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“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.”
