Chapter 5
Eris
Nothing ever comes
without a consequence or cost
Tell me: will the stars align?
Will heaven step in?
― Imagine Dragons, Natural
Every inch of her body ached, but at least the splitting headache was gone.
For now.
She still hadn’t recovered from the shopping.
Denny hadn’t checked a single price. Eris had winced internally at every item that had been tossed into the basket so carelessly, her mental calculator updating the total as the pile grew: twenty-seven, thirty-nine, fifty-six…
It was disconcerting how little one-hundred pounds could get you at Marks before she could close it behind Denny, the entrance door opened.
A strong incense smell wafted out of it.
“Look who’s still alive.” Claudia leaned against the doorframe, slender arms crossed over her chest, blocking the way. “We reckoned you’d got yourself killed.” She took in Eris’ state, unimpressed. “What did you do this time? Some sus guy came to ask questions about you yesterday.”
Eris could feel the colour drain out of her face. Had her boss pressed charges against her?
Ex boss.
Denny asked: “What kind of questions?”
Claudia made a vague gesture. “If she lived here, where she works…”
Eris relaxed: if the guy needed to know where she worked, he couldn’t have been sent by her boss. Maybe her yearly application for Universal Credit benefits was finally being taken into consideration. She had to check her email.
She shouldered Claudia aside to walk in while Denny wasted time apologising on her behalf: “She was assaulted last night.”
“Unsurprising.” The door slammed closed. “She can’t stay out of trouble for long, can you, Scarys?”
Eris turned around to flip her off.
“She doesn’t speak,” Denny meddled. “Probably a consequence of the attack. PTSD or something.”
“Doesn’t make much of a difference, to be fair.”
Eris tried to grab Denny’s wrist to drag her away, but Denny weaseled away to scrutinise Claudia with narrowed eyes.
“That’s it? I tell you your housemate is so traumatised she can’t speak and you don’t even bat an eyelid?”