Chapter Eight
The ride back to Radiator Springs was deadly quiet. Dad hadn't gotten any better and I began to feel like there was no help. Sure, meeting with Smokey and receiving the closure was a huge plus, but it wouldn't be enough. Cruz came along after Dad's embarrassing pleas. Yes, you read that right. Dad begged Cruz.

All of us exited from Dad's trailer, frowns on our faces. Everyone come over to greet us, but immediately stopped when they saw our long faces. I looked into Mom's blue eyes, but I couldn't return her smile.

Dad had been through a lot in the past couple of days. Storm had the fastest lap ever recorded and Dad's winning percentage was 1.2%, the lowest it had been his whole racing career.

We gently drove down Main Street, all of us headed to Flo's. To be honest, I'm surprised no one questioned why Cruz was with us. They had never met her, or even heard of her, unless Dad told them. "Stella, let's take a drive." Dad stated.

I looked towards Mom, who nodded her head. I wanted to make sure she was okay with us leaving her again. "Okay." I agreed, following him towards Wheel Well. We took it at a slow pace, both of us wanting to capture the scenery growing around us.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Dad smiled, looking around him. I nodded my head, driving beside him. I let my eyes wander, looking and listening to everything. Mom and Dad had brought me up here before, but I never understood why they loved it so much until now.

"It's gorgeous." I gasped as the waterfall came into view. It felt like my engine stopped. This place was so amazing. Why hadn't I noticed it before? The way the water made a misty rainbow against the bridge almost made me cry.

"You coming, Stel?" Dad smirked, now far ahead of me. I nodded my head, not taking my eyes off of the scene.

"I'll catch up with you." I whispered, making him chuckle and drive away. I slowly drove on the bridge, not because it was dangerously slippery, but because I wanted to feel apart of nature. This was what I was missing. This was why Smokey sent us home.

Eventually, I caught up to Dad at the top of Wheel Well. Since Doc's death and Dad's crash, fewer car have visited Radiator Springs. In fact, almost no one has been here. I can't even remember the last time we came up to Wheel Well as a family. "Goodness, I didn't know you were so slow." Dad teased, rolling his eyes as I came into view.

"Har, har. You're funny," I replied, making him laugh. He drove to look over the edge of the cliff. I followed him, wondering what he was looking at. My jaw dropped as I looked down at the town. "You can see the whole town from up here!" I awed.

"You act like this is your first time up here." Dad replied, glancing at me.

"Well, it kind of feels like it. Not sure why, though." I confessed, looking at Dad. Maybe he had an answer for my confusing feelings. I had been up here millions of times. I've raced both of my parents up here as a child. Why did it feel so new?

"It's because you finally see what the rest of the world can't." He answered, his tone soft. It made sense, but I felt like that wasn't it. It had to be something other than that. I already knew that I was lucky to live where I did. Living in those big cities you hardly see nature, besides in the lame parks.

I glanced around, trying to see if I could find anything else. "Hey! Look at the interstate! All those cars are just driving by. They don't even know what they're missing." I exclaimed, watching the trillions of cars sped by our little town, not even giving it one glance.

"Chrysler, you really do sound like me." Dad softly sighed, looking at me.

"Well, you are the one who raised me." I fired back, smirking at him.

"Well, obviously, but I hoped you would at least sound like your mother. You're like a driving carbon copy of me," He laughed. "I swear, it's like we're the same person. Doesn't that drive you crazy to think you're like your old man?" He asked, smiling at me.

"Ehh, it's not too bad when your dad is Lighting McQueen." I grinned, making him roll his eyes. We were silent as we looked off the edge again. I could suddenly feel a thick atmosphere form around us.

"Stella," Dad stared. "Have you ever thought about becoming a racer?" He questioned. I shrugged my tires, backing away from the edge. I let out a little sigh, unsure if I really wanted to tell him.

"I don't know. When did you think about it?" I throwing the question back at him. He back away from the edge, coming closer to me.

"Forever," He quickly answered. "I've wanted to be a racer since I heard about them. Stella, I was so determined that I came into my first season unknown. I talked the Rust-eze guys into letting me race for them. At first, it sounded like a lose-lose situation for them, but thankfully they took their chance." Dad explained, telling me the story I already knew by heart.

I looked towards the ground, gently rubbing my left tire. I didn't know what to say. "Stella, if you don't want to be a racer, don't think that I'm going to make you. I want you to chose your path." Dad stated, driving closer to me.

"I know." I grumbled, looking at the ground. The path I wanted was closed off, not even an option.

"Well, what have you thought about? I mean, you're not a little girl anymore. You need to be thinking about this stuff." Dad stated. I scoffed and glared to the side.

"I know."

Dad let out a sigh, slightly rolling his eyes. "What do you want to be? A doctor? Teacher?" He pestered, getting on my nerves. I didn't want to have this conversation with him, ever. "Racer?"

"What do you want me to be?" I quickly defended. All of my life, my parents had made my decisions for me. I was their only baby. They had sheltered me my whole life. Sure, you might be thinking, 'But Stella, you got to go to his races? How is that sheltered?' Well, I'll tell you how. I was never allowed to go anymore but the pits. I've never even been allowed out of my parents' eye sight unless we were in Radiator Springs.

"I want you to chose for yourself. This is your life." Dad replied, trying to ignore my last snarky comment.

"Yeah, sure." I spat, rolling my eyes as I began to drive away. My anger was starting to build up. I wanted to cool down, so I had to get away.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Dad argued, following after me. I was silent as I tightened my jaw. I didn't want to say anything I would regret. I wanted to think before I let my mouth fly. "Stella, don't you drive away from me." He scolded, his voice sharp.

"Do you know hard it is to be your own person when you're living in the shadow of the world's fastest race car?" I snapped. He looked at me, his blue eyes widening. "Ever since I was little, I've wanted to be like you. I've wanted to race on that track since my first time driving on it. I've always wanted to know what it felt like to be speeding around those corners, making endless friendships while doing something that I loved."

"Why didn't you just say that? I would understand, ya know? I'm not heartless." He replied, his voice sounding a bit more empathetic.

I faked laughed, scrunching my face as I turned around to face him. His eyebrows were furrowed, filled with confusion and anger. "How could you understand? You got a choice, while I don't. Little do you know how much your life effects mine."

"Fine, then. Humor your old man. Tell me. How much as your life changed? How has my life made such an impact on yours?" He snapped, narrowing his eyes at me as he drove closer and closer.

"There's no way I would get to be my own person. Every time I'd race, it'd be about you. I wouldn't be called Stella, I'd just be McQueen's daughter or McQueen's kid. I'd just be racing out there for you. People would think I just got the spot because I'm just your kid." I grumbled, glaring him in the eyes.

"Oh, so this is where you have the problem with having Lightning McQueen as your dad. Ah, I get it now. See, all of this is my fault. If I wasn't famous, then you could finally be a racer." He argued, hurt present in his voice.

"Dad, I'm not blaming you for this," I quickly replied, hoping he would understand. "I'm just saying that the media would never let me be myself. Every racer out there would just compare me to you!" I cried, tears brimming my eyes. His face slowly softened, realizing his mistake. "It's not like it would matter anyways. There's no way I could top 198."

He was silent as we both looked into each other's eyes. Somehow, I felt better letting it all out. And for some reason, I thought he understood. "Stella, sweetheart," he softly started, "You're already faster than that."

"What?"

He nodded his head, a smile growing on his face. "When we were at the racing center, your top speed was 202, which was better than mine, and you didn't even have practice. You could be a racer." He grinned.

I smiled back, but it quickly faded. "But I'd still just be your kid. I wouldn't race for myself. Dad, I love you, but if I was going to race, I'd want it to be about me. I know, call me selfish, but-"

"No, no. I get it," he answered, cutting me off. "You don't want to be compared to me your whole life. That's okay, I understand."

I softly smiled, nuzzling against him. "Thanks, Dad."

"Anytime, Little Red," he smiled back, his eyes shut. He opened them, happily looking down at me. "Now, what do ya say? Should we get back to training?"

"Last one to Flo's buys?" I grinned back. He nodded his head, taking off. I zoomed after him, glad that we made up. Maybe now he finally understood why I couldn't do what I wanted. Maybe I could physically, but mentally, I wasn't ready to be labeled.

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Hey! I'm not dead! Hahaha, anyways, I'm glad I could finally come out of this small writer's block. Thanks for reading and voting! See ya in the next chapter!