“And that was rude of me,” he offered, unflinching. “But you see, just because I said you’re ugly doesn’t mean that you are. Obviously, Al thinks you’re gorgeous. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and all that.”
I tilted my head slightly, studying him. Bringing you up wasn’t going to save him, but I let him speak for your sake.
“For example,” Lai went on, gesturing vaguely behind him. “Everyone thinks my car is ugly, but I loved her to bits.”
“Loved?” I growled. The word slipped out sharper than intended.
Lai flinched.
“Yeah.” He winced, then motioned toward a dark corner of the garage.
I drew back just enough to follow his gesture, inching in reverse so I could look at what he was pointing at. Lai was quick, for a man with a cane; he used the tiny opening to dart out of my way, but he didn’t run; instead, he gestured for me to follow him, guiding me towards a car that sat silently in the garage, tucked into shadow like something abandoned.
Broken.
Not a single panel of the old Toyota Corolla was unmarred. Her once pristine, ivory-white paint was dented, chipped, and spotted with rust. Both of her lights and the windscreen were smashed. I counted at least four different chips in the rear window as well, some already spread into cracks, threatening to shatter completely at the slightest nudge.
I rolled closer without thinking, my beams sweeping over her, illuminating every injury in my harsh, unforgiving light. “What did you do to her?” I asked, stunned.
“Drove her,” Lai explained. The answer came too fast, too defensive.
“You abused her.” My headlights flick over to him in disgust.
“I didn’t mean to! I’m not a good driver!”
I ignored him. All of my attention was on the Corolla; I could feel her spirit, weak like her battery, but still there. Still alive.
And to my utter dismay, she still adored Lai.
Even like this.
Even broken.
Even abandoned.
I exhaled sharply, exhaust cracking like a gunshot in the enclosed space. Lai flinched hard this time, his shoulders tightening.
He was afraid, after all. Good.
Now I had some difficult choices to make. I could crush Lai, end this here. Tear through metal and bone and concrete and leave nothing but ruin behind. I could let him go, wait for him to leave, and simply follow you back home, too disgusted by his neglect to stay.
Or I could stay and help a car stuck in a parking lot with no hope of escape, just like I was a day ago.
Fuck.
“Well,” I decided finally, my voice settling into something colder as my engine dropped from a roar to an idle. “Luckily for you, I can’t kill you tonight. You see,” I continued, rolling closer to him, bumper to kneecap. “Your car needs you. You’re going to fix her.”
Lai looked reluctant, but the exit was far away, and I could close that distance in 4 seconds. He could not.
“Fix her?” He protested. “She’s—”
“And then,” I cut in, “I’ll teach you how to drive.”
That shut him up for a moment.
He let out a groan of resignation, his hand resting on his car’s hood. He had a strange expression on his face, something I didn’t recognize, and his car was melting under the touch, fawning over him like a teenager in love. “Fine. But I need you to promise you’ll behave too.”
I inched toward him, bumper touching his knee. He didn’t move away. Brave little human. Or stupid.
