She’d forgotten this briefly, gone ahead and let herself have what she wanted without restraint or caution. If she’d known the voice in her head urging her on belonged to a woman so greedy she would almost die under the weight of her belongings, she may have resisted. May not have ended up in an exponentially replicating video, the epitome of a shameless whore who just can’t get enough.

When the world felt stable again, Lena returned to the house and scoffed a stale protein bar from the bottom of her backpack. Her ungrateful stomach grumbled and cramped while she started work emptying the bath. Could start her own shitty supermarket, right here. Come get your out-of-date, slimy-labelled, store-brand shampoo and conditioner, your leaking, sticky tubs of hair gel. Buy three jars of palm-oil-and-paraben-laden face cream and get a jumbo bottle of environmentally disastrous micro-beaded body wash for free.

She stopped to piss, wondering whether ‘organic and all-natural avocado body butter’ was edible, saw that her undies were splattered with blood. She hadn’t had her period for months—another benefit of the skinny rich girl diet—but of course it had to come now.

You win, body, you win. I’ll leave this house stocked with everything except what I need to go spend money I don’t have on things I don’t want. Fucking perfect.

As she stepped out on to the porch, a man pushing a stroller with one hand and gripping a leash attached to the torso of a rapidly toddling child with the other glanced at Lena, then focused. His eyes said, Don’t I know you? Or maybe it was: What are you doing there? He slowed, calling for the child to stop, tugging on the leash as he moved towards Lena. His smile said, ugly bitches are the best at riding dick theyre so grateful.

She fumbled with the door, which had closed and locked behind her. It took her too many seconds to remember that the key was in her pocket, and by the time she had it in the lock the man was calling to her. Not loud, close.

‘Hey! Hi! Something happened to Nic?’

Lena turned, took him in. Smooth baby face but with grey streaking through his thick black hair. One arm pulled behind his back by the straining toddler.

‘I’m Andre. I live across the street. Up a bit and across.’ He jerked his head to the left. ‘Haven’t seen Nic for a bit. Wife and I were just saying, hope nothin’s happened to her?’

‘Oh. No. Actually, yes, sort of. She had a bad fall last week. I’m Lena. Her niece. I’m just—’

‘Lena! The brains of the family. We know all about you and your high distinctions and everything. A fall, hey? That’s no good. You’re here to take care of her?’