Under_The_Whispering_Door_by_TJ_Klune

He laughed wildly. “If not now, when? Oh, and I’m taking Hugo with me.”
Mei blinked. “Taking him with you where?”
He grinned. He felt crazed, and it burned within him. “I don’t know. Isn’t
it wonderful?”
Hugo listened as Wallace explained. He didn’t answer right away, and
Wallace thought he was going to refuse. Finally, he said, “Are you sure?”
Wallace nodded. “You’ll know, won’t you? How long we can go. How
far.”
“It’s dangerous.”
“I need this,” Wallace said plainly. “And I want it to be with you.”
It was the wrong thing to say. Hugo’s expression shuttered. “Changed your
mind? Last night, you seemed pretty certain you didn’t want to hear how I
feel.”
“I’m scared,” Wallace admitted. “And I don’t know how not to be. But if
this is it, if this is what I have left, then I want to do this. With you.”
Hugo sighed. “It’s really what you want?”
“Yes.”
“I need to ask Mei if she’ll—”
“Already done,” Mei said, peeking her head through the kitchen doors.
Wallace snorted when he saw Nelson peering under her arms. Of course
they’d been listening. “I got it, boss. Give the man what he wants. It’ll do you
both some good. Fresh air and blah, blah, blah. We’ll hold down the fort.”
“We don’t even know if he can ride it,” Hugo said.
Wallace puffed out his chest. “I can do anything.”
He couldn’t do anything.
“What the hell?” he growled as he fell through the scooter to the ground
for the fifth time.
“People are staring,” Hugo muttered out the side of his mouth.
“Oh, I’m so sorry.” Wallace pushed himself up off the ground. “And it’s
not like they can see me. For all they know, you’re talking to your scooter