I can't believe I have to wait an extra week until I can see Cars 3, most of you guys will get to see the movie before I can…:( So that does mean once that movie comes out on the 16th no saying spoilers in the reviews, I won't be able to see it until the 22nd or 23rd of June, and I've been trying really hard to avoid spoilers until then. I hope you guys are avoiding spoilers until you see the movie too :)
Anyways, this story is really shaping out to be something! Not sure how long it'll be still but I want to keep it within 15 chapters because I don't want to drag this out. So enjoy Chapter 3! ^^
Cars © Disney Pixar
Chapter 3 – Back to Reality
The anticipation was murdering them from the inside out, but then he began to speak up.
"Lightning is doing much better from the crash, his frame still has some minor fractures and some parts of his engine had to be replaced so they will take a few weeks to be fully up to gear with the rest of his racing engine. When he passed out some of his engine parts began to malfunction, it was a huge mess in there but it all worked out in the end, he is awake and you're free to see him now."
A sigh in relief as they all smiled knowing he was going to be okay, especially Sally who had tears of happiness swelling in her eyes. She had been waiting for what seemed an eternity to see him, and now she knew everything was going to be okay. She glanced at everyone else, feeling their pain of not seeing him for longer than she did. Guilt robbed her mind, she'd hate to be the selfish one and take first chance to see him, even though her soul begged her to speed onto in that room and leave no one else to see him, but she didn't want to act that way.
Everyone else grew a little surprised when she said she'll see him last, but knew she was only being kind and selfless, putting others needs before hers was in her nature. She felt guilty from earlier seeing him first before anyone else, but everyone understands how much she means to him and would prefer that she'd go to see him first.
So, one by one, they all went in to see Lightning. The weakened race car was happy to see each and every one of them, he was beginning to feel much better with the more of his friends he saw, but at the back of his mind he wondered where Sally was. But that thought diminished mildly as soon as he saw his best friend drive on in.
"Hey buddy, how are you feeling?" He asked, his country slang present as he approached his closest friend.
Lightning mumbled under his breath, still feeling very weak but had enough energy to keep his eyes open, breathe and talk. "Could be better…then again I could be much worse, but I'm really glad I'm not."
Mater exchanged a smile, a saddened look appeared in his eyes, wishing he could do more to comfort him, but he knew being there for his best friend was more than he could do. "That's great to here, hopefully you can be out soon so we can hang out some more."
Lightning managed to force out a small chuckle in delight as he smiled at his tow truck pal. "I look forward to it."
Meanwhile, many of the others that had already seen Lightning were packing up in need of getting back to town. They had been away so long that their other hired staff would be requiring their assistance real soon if they didn't get back in the next day or so. So all except for Sarge, Sheriff, Luigi, Guido, and Sally were left in the waiting area.
Sarge glanced at the Porsche, he could see the struggle in her eyes, she had a lot on her mind. He knew exactly why she wanted everyone else to see him first, because she had a lot to tell him. He knew she must have thought about a lot once that crash happened, he didn't doubt it for a second.
Not long later, Mater came out from Lightning's room and approached the others with a delighted expression, when he looked at Sally his expression grew slightly worried be reassuring, he smiled at Sally before he stopped in front of her.
"He really wants to see you, he's actually very worried about you." He implied, a little surprised with the knowledge of Sally wanting to see him last.
Sally looked down with a glum look, but looked up at Mater with assurance. "Don't worry, there's just some things I need to talk with him about."
Silence arose as she slowly made her way down the hallway, she knew the rest would be looking at her, giving her their sincerity and sympathy that everything was okay now, but she knew they were all worried about her, having to wait her turn to see him, making her the last one he would see, made it all the more worrying that there was a lot on her mind.
The door was slightly closed, Sally could feel herself pounding, the anxiety rose, she began to feel the nervous heat surge through her. The last time she saw him he fell into an unconscious state and then was swarmed with many medical staff. Now she was free to see him, she had him all to herself, it almost seemed selfish for her to think in that way but it was true. Everyone else knew that this would be their shared time together, things needed to be sorted, after that life threatening crash, they all knew that the future was definitely clinging to her mind.
She began to open the door, the front of him poking out from behind the curtain, his mouth trembling before it stayed parted, she knew he was waiting for her. He had hoped to have seen her sooner, but grew worried and curious as to why she decided to wait till last to see him. Nothing but the beeping of the monitor beside Lightning was heard as Sally approached the one car she cared about more than any other.
With a moments notice, their eyes met. No words were spoken as they stared longingly into each other's eyes, it was at least a minute or two of silence until Lightning spoke up first, beginning to sense that there was a lot going on in Sally's mind, and it definitely had something to do with him crashing. His mind began to theorise what was on her mind, but it hurt to think of the scenarios she might have going through her mind.
"I'm so glad to finally see you." He acknowledged, a gentle smile as he lowered his eyelids.
She smiled politely in response, the tears she tried to hold back so he wouldn't see, but it was all he could see. She knew from his expression that she was struggling to keep herself composed. But before he could say anything she spoke up with a cleared voice.
"Listen…after that crash…I almost lost sight of how much you mean to me, and how far we are in our relationship." She stated, eye contact shifted away from his blue eyes, worried that she'll break down if she didn't look away. "It's been…"
"Ten years." Lightning answered with a small nod. "It'll be eleven years in a couple of months." He added, as he began to see exactly where she was going with this.
Sally looked up, mildly surprised she answered for him, but continued on from where she left off. "It's almost been eleven years we've been together, and I'm only now just seeing how much we haven't done yet. After that crash…I'm worried it'll happen again and…" She stopped there, not wanting to say anymore, she closed her eyes tightly, the pain she could sense in Lightning too as he sighed heavily.
It was excruciating to think about, he was almost gone not long ago but he was glad to have survived his malfunctioning parts, but as Sally's words played out in his mind, tears came to his eyes as he painfully imagined crashing again and something even worse happening to him that his mind prevented him from saying it, for the sake of how much pain he was in already from the trauma of the crash.
"I understand." He silently spoke, his words soft as he looked down before looking back up at her. "I would never want you to be in so much pain just for me. I'd hate for anyone to do so much for me that it hurts them, I don't want that. Making others suffer is how I used to be, I don't want that part of me to ever return."
He hated more than anything his past self before his life was completely turned around, it was too much negativity for everyone else just so he could enjoy the satisfaction of always being the spotlight, always being in the lead, being number one. The suffering of others for his own enjoyment was not something he'd want to see back anytime soon, and he hated it that he was seeing it in Sally's expression.
Sally turned away with her eyes sealed shut, but she turned with a subtle sniffle. She realised just how much he had changed over the years, his biggest change being over the course of those first few days he spent in the town. And even though being with him for nearly 11 years it truly shocked her how much he had changed in that time, he wasn't that same old bragging hotshot race car who crashed into their town and wanting nothing but to leave it at a first glance.
She smiled as she leaned in to nuzzle him, wanting nothing more than his touch in that moment, ever so thankful to see him alive and recovering, but the thoughts of their future together prevented her from obtaining a proper smile on her mouth.
"We just have so much to talk about…and I'd hate to keep everyone else waiting just to talk to you." She implied, her selfless personality shining through again, causing Lightning to sigh with a smile.
He felt like the others knew she wanted to talk to him more than anything, she had already been selfless enough to let everyone see him before she did. She had done more than enough already for everyone else, now she had to take care of herself.
"I know we do, but there is no need for you to sacrifice this time we have together for someone else. I'm certain they understand just how much we care for each other, and I'll bet they were a little surprised when you said you were going last, even Mater was shocked." He explained, his expression and strength lifted for a brief moment.
Sally sighed, knowing that being the selfless car she was she only wanted to do more for others than for herself, but before she could protest more, Lightning gave her some reassuring words.
"You're already doing something for others, you're making them feel better by you seeing me. And you're helping me feel better, I've only picked up more energy just by seeing you in here, I don't know why when anyone else came in I still felt weak but as soon as you arrived I've felt stronger."
He gave her a peck on the fender, shocking her slightly before she turned to him with a small loving smile, her eyelids lowered as she gazed into his beautiful blue eyes. She always loved looking at him like that, that look would always make her soften up and feel ten times more relaxed than before. However, the thoughts still remained, yet she began to think of them in a lighter and hopeful tone.
"We should get married soon."
The sudden mention of marriage made Lightning's eyes burst wide open to their maximum capacity, his mouth stuck parted with shock before he looked down at Sally, seeing her relaxed and confident expression. He knew she was serious, after all the seriousness of the crash and with what they just discussed, it shouldn't have come to a surprise that she would mention something like this.
It also something they hadn't really discussed until now, no one else made mention of it, the press didn't, their friends didn't. They all seemed to respect their long term relationship, they knew it wasn't something that was a necessity to their relationship, it wouldn't change anything except their martial status. But it only seemed like time was beginning to beat them, it was running out, they needed to catch up with it before it was too late.
The thought lingered in his mind longer than it should have, but at the same time his mind had not gone down this path before in terms of their relationship, it was something new his mind had to adapt to. Could he adapt to calling Sally his wife when others asked about her? A million thoughts arose but he didn't let them overwhelm her.
Although the thought of marriage was rarely on his mind, he always thought that he would be the one to propose and not her, but things had been all over the place so it was perfectly understandable that she was asking first and foremost.
Sally was still waiting for an answer, and although she knew he wouldn't say no she needed him to say the words. Drawn back to reality, Lightning looked at Sally in deep thought, knowing that there was going to be a lot of work behind this but he was confident that they could both work it out in no time.
"Yes, we definitely should."
I was actually going to cut it a little shorter than that but I thought I'd extend it a little just to add a bit more in there, as much as I like quality, I also like progress. The progress I make, the less longer this story will be. I don't want it to be a 30+ chapter story like most of the stories I've written already. XD
So, expect Chapter 4 sometime next week, hopefully around the same time. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and will continue to follow this story. ^^
