Not ready to eat yet! I wrote, because I knew that Greid would zero in on a pot of cooking food like a bloodhound the moment he woke up. DO NOT EAT RAW CHICKEN, GREID.
With a smile, I left it in front of the slow cooker and turned to leave for work. The day was crisp and cool as I stepped outside, the sun hazy and bright in a pale blue sky as autumn melted into winter. As I waved at the two old demiurgus on their front stoop, my gut fizzed with excitement at the thought of getting to see Christmas in the city. Did demiurgus celebrate it? Would everyone on the street put up twinkling lights and decorate their windows and front steps?
I was working with Gavin and a quiet, no-nonsense demiurgus called Kayr for the brunch shift. Kayr didn’t talk much—he wasn’t rude, he was just painstakingly efficient and refused to stand idle when there was a lull between customers. I made an effort to help him take all the glasses off the shelves to give them a thorough clean, but I could tell that I was just getting in his way and he’d prefer to do it himself. In the end, I went and stood with Gavin once the brunch rush died down, and we chatted casually between customers.
I liked Gavin, but it always made me a little nervous to talk to him, because there was a lot of stuff—regular human stuff—that I should’ve known about. Like going to high school, football games, some big human hedge fund investor who’d recently been exposed for tax evasion.
I managed to navigate the conversations fairly well with vague answers about my childhood—“I grew up way out in the country, in a tiny little town”—and by confidently saying I wasn’t interested in sports or celebrity gossip, the latter of which was a big, fat lie.
My shift passed painfully slowly, and when I finally got out, I saw I’d had a text from Greid a few hours ago. Several texts, in fact.
what are you making?? he’d sent. A minute later, he’d followed it with, it smells really good. It woke me up
why can’t I eat it now???
The chicken can’t be THAT raw can it?
how long does it need to be in there before I can eat it?
I snorted, typing out a quick message. It’s for dinner! Can’t eat it yet.
He didn’t reply, so I shoved my phone back in my coat pocket and made my way to Deep Brew to get Greid a coffee. When I got home, the house was completely quiet, so I figured Greid was working. After shedding my coat and boots, I made my way upstairs to deliver his drink.
“Greid?” I knocked on the workshop door, hearing silence behind it. “I got you coffee.”
There was no reply. Cracking open the door, I peeked in and saw it was empty. I checked the Room of Shame before making my way back downstairs. He wasn’t in the kitchen or the living room. Knocking softly on his bedroom door, I called, “Greid?”
No answer. Frowning, I stepped back and looked around. His car had been parked out front, but I supposed he could’ve walked somewhere or got the subway. He hadn’t mentioned going out today though, and I knew Greid left the house as little as possible.
Then I noticed the door to the basement was partially open and the light was on down there. Was he working out? It would’ve been the first time since I moved in.
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.
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.”