If Cars Could Think 9

Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11

"Cassie. Cassie."

"Go away." She shifted her wheels, trying to fall back asleep.

"Cassie!" Casey gave her a hard thump with her wheel. "I need to talk to you."

"What do you want?" Cassie hissed, suddenly fully awake. She realized both John and George had begun to stir in their sleep beside her.

"Can you follow me outside?" Casey whispered, shuffling her wheels.

Oh, this better be good. I better get something out of this. Cassie dragged herself after her sister, turning around to make sure the garage door closed behind her.

At this hour, the entire lot was empty. Clouds hung in the sky, so, other than a few dim streetlights, it was almost entirely dark.

"What?" Cassie demanded. "Make it good, now."

Casey couldn't keep her wheels still, and she was trembling, too. "Has... has he moved on yet?" she sputtered.

"What? You've been gone a day, stupid. Nothing's changed, except that you had Mom and Dad all worried, and I had to listen to it."

"W-well what about Mike and Omaira?"

"Mike continued on with his life, as usual, because he knows you're not foolish enough to actually try and make an escape. And probably not badass enough, either. As for Omaira, she did fine. As fine as a kid can do when her mother up and leaves her without warning, I guess. You know, sometimes I wonder what's actually wrong with you. Why did you take off like that, anyways?"

"So you mean Mike hasn't told the entire fleet yet?" Casey's tense springs drooped a little. "For your information, when you told him I was cheating, I wasn't!"

"When were you cheating, then?" Casey wouldn't, would she?

"It wasn't something I wanted to do." A tear leaked from one of her headlights. "I-I couldn't bring myself to stop him-"

"So you actually did it." Cassie's vision grew blurry as she stared at her sister, the mirror image of herself, with tears dripping from her headlights. Her life is in ruins. And it's not my fault this time.

"I didn't want to," she whimpered. "I couldn't stop him. I figured, what's the point? Mike already believed your lie about me anyways."

"So you're trying to make it seem like this is my fault?" Cassie snapped. Oh, I don't feel for her.

"It's completely your fault!"

Cassie tensed her springs, intent to remain steadfast. "Calm down, stupid. There's still hope for you yet. You can have Bryan." She couldn't stop herself from giggling.

"Bryan?"

"Yeah. And, since Mike's free and all that..."

"You will not do this to me." She tensed up again. "You already ruined my marriage, do you have to take my soon to be ex husband, too?"

Yes, I do. "Well, since you're not with him anymore, he's free for taking." She let her headlights glimmer. "And I know exactly what to do to avoid getting myself in the miserable situation you're in. I just have to... not cheat. Seems pretty easy, actually. I don't know how you managed."

Casey was shaking hard now, and more tears were flowing.

She put herself in this situation, Cassie told herself, pushing away the piteous feeling that built up inside her.