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I barely managed to smooth my face into a pleasant smile when the one and only Beryl answered the door.

She blinked in surprise. “Hi, Nuni.”

I relaxed a little when she used my actual name. “Hey, Beryl. Is Greid in?” Then I snorted, slipping into the jokey role I usually adopted when I was feeling a little on edge. “I mean, of course he is. Is he free?”

The polite smile on her face stiffened just a touch. After a second, she stepped back and pulled the door open. “Come in.”

“If he’s working, I can—”

I cut myself off as I stepped into the hallway, just as Greid wandered out of the kitchen eating a bagel smeared with cream cheese. I grinned as he froze.

“Grode, bro, how’s it going?” I snorted as I took in his baggy, tattered sweater, sweatpants and fluffy slippers, and joked, “Dressed up nice for work, I see.”

He sighed, glancing at Beryl as she closed the door behind me. “Hi. What are you doing here?”

“Well you’ve been ignoring my texts,” I said cheerfully, stuffing my hands back in my pockets, trying to keep the sharpness out of my smile. “So I thought I’d stop by.”

“Great,” he mumbled woodenly, looking and sounding like he couldn’t think of anything worse. It kind of hurt my feelings, but I kept the smile plastered on my face as I glanced between him and Beryl.

“So, how are you both?” I tracked my gaze down Beryl’s all-black outfit. “Going through a goth phase, Beryl?”

She rolled her eyes. “I’m about to leave for work.”

That instantly perked me up. “Well, don’t let me keep you. I’m just here to speak to Grode about something.”

Her jaw clenched. “Greid,” she corrected.

I chuckled, rocking back on my heels. “It’s just a nickname, dude. Did I tell you how I came up with it? It’s—”

“You told me,” she interrupted flatly. “A blend of Greid, grody and chode. You do realise the ‘grody’ is redundant, right?”

I paused. “Huh?”

She snorted and shook her head, walking over to Greid. “Never mind.”

I stood there feeling a little awkward—and mildly offended, for some reason—as he offered her the rest of his bagel.

“You don’t want it?” she asked.

He shook his head, darting a glance at me. “Not hungry anymore.”

He looked kind of anxious. Jesus, did my mere presence really make my own brother so anxious that it killed his fucking appetite? What the hell?

“Um, I guess… want to go sit in the living room?” Greid was clutching Beryl’s hand as he shot me another quick look.

“Sure,” I said easily, glancing around as I followed them. I hadn’t been here for a while, but it looked largely the same except for the framed photos of Beryl and Greid on the walls. One of them wrapped up in coats, scarves and hats, with their dog Jake’s lanky body cradled in Greid’s arms. Another of Beryl kissing Greid on the cheek. One where she’d seemed to catch him unaware, his nose scrunched up in a surprised laugh as she pressed her cheek to his and beamed at the camera.

He looked unspeakably happy in all of them.

Right now though, he just looked wary and uncomfortable as he perched on a huge beanbag under the living room window and rubbed his hands down his thighs. Jake was snoozing by his feet, and Beryl was hovering beside him like a tightly wound guard dog, so I sauntered across the room and took a seat on the couch, stretching my arms out along the back.

“So,” I said cheerfully. “How’s it going?”

“Fine.” Greid glanced at Beryl, his ears fluttered nervously. “Um, sorry for not replying to your texts. I’ve just been… busy with work.”

Bullshit.

I shrugged easily. “No worries, bro.” Trying to lighten the mood, I grinned and gestured at his grungy clothes. “Been out networking, huh? Gotta make the right first impression.”