McQueen's Kid

cнapтər тən

Chapter Ten
"Stella," Mom spoke. "Someone's here to see you."

I let out a soft sigh. I really didn't want to see anyone but Nick right now. I had to mend everything with him, but right now that seemed impossible. No communication between the two of us, almost like we were a world apart from each other.

"Let them in." I quietly answered.

Slowly, the door opened. "I heard the news," Ethan said, entering my bedroom. Softly, he closed the door behind him, driving near my bed.

"What news?" I asked, glancing into his brown eyes.

"About Old Man McQueen finding out about you and Nick. Let me tell ya, it's spread around town fast. I'm sure everyone knows." He explained, parking beside me.

"I'm surprised it's taken so long. There's hardly anyone here." I replied, making Ethan chuckle.

"But seriously, how are you? Are you doing okay?" Ethan asked, studying me.

"I'm fine," I answered, a hint of anger in my voice. Ethan arched an eyebrow. I scoffed, rolling my eyes. "Okay, I'm not fine. I'm heartbroken."

"Really?" Ethan asked, driving around my room. "From this guy?" He asked, holding up a picture of Nick.

I nodded, trying to keep my tears from falling. Ethan scoffed, setting the picture down. "Please, I think you dodged a bullet. I mean, everyone says that if you want to know what someone will look like in their fifties, just look at their parents. And I mean, could you imagine saying you're in love with someone that looks like Chick Hicks?"

I giggled, slightly sniffing. "Well, I guess that's true. Now I won't have to worry about him getting a mustache like his dad."

"Yeah!" Ethan chuckled. "Honestly, that's the worst mustache you could possibly grow. I mean, I'm all for the 'staches, but his is just plain ugly." Ethan teased, making me laugh.

"Well, I'm also heartbroken by another boy." I continued, a smile softly resting on my face.

"Let me guess, Garrett Bolts?" Ethan asked. I giggled, shaking my head, Garrett Bolts was my crush in seventh grade. I don't even know what happened to him after all of these years. "No? Then who else crushed my best friend's heart?"

"Well, I kinda crushed his back, too," I began. "I should really apologize to my dad. He and I kind of got into a fight the other night." I lightly blushed.

"You and Old Man McQueen?" Ethan asked. He scoffed, shaking his head. "I can't believe it. You two would never lose your temper. Especially not in such a scandalous moment in time."

"Nope. We're definitely the calmest cars in the world." I sarcastically replied. Almost as if Dad could hear us, he entered the room.

"Oh, hey, Ethan. I didn't know you were here." Dad softly said, clearly feeling the tension growing in the room.

"Yupp. Just had to check up on this trouble maker." Ethan teased, bumping my bed. I smiled, shaking my head. Ethan was a good guy. No. A great guy. There are so many other things he could be doing right now other than checking in on me.

"Would you mind if Stella and I talked alone?" Dad asked, glancing towards me. Ethan looked at me as well, so I nodded my head. I had to face my father eventually. Why not now and get it over with?

Ethan quietly left the room, but I knew he was parked just outside the door. That's how he was. He always had to make sure I would be okay, even if it was just a talk with my dad after a rough fight.

"I'm sorry for the way I behaved," Dad began, parking beside my bed. "It was really irresponsible of me to have Mater stalk you and Nick."

"I'm sorry, too. I shouldn't have yelled at you. You were just looking out for me." I quickly replied, leaning closer to him.

"But the thing is, you don't need someone watching out for you anymore," Dad said, looking down at his tires. "You're all grown up now, Stella. You're twenty-one years old for Pete's sake. I think it's time for me to let you go."

What did this mean? Was he really allowing what I thought he was?

"Is this your way of saying you approve of Nick?" I asked, tilting my head at him. Dad paused, rolling his blue eyes to look at the ceiling.

"I'm not saying I approve of him." He sighed. Then his eyes met mine. "But I'm saying that I trust your decisions, even if I think they're wrong. This is your life, not mine. If I keep treating you like you're five, you'll never want to be near me again."

"Oh, Dad," I cooed, reaching out to him. Softly, we nuzzled against each other. "No matter what you do you could never push me away."

Dad chuckled. "That's great news. Now I know I can't screw up."

And there was nothing he could do to screw up our relationship.

xxx

I had to call him.

It had been almost a week since we had our fight. And we hadn't seen each other or heard from each other. Each day that was added to our separation, the more I lost hope in ever rekindling our love.

I called his number, telling myself that if he doesn't answer that we were over. There would be no use for me to try again because that meant he clearly didn't want a future with me anymore.

Just when I thought he was going to send me to voicemail, his voice rang through the phone. "Hey, Stella."

"Nick!" I cheered, my voice slightly cracking. "I can't believe you actually answered the phone."

"Well, let's just say I missed your voice." He replied, his voice slightly hard. This was unusual since Nick was always teasing me. His voice always reminded me of bells, but now it sounded like a dull, lonely church bell.

"I need to meet up with you and explain everything," I began. "I understand if you're still mad at me and don't want to continue our relationship, but I don't want to end everything on this fight. I want to give you my full excuse."

There was a long pause, making me think that maybe he had hung up.

"Okay. Tonight in LA. I'll meet you outside of the racetracks around 11 o'clock."

"I'll see you then. Don't be late." I smiled.

"Trust me, I won't." He slightly chuckled.

It was official. Tonight, I was going to see Nick for maybe the final time as a couple. I only hoped that I was wrong about him wanting to break up with me. Because I'm not sure where I would go to comfort my shattered heart.

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