The Surrogate Revenge

Chapter 11

HEATHER’S POV

I kept the folded paper hidden beneath my pillow long after I discovered it.

I wanted to open it again, but I was too tired to deal with another strange piece of my life that didn't make sense. After everything that had happened, my head already felt like it was about to burst.

Eventually, exhaustion won, and I drifted in and out of sleep for most of the night, waking now and then whenever I shifted and remembered that I still couldn't move my legs.

By morning, my back was sore, my body felt heavy, and I was getting tired of lying in the same position. I looked around the room and noticed the call button sitting on the other side of the bedside table.

It wasn't far, but it was far enough that I would have to ask someone to come and help me again. The thought made me sigh.

Why does everything have to be so difficult now? I had never liked asking people for help, and being unable to do even the smallest things without someone else was starting to make me feel helpless.

I pushed the blanket aside and tried moving closer to the edge of the bed. My legs remained completely still. I stared at them for a moment before looking toward the wheelchair nearby.

I can do this. I didn't need to stand. I only needed to get myself down carefully and somehow pull myself close enough to use the chair. It seemed simple in my head, especially since the distance between the bed and the wheelchair wasn't very far.

Using my arms, I slowly dragged myself toward the edge. My hands shook from the effort, but I managed to get closer.

I paused to catch my breath before shifting my weight forward, trying to lower myself carefully. For one second, I thought I had it under control. Then my body slipped.

I hit the floor harder than I expected, and the bedside table shook from the impact. A glass rolled across the floor and fell somewhere near the wall.

I stayed there for several seconds, too stunned to move, while pain spread through my back and hip. My eyes filled with tears as I tried to gather myself, but when I looked toward my legs, they were still lying completely still.

I reached toward the bed and tried pulling myself closer, but my arms weren't strong enough to lift me. Panic started rising in my chest. I tried again, this time harder, but nothing changed. I was stuck on the floor, alone in a room where I couldn't even reach the call button.

“Somebody help me!” I cried, my voice shaking as I looked desperately toward the door. “Please, somebody!”

The door opened almost immediately, and Dominic rushed in with Jermaine and Ryder close behind him. Dominic's face changed the moment he saw me on the floor, and he moved toward me without thinking, but Ryder caught his arm before he could reach down.

“Don't lift her yet,” Ryder warned, his voice firm despite the worry written across his face as he quickly dropped to his knees beside me. “Let me check her first. She could have hurt her back when she fell.”

Dominic stopped immediately, but his eyes remained fixed on me. “Heather, what happened?” he asked, his voice softer now as he looked from me to the overturned glass and then back again. “Why didn't you call someone?”

“I just wanted to get to the wheelchair,” I whispered, embarrassed by the tears gathering in my eyes. “I didn't want to keep calling someone every time I needed something.”

Ryder carefully placed one hand near my shoulder without moving me too much.

“Where does it hurt?” he asked, his voice calm as he examined my arms and back. “Did you hit your head? Are you feeling any dizziness or anything different from what you felt yesterday?”

“My back hurts,” I admitted, swallowing hard as I tried not to cry. “It hurts more than it did before.”

Jermaine stepped closer, his expression filled with concern as he looked at the position I'd fallen in.

“You could have seriously hurt yourself trying to do that alone,” he pointed out quietly, and I could hear the worry beneath his words even though he wasn't trying to lecture me.

“I know,” I muttered, looking away because I already felt stupid enough. “I know I shouldn't have done it.”

Ryder didn't comment on the argument. He kept his attention on me, carefully checking whether I could feel his touch along my legs and asking me simple questions about the pain. When he finished, his expression had become more serious than before.

“I don't want to take any chances with your back,” he explained, looking toward Dominic and Jermaine before returning his attention to me.

“We need to get you back onto the bed carefully, and then I want another doctor to examine you. I'd rather be safe than assume this is just pain from the fall.”

My heart began beating faster. “Is something wrong?” I asked, trying to read his face because his careful answer was making me more frightened.

“I don't know yet,” Ryder admitted, keeping his voice gentle as he tried not to scare me. “I want to be certain you're okay before we assume anything.”

Dominic immediately moved closer once Ryder permitted him to help.

He and Jermaine carefully assisted Ryder in getting me back onto the bed, taking their time so they wouldn't make the pain worse.

Once I was settled against the pillows, Ryder stayed beside me and continued watching me while Dominic adjusted the blanket.

“You don't have to keep apologizing,” Dominic told me quietly when I murmured that I was sorry for causing everyone trouble. “You got hurt. That's not something you need to feel guilty about.”

I gave him a small nod, but I still felt embarrassed. “I just wanted to do one thing by myself,” I admitted, my voice barely above a whisper. “I didn't think I'd fall.”

“I know,” he replied, his expression softening as he looked at me. “But you don't have to prove anything to us.”

Ryder stepped away briefly to contact the family physician while Jermaine spoke quietly to one of the staff members about cleaning up the broken glass.

I watched them from the bed, still unsure what to make of these three men. They were strangers, yet they were treating me as though I mattered to them. Part of me wanted to trust them, but another part was still too frightened to let my guard down.

The physician arrived a short while later and immediately began examining me. He asked how I had fallen, whether I had hit my head, where the pain was strongest, and whether anything felt different in my legs.

Ryder brought up my previous scans while the doctor compared them with his current examination. I watched their faces throughout the process, trying to understand what they weren't saying.

The examination seemed to take forever.

Finally, the doctor stepped away from the bed and looked toward the three brothers. His expression was serious enough to make my stomach twist. Dominic noticed it too and moved slightly forward.

“What did you find?” he asked, his voice carrying the concern he'd been trying to hide since he first saw me on the floor.

The doctor didn't answer immediately. Instead, he looked directly at me, then back at the three brothers as though he had already made a decision.

“I need to speak with Heather privately. Gentlemen, could you please excuse us?”