Page 17 of Holding On

Chapter Five

Ethan

By Thursday, I'm actually looking forward to having Lois stop by to clean. It's pathetic, I know, but sometimes this house is so damn quiet it drives me crazy. I need some noise. Some activity.

The doorbell rings right at noon and this time, instead of yelling for her to come in, I wheel myself over there.

"Hey, Lois," I say as I open the door. But it's not Lois. It's someone else. Someone much younger.

And hotter.

What the hell? Is this a joke? Did Jackson send over a stripper dressed as a maid?

"Lois is off today," the girl says.

Her eyes look me over, glancing just briefly at my wheelchair before returning to my face. She has gorgeous eyes. A deep rich brown with flecks of caramel around the iris. Her long dark hair is pulled back in a ponytail, a few wavy strands framing her face.

"Is that okay?" she asks.

I force myself to stop staring at her, suddenly feeling angry. Why is she here? Where's Lois?

Whoever this girl is, she's probably my age, or close to it. She might even go to Laytham. She'll tell everyone she knows that I'm still in this wheelchair and soon the whole town will know.

"Get out," I tell her.

"What?" Her eyes widen. "But I was told to—"

"I don't give a shit what you were told. I made it clear I don't want a different person every week. I want Lois and only Lois."

"She had to leave. Her mom had a stroke. Lois had to go to Texas to help her."

Fuming mad, I whip my chair around and wheel myself back to the couch. "Then the cleaning will just have to wait until she gets back."

"That could be weeks. Or months. Her mom needs help until she's able to be on her own. Lois took a leave of absence."

Shit. I finally meet someone I can stand to have in the house and she leaves. Fuck.

I turn the chair back around and see the girl still standing at the door. She's wearing the same blue and white maid uniform that Lois had on, but it looks a hell of a lot better on whoever this girl is. The fabric drapes over her soft curves, and she's taller than Lois so the dress ends well above her knees, showing off her lean, tan legs.

"So um, should I start?" she asks hesitantly.

"Who are you?" I demand.

"Becca. I work for the cleaning company."

"For how long?"

"Six months. "

"So you have no experience," I say as if stating a fact.

"I have six months of experience."

"That's not enough. I want Lois back."

The girl bites down hard on her lip. I've obviously made her mad but I don't care. I'm the customer and I should get what I asked for.

"You seriously want me to leave?" She looks around at the living room. "Because it looks like this place could use a good cleaning."

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