Accidental Surrogate

Chapter 283: Zoom zoom 

Sinclair

A crash sounds upstairs. The second one today. I groan and put my head in my hand, honestly not wanting to know.

“Dominic?” I hear my mate call, requesting my assistance. I press my eyes shut, ignoring her for just…just one minute. “Dominic!”

“Seriously,” Roger murmurs, looking towards the door. “What were you thinking, letting her put this insane plan into action?”

I drop my hand and glare at my brother. “Ask me that again when you’re mated,” I murmur, steeling myself as I head out of the room. Roger doesn’t say anything as I go, though I feel his eyes on me. I ignore it.

“Ella?” I call from the base of the stairs. The seat of her stairlift is at the top, so she must be up there.

“Dominic!” Her faint voice comes to me, sounding relieved. “Can you come help? I’m…stuck.” I sigh and pull myself up the stairs.

Three days. Three days she’s had her wheelchairs and her stairlift, and while I’m pleased to see her spirits raised, it’s been a nightmare for me. Three days of watching her zoom around, crashing into every thing I own. I’ve already imagined six thousand ways this could go wrong – Ella sliding off of the stairlift and tumbling down the stairs, Ella somehow miraculously managing to run herself over with the chair, Ella crashing through the banister and flying through the air like Evil Knievel… 1

And you’d think that I was kidding, or exaggerating, but…

As I get to the top of the stairs, I turn to see her wedged, somehow, behind a potted fern in the corner.

“How did you even…do this?” I ask, exasperated, as I walk over to her.

She gives me a bright, if embarrassed, little smile. “I don’t know,” she shrugs. “I just…went forward, and it was there…”

I sigh again – my three hundredth sigh of the day and lift the plant, freeing her. She zooms backwards in the wheelchair, grinding potting soil from the plant into my carpet as she goes. I sigh again. Three hundred and one.

“What are you even do-” I start, but she’s off already, waving to me as she heads down the hall towards our bedroom.

“Things to do!” she calls, waving over her shoulder. “Go back to work, I’ll catch up with you later!”

I shake my head, following her into the bedroom, eager to put a stop to this. “Ella,” I demand, striding in after her. “This has to stop – I’m going insane with worry –”

“What!” she exclaims, appalled, turning her chair in a little half circle so that she’s facing me. Why are you worried?”

staring at her, my mouth hanging open

pouty little mouth at me. “Tell me!”

“Ella, in the past three days you’ve broken hundreds of dollars‘ worth

flippant hand. “We can buy new pots who cares about

gaze up at me. I groan again and wipe a hand down my face,

head to the side, narrowing her eyes at me, sensing a “but” coming. I oblige her. But,” I continue, “baby, you’re the..you’re the worst wheelchair

“I am amazing at this! What are

when I say this – and

at me then and I can’t help but laugh with her. It’s so ridiculous. But I’m so grateful that she finally sees my point. Now I can convince her to give

she asserts, giving me a clever, wolfish

don’t even know what to say. Jealousy… has not even

“If I were bad at this,

in a quick circle that lifts one of the chair’s wheels off the ground. My stomach drops as I lurch forward, desperate to keep her from tipping over, but she just laughs at me as the

I gasp,

this chair can’t tip over, it’s

it,” I caution, “it’s you. Ella,

her head at me. “Don’t you think you’re being just a little overprotective? I mean, sure, I get stuck behind a potted plant or two.” She shrugs. “So what? I’m fine.” She gives me a bright, happy smile,

course I did, I could smell her misery on her, could feel it in my very bones. But I could also feel her pride every morning when she sent me off to start my day. In many ways that was the one thing keeping her together – the idea that she was doing this for

I in good conscience could, and otherwise spending my time

she smiles up at me. My sweet, clever girl. How do I do this? How do I help her find the balance between misery and keeping herself

today, then, Ella,” I say calmly, putting out a hand towards her. “Enough chair for the day… my nerves are absolutely at their end. Please.

her, intending to pick her up and carry her to bed. But then, at

the command board and zooming past me, right out of my grasp.

growling as I turn to watch her

she calls over

despite myself, lights up at this little taunt. A growl grows inside of me as I launch myself after her, out into the hallway and to the top of the stairs where she’s already seated

Ella gives a little half scream, half cry of laugher and delight, pressing the button on her stairlift frantically to make it go faster. Luckily, as it was built for the

don’t,” I burst out, taking two steps down the stairs so that I’m even with her and pressing the emergency–stop button on the lift. Ella gives another little cry, laughing hard and beating her little fists playfully against me as I

the bedroom and laying her down

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