Hot Coffee (The Hollens) novel Chapter 38

Emma's POV

It'd been two weeks since I'd gotten back home and recovered, but I was reliving a nightmare. I kept envisioning Sharon and Mrs. Hollen inside the room with me whenever I tried to sleep. Their images were plastered in my head and their words still replayed. 

The swamp was another nightmare, too. How close I came to my death and the struggle and pain I endured trying to get out of it.

Now, I was no longer pregnant with Ethan's baby, and that just did a number on me. I was traumatized, and had been since the doctors told me the news when I awoke. My body had rejected the baby due to stress and the banging my body had taken at the hands of Mrs. Hollen and Sharon in the house, and in the van on my way to the swamp. They removed the fetus from inside me immediately so it wouldn't caused an infection.

I couldn't wrapped my mind around the fact that the baby wasn't inside me anymore, and I had to get through it by myself. Ethan couldn't understand how I was feeling and his entire agenda changed after the news about the baby. He became distant and cold and harsh towards me. It seemed like he was shutting me out for something that clearly wasn't my fault. I needed him in a time like this, but he was nowhere to be found. He spent late nights at the office, when he got home I would already be asleep, and when I woke up he would already be out the door. I hadn't seen him in days.

Was it possible that he wasn't sleeping with me at all?

I gathered myself again for what seemed like the thousandth time that day. I would break down and start crying whenever I thought about the baby, Sharon and Mrs. Hollen, or the swamp.

I headed  to the kitchen where I met Halley and a new face. Halley was teaching a woman how to use the coffee machine and the difference between the types of coffee, and I heard her mention how Mr. Hollen liked his coffee.

"What's going on here? And who's this?" I asked.

"Oh, good morning Emma, this is Hannah and she's the new maid Mr. Hollen hired." Halley turned to Hannah and gave a smile.

She had a tanned skin tone, slightly darker than Halley's skin. She had jet black, cut in a short bob at the back of her neck, and bangs. Her eyes were hazel and bright. Her nose was straight and her lips were small, which went well with her narrow face.

"New maid?" I asked, as if Halley had just stuttered.

"Hi, nice to meet you." Hannah held out her hand for a handshake but waved instead when I didn't return it.

I didn't meant to be rude and come off like a bitch, but I was surprised, and not in a good way. I had no idea Ethan was hiring a new maid, and someone else to do his coffee. Why didn't he said anything to me? Why was he doing this to me? I was the only one who made his coffee in this house, and had been since I'd arrived. And I was still here, and feeling better than I was two weeks ago, so what was his problem?

I broke down every now and again, but that was the healing stages of grief and a traumatic experience. Besides, I was still young and there was still life ahead of me. There could be another baby in the future.

"What's her job description?" I asked Halley.

"Oh, assisting with the house work and the making of Mr. Hollen's coffee every morning, or whenever he wants it," Hannah answered; she was plucky as hell.

"I'm the only one who makes coffee for him in this house, so there must be some kind of misunderstanding here. But I'll clarify it with him when he gets in tonight."

"Okay, Emma," Hannah answered coldly with a smirk.

She turned back to Halley who seemed surprised by the sudden change.