The Dash to Victory | A Cars Story

Chapter 17: Role Reversal

Mater managed to get a struggling El back to Flo's and applied a parking brace on her front tire.

"Ow! What in the manufacturer are you doing?!" El exclaimed.

"Look, you can't go and drive recklessly around here!" Sally exclaimed in response.

"Mrs. McQueen?! Wha...", El tried to exclaim once again.

"She lives here, 'ya lugnut!" Dash blurted out in response.

"This is all a dream... this isn't actually happening," El whispered to herself, closing her eyes.

"El... this isn't a dream. What happened to you?" Dash shook his hood trying to ask her.

"What happened to me? What happened to you? You used to have so much swagger! Now, look what you've become!" El blurted out once again, tugging at her parking brace.

"Look what I've become? I've become happy! For the first time in my entire life... I'm truly happy!" Dash exclaimed in response.

"Did you ever trust any of us racers? Did you even trust me?" El retorted.

"I don't know. I respected you all, yes – but could I trust someone like Rush to take care of me? Not in our lives." Dash blurted out.

El began to openly cry; feeling extremely hurt by his words.

"I can't believe you just escaped without telling us! I loved you! I was obsessed with making sure you were okay!" El retorted.

"Look, I'm sorry. I love you, too! But, we can only stay friends. I don't think I'll be ready for a relationship for a while." Dash blurted out.

"Dash; I said I loved you. I don't know if I can forgive what you did to me today. Good Manufacturer; I laid it out to you and you just let me run away!" El sobbed, seemingly endlessly.

"El, let me explain... please." Dash tried to comfort, shedding a few tears himself.

"No! You don't get to explain." El denied.

"You're right... I don't. But please, understand what I was going through." Dash asked.

"To quote what you just said... not in our lives." El retorted, using Dash's own sentiment against him.

"You're not listening to me," Dash stated, starting to get agitated.

"I don't think I'll ever listen to you again." El shook her hood.

"Do you want to know how and why I changed? Live a decade in my tires – experiencing the things I've experienced. You wouldn't last a single day." Dash scoffed, turning away from her.

"I so would. I would've done it better, too." El scoffed herself, shaking her hood once again.

"I WAS IN A COMA FOR THREE MONTHS – DEAD ON ARRIVAL AT THE HOSPITAL!" Dash lashed out, his gaze now turning into a focused rage. "I think I'd know what hopelessness feels like!"

El was taken aback by his sudden retort. A tense moment of silence proceeded, allowing Dash to monologue...

"Nobody came to visit... nobody even cared. The only ones that did were the doctors... because it was their job. Otherwise, I would have been a scrapyard heap!" Dash blurted out.

"But, that's why I'm here! I literally came to find you. You can't say that nobody cared!" El retorted back.

"Yeah? You had months to do this. Why now, why not sooner?!" Dash snapped.

"Because I had a racing career!" El snapped back in response.

"Oh, laa-dee-da. Guess what?! I had one, too! But I was too busy nearly dying to care about that!" Dash snapped once again. "...and this whole excuse of you having a career is bull-truck. It would have been the same no matter if and when you fled!"