Chapter 4 - Friendships like These
A lone red Mercedes Benz e350 with bright brown eyes was cruising alone down the road of Route 66 at night, and something strange caught her attention when she was approaching an old and faded billboard out in the middle of nowhere; it sounded like sobbing, but she wasn't sure and decided to investigate the noise.
She gasped when she intruded on a black Lamborghini, but she didn't notice her because she was facing the opposite direction, quivering and whimpering uncontrollably.
"Ahem!" the Mercedes Benz e350 cleared her throat awkwardly, and the Lamborghini finally took notice of her, so she scrambled to wipe her tears away.
"I-I…I-I'm so sorry! S-something was on my mind, is all…" the Lamborghini began, her voice hearse from all of her crying, and the Mercedes finally noticed the sheriff's badge on her side, "W-what…ahem! What can I do for you, Ma'am?"
"Hmm…" the Mercedes hummed suspiciously, but she quickly smiled politely, "I'm looking for a small town called Radiator Springs. You wouldn't happen to know where it is, would you?"
"Of course I would. I'm the town sheriff. Just keep following this road, and you should reach it within five or ten minutes."
"Well, thank you…"
"Sheriff Angel Rodriguez, at you service, Ma'am."
"Quite. Oh, and one more thing, Sheriff. Whatever you're crying about, I wish you luck and all." With that, the red Mercedes smiled sincerely at the Lamborghini, and she turned and continued down the road before she could say anything else.
And once she was alone again, Angel couldn't help but feel reminded of her problem again when the red Mercedes wished her luck with it. But even with luck, how could she be perfectly fine now?
Wingo had left her, and she has never felt more alone. Tears began to spill like waterfalls again, as the salt burned and made her eyes even redder.
Wingo just couldn't sleep, not after what Angel told him. He couldn't take the stress of the fact that he was going to be a father. He had so much he wanted to do before even thinking about settling down!
He also couldn't go back home and just wait for Angel, or even talk to the other Tuners. He just stood paralyzed outside his cone in complete silence.
"Heya, Handsome," a seductive voice called, but Wingo luckily kept himself together to keep from looking surprised. But he was certainly curious when he saw a rather sexy red Mercedes Benz e350 pulling up to him.
But as pretty as she appeared in Wingo's opinion, another woman was really the last thing he wanted to see at the moment.
"Go away," the Wingo Gashi huffed.
"Excuse me?" the Mercedes seemed offended, "You seem like a lonely young man, and so I'm generously offering you a good time to help cheer you up. Whaddya say, Mister?"
"Not interested," Wingo growled while pushing the red car away, who clearly attempted to get closer.
"Ungrateful dick," the red female growled under her breath, and Wingo luckily didn't hear her, "What's got you so huffy, anyway?"
"My girlfriend said she's pregnant," he simply answered, continuing to avoid eye contact with her, and scowl at nothing in particular.
"Oh! Now, that is a shocker—and quite the downer, too."
Wingo couldn't help but glance in his left rearview mirror when he saw her opening the door and reversing into the empty cone next to his. And she smirked when her eyes met his in his mirror, realizing she finally had his attention.
"I'll be honest, if it was me who found out I was pregnant before I was ready, I'd want absolutely nothing to do with it."
With that, she closed the door before giving Wingo a chance to speak again, leaving him a little surprised towards her opinion. Sure, stepping up to become a responsible parent was truly difficult and shocking when not fully prepared, but to abandon an innocent life was just…
Wingo didn't even want to finish that thought, and he really began to wonder if Angel would keep the baby. He felt absolutely scared, confused, and terrible about the situation, nonetheless.
DJ and Eleanor glanced desperately at the CPU, both biting their lips when they saw the two tiny white and fuzzy bodies fidgeting and kicking on the screen.
"They both still appear to be perfectly healthy to me," Charlotte gently reassured while gently rubbing the ultrasound probe and spreading the gel on Eleanor's bump.
"The due date's still the same?" DJ asked with concern.
"Don't worry, dear old dad. I can't tell the exact date, but most pregnancies are difficult to determine, anyway. But as far as I can tell, they're still due some time in late December or early January."
DJ couldn't help but smirk back at Charlotte's joke and playful grin.
"Now, if that's all you two need, I bid you both good luck throughout the rest of the pregnancy." The expecting couple couldn't help but notice the slightly more cheery tone in Charlotte's voice, and her huge smile was definitely sticking out like a sore thumb as well.
"What's got you in such a happy mood?" DJ spoke first.
"Yes, is there a special occasion?" Eleanor asked with curiosity.
"Well…ok, I'll be honest, I'm kinda impatient. Jacob and I have a lunch date today, and I would hate to keep him waiting," Charlotte replied sheepishly while blushing.
"Oh! If that's all, we won't keep you. Thank you again for your help, Charlotte," Eleanor informed with a smile, and she and her husband quickly left the clinic. But as soon as they left Ramone's House of Body Art, gossip kicked in.
"Aren't they just so adorable together?" Eleanor whispered.
"Yup. I never thought Snot Rod'd get a decent girl, but I've been wrong before," DJ mused with a smirk.
"How dare you?! Everyone has a chance to find the perfect soul mate!"
DJ chuckled when his wife playfully punched his tire.
"That's true. I found you, and there's no one more perfect ta me."
"Aww, Luv!" Eleanor giggled and made up for her playful punch with a sweet little kiss.
Snot Rod waited patiently a Flo's V8 Café for Charlotte, as a very important and terrifying thought rattled around in his mind. It was important because he wanted to take the next step in his relationship with Charlotte, but it was also terrifying because of the fact that he wasn't even prepared!
He hadn't asked her dad for his blessing, he hadn't bought the special lug nut, and he hadn't even planned how he would ask!
"What's shakin', Shaky?"
The soft feminine voice still managed to startle Snot Rod immensely, as he gasped and frantically looked around to see who the voice belonged to—hoping it wasn't Charlotte.
But to Snot Rod's luck, it was just a stranger, a red Mercedes Benz e350, and she stared at him with calmness and mystery in her bright brown eyes.
"W-what?" Snot Rod stuttered.
"You're shaking like a fish on dry land. You ok?" she asked with tenderness.
"W-why…why do you wanna know how I feel?"
"Just curious. You seem like an interesting guy, anyway." Snot Rod swore he felt his engine churn when he heard the seductive tone in the red car's voice, and he didn't like it.
"U-uh…"
"Can I ask you something, Mister?"
"I-I guess s-so?'
"Do you know who works here? I'm looking for some old friends of mine."
"Uh, yeah, actually. My buddy DJ and his wife Eleanor work here with Eleanor's mom, and I think there's these twins too, but I can't remember their-."
"Wife? Huh…who knew ol' DJ had it in 'm?" the Mercedes mumbled.
"What?"
"Nothing! Look, thanks for the help, Sir. I just needed to know my friends were here, is all." Just before she drove away, she pulled out right in front of Snot Rod, staring him directly in the eyes with the same creepy look again. "I hope to see you again soon, Cutie."
Snot Rod didn't know how long he sat there in complete stillness and silence, as he tried to shake the dreadful feeling of the strange Mercedes Benz…there was just something about her vibe that made a red flag go up for him.
"Hi, Jacob."
Another sweet voice came, but Snot Rod wasn't startled at all because he instantly knew it was his beloved Charlotte.
"Hey, Charlie," Snot Rod greeted before Charlotte parked next to him, and he then awkwardly placed a little kiss on her fender.
"Oh, you're so sweet," Charlotte giggled while the both of them blushed.
"I have my moments," Snot rod boasted sheepishly.
"Well, you're always sweet enough for me, Jacob." Charlotte then returned the kiss with another quick yet tender one on Snot Rod's lips. They were out in public, after all, and they were usually pretty shy about their relationship. But there were times when they would make small exceptions, like quick kisses or nuzzling.
Ever since the night Angel broke the news to Wingo…and when he disappeared…it was just torture. She knew she would go home to no one; her lover that was usually there was gone, and she didn't know when he would come back…or if he ever would.
As the black Lamborghini pulled through the front door, she immediately felt more tears in her eyes, and she quickly closed the door and reversed into it to just let it all out, just as she had for the past week.
She had a baby growing inside of her, but she was the one carrying it; the only one to take care of it, and one truly was the loneliest number.
"Hey, cheer up and quit with the sappy tears!"
A cheerful voice ripped Angel from her sorrowful thoughts, and she finally had the audacity to open her eyes, and the lights in her dark home were quickly switched on to reveal Eleanor, Charlotte, and the infamous Queen, who Angel quickly realized she was the one who spoke first.
"What are you girls doing here?" Angel questioned while wiping a tear away.
The other girls all shared guilty expressions before looking back at the poor Lamborghini.
"We…heard about what happened with Wingo," Charlotte finally replied sadly.
"And we want to be there for you, Dear," Eleanor added sincerely.
"So, we asked the boys, and we arranged a sleepover with you tonight," Queen finished with a comforting smile.
"Oh, no, you didn't have to do that for me! This situation concerns Wingo and I alone. There's nothing you can do now," Angel protested in shame.
"Except support you throughout your pregnancy," Charlotte pointed out confidently.
"And kick Wingo's ass for drivin' out on ya, and for not bein' the responsible father he should be!" Queen declared loudly.
"Aww, Girls, I really appreciate the help and all…and I guess I won't refuse since you're only trying to help, and I'm very grateful. But please, don't blame Wingo for all of this; it was my mistake too—and I'm going to make up for it by raising this baby, with or without Wingo."
The girls quickly started up in excited and positive feedback to Angel's "speech."
"You sure you want me ta take care of Wingo for you?" Queen whispered to Angel once the others got distracted in a conversation of their own.
"Yes, I'm sure. Thank you for the offer, though," Angel reassured with a smirk, and they broke out in giggles.
Angel was still concerned if whether or not Wingo would ever be supportive about this, but she now felt much safer with friendships like these surrounding her.
I honestly wanted Wingo to immediately support Angel, but I just felt it was too cliché and derailed from Wingo's character. So, I'm sorry if you wanted a happier scenario. But I promise, it will all come together in the end.
So, many other things are happening. There's a stranger in town looking for DJ and Eleanor, the girls are fully supporting Angel since Wingo won't, and Snot Rod seems to have something important on his mind. Hmm...
Until the next chapter, I'm TRikiD, bye-bye!