At first, the blue muscle car made no attempt to reach for the business card in front of him, or put the name and number into his car phone. He stared at the closed door Finn had just driven through; contemplating his next action. Had he overreacted? Was the bravado really necessary right now? Rod knew well and good how hurt he was, and what it most likely meant for him going forward. Even after this prolonged hospital stay, things were never going to be normal for him again. That's what scared him the most right now: his future.

Disabled cars were not a foreign concept to Rod. growing up, his mother was a very unwell Ford Mustang who'd been in a rough car wreck when Rod was only a few months old. The accident left her extremely reliant on her less than helpful husband who simply worked too much to be anything more than a basic caregiver to her. She could move around the house, and she did her best to engage a young Rod in play. But even at that young age Rod could see how hard his mother fought to simply cook dinner, or play with him and his toys. She had nearly no energy, and her engine wasn't capable of taking her far before she would need assistance.

When Rod was eleven, his mother's pain had begun to manifest in drug usage. Not pain meds like what he'd assumed at the time, but fuel additives. She became addicted to adrenaline, and its ability to give her the strength to simply be a housewife. Unfortunately, it would be less than a year later that her already damaged engine couldn't take the constant stress of these additives, and her engine literally tore itself apart. Rod's father would find her dead one afternoon before Rod returned home from school.

Seeing the way his mother suffered up until the very end made Rod terrified of becoming like her. He adopted his bravado to ensure he would be in charge; that he would be able to take care of anything thrown at him. No challenge was too great for him to take on. He excelled in school both academically and socially. He'd become successful at his school's drag racing team, as well as the wrestling team. He felt on top of the world, and the worry about what his mother had gone through began to fade, as he saw himself as more and more impervious. Now, at nearly thirty five years old, Rod's buried fear had been cruelly and forcefully shoved in his face as his mother's reality became his own.

Rod again looked down at the card on the floor in front him. He decided it wouldn't hurt to at least save Finn as a contact.

The muscle car flipped on his heads up display located at the back of his cowled hood. The screen flickered slightly, and the left side of the screen was cracked with some black spots caused by damage to the LCD panel.

He imputed the number, and, as he always did, scrolled through his phone book to ensure it was saved properly.

Even just scrolling through the UI of his integrated computer reminded him of what happened. The system glitched and flickered. He'd had to force close the application twice due to a software freeze. These things didn't happen before his torture, his system was perfect… he was perfect.

Rod shut his eye for a moment in an attempt to escape into his mind if only for a few moments. He flipped on his radio which he'd connected his own Spotify to a few weeks before leaving for the oil platform. He'd gotten hooked on a few podcasts while being off shift and settling in for the night, it was a good escape while he was there.

Flipping through his saved artists, he saw that one had released a new episode and quickly hit play. "Perfect timing". He thought as he settled on his chassis.

Tonight's episode was similar to this podcast duo's usual gig. They were two female comedians who would just chit chat back and forth and discuss what was on their mind with a comedic spin on it. Tonight's topic was largely based around the subculture of male cars who acted like they'd "unlocked the secret code" to win over any female. They pointed out the obvious holes in their logic, and generally made fun of the group. Rod even chuckled a few times; the girls' comedic tone significantly helping him to focus on something else. That was until the halfway point, and the show went to commercial.

"...Cars at Home is your solution to at home health aid for you or your loved one. Wouldn't it be great to be paid as your loved one's caregiver? Well now you can! Visit our website, and see how you can sign up to receive class leading educational certification and start earning money instantly!..."

Rod's moment of blissful ignorance was once again shattered, and he shut off his radio before the ad finished completely. "No" he thought, as the idea grimly crossed his mind. "I'm not incapable of taking care of myself".

Right?

Rod let out a sigh, as he glanced down at his bent up hood and misaligned fenders. His gaze shifted towards his right, and he slowly began to move his front wheel. He tested its range of motion, rolled it on the ground, extended it, turned it. All good. His wheel had full range of motion, he noticed no difference now that he tested it.

The muscle car's gaze then moved to his left. He couldn't see out of that side, no big deal. Plenty of cars had impaired vision or partial blindness and got along just fine. His right eye was capable of seeing plenty on his left. He would just need a blindspot warning light installed on his heads up display for that side. He then leaned his body onto his right, allowing more room in his left wheel arch as he prepared to test this wheel's dexterity. He started simple, raise his tire off the ground.

…..

…..

Nothing happened. His axel didn't respond to his command, and the wheel stayed planted on the ground.

"Okay, okay. What about turning?" He thought to himself; calming his nerves.

The blue muscle car's body sent its command, turn left…. Nothing… nothing….

"Right."

Rod focused himself entirely, and made the motion to turn right.

Nothing.

Nothing.

Nothing.

The blue muscle car strained, pouring every ounce of energy into this simple command.

Nothing.

Nothing….

His body gave out, and Rod fell back down to a neutral position on his suspension and let out a gasp.

He had no thoughts, no more ideas. His vision began to go blurry, and his lip quivered. He blinked away the moisture welling up.

Rod caught a glimpse of the card Finn had left him on the ground again.

The muscle car quickly glanced down to the display under his eyes, and navigated to his texts. He put in Finn's name, and typed out a message.

"Hey its Rod"

Send. He waited.

"Hello Rod"

Finn's reply was within a minute of Rod's initial text. Good sign.

"Im sorry"

Rod took in a breath again, as more moisture built up under his windshield.

"Can you come back?"

The muscle car doubled texted him. It was desperate, his emotions won that battle.

"Of course"

The reply was nearly instant, Finn was staring at his messages too.

"Thanks"

Rod typed it out and sent it quickly. He sniffled, and sighed. Then a small sob escaped his mouth.

"I dont wanna be alone"

A few tears fell from the muscle car's eyes.

"I'll be right there"

The muscle car drew in a quick breath, and the sobs became uncontrollable as tears streamed down his body. His emotions won the war at last.