Author's Note: Hey! Guess what? 10 days till Cars3! Who's pumped? I am! Remember, I will not tolerate spoilers. I will remove reviews that contain spoilers. Anyways, enjoy this next chapter and remember to VOTE on my POLL! It proteins to this here story! ALSO you can vote for 2 options. Anyways, have a great day and enjoy!
Chapter 23: Some Talking
Three Years Later: 1997
"Now, what did George Washington do that we continue to do today?" Doc waited for Harley to answer the question, but her mind was not on her studies.
"Huh?" she suddenly snapped back to the here and now. "He, uh..."
"Come on Harley, we've been on this lesson for-"
"I know, I know…" She tried to save herself, but it was hopeless.
"He only had two terms. You can only be president for two terms. Washington started that." Doc said and saw that Harley was only barely listening.
"Uh-huh…" She said as her eyes drifted to the window of the clinic door.
"Harley, what's going on?" Doc said as he closed the history book in front of them.
"What? Nothing. Are we done?" Harley asked as she looked back to Doc. Now at thirteen years old, she was starting to be a teenager. She looked older, she was taller, and she was finally growing into her chubby curves that were now turning into slim angles. But Doc wasn't concerned about that right now.
"Well, seeing that your attention is never going to be on your history lesson, I suppose so." He said and slid the book off to the side of his desk.
"I'm sorry, Doc…" Harley sincerely said then looked away again.
"What's going on?" He asked and she shook her hood. The sun was going down and she was eager for it to be midnight.
"Nothing, I'm just tired." She said, but Doc just looked at her suspiciously.
"Tired? From what?" He asked and she shrugged.
"I'm just tired." Doc continued to look searching for any sign of a lie and any glimpse of the truth. He finally gave up and sighed.
"Okay, then maybe you should go to bed early tonight." Harley looked back up at Doc. "Go ahead and get some rest. I'll be at Flo's if you need anything." Doc kissed the top of her fender and headed towards the door.
"Uh, goodnight, Doc!" Harley called out to him and he waved a tire.
"Goodnight, Har." When he got to the café, only a few of the townsfolk were there. When he drove up, he was first greeted by Sheriff.
"Doc." he said with a nod.
"Sheriff." he said, returning the nod. He went and parked himself beside his old friend.
"What can Flo get for ya?"the owner of the famous café came up to the two worth a big smile.
"Oh, nothing. I'm fine." Doc said. "Thank you."
"If you change your mind, just holler!" she said and drove off to her royal blue husband.
"So, how was the studying today?" Sheriff asked. Doc have a heavy sigh. "That bad?"
"It wasn't necessarily bad," Doc reasoned, "but she wasn't completely there. Her mind has been wondering lately. She listens to less music and more radio talk shows now. And she doesn't care for her studies at all anymore. Sometimes I wonder if she's listening to anything I say." Sheriff couldn't help but chuckle. "What?"
"She's basically a teenager now, Doc. You gotta accept that she's growing up and changing." Doc shook his hood slightly.
"Yes, I know. But… there's just something that's off." He then looked over at Flo and wondered if Harley had talked to her about any of it. "Flo?" he called her over.
"Yes?" she said as she drove across the café to meet them once more.
"Has Harley talk to you recently?" He asked and she laughed.
"Are you kidding? The little sugar talks to me everyday!" Her smile then slightly faded. "Why?"
"She's been acting… different lately." Doc said and Flo laughed.
"Well, of course! She's thirteen. She's a growing girl and going through a lot." she then chuckled "Being a girl is tough, especially in the teenage years." Doc looked unamused.
"Yes, I'm a doctor. I know." Suddenly, Flo snapped
"I don't care what you are, if you ain't a girl, you don't know. Not really." She had a sassy look and the two men said nothing more about that topic.
"Fair enough," Doc said, "but I'm not talking about that anyways. I'm talking about her just not being in the here and now like she used to be." Flo raised an eyelid at him.
"What do ya mean?" she asked confused.
"Her mind has been wondering. As if she's caught up in something else and I don't know what that is…"
"And not knowing is what's really bothering you." Sheriff added and Doc gave a nod.
"Well, we usually talk about what she heard on the radio, her dreams at night, her uncle, you. That's it really." Doc wasn't sold.
"Hm, and you Sheriff?" he asked, turning to the Mercury. "What do you two talk about?"
Well, she tells me how her day went. We talk about my job and other career paths. She talks about her uncle and you-" he suddenly paused and looked away. and Doc caught it.
"What?" He anxiously asked.
"You know, I think I know what you're talking about." Sheriff turned back to the Hudson with furrowed eyelids. "She did talk about that stranger that came a few years ago. Oh, what was his name…." His voice trailed and Doc finished it for him.
"Damien." He said and looked down. "She remembers him?"
"Yeah. She does. She confessed that she went with him to Willy's Butte to watch him run a lap or two. Said it helped him remember."
"What's wrong with that?" Flo asked as she looked at Doc with a worried expression.
"Nothing. In fact I expected it." He shook his hood and looked back up. "There's something that Damien guy never told us. He knows Charles Storm. The car who randomly drove through town. The same car I found in the parking garage." he scoffed and furrowed his eyelids. "Or rather, he found me." They all looked at each other and kept quiet as they thought it through. "None of it is adding up."
"I'm sure it has nothing to do with how Harley is behaving." Flo reassured him. "She's probably just trying to figure things out."
"Yeah. When she talks to me, it seems that she's trying to decide what to do with her life." Sheriff added. "She's just being a normal teenager." Doc gave a heavy sigh.
"Maybe you're both right. Maybe I'm just thinking way too far into this." Doc admitted.
"Just give her some time to figure herself out." Flo said and Doc nodded.
"Alright," He said then looked at the dusk falling onto the town then began to head off. "Well, I'm going to get some rest." he said and Sheriff began to leave too.
"Yeah, I'm going to head off to the billboard." he said and started driving off with Doc.
"Good night you two!" Flo called out then went back to Ramone's side.
"Is Doc still freaking out about Harley?" He asked and she nodded. "Aye, he needs to calm down. Niños don't stay like little kids kids forever. Aye, este hombre." Flo chuckled.
"I know, I know. Harley's growing up. Doc just doesn't want it to happen too fast." she said and Ramone chuckled.
"Well, she's off to being a teenager. Those year fly by. Doc's gotta know he's headed straight for the fast lane con este niña. You know?"
"Yes, I know." Flo said with a chuckle. "You act like you've raised a kid."
"Helped raise one. I didn't always live here, just lived here longer than you." he said and chuckled. "I lived in East L.A."
"Oh really, were you born there too?" she asked, know a song was coming.
"Yeah. I was booorrrn in East L.A! I was booorrrn in East L.A!" Flo gently hit his side with a tire.
"Oh hush! You were not, and you didn't live there." Ramone stopped singing with a laugh.
"Actually, I was. I was in a close knit neighborhood. Had a few friends. Otros Mexicanos." he laughed. "I still remember two of them. We had an Impala gang!"
"You were in a gang?" Flo asked, shocked.
"Well, no. We would just hang out. I was one of the older ones. But the two I remember were like little brothers to me."
The rest of the night was quiet except for the stories of Ramone softly filling the air. Harley stayed up listening to the radio on a low volume so that she wouldn't get in trouble for not actually sleeping. She wanted to wait for the town to settle in for the night, but every time she would look out the window, Ramone and Flo were still talking and laughing. She sighed and turned away from the window and back to the small radio.
"It's great to have you here tonight, Mr. Weathers!" Jay Limo said ecstatically.
"It's good to be here." Harley smiled at the sound of her uncle's voice. She hadn't talked to him in a while. It made her pretty sad, but it was always fun hearing him on the radio.
"So,The King wins it again!" Jay said and the audience cheered.
"Yes, it's quite exciting."
"The big question is in the air; is The King going to get that sweet number three?" Strip chuckled and Harley smiled.
"Well, that's the plan anyways." he said. "If I get three, that just builds me up for next season, if I don't, it just gives me another reason to work harder."
"Nicely said. Now, the races are crazy! You almost are in another world when you go to the track, I mean, I should now. When i went to a race one time, i was so lost, and turns out i was in the wrong city!" the crowd laughed "What do you go through in that roof of yours at the beginning of a crazy race?" There was a pause as Strip thought for a second.
"I just keep calm, remember to run my race. I got a good team behind me, so I don't ever worry about anything. I just see next week's race as another race." the audience cheered again.
"I'm excited for the big race. The final race!" more cheers. At this point, Harley was getting annoyed with the audience. "Is there anyone in particular who's always got you back? Who is your support team?"
"Well," Strip chuckled for a second "My beautiful wife has been to every race since the start." the audience 'awed' "She's always there for me through every battle. I would be nothing without her. As for the rest of my team, my mother, my father. They're always there watching my races back home, they're too old to be out and about, you know?"
"Oh yes, parents are great. When I got this gig, my parents said, 'Great Jay! You've always been a joke, now you can make money off of it!" more laughter arose.
"Ha. Yeah. The rest of my family is always watching. My brother, Richard, He's always calling me up, having long conversations." Harley thought about that for a second. Last he told her, her mother stopped talking to him. It made her kinda sad that he didn't mention Joan, but she understood why. "My niece and nephew are my biggest fans. Cal is always going on and on about how he wants to be the next King. He's already joined the racing team at his Jr. High School. He's gonna be in High School soon, and let me tell you, I'm excited to see his future." Harley thought about that for a second. A racing team? At school? "Then there's my niece, Harley." She stopped thinking get and started listening.
"Now I knew you had a nephew, but I don't think if heard you talk about a niece before." Jay said.
"Well, it wasn't until she was she was a few months past six years old when I was able to start talking to her." he chuckled for a second. "Now I try and call her as often as I can. She's thirteen now, a year or two older than Cal. She can talk forever! So long as the telephone connection stays on."
"Ha, oh that phone reception. Ruins everything, am I right!" Jay laughed.
"Yeah, sure does."
"Now, who are Harley's parents? Is she Cal's older sister?" Jay asked.
"No, no. They're cousins. Harley is from my baby sister, Joan. We don't talk as much as we used to." he paused then his voice sounded nostalgic. "She used to be best friends with my wife and they would always go to all my races. Actually, that's how she met her late husband."
"Later husband? Who was that?" Jay asked curiously.
"Do you remember that rookie way back in 87? He raced up until 1990, then quite to be with his family."
"I'm not too sure I do." Jay admitted.
"Well, his name was David Stockrim." Harley stopped listening and thought about the name. David. It echoed in her head. David.
David.
Suddenly tears started to dot her windshield. She blinked them away and went back to listening to her uncle.
"She looks like, her mother, but she has a lot of her father's personality."
"Oh, I bet. It's nice to have a little bit of the deceased racer still with us." Murmurs of agreement hummed through the audience.
"Yes… it is." Strip said.
"Now, your sister. Did she ever remarry?" Jay asked, slightly changing the subject.
"Unfortunately, yes." Strip said.
"Unfortunately? How so?"
"Well, her current husband has been in jail for a few years now."
"Really!" Jay asked shocked. "How'd he manage that?"
"You might've heard it on the news." Strips voice sounded as if it was hard to remember this event. "He was accused with domestic violence and…. And child abuse."
"Oh. Don't tell me that was sweet Harley and your sister…"
A beat.
"It was." There was slight silence. Harley furrowed her eyelids at her radio. She hadn't thought about any of this in years. In fact she hardly remember any of it. After a pause, Strip continued on. "But Harley , she's tough. At six years old, she had to testify at a hearing to decide where she'd live."
"Six years old! How unfortunate!" Jay said astounded.
"Yes, but that how we found out about Jeremy, her step father."
"Jeremy Miler?" Jay asked. "You know, I do remember him being on the news!" That name.
His name.
Now that was the name echoing through her mind. Her breathing became heavy as memories flooded her mind. She furrowed her eyelids, then ultimately closed her eyes tightly as tears began to fill. She was suddenly scared.
"Stop it. Stop Harley." She said to herself. "Stop being a baby!" she couldn't believe she forgot all about him and her father and the trial. It was so much, so big. And she forgot it all. She even forgot her mother.
"How is she now?" Jay asked.
"She wonderful. She's fully recovered, living with a new guardian-"
"Wait, she's not with her mother?" Jay interrupted to ask.
"No. At the hearing, it was decided that he'd stay with her guardian that she had been staying with. It's all worked out. She's living with a doctor, which I think is good for her. She's in a close knit town that's basically one big family."
"Has she talked to her mother at all since she's been there?"
"You know, I'm not too sure about that." Harley had calmed down but now and again listened. She thought about how awkward it would be to talk to her mom. After so many years being away, would her mom even remember her?
"Well, best of luck to you next week and best wishes to your family. That's all the time we have! Ladies and gentlecars, Strip Weathers! It been good having you here! Good night, everyone!" The audience cheered and Harley quickly turned off her radio. She sat in cold, dark silence. She thought about sneaking out like she had originally planned, but now, she wasn't sure she could even move. She looked other the window, Ramone and Flo were still laughing and talking. Harley then looked straight ahead and took a deep breath.
"Tomorrow morning." she decided, then soon drifted to sleep.
