Berries and Greed

I didn’t want to just barge in on him in case he got self-conscious, so I pulled open the door a little more and called down, “Greid? I got you coffee. I’ll leave it in the kitchen.”

Nothing. I could hear that the TV wasn’t on, and there was no whirring of equipment or pounding feet on the treadmill. He didn’t even answer me, which was a little weird. Maybe he had headphones in. Or the E-B-Phones, I thought as my mouth twitched. Although, they didn’t really seem safe to use while exercising. Or literally ever.

I retreated to the kitchen, setting his coffee down before checking on my stew. Greid had been right—it did smell really good already. My mouth stretched into a proud grin as I gave it a stir, pleased to see the gravy thickening as the recipe had promised, and clamped the lid back on.

I went upstairs to change my pad and swap my work clothes for something comfier. When I got back downstairs and shuffled into the living room in my slippers, there was still no noise coming from the basement. Frowning a little, I pulled out my phone and typed out a text.

Are you okay? Where are you??

I heard Greid’s phone ding in his bedroom. Crossing the hall, I knocked on his door again. “Greid, you okay?”

He didn’t answer. Maybe he’d gone back to sleep. But then why was the basement light on?

I stood there for a few seconds before heading for the basement door. I was pretty sure he wasn’t down there—it felt empty—but now I was curious. Descending the staircase, I shivered as the air grew cooler. Greid wasn’t there. The TV was off and all the machines stood still and lifeless.

He must have been asleep then. I was pretty sure he wouldn’t have left the house without his phone. Just as I turned to go back upstairs, something caught my eye.

Right at the back of the basement, past the gym equipment, was another door that was partially open. I cocked my head as I stared at it. Huh. I’d never noticed that before, but then, it was the same colour as the walls, and there were random objects either side of it—a few cardboard boxes, a bedframe tipped on its side and a dresser. I wondered if it had all been cleared out of the room upstairs for Agma’s studio.

It looked dark beyond the open door, but… this had to be where Greid was, right? What was he doing in there?

I hovered for a few seconds, wondering whether I should just leave him to whatever he was up to. In the end, curiosity drove me forward. If it was, like, his secret masturbation room or something, I’d back away and pretend I’d never seen anything.

Approaching the door quietly, I reached out to grasp it and pull it open a little more. I was nervous, for some reason, and felt just a touch guilty. But… surely he wasn’t doing anything nefarious in there? It was Greid. He was just a big, lanky teddy bear. It was more likely to be a secret eating room or something. Or maybe a second Room of Shame.

It was too dark for me to see anything, so I pulled the door open wider to let the light from the gym flood in. I blinked when I saw the staircase spiralling down directly beyond the threshold. Leaning in just a little, I peered down. It seemed to go on forever, descending into total darkness.

What the hell? I licked my lips nervously and called out, “Greid? Are you… okay?”

I thought I could hear a faint thumping sound down there. Oh god, maybe it was a secret masturbation room. Just as I started backing hurriedly away from the door, I heard another one open far below and the thud of footsteps racing up the stairs.

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Chapter Thirty-One

Greid

“I wasn’t doing anything weird,” I blurted the moment I reached the top of the staircase and saw Beryl standing there with wary eyes.

“It’s okay,” she said quickly, backing away. “I was just worried about—I just wondered where you were. I’ll leave you to it. No worries.”

“No, wait, Beryl.” My ears went wild as she stopped and eyed me, blunt white teeth nibbling on her lower lip. “I swear it’s not anything weird.”

I was pretty sure the more I said that, the weirder she’d think it was. She shook her head, backing away again.

“Seriously, Greid, you don’t have to explain anything. It’s your house. As long as you’re okay, I’ll just go, uh, watch TV.” She paused, freckled cheeks growing pink. “Your, uh, your sweater’s on inside out, by the way. And back to front.”

I glanced down. Fuck. Now it looked really weird.

“It’s not a sex thing,” I burst out hurriedly. “It’s just a… It’s a, um, demiurgus thing. It’s just…” I fiddled with the cuff of my sweater, before blurting out, “I’m not all that used to spending this much time in my humanoid form, and I was feeling a little anxious, so I just—I decided to go to my deeproom.”

“Your… what?” Beryl cocked her head.

I gestured at the door behind me. “All demiurgus-built houses have a deeproom. It’s like a… cave, I guess? Just a space, um, deep in the earth, where we can go to relax and stuff.”