Under The Umbrella

Chapter Five: Smell of Green

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The quiet was heavy at 5:33pm.

Josie didn’t know how to react.

Didn’t know how to leave.

She was just _seated upon_ the chair. Frozen. The weight of jealousy still sitting on her chest like a textbook.

Then she looked up.

And he was standing right in front of her.

Literally.

No warning. No sound. Just _there_.

Towering.

Gray eyes down on her.

Josie’s heart did something stupid.

But she remembered.

The porch. The collapsing. The _Hydrate_. The way he scanned her like she was broken code.

So she composed herself.

Fast.

Sat up straighter. Smoothed her shirt. Schooling her face into _I am fine and normal_.

Then she began to arrange her books.

Quick. Efficient.

Because she did _not_ want him to scan her clinically again. Not here. Not after the girls. Not with jealousy still thick in her throat.

She packed up like she was in a hurry.

Like she had somewhere important to be.

Like Room B wasn’t holding her hostage with one black umbrella and four harem members.

She stood at 5:34pm.

Bag on her shoulder.

About to leave.

And he caught her arm.

Just above the wrist.

Not hard.

But it sent millions of _feelings_ down her spine.

Electric. Sudden.

This was the time.

_Iron against iron._

He was _squeezing_.

But at the same time it was… sizing.

Measuring.

Something she could not explain. Because she had never felt it before.

Not like this.

Josie turned around at 5:35pm.

And he was holding the umbrella.

The one from the table....