There were a lot of boxes.

“Greid, is this…” Beryl took a single step inside, eyes wide. “Is this all stuff like the ScrubShoes?”

“Yeah,” I admitted, voice thick with embarrassment. “I have a problem.”

Wandering deeper into the room, she picked up something that looked like a broom with a vegetable peeler attached to the other end. Smoothing out the clear plastic still encasing it, she peered at the label.

“No more dirty chopping boards!” she read out loud. “Sweep up your vegetable peelings from the floor as you’re peeling them!”

Putting it back down, she picked up something else. “The E-B-Phones! Can’t stand the feel of headphones covering your ears? Studies have shown that we can hear music just as well through our eyeballs. Just sit back, pop on the E-B-Phones and enjoy your favourite tunes. Not recommended for use while carrying out other tasks.”

“Okay, yeah, that one seemed like bullshit,” I grumbled. “I couldn’t even find any of the studies online.”

She choked on a laugh, looking around the room before giving me a wary glance. “Do you… actually feel like you have a problem? Like, you wish you didn’t buy this stuff but you can’t stop yourself?”

I cocked my head. “Nah, it’s not, like… an addiction that I can’t control. I’ve just done it for a while, so it all starts piling up and… I dunno. The infomercials get me. I’m a sucker.”

“Well, I mean, I think it might be a teensy addiction, Greid. A lot of this stuff looks like it’s never even been used. Most of it.”

“I’ve used some of it!” I protested. “Our onesies. And slippers. And a few other things.”

She gave me a smile. “Okay. Well, why don’t you donate whatever you haven’t used?”

I cringed. “I’ve thought about it, but then people will know I’ve bought all this stuff.”

Shrugging, she said, “I don’t mind taking it. I don’t care.”

Fiddling with a loose thread on my sweater, I asked, “Really?”

“Sure. Why don’t we go through it all at the weekend and see what you want to donate? You might want to keep some things. I bet you do have some good stuff in here.” She paused, eyeing the boxes. “The law of probability dictates that you have to have at least one good thing in here.”

“That’s extremely optimistic of you.” I gestured at the mountain of boxes. “You saw the E-B-Phones.”

She snorted and shook her head. “You’re so cute.” Clearing her throat, she quickly added, “Shall we try them out?”

Ignoring the fluttering in my belly, I cocked my head. “We could… or we could order dinner and do the hair masks.”

Her face brightened. “Okay, let’s do that.”

I stepped aside so she could leave the room, flicking off the light before closing the door. When I turned to face her, she smiled up at me.

“Thank you for showing me your… What did you call it?”

“My Room of Shame.”

Her brows pinched, and she touched my arm. “You don’t need to be ashamed, Greid. People collect all kinds of stuff to a wild degree. Like… houseplants. Records. Clothes.” She glanced around, taking in the artwork and tapestries filling almost every inch of wall space. “You do have a lot of everything, so maybe you just have a slightly addictive personality. That’s all.”

“Yeah.” I gave her a grateful smile. “Thanks.”

“I’m gonna get changed and put on my onesie. Do you want to go order dinner and I’ll meet you downstairs?”

“Sure.”

“Can we watch Gloom Falls? I paused it earlier when you left the room to answer the door to your mom and sister, so we’re in the middle of an episode.”

“Sure,” I repeated, then winced. “Um, sorry about them, by the way.”

“No, they were great,” she said eagerly. “I really like them. How many siblings do you have? I kind of lost track of how many your mom and Kiti talked about.”

“Seven.”

Her eyes widened. “And you were all… born at the same time?”

“Yeah. Demiurgus tend to have a lot of young at once. Not always, though.”

“Wow. I can’t imagine growing up in such a big family. Is your dad around?”

I grunted. “They dissolved their matehood when we were young. He’s an asshole.”

She reached out and squeezed my arm. “I’m sorry, Greid. My dad’s an asshole too.”

My lip curled at the thought of her dad abandoning her at that fucking cult. “Yeah. He is.”

“Was your mom happier after that?”

“Oh yeah, we all were. It was so much better. And my mom’s sister and her lifemate were around a lot when we were kids, so she wasn’t just dealing with eight nightmare children all on her own.”

Beryl laughed. “She seems like she’d be able to handle it anyway.”

My mouth curved up into an affectionate smile. “Yeah. She’s awesome. Kind of overbearing, but… she’s great. I love her.”

I suddenly worried that it was the wrong thing to say—like I was bragging about actually having a mother. But I also didn’t want to gripe about my mom when Beryl hadn’t even been given the chance to experience all the tiny, silly things mothers did that exasperated you. It felt selfish and ungrateful.

Beryl just grinned up at me. “She clearly loves you too. You’re her little baby.”

“Shut up,” I grumbled. “I’m going to order dinner.”

Laughing, she turned for her door. I hurried to the stairs so I wasn’t tempted to peer greedily into Beryl’s room—to see the private little world she’d created for herself in there.

I already missed her as I listened to her bedroom door click shut.

OceanofPDF.com

Chapter Twenty-Five

Beryl

As I left work the following afternoon, I tried not to double over from the intense cramps stabbing through my entire lower abdomen.

They’d started about an hour ago, which I knew meant I probably had minutes before my period officially arrived. I hoped I managed to get home before I bled through my pants, but at least they were black and hidden by my coat.

I’d had the morning shift today, so it was only four, still light as I began walking down the street. I didn’t ask Greid to stop work to come and meet me when I finished at this time, even though he constantly offered.

At least I’ll be able to wallow in pain and misery all night without having to come back out.

By the time I got home, I was sweating from the pain. The first day of my period was always an utter bitch. After shedding my coat and boots, I hurried upstairs to my bedroom, shouting a hello to Greid in his workshop, and rifled through my bathroom cabinet for pads.

Shit, I only had one left. I’d just been coming off my period when I left the compound, and I hadn’t thought to grab more. Shoulders slumping with the realisation that I would have to go back out, I used the toilet then went to leave my room, but instead curled up on my bed in a moaning ball for a while. Hopefully the cramps would ease up in a few hours, so I’d go out then to get more pads, I decided, sitting up and reaching for my pyjamas and onesie.

Greid found me about ten minutes later, curled up on the couch in the living room. I’d covered myself in the blankets he normally used so I could breathe in his scent as I lay there staring vacantly at the TV, which was showing some daytime show about humans having to guess the values of demiurgus artefacts and creations.

“What’s wrong?” he asked straight away, coming to crouch in front of me.

“Period started,” I said, grimacing through another wave of cramps. His yellow eyes softened in sympathy.

“Want me to get you some painkillers?” He jumped up. “I’ll go find that hot water bottle too. I know I have one.”

I made a weak move to pull the blankets off me. “I can get them—”

“No, you stay there.” He raced out of the room and I heard him thumping up the stairs.