's crash, fewer car have visited Radiator Springs. In fact, almost no one has been here. I can't even remember the last time we came up to Wheel Well as a family. "Goodness, I didn't know you were so slow." Dad teased, rolling his eyes as I came into view.

"Har, har. You're funny," I replied, making him laugh. He drove to look over the edge of the cliff. I followed him, wondering what he was looking at. My jaw dropped as I looked down at the town. "You can see the whole town from up here!" I awed.

"You act like this is your first time up here." Dad replied, glancing at me.

"Well, it kind of feels like it. Not sure why, though." I confessed, looking at Dad. Maybe he had an answer for my confusing feelings. I had been up here millions of times. I've raced both of my parents up here as a child. Why did it feel so new?

"It's because you finally see what the rest of the world can't." He answered, his tone soft. It made sense, but I felt like that wasn't it. It had to be something other than that. I already knew that I was lucky to live where I did. Living in those big cities you hardly see nature, besides in the lame parks.

I glanced around, trying to see if I could find anything else. "Hey! Look at the interstate! All those cars are just driving by. They don't even know what they're missing." I exclaimed, watching the trillions of cars sped by our little town, not even giving it one glance.

"Chrysler, you really do sound like me." Dad softly sighed, looking at me.

"Well, you are the one who raised me." I fired back, smirking at him.