Under My Umbrella

Chapter Seven

I wake up with a jolt, pulling myself into a sitting position and blinking as my eyes adjust to the light.

Jesus, what happened? I glance down at the towel that’s barely covering my breasts and give it a sharp tug upwards.

“I didn’t see anything. I promise,” Shane says from the other side of the room.

I scowl at him. “I hope for your sake that’s true.”

“Good to see you’re back to your old self.” He chuckles.

I slide off the bed and glance out of the window. It’s still light out there, so I know it can’t be too late. “What time is it?”

“About 5 o’clock. You’ve only been asleep for half an hour or so.”

The towel does little to protect my modesty even after I pull it up again. What am I still doing here- barely dressed and with a man I hardly know?

“Where are my clothes?” I spin around, searching for the pile of things I’d left out.

“I packed all your stuff away. I thought you were leaving.”

“I...” Oh God, he really listened to me when I said I couldn’t stay here. I stare at him, torn between admitting that I was wrong and really going through with it and getting out of here.

I don’t know what will happen if I stay.

“I am leaving.” I tilt my head up an inch. “But I can’t go like this, can I?”

Shane smirks as his eyes roam over my towel-clad body. “I think you look pretty good.”

“You said you didn’t see anything!” I wrap my arms around myself and try to grab my suitcase without bending over too much.

I unzip it, pull out my leggings and a purple sweater dress and turn to take them into the bathroom to get changed.

Shane appears beside me and grabs my arm. I flinch at the surprise of his touch but I don’t pull away.

“Do you want to talk about what happened in there?”

My throat closes up at the thought of being stuck. “I’m just a little claustrophobic. But now you won’t need to rescue me again.”

He presses his mouth against my ear. “Where will you go?”

My eyes are closed and I’m leaning back into his chest, not even thinking about an answer.

I haven’t got anywhere to go. Not really. My mother made it clear she didn’t want to see me and the only other family I’ve got around here is an uncle and his daughter.

Of course. My cousin, Melissa.

My eyes fly open. “I’ll stay with my cousin.”

“Your cousin?” Shane releases my arm and rubs his jaw. “I didn’t know you had a cousin.”

“There’s a lot of things you don’t know.” I shrug. “We’re strangers.”

He pulls away from me and stares down at the faded carpet.

“Look, Shane, I didn’t mean—”

“Yes, you did. You want all this to be over so you’ll never have to see me again.”

“That’s not true.” I bite down on my bottom lip. “Maybe we just weren’t meant to pair up to tackle this.”

“Because we met by chance, right?”

I nod slowly. “Yeah.”

He remains silent and still, and I daren’t speak another word. I hug the clothes I picked out to my chest and think about this logically.