Chapter 11. - Bella, Chelsea, and the Fire Falls -
Once Lightning, Bella, and Chelsea were out of earshot, Bella and Chelsea spun around to face Lightning
"What are you doing in this crappy little town?" Bella asked "It's dirty, run-down, and it stinks!"
"Because I love living here." Lightning said angrily "The cars here are grounded and down to earth."
"What do you like so much about this Sally girl?" Chelsea asked angrily "I'm prettier than she is!"
"No you're not… not even close. " Lightning said bluntly "Sally is beautiful, smart, funny, has a great personality, and is the best lover I've ever had. I couldn't ask for more…"
"You're out of your mind!" Bella said shrilly, causing passersby to glance in their direction. "I brought Chelsea along so you can patch things up, and the first thing out of your mouth is you're sleeping with another woman!"
"Mom, I love Sally." Lightning said angrily "No matter how hard you try, I'm not getting back with Chelsea and I never will."
"You'll see." Chelsea said "We can do whatever we want."
She grabbed his codpiece and attempted to rip it off. Lightning pulled her tire away.
"Don't fucken' touch me! If you do, I'll call the sheriff and I'll press fucking charges." Lightning said angerly "Chelsea, I feel sorry for you because you are so homely but I feel even sorrier for other people because they have to look at you."
"You won't call the cops… or whatever this stupid little town calls them." Chelsea said "You care too much about your image to do something like that."
"I would and I'll call every tabloid and tell them what you did." Lightning said "That would make your family proud! Even though they probably know that you're a fucking cunt on wheels. I'm surprised you didn't start screwing the first male you saw. Besides, last time I saw something like you, I flushed it."
"Lightning Owen Fergus McQueen, that is enough." Bella said "We didn't come all this way to fight with you."
"You know what." Lightning said, changing the subject "Why don't you come with me and I'll show you the town."
"What is there to see in this dirty run-down hell hole?" Bella asked harshly "I'm not going to touch anything."
"Well, to start off with." Lightning said, ignoring his mother's rude comment "There's a racing museum, I could show you my racing headquarters even though it takes me a while to get up there. I could show you the best place to get tires, there's a fabulous diner, and a great place to get a paint job."
"Where do you sleep?" Bella asked "Surely you don't sleep outside."
"Of course not." Lightning said "I sleep in Cozy Cone number one. You will each get your own cone."
"Are they nice?" Bella asked with an arrogant expression on her face as she eyed the huge caution cones. "It's a pretty stupid idea if you ask me."
"I have to admit it's a little cliché. But it's been one of the best places I've ever stayed at." Lightning said "I can show you my cone."
Bella nodded and Lightning led the way. Lightning rolled over to his cone and pressed the petal to open the door. Bella and Chelsea peered in. It was almost clean. Lightning's bed was unmade, a half-eaten candy bar was on the night stand, racing newspapers were tossed around, several empty cans of soda laid on the floor, and in the corner sat a large box of junk.
"Well!" Bella said begrudgingly "It's not as bad as I was expecting… after all these years, you still can't keep your room clean."
"I know." Lightning said blushing "But it's a nice place to live."
"Where does Sally stay?" Chelsea asked edgily "She doesn't live with you, does she?"
"There's an apartment under the hotel's office." Lightning said "She lives there."
"That's gross." Chelsea said "When you and Sally break up, you know where I am."
Lightning spun around angrily, not noticing the pain it caused.
"We're not going to break up, and God forbid if we ever do, I'll never come running to you." Lightning said heatedly "If that's what you two came for, it's a lost cause and I suggest you leave."
"What are you talking about?" Bella asked with a fake, innocent look on her face "I came to see you."
"You know what I'm talking about." Lightning said angrily "You've come to get me to break up with Sally, also to get me to quit racing while I'm injured."
Lightning could tell from the look on his mother's face, he was right about their intentions.
"We just came to visit." Chelsea whined "And make sure you're okay."
"Yeah, right." Lightning scoffed "You two always lookout for the wellbeing of other people!"
"We're going to check the town out." Bella said brushing past Lightning. "We'll be back later."
Lightning was about to say 'good!' but he thought better of it.
"Okay." He said "I can't drive around that much. So you guys go ahead. I'll catch up with you later."
Bella and Chelsea drove into the small town.
Lightning drove back to the Cozy Cone's office.
"Wow!" Sally said as he rolled through the door "You wasn't kidding."
"Unfortunately." Lightning said "I used to be like them."
"That's pretty sad." Sally said "But you're not like them anymore. That means we can fix them too."
"Yeah." Lightning said, not completely reassured "I had to stay; Mom and Chelsea can leave whenever they want."
"And is that a bad thing?" Sally asked "I don't think they'll leave. Deep down, however deep it is, your mom loves you, you're her only son."
"No I'm not." Lightning said "I have an older brother."
"You do?" Sally asked "Well the point is still valid. She loves you, and sooner or later, she'll come around."
"I don't know." Lightning said "But I hope you're right."
"Have I been wrong before?" Sally asked, cocking an eye ridge at him "Be honest!"
"No, not so far." Lightning said "I think."
"Exactly." Sally said laughing and she kissed him "I have some bad news. I only have one open cone… cone seven."
"Give mom my cone and give Chelsea cone seven." Lightning said "You have my credit card on file, so just charge the cone to it."
"Light, I'm not going to…" Sally started to say
"Sally please! Don't argue with me." Lightning pleaded "I can't deal with it right now."
Sally could tell that Lightning was completely stressed out.
"Okay, if that will make you happy." She said, knowing that she'll 'forget' to charge the room to him. "Won't that send a wrong message to Chelsea?"
"No, she doesn't think about those kinds of things. In fact she doesn't do a lot of thinking… if she does, it's with her pussy." Lightning said "Could one of the housekeepers clean my cone, it's kinda in a mess."
"Stickers! The housekeepers have gone home for the day." Sally said "I thought you were going to clean it this morning."
"I was, but time got away from me." Lightning said "I guess mom will have to sleep in a dirty room… And I'll never hear the end of it."
"I don't have anything to do right now." Sally said "Go get a trash bag and I'll help you clean it."
Lightning and Sally was just finishing up when Bella and Chelsea returned to the cone.
"Lightning! What are you doing?" Bella demanded "Doesn't this crappy hotel have maids?"
"It looks like they can't afford it." Chelsea said "I don't want to stay here!"
"STOP IT!" Lightning barked "It's late in the day and the housekeepers have gone home. I didn't have time to clean it today… besides you have to stay here, there's no other hotels in town."
"I saw that." Bella said driving into his cone "You did a good job."
"I'm glad you like it, because you're staying here." Lightning said "I forgot to tell Sally you were bringing someone with you. The hotel only has one open cone. So I figure you can stay in my cone and Chelsea can have cone seven."
"Where are you going to stay?" Bella asked "I refuse to stay here if you have no place to sleep!"
"Mom, it's okay." Lightning said "I'll stay with Sally. She has plenty of room."
"That's not fair!" Chelsea complained "I want him to stay with me."
"No way." Lightning said quickly "There's not enough room for two cars… besides, there would have to be a blizzard in Hell before I ever spend a night with you."
"Bella! Make him stay with me!" Chelsea protested "I want him."
Bella looked at Lightning before looking at Chelsea.
"Quit whining!" Bella said using her mother's voice "Lightning is a grown car, he can make his own choices."
In a fit of anger, Chelsea stormed off, screaming at the top of her lungs.
"Well, Chelsea hasn't changed at all." Lightning said "She's still a spoiled brat."
"Just give her some time to cool off." Bella said "I'm getting hungry, where's the closest place to eat?"
"At Flo's… across the street." Lightning said "It may be small, but the food is first class. It's getting close to sunset, the sun will turn the mountains to magnificent shades of reds, oranges and purples."
Lightning led the way to the café. As always Flo was there to greet them. Bella looked over the menu. She ordered clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl along with all the side dishes, which was Flo's special of the day. After taking everyone's order, Flo headed back to her kitchen. It wasn't long until she brought out everyone's food. After a few tentative nibbles, Bella was gobbling everything down.
"I told you the food was great." Lightning said "I think Flo is the best chef on the planet."
"I wouldn't say that." Bella said "But she's definitely up there… What's for dessert?"
"I would recommend the cheesecake." Lightning said "It's so decadent, you'll get fat just by looking at it. Ask for chocolate syrup, that's how I get it. I lick the plate clean every time. We'll have dessert in the desert."
"You're just like your father." Bella laughed "He plays with the words too."
Bella took Lightning's recommendation and ordered the cheesecake, but she got strawberries instead of chocolate. And like her son, Bella practically licked the plate clean. After supper: The sun was low in the sky and everywhere Bella looked, the desert was alive with color.
"Amazing show, isn't it?" Lightning said parking next to her "The only thing that can beat this are thunderstorms. I love watching lightning dance across the sky."
"I think I'm beginning to understand why you live here." Bella said thoughtfully "Even though this town is revoltingly dirty, it's rather charming."
"I know." Lightning said "About the second part anyway. Once I got to know the town and everyone in it, I like being here. It might be an old town but it's a really great place to live. It's not big and expensive as where you live, but I like the small close knit group. I get enough of the big stuff when I race."
"I've never been to a place like this before." Bella said "I usually avoid them. Only thing I don't like, is dirt everywhere."
"You get used to it." Lightning said "Even my practice track is made of dirt. There's no lights out there, so I'll have to wait until morning to show you."
"I would like that." Bella said "It's getting late and I'm tired. If you don't mind, I think I'll turn in for the night."
"Okay." Lightning said "I'll show you how to work the TV. It's satellite and it can be tricky."
Lightning was almost done showing Bella how to use the TV when Sally drove up to them.
"…and if you don't want scorpions in your bed." Lightning was saying "Sleep with the door closed. I haven't been stung, but a few of the visitors have."
"I warned them not to leave the door open." Sally said "But they didn't listen to me."
"Do cars really sleep with the doors open?" Bella asked "What do scorpions look like?"
"It's not to hot this time of year. So cars love sleeping with the doors open." Lightning said as Sally drove away "Scorpions look like large bugs that have pinchers and a tail that curls over their back…"
"I found one!" Sally called before driving back to the cone with a scorpion on her tire "It's pretty easy to catch one, they're very active at this time of evening."
Bella recoiled when she saw the scorpion crawling on Sally's tire.
"Is it dangerous?" she asked "I don't want to get bitten."
"Scorpions don't bite, they pinch and sting." Sally said "There are four species that live in Arizona. This one is Centruroides Sculptur Atus, commonly known as the Bark Scorpion. It's the most common species in this part of the state."
"You said they sting." Bella said "Has anyone died from getting stung?"
"I don't think so, not around here anyway." Sally said "At best, a scorpion's sting can be painful. People who have allergic reaction to being stung, and those with undeveloped or compromised immune systems may have strong or severe reactions."
"You're allergic to bee stings." Bella said facing Lightning "I don't want you messing with them."
"I don't." Lightning said "I'm not here for most of the year, so I don't normally worry about it."
Sally saw that the scorpion was getting agitated.
"I better put him back." She said "It's been years since I've been stung, and I want to keep that streak going."
She drove over to the nearest bush and let the scorpion crawl away.
"…they aren't." Lightning was saying as Sally drove back to the cone "That would be the rattlesnakes."
"RATTLESNAKES!" Bella screeched "You have rattlesnakes roaming the town!"
"No, not in town. You have to go into the desert to see one." Sally said "Light! Stop scaring your mother!"
"What about the one that Oliver caught over by Lizzy's?" Lightning said "If it didn't rattle, the tourist would have driven on it."
"That was just a fluke. Oliver took it way out into the desert and released it." Sally said "The reason I came over here is because Chelsea still hasn't picked up her room key. It's getting late and I want to go on the drive that Lightning promised me."
"She's still pouting." Bella said rolling her eyes "You can give it to me, and I'll give it to her."
"If I was you, I would make her sleep outside tonight." Lightning said, before Sally slapped his side "Is there anything you need before Sally and I go for our drive?"
"No, I think I'll be fine." Bella said "Is there someone at the desk all night?"
"Yes, the night manager is here." Sally said "He'll be on duty all night."
"All right." Bella said "I'll see you in the morning."
Lightning and Sally headed for the waterfall.
"Are you up to driving to the waterfall?" Sally asked "We can go tomorrow if you want."
"I'll admit that I'm tired, but I'm also stressed out." Lightning said "I'm hoping that the drive will help me to relax."
"The sound of the rushing water might help too." Sally said "When I'm stressed out about something, I drive up there. There's something about listening to water … It calms me down and makes me feel better. That's why I have a small fountain in my office."
"I don't know about listening to water." Lightning said "It only makes me need to go pee…*Sally laughed so hard she had to pull over.*… Well it does!"
"I'm sorry sweetheart." Sally said kissing his fender "But that comment is just so you. Come on, I went to get up there before it's too late."
So side-by-side, Lightning and Sally headed for the waterfall. The couple heard the waterfall, long before they saw it. Both Sally and Lightning gasped when they saw at least twice the amount of water flowing over the cliff and the sound was nearly deafening. The sun was setting and turned the water a fiery red.
"Sheriff wasn't kidding when he said it's spectacular." Sally said driving closer "No wonder he's worried about the bridge… It would be the first time in ten years he's had the close the bridge for safety reasons."
"If that happens, we'll have to take the long way around to my headquarters." Lightning said "Go stand in front of it, and I'll get your picture."
Luckily, there were other cars getting their pictures taken as well. So, the couple had several pictures taken of them together.
"Are you getting cold?" Lightning asked when he saw Sally shivering "It's cooler up here. Are you ready to head back to town? I think I'm ready for bed."
"Yes, I'm ready for bed too." Sally said she shook the water off "It's hard not to get wet, the spray goes everywhere."
"We should be dry by the time we get home." Lightning said "I just wish we had brought a cup or something to drink out of."
"Why, are you thirsty?" Sally asked "We can stop by Flo's and get something on the way home."
"It's actually a Scottish legend about 'fire falls'." Lightning said "It is said that only the Ancient Kings were brave enough to drink the fire. I was hoping to draw on that strength. Between mom and my upcoming surgery, I'm not sure that I'm strong enough."
"You don't need the Ancient King's strength." Sally said as she hugged him "You're stronger than what you think you are... You're not alone in this journey, I'll always be right here… by your side."
Lightning kissed Sally before heading back down the mountain. Once they arrived back in town, they headed straight for her apartment.
COMMENTS:
Guest 2
Nice moments between Doc and Lightning there with the father and son bond. Hahahaaaa! Funny with the sexual teasing. Doc had that coming.- With all the harassment that Doc has been doing, I felt that Lightning should get some payback in.
I hate the feeling of being in such a state from injuries and how much you have to endure during recovery but it doesn't recover out of thin air or by the snap of a finger quickly. Sally's got a fair bit of explaining to do about Justin but Lightning will let her explain in time. I love Flo's motherly love with the affection. OH NO! Trouble here with Bella and Chelsea. Hopefully Bella will get a tyre full of what's coming as of what she did to Lightning. Please involve a drive between Sally and Lightning up to the waterfall. Really wanna see Chelsea get jealous- I already have that written in.
I can see a fair bit of cursing coming here. Please turn some of it in to Irish between Lightning and Bella. I love the way you put the Irish talk. I can't speak it fluently but I know some things- I couldn't fit it in for this chapter, hopefully I can next chapter.
Sorry for the short answers, my allergies are kicking my butt today and nothing seems to help. it's the one thing about spring that I hate. Enjoy the story!
I do not own Cars or any of its characters. PIXAR AND DISNEY CLAIM THAT RIGHT. READING ENJOYMENT ONLY
Please read and review! I need criticism and encouragements! Rated M for language and sex.