A Better Life

Written by: SerenaBlackmore98

A/N: hey guys! Here's chapter two of 'A Better Life' I hope you all enjoy it!

DISCLAIMER: you know the drill. I don't own Cars or its characters blah blah blah. They belong to Disney Pixar blah blah blah

SerenaBlackmore98

Chapter 2: Lyra's Arrival

The following morning, everyone was hoping for an explanation from Lightning about the events of the day before. He vaguely briefed his friends on the situation, leaving out all the graphic details. Once he satisfied everyone's curiosity, Lightning went to Willie's Butte to do a few laps; it was his way of blowing off steam. After about forty laps, McQueen called it a day. He returned home to find that Sally was in the bedroom.

"hey Sally, I'm home. Sorry I'm a little late, I lost track of time while I was doing laps…oh, sorry, didn't realize you were on the phone." he apologized as he noticed the phone in his girlfriend's hand.

"don't worry about it, Stickers. I just got home five minutes ago anyway, then my parents called." Sally smiled.

"is that's Lightning McQueen? You're really dating him?" A young woman on the phone screeched loud enough so both Sally and Lightning could hear her.

"and that would be my seventeen-year-old cousin Kelly; she's a little bit obsessed with you." Sally explained.

"yes Kelly, that was Lightning, and yes we really are dating." Sally confirmed.

Sally and Lightning's relationship was announced to the world during an interview after the first race of the season. While the racing world had gone crazy over this news, it barely affected the couple's private life.

The week had gone by incredibly fast for Lightning and Sally, and before they knew it, it was time to go pick up Lyra at the airport in Phoenix. Lightning wore a pair of jeans, a red t-shirt, and a black leather jacket in hopes of not being recognized. Sally decided to wear a light blue sundress matched with a navy-blue cardigan. As they entered the airport, they seemed to have been unrecognized, until they made it about half way to Lyra's gate.

Lightning was stopped by a few young kids asking for pictures and autographs, which he was more than happy to do. Sally smiled as she watched him interact with the children; he was great with them. No matter how busy or rushed he was, Lightning always found time for his young fans.

The paparazzi took notice of the couple, and bombarded them with questions.

"McQueen, are you going on a trip?"
"are you waiting for someone?"

"do you have family coming to visit?"
"are you having an affair on miss Carrera?"

The couple managed to slip away from the paparazzi, and waited for Lyra at her gate.

Finally, the flight from Florida had arrived and the passengers were entering the airport. A young girl with long red hair and bright blue eyes came out, and looked around for her brother.

Lyra wore a red T-shirt with a pair of jeans. A pair of black converse sneakers on her feet and a denim jacket on her shoulders. Her red hair why tied up in a ponytail. The young girl scanned the area for her older brother. Noticing him, she made her way to him, rolling her small suitcase behind her.

"Lightning," she called out, getting the racer's attention.

"Lyra!" he exclaimed, approaching her.

"I've missed you so much!" she cried as he pulled her into a tight hug.

"I've missed you too, kiddo" he replied, holding back his own tears.

"it's okay, baby girl. You're safe now; no one is going to hurt you here." He soothed as his sister cried.

Lightning held his sister close like that for a few moments, ignoring the group of people who were now watching the scene unfold. Sally looked onto the scene with a faint smile; the McQueen siblings really do care for one another. Lightning seemed to have relaxed a bit now that his sister was with him, which relieved the young woman.

"Lyra, this is Sally. Sal, this is Lyra." McQueen introduced.

"it's a pleasure to finally meet you Lyra, Lightning has told me all about you." Sally smiled.

"nice to meet you too, Sally." Lyra squeaked.

"do you have everything?" Lightning asked his sister who nodded in reply.

"then let's head home," he continued.

"Uh, Stickers, aren't you forgetting something?" Sally asked.

"what?" he asked in reply.

"the keys," Sally demanded, holding out her hand.

"but Sal…" he whined.

"don't you 'but Sally' me Lightning Owen McQueen! I love you, but sometimes you forget that the highway isn't a racetrack. Plus, we came up here with my car; I don't want you breaking it by trying to make it go faster than its maximum capacity." She exclaimed.

"she used my full name, so she must be serious…Fine, Sal, take the keys." he replied, earning a chuckled from the two girls in his life.

"thank-you, now let's go home." Sally smiled as they headed towards the exit.

In an instant, the three were crowded by paparazzi bombarding them with questions.

"Mr. McQueen, who's the kid?" one asked.

"is she your daughter?" questioned another.

"are you married to another woman?"

After that third question, Lightning led Sally and Lyra through the crowd all the way to the exit, then headed for Sally's light blue Porsche. The ride home was relatively quiet, aside from the radio playing whatever songs made the 'Top 40's' of the week.

Lyra was thrilled to see her brother again; she was barely even four-years-old the last time she saw him. She wished he could have brought her with him when he left home all those years ago, but understood now that their parents would get him in trouble with the law if he did. Lightning told his sister numerous times that he wished he could have taken her away from that place; how hard he was trying to find a way to have her with him.

When they finally arrived home, the three decided they would go down to Flo's for diner. Sally then excused herself into the bedroom to clean herself up, giving the McQueen siblings a moment alone. A thick silence filled the air in Lightning and Sally's two-bedroom apartment, the young racer was the first to speak.

"are you okay?" he asked, even though he was certain he already knew the answer.

With that, Lyra broke down completely. Lighting held her close as she wept. He hated his parents for putting his sister through all of this; it was no way for a child to live. It was as cruel and inhumane as it gets.

"I don't want to go back with mom and dad, Lightning; I want to stay with you!" the child cried.
"I won't let them take you away from me, Lyra; I will not lose you again, I promise." Lightning reassured.
"but what if they don't go to jail? What if they try to come get me and take me back? What if…" Lyra
questioned until she was cut off by her big brother.

"Lyra, I promise you that you're safe here. Mom and dad won't get away with what they've done, and they will not come after you; they'll have to go through me first, and you know I won't let that happen." he smiled softly.

"you two ready to go?" Sally asked, exiting the bedroom.
"I think so, you all set kiddo?" Lightning asked his sister who nodded in reply.

With that, the three made their way down to Flo's where most of Sally and Lightning's friends were already waiting for them. Once introductions were made, Lyra's mindset seemed to have improved; Lightning's friends were great! Flo seemed to be a mother-figure to her brother, which made the young girl happy. She really liked Lightning's best friend Mater; he was really funny!

"an' after ol' Doc challenged him to a race, yer brother dun fell off the side of Willy's Butte and right inta them there cactuses!" Mater laughed.
"he was so mad that it scratched up his car's paint job, too!" Sally added.
"yeah, yeah, laugh it up guys," Lightning grumbled, earning a giggle from his sister.
"then there was that time we went cow tipping…" Mater began.
"okay! Mater, that's enough!" Lightning cut him off, hoping no one else would tell anymore embarrassing stories about him to Lyra.

As the evening ended, everyone slowly began to head home, wishing Lyra a warm welcome to Radiator Springs. Finally, Lightning, Sally, and Lyra headed back to the apartment as well. It was a little after ten o'clock when they finally made it home that night, and Lyra was visibly tired. Seeing as most of the clothes she had barely fit her, Lightning gave her one of his t-shirts for the night. It was red and had a lightning bolt and the number #95 printed on. Once Lyra was in bed, the two adults got ready for bed themselves.

"Lightning, I'd like to take Lyra out to get some clothes tomorrow afternoon. Think she'd like that?" Sally asked, lying in bed beside her boyfriend.
"I think she'd love that, Sal." he smiled.
"plus, it would give us a chance to get to know one another a bit more," she added.
"I think it's a wonderful idea dear," he replied.

Hours later, Lightning awoke to the sound of screaming coming from Lyra's bedroom. He rushed to the room to find his sister thrashing about on the bed and screaming. After a few moments of attempting to wake her, Lyra finally woke herself. Instinctively, Lightning pulled her into a tight hug, stroking her hair comfortingly.

"shh, it's okay, kiddo. You're safe now; nothing's going to harm you here. I've got you, Lyra." he soothed his sister as she cried.

The young girl was drenched in sweat, and her heart was jumping out of her chest. This was a normal occurrence for Lyra, but never was there someone there to comfort and reassure her afterwards. Once her breathing returned to normal, her brother continued to hold her.

"do you want to talk about it?" he asked. Lyra shook her head in response.
"do you want to try going back to bed, or would you rather come lay on the couch with me for a bit?" he continued.
"I want to lay on the couch with you," she replied in a whisper.
"alright then," he smiled as he led her into the living room.

Lightning decided to put on a movie in hopes of getting her to fall asleep. Lyra decided on 'Beauty and the Beast'. As Lyra got comfortable leaning against Lightning, the eldest McQueen couldn't help but worry for his sister's mental health: how often would she have these nightmares? What were they about? What if he wasn't around to help her next time?

Noticing that his sister was now fast asleep, Lightning calmed down and tried to fall asleep himself. His sister was finally with him and away from their parents, and that's all that matters.