Chapter Four
Four months had passed since Dad crashed. Thankfully, nothing too serious happened, just a huge scare for us and the rest of the country. Dad was home after a few weeks, but he hasn't been himself lately. He spends most of his time in Doc's garage.

I know I shouldn't be worried about him, but I am. After this crash, nothing has been the same. Actually, nothing has been the same since Jackson Storm showed up. He's ruined everything.

If Jackson wouldn't have shown up, Dad wouldn't have crashed. Dad wouldn't have lost all of his friends and he would be happier. Dad wouldn't be forced to decide whether or not to retire. This is all Jackson's fault.

"Stella, how's it going?" Ethan greeted, driving up to me. Why was I blaming Storm for this? Dad crashed because he pushed himself too hard, Jackson had nothing to do with that. "Stella?"

"Huh? What?" I asked, slightly shaking my hood. I didn't even realize Ethan was talking to me. I was trapped in my thoughts again.

"Geez, you're worse than I thought." He mumbled, looking me over.

"What's that mean?" I defended, slightly pouting. Ethan furrowed his eyebrows and slightly backed up.

"Stella, calm down. I'm just asking if you're okay. What's gotten into you?" He questioned, looking me over. I felt my cheeks heat up. What was wrong with me?

I let out a let sigh and looked to the side. "I'm sorry, Ethan. I didn't mean to snap. Things are just... I have a lot going on." I muttered.

"Stel, I get that. I want to be here to help you, but it's kinda hard when you push me away." He responded, his brown eyes gently looking into my blue ones. I nodded my head and glance back down.

I drove away, his words pounding in my head. I know Ethan was just trying to help, but I wanted to be alone. I had so many emotions going on that I just had to leave. I wanted to cry. I wanted to shout. I needed something to blame for this.

I wanted to blame Jackson for this, but I knew that was childish. Sooner or later, the New Generation of racers would have taken over the track and if it wasn't Jackson, it would have been someone else.

I needed someone to talk to, someone who understood what I was trying to feel. Ethan was my best friend, but he didn't know much about races and feelings in general. Mom would be my next choice, but she's been an emotional mess since the crash. The rest of the town would just cater to my every need and act like nothing was wrong.

That only left one option. Dad. And he was a long shot. Since he's been hiding away in Doc's garage, I only see him for meals and before bed. Other than that, it's like he's disappeared. I probably haven't spoken more than ten words to him since he got back.

I gently pushed open the door, entering the dark room. Does he just sit in the dark like a creeper all day? "Hey, Stel." Dad greeted, looking up at the wall. Immediately, I noticed the musty smell. How did he spend months here?

"Hey, Dad." I softly smiled. Just being around him made me calm down. Dad and I have always had a close bond, closer than Mom and me. Maybe it's just because I've always looked up to him or the fact that he's always understood me better.

"Just coming to check on your old man?" He teased, coming closer into the light. He was in his gray primer, looking a lot different than before. My whole life he's been in red, even when he's not racing.

"Just felt like you needed some company," I replied, driving closer to him. I shut the door behind me, figuring he wanted it closed like before. He nodded his head and drove towards his projector.

"Stella," he started. "Do you have any memories of Doc?" He asked, his mood suddenly changing.

I shrugged my tires. "Kind of. I can only remember bits and pieces." I honestly replied. Doc was like a grandfather to me. He and my dad were closer than two peas in a pod. They were always together.

"That's okay, you were little when he passed away." Dad softly responded, looking back at the projector. I frowned, wanting to remember more than just the little things. I wanted to know why he asked.

I followed him, seeing all of the tapes. Most of them were of Doc's races and some of them were Dad's, but there were three tapes that were different than the rest. Three of them were in a light red, their titles too smudged for me to read from this distance.

I quietly went over there, curious about what they were. I glanced at one of the titles, sending shivers down my spine. Stella's first race. "Dad," I called, not taking my blue eyes off of it.

"What?" He asked, now turning around to look at me.

"What's this?" I questioned, showing him the tape. A smile formed on his face, brightening his blue eyes.

"What do you think it is? It says on the cover." He chuckled, taking the tape from me. He drove to the projector, putting the tape in. I turned towards the white screen, waiting to see what would play.

The screen flickered as the images showed up. Immediately, I recognized my Dad, who hadn't changed much over the years, and I noticed Doc. In between them was a tiny red car. Me.

"Rub your tire in the dirt. Ya. Nice job." Doc encouraged as I bit my tongue and roughly rubbed my left tire on the track. In the background, you could see Willy's Butte.

"Like this?" I asked, my voice high pitched. On-screen, you could hear Dad laughing as I made a small dust cloud from rubbing my tire so hard.

I softly giggled, watching the memory play on the screen.

"Yeah, perfect." Dad smiled, nodding his head. I shrilly laughed. I sounded so different back then.

"Okay, kid. Now you gotta give yourself a pep talk. Just listen to your daddy and he'll lead ya through it. He's always giving himself fabulous pep talks." Doc stated, rolling his eyes at Dad.

"Come on, Doc. You know your favorite one is 'Float like a Cadillac. Sting like a Beemer.'" Dad teased, making the old car laugh.

"Oh yeah, just like my favorite part of racing is the press." Doc fired back, making Dad laugh. Impatiently, I tapped Doc's tires, jumping up and down by him.

"When can I race? When can I race?" I exclaimed, a smile wide on my face. Doc smiled back, leaning down towards me.

"You'll get your chance. You have to warm up first, Little Red." Doc replied, making me hold my breath.

That's where I got my nickname.

"Alright, Stella. Just copy me. Okay?" Dad asked. Younger me nodded my head, looking at Dad. "Speed. I am speed."

"Speed. I am speed." I replied in my sweet little voice. Tears were beginning to brim my eyes. Why was this making me so emotional?

"Faster than fast," Dad added, a smile growing on his face.

"Faster than fast."

"Quicker than quick."

"Quicker than quick," I repeated, slightly jumping up and down.

"I am Lightning," Dad stated.

"I am Lightning." I smiled, narrowing my blue eyes as I stared ahead. Doc and Dad laughed at me, realizing what I had done.

"Stella, sweetheart. You're supposed to say your name." Dad laughed.

"Oh! Sorry!" I squeaked. I looked ahead again, narrowing my eyes. "I am Stella."

Luigi hopped in front of us, holding out his flag. Sheriff followed him, relaying the rules. The smaller, more adorable me nodded my head, narrowing my eyes as I tried to concentrate. Doc and Dad talked to each other as everyone else in the town cheered me on. "Start your engines!" Sheriff shouted.

Doc slowly started his while Dad let his roar. I tried to copy him but failed miserably. Everyone slightly laughed at my innocence.

I blinked away tears as I looked at Doc's and Dad's face. They looked so happy.

"Go!" Luigi exclaimed, waving his flag like crazy. I zoomed off, Dad and Doc slowly coming behind me, letting me win the race. I was laughing and giggling like crazy when I crossed the finish line.

"I beat Doc and Dad! I beat Doc and Dad!" I cheered as I jumped up and down. Everyone cheered me on as Dad and Doc crossed the finish line.

"Burn a little rubber, Little Red," Doc encouraged. I made cookies in the end, making a small cloud of dust around me. I coughed as I exited, my face scrunched in confusion. "You'll get used to that." He laughed.

I laughed as I drove up to Mom. Wait. Who was recording this? "Mom! Mom! I actually bet them! I actually won!" I cheered as everyone drove past the camera. Mom was telling me to be a good sport and not brag about winning when one line made my engine stop.

"She's just like you," Doc mumbled before the screen flickered black.

I turned back to face Dad. Like me, tears were brimming his blue eyes. "Why didn't you show me this before?" I croaked. All those years of trying to remembering Doc when we had videos of him right here. These tapes meant so much to me.

"I forgot about them until a couple of weeks ago." He replied back, wiping away his tears. I nodded my head, understanding.

"Who took them?" I asked. Mom and Dad were both in the video, so who taped these precious memories for us?

"Flo," Dad answered, a soft smile on his face. Suddenly, I wanted to watch them all. I wanted to know how much time Doc and I spent together. Everyone else around the town had many memories of the old car while I had none. This was something special that would help me achieve those memories.

"Dad, can we watch another one?" I questioned. He winked at me and played the tape.

"Already ahead of you, Little Red," Dad stated, looking towards the screen.

We were back at Willy's Butte, but this time, we weren't racing. We were training. I was between Doc and Dad, watching them, following their every move. "Alright, Little Red. You gotta turn right to go left." Doc instructed.

"Turn right to go left?" I questioned, my squeaky voice cracking. Doc and Dad nodded their heads.

"Turn right to go left." They repeated as they moved their tires, showing me how to do it. They repeated it over and over, showing me what to do. I copied them, my tongue still sticking out of my mouth.

"I think she's ready, Lightnin'," Doc stated, driving back towards the starting line. We lined up, ready to race. "Alright, now you gotta keep up, Little Red, or else you'll get left behind," Doc warned.

"Okay, Doc." I eagerly replied.

"Don't forget what we taught you," Dad added.

"I won't." I smiled back.

"Then let's go!" Dad exclaimed taking off. Quickly, Doc and I followed behind him. We zoomed across the track. We hit the corner, Dad and Doc making a perfect turn, while I on the other hand flew off the edge.

I screamed as I was launched down the side of the cliff. Dad and Doc stopped and looked at each. They tried to keep their laughter to themselves so they wouldn't hurt my feelings. "Mater! We're gonna need ya!" Dad shouted.

"Okay!" Mater replied, moving the camera with him. The camera roughly bounced as it was placed on the ground to look over the edge. I was smashed into a giant pile of cacti. "You okay, Miss Stella?" Mater asked. I mumbled back a reply that I couldn't understand.

Mater tossed his hook off the edge, latching onto me. He pulled me up, cacti sticking onto me everywhere. I was pouting, glaring at Dad and Doc. "Don't worry, Little Red. No one gets it on their first try." Doc comforted.

"Really?" I asked.

"In fact, you should have seen your daddy. His was worse than yours." Doc replied, making Dad glare, his lips in a straight line.

"It wasn't that bad," Dad replied, unimpressed with Doc. Mater and Doc busted out laughing. Dad rolled his eyes as Doc and Mater rambled, laughing about their favorite parts. "Ya know, maybe we should just turn this camera off," Dad grumbled as Doc and Mater were dying of laughter in the background. The screen flickered back to black.

I smirked and I looked back at Dad, whose face was now stern. I opened my mouth, about to question him about his first time. "Don't even ask." He replied, cutting me off. I letting out a sigh and rolled my eyes.

"I wasn't going to." I lied. He playfully glared at me.

"Stella, I know you were going to ask me." He laughed, as he drove over to the wall again. He flipped on the lights, shining on Doc's crash. No one around here speaks of his crash.

"Dad, how did Doc crash?" I asked, hoping he wouldn't freak out or ignore me. From a young age, I was able to tell that Doc was a very touchy subject. Mom and the rest of the town hardly ever brought him up around Dad.

"Ironically, almost the same way The King and I crashed. We flipped a couple of times, smashing ourselves up pretty good," Dad softly explained, not taking his eyes off of that damn newspaper clipping. "Stella, did you know that after Doc's crash that he wasn't allowed to race anymore?"

"Wait. What? But I thought-"

"He still had more in him." Dad finished. He looked down at me, his blue eyes showing sorrow. We were quiet as we looked at each other, both knowing what the other was thinking.

"Do you want that to happen to you?" I slowly asked. His mood changed, his eyebrows furrowing.

"No."

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