Chapter Eighty-Nine

The silky-soft bedsheets wrapping around Lila felt like a soothing caress, lulling her into sleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow after finishing her night-time routine.

She fell into a kaleidoscope of colours, faces, and memories, her mind producing a whirling performance of oddities. At one point, her dreams brought her to the board game shop, Asher inspecting several offerings in a clown suit, his face thankfully unmarred by clown makeup.

“Lila, this one’s about ants,” Dream-Asher said in a monotonous voice. “I love ants.”

As Lila was about to respond, Dream-Asher began to scream, the sound chilling her blood and shaking her to her core. It wrenched her out of her dream and she sat up, her mind swirling and trying to adjust to her unfamiliar surroundings.

Her racing heart began to slow down as she took a deep breath, the air branching from her lungs to the tips of her fingers.

‘Weird,’ she thought, ‘what kinda dream was that?’

A bewildered laugh was halfway to her lips when she heard it.

Another scream, ripping through Asher’s wing of the house. Lila immediately stood up, goosebumps bursting along her skin. It was a haunting scream – one that was accompanied by a whimper. Was Asher okay?

Without a second thought, Lila stumbled out of the spare room, phone in hand to light her way. Surely he wasn’t being attacked, right?

She twisted the doorknob to his room, but it remained steadfastly closed. She tried again, another scream emanating from Asher’s room. Locked.

Lila didn’t know what to do. What could she do? She didn’t know where the lockpicks were, but she supposed they would be in his room… which was locked.

Just as she was contemplating breaking the door, the scream turned into a weak sob. Then, it clicked.

A night terror.

Lila herself only had them when she was a young child, but she always had Clare or her parents help her through them. Then, when Daniel was old enough, she, in turn, helped him. But Asher was all alone.

‘He’d probably be really embarrassed if I broke in there,’ Lila thought forlornly, biting her lower lip. At least it seemed that he was at the tail end of it. He might even be awake. Should she knock?

Her heart pounded in her chest as she reached a fist out, ready to knock. Before her knuckles could touch the door, she was interrupted by another whimper then a frustrated groan.

“So fucking embarrassing,” she heard Asher say, his voice pained. “Fucking get it together.”

She lowered her fist, taking a long and slow breath. She stood there for a couple more seconds, contemplating her next move. With a resigned grimace, Lila decided to retire to her room to spare his feelings.

She sank uneasily into bed, holding a pillow close to her for comfort. Should she ask him about it in the morning? She heard him speak, but had he been awake enough to remember?

For the next few minutes, she trained her ears, trying to hear any more sounds from Asher’s room. Eventually, with nothing further, her thoughts slowed and she fell into a restless sleep.

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Lila’s alarm blared in her ear, waking her with a start. She rubbed her eyes, the feeling of luxurious bedsheets confusing her for a moment. Where was she?

She blinked, focusing her eyes on the room around her. It took her a moment to realise that she was in the spare room of Asher’s house. With a lazy stretch, she checked the time on her phone – 8.01am.

Sitting up, the memory of Asher’s night terrors suddenly inundated her mind. Was he awake now? Was he okay?

Opening the door to the rumpus room with a creak, she couldn’t see or hear Asher. Perhaps he was still asleep.

She figured it was as good a time as any to get showered and dressed for the day. Grabbing her things, she tiptoed to the spare bathroom. It was eerily quiet – something she wasn’t used to, living in a family of five. By now, her parents were probably rushing to get out the door to go to work, banging and clanging in the kitchen with their empty breakfast plates and squabbling over her Dad’s choice of tie or something.

When she exited the bathroom in a cloud of steam and the smell of strawberry body wash, she could see the top of Asher’s head by the couch. Judging by his hair, it seemed as though he was also freshly showered. Had she disturbed him?

“Morning,” Lila said softly, crossing the rumpus room with the intent to place her belongings back into the spare room.

“Hey,” Asher replied gently. Something in his tone halted her steps and she turned around to look at him. He looked exhausted as he gave her a small smile.

“Sleep alright?” he asked, his eyes looking past her shoulder rather than at her face.

“More or less,” Lila responded vaguely. She glanced down at the things she was clutching, and quickly hid them behind her back. For some reason, she didn’t want him to see her personal items. He seemed to get the hint and swiftly diverted his attention to the TV.

She placed her belongings into the spare room and returned to the rumpus room, her face slightly flushed. It seemed that Asher had set up the stream they had been watching last night, though it wasn’t playing just yet.

“Did you want me to bring the photos?” Lila asked, already doubling back.

“Nah. You wanted to go check out the farmhouse, didn’t you? I was thinking we could take a walk that way after breakfast and then come back and keep going through them before lunch,” Asher said with a yawn. “I’ve already checked what time Gabriel was thinking of preparing breakfast. Do you have any specific time requirements?”

Lila blinked. There was still something that seemed off about Asher, but she couldn’t place it. Was he feeling awkward about last night?

“Are you okay?” she found herself questioning.

“Me?” he looked surprised that she asked. “Yeah. Just… a bit tired.” He still didn’t meet her gaze.

“How… did you sleep?” Lila asked, her eyes not lifting from his face. His eyes flickered to hers, his mouth setting in a hard line.

“Like shit,” he confessed. “I’m assuming you knew that, though.”

She sighed, sitting down on the couch with her arms folded under her chest for comfort.

“… Yeah. I did.”

Asher winced, turning his head away from her. “… Sorry.”

“I-Is that what you meant? When you said you can be pretty loud when you sleep?”

“You remember that?” he rubbed his stubbled chin before exhaling deeply, looking down at his lap. “Yeah. It happens once or twice a week. Since Mum disappeared. Then it got worse after the whole Piper thing, then after Holly, it was every night for a long time. Nightmares though… that’s almost every night since Mum’s been gone. I… hate going to sleep. I’d rather do anything else than close my eyes and wait for the nightmares to start.”

“Is that why you get so evasive when I ask if you’ve been sleeping?”

“Part of it, yeah. I’d… hoped I wouldn’t embarrass myself like that in front of you. That last night would be one of the safe nights.”

“You locked your door.”

He looked at her sharply. “How did you-”

“I tried to help,” Lila said softly. “I was about to knock… but I figured you’d be embarrassed. So, I went back to bed. I’m sorry I couldn’t help.”

Asher shook his head, still looking at his lap rather than at her. “Please don’t blame yourself. I’m sorry I woke you.”

She had never seen him so ashamed. He hung his head low, placing his hands over his eyes.

“I… was pretty stoked that you were going to stay over,” he mumbled. “Then I remembered that it was a bad idea. But… you seemed really happy about it. Sorry I ruined it.”

“You didn’t ruin anything, Asher,” Lila said comfortingly. “I mean, now I know. So maybe next time, keep your door unlocked? Only if you want, of course.”

“N-Next time?” Asher stammered, raising his flushed face. “You… want to stay over again?”

Lila grinned at him. “Why wouldn’t I? You’re my best friend. Means you’re stuck with me now."

“I wouldn’t say that,” Asher replied, a nervous twitch in his smile, “I’d say you’re stuck with me.”

“No one better to be stuck with,” Lila beamed, patting her rumbling stomach. “I’m starving, when’s breakfast?”

Asher laughed, seeming far more relaxed now. “I’ll check with Gabriel.”

He did so via the intercom. It turned out that they had about 15 minutes before Gabriel was done with the finishing touches of breakfast, so Asher pressed ‘play’ on the livestream.

“It’s still crazy to me how different Marlene is on stream,” Lila stated simply as Marlene’s wheezing laughter echoed through the rumpus room.

“No kidding,” Asher replied, “and here I was, thinking she was a grandma in disguise with her embroidery and whatever.”

“Yeah. Turns out she’s pretty good at PC games. At least, from what I can tell.”

“You’re definitely right about that. Though… your question before, about when she has the time to do all the things she does. I honestly don’t know either. It’s like she can’t sit still.”

“Sounds like Elise.”

Asher shot Lila a look of concern. “We’ll get to the bottom of Elise’s problems. We have to, for both Elise and Isaac’s sakes.”

“Yeah,” Lila couldn’t hide the smirk on her face. Asher tilted his head, narrowing his eyes at her.

“You know something, don’t you?” he said, his tone light in accusation but heavy in scrutiny.

“Not at all,” Lila replied, turning her head away from him and looking instead at the corner of the rumpus room.

“You know, you’re not very good at the whole ‘not being suspicious’ thing sometimes.”

“Who, me?”

“Yes, you. There’s no one else here, silly.”

Lila pursed her lips, spinning around to face Asher again. Elise hadn’t necessarily told Lila point-blank not to tell Asher, but she surveyed him all the same as she contemplated spilling the beans.

“I feel like I can guess what you’re hiding,” Asher said playfully, his eyes sparkling with anticipation. “Elise likes Isaac, doesn’t she?”

Lila threw her hands up in the air. “Well, what’s the point in asking if I know something, then?” she protested.

“I just figured this way, if Elise asks, you can say I guessed,” Asher winked at Lila, a wide smile on his face. “You know how I said I couldn’t pay Isaac back?”

“Yeah?”

“Feel like I might’ve found a way.”

Lila chuckled before looking intently at Asher. “What, does Isaac like Elise?”

Asher’s eyes darted to Lila’s expectant ones before he placed both hands on his head. “It’s probably surprising to some, but Isaac never really talks about people in terms of their appearance. It’s pretty rare for him to compliment a girl at all. He hasn’t told me specifically whether he likes Elise or not, but, to me, that was as good as a confession.”

“So, next time we go to Side Quest City, are we taking a drive by Mission Cupid?” Lila smirked.

“It’ll be payback,” Asher grinned.

“Sounds like a deal.”

The crackle of the intercom dissolved their conversation and Asher left to answer it. Of course, it was Gabriel calling them down for breakfast.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

“Hope I don’t just get cheese again,” Asher lamented as they lazily descended the stairs.

“I think you might,” Lila said gravely.

“I’m so glad we’re getting Maccas for dinner, then. That way I can get something of substance.”

“Feels like substance and Maccas don’t belong together.”

“Probably right about that.”

They shuffled into the dining room, Lila sniffing the air. An umami scent was floating from the kitchen, hinting at a savoury breakfast. A jug of juice, complete with slices of oranges, ice cubes, and sprigs of mint, already sat on the table.

Gabriel waltzed in just as Lila tucked herself into her chair, and he gave her an exuberant beam.

“Good morning, Lila,” Gabriel greeted affably. “I hope you’re hungry.”

“Sure am, Gabriel,” Lila replied with a smile.

“Fantastic,” Gabriel nodded, placing a plate in front of her. “May I introduce a salmon, spinach, and cheese omelette?”

“Of course you may,” Lila responded, looking at the fluffy omelette resting on the plate before her. “Looks delicious.”

“Thank you, my dear. And for you, Asher,” Gabriel said politely, passing Asher a small plate with a single slice of cheese and a fried egg. “Some protein with your dairy.”

“I suppose it’s close to an omelette,” Asher quipped, though he seemed deflated as he looked at his breakfast.

“I see you’re choosing optimism this morning,” Gabriel observed.

“And you, violence,” Asher retorted. Gabriel began to slide the plate away from Asher before he desperately said, “Thanks for breakfast, Gabriel. Looks amazing. Please.”

Gabriel beamed. “Flattery will get you nowhere for now, Asher.”

“By the way,” Asher piped up just as Gabriel was about to disappear into the kitchen again. Gabriel instead turned on his heel and looked at Asher questioningly.

“Yes?”

“Lila and I are having dinner at Maccas tonight.”

Gabriel tutted before sighing deeply. “If you must.”

“We must,” Asher affirmed seriously. Gabriel said nothing else as he continued on with his tasks.

“Eat,” Asher said to Lila gently as she patiently waited for Gabriel’s return. “It’ll get cold otherwise.”

Lila begrudgingly did so. Well, it was begrudging until her first bite. Somehow, though the omelette was simple in nature, Gabriel had managed to pack it full of flavour. Asher silently poured them both juice, seeming determined to not look at her eating.

Gabriel returned with his own plate of omelette and began digging in. It didn’t take long for Asher to finish his food, and he sat extraordinarily straight in his chair, staring ahead at the wall before him. At this point, Lila was about halfway through her food and was starting to truly battle with it now. She hadn’t expected something so simple to be weighing on her stomach this much. She started to edge her plate towards Asher under the disapproving eye of Gabriel.

Asher took her food without question, shovelling the remainder into his mouth, Gabriel’s occasionally heavy sighs serving as a rather unpleasant backdrop to breakfast.

Once all the plates were empty, Gabriel asked what their plan for the rest of the day was.

“We’re going to take a walk,” Asher said vaguely. Gabriel eyed them suspiciously.

“I hope that you’re taking my advice in being a gentleman very seriously,” Gabriel warned. “No funny business, no confusing the point.”

Asher’s face flushed a deep red and he stood up. “Of course I am, Gabriel. I heard you loud and clear when you were yelling at me.”

“Just making sure,” Gabriel said lightly, giving Lila a wink. “Enjoy your walk, you two.”

“Thanks. See you at lunch, Gabriel,” Asher replied, his face still showcasing a pinkish hue. They exited into the chilly morning air, Lila wrapping her oversized knit jumper closer to her body.

“Is that warm enough?” Asher asked, the sincere concern evident in his voice. She nodded. Once they started walking, she’d warm up nicely, even if she was freezing now.

Asher opened the side gate, gesturing for Lila to go through when Marlene briskly walked out.

“Oh, what a pleasant surprise,” Marlene said, her tone breezy. She smiled before checking her watch. There was something different about her expression that Lila couldn’t place. Her best approximation was that Marlene looked tense for whatever reason.

“I would stay and chat, but I have places to be,” she said, speedwalking away. “See you later, Mr Wagner. You too, Lila.”

“See you,” Asher called behind Marlene. She didn’t look back, but she waved a hand in the air in acknowledgement. Lila exchanged a glance with Asher.

“Isn’t she a bit late?” Lila observed, pulling out her phone. It was 8.45am. Usually, Marlene would have been long gone by now.

“Yeah,” Asher agreed, looking bothered by this circumstance. “She’s very prompt. Almost eerily so. So… why is she late?”

They pondered in silence for a few moments, neither offering any ideas.

“Well… I guess we’ll keep on keeping on,” Lila suggested.

“Sure,” Asher shrugged. “I guess it doesn’t really matter. Probably better for us that we saw her leave, to be honest.”

Lila made a sound of agreement and they continued on their journey through Asher’s yard. They passed by the worker’s cottage, which seemed exactly like it had the last time Lila laid eyes on it. She wondered briefly if perhaps Marlene had beefed up security in there. If she had, Lila wasn’t about to find out though.

They stepped onto the cobblestoned road, still without speaking. Asher slowed his pace to more of a stroll, which Lila matched without really thinking about it. The road seemed just as long as it had on their first visit, but the colours seemed more vibrant somehow. Perhaps it was because they hadn’t run for their lives to get here that made Lila feel much more at peace. She was definitely still missing a parasol, though.

Asher kept his hands in his pockets, humming a tune that Lila didn’t recognise. Maybe he was making it up? She gave him a sideways glance, taking in his appearance. The gentle morning sunrays seemed to gild his chestnut-coloured hair, lighten his golden-brown eyes and even warm his skin tone. He looked almost ethereal amongst the background of the knotted and gnarled trees twisting and curling beside the road.

His eyes met hers and crinkled in response to the gentle, genuine smile on his face.

“What?” he asked, his eyes glittering with curiosity.

“Nothing,” Lila replied, feeling her face heating up. She pulled her jumper around herself again, though she wasn’t feeling anywhere near as cold as she had been when they started their walk.

She could still feel his eyes on her, but she suddenly felt too nervous, too jittery, to meet them.

“… So… after today,” Asher said slowly, his voice wavering slightly. “What’s your plans?”

“After today?” Lila blinked before her eyes began to focus on an interesting, incoming crack in the cobblestones. “You mean for the holidays?”

“Well, yeah.” He sounded sheepish now. “Today’s Friday. We’ve got two weekends and one week left before we have to go back to school.”

“I hadn’t thought about it. Why, do you reckon you’ve cracked the case? You don’t need me to come over again?” She tried to sound teasing, but a sudden burst of cold air ran right through her, causing her teeth to chatter.

“No,” Asher replied firmly. “But… I mean… I was thinking we could enjoy the holidays a little. Do something else, y’know. Take a break.”

Finally, Lila looked up at him. His expression seemed anxious and expectant – as if he was waiting for her to shoot the suggestion down.

“Like what?” Lila queried, looking back down at her white, shaky hands.

“Well… after I woke up last night, I couldn’t go back to sleep for a bit,” Asher confessed, pulling out his phone. “So, I was doing some research about things we could do. On Sunday, there’s an event at the coast. A show, with some rides and some fireworks. I mean, technically it’s on tomorrow, too, but I think it’ll be way too crowded to be enjoyable. It looks like we can take the train there – it’s not too far from the station.”

“Oh,” Lila uttered simply, her face reddening as a thought floated through her mind. Was this a date? It sounded like a date.

“… Oh? We… don’t have to. Do anything. I mean, don’t mind me. You can spend your Sunday how you want. I-I only saw it in passing. It’s probably expensive. The tickets. And show food and all that is always expensive, so-”

“Sounds like fun. Can’t wait,” she interrupted his rambling with a smile. Their eyes connected for a split second before Asher pointedly looked elsewhere beyond Lila. He rubbed his chin with his hand, noticeably taking a deep breath.

“Neither,” he said after a beat passed.

“What about tomorrow?” Lila questioned, attempting to sound nonchalant.

“Tomorrow? Hmm… you’re welcome to come over,” Asher replied, pursing his lips. “If you want, we can watch one of Marlene’s streams again. Or we could just hang out. Maybe play a few games, watch something. U-Unless you think it’s lame.”

Lila shook her head ‘no’ forcefully. “Definitely not lame.”

“Did you want to stay over again tonight?” Asher’s question sounded strained as though trying to rein in his hopeful feelings.

“I can’t,” Lila replied quietly. “Mum wants me back home tonight at a reasonable time.”

“What time is ‘reasonable’?”

Lila shrugged. “I think just after dinner, probably, if not earlier. I reckon if she sees that I’m back home in one piece and that I listened to her request, she might be okay with me staying over another night. But I’ll have to actually do the listening part first, unfortunately.”

“That… makes sense.” Asher’s expression didn’t seem pleased, but he at least didn’t object to Lila’s statement.

“What about the rest of the week?” Lila picked at one of her nails as she waited for a response.

“The… rest?” Asher looked bewildered before his face started to turn pink. “I had a couple ideas, but I thought we… well… after everything. Since we’re not together, it might be a bit much. Gabriel will probably actually murder me with cheese. And I thought you might not want to… y’know, so you can take a break and everything. Some time to yourself.”

“Time to myself?” Lila repeated, now looking bewildered as well. A small smirk crept across her face. “Why would I ever want that?”

His eyes seemed uncertain until, it appeared, he could see that she was being playful again. He exhaled loudly, placing his hands on his hips. She wasn’t quite sure what reaction that was, but when he smiled at her, she at least supposed it wasn’t negative.

“Well, I also saw that on Wednesday night, there’s a movie in the park nearby. Y’know, the one we normally go to. They’re setting up a whole bunch of beanbags and putting up a projector.”

“What movie?”

Asher shrugged. “Surprise one. Probably kid-friendly, since it’s in the park and all that. Maybe a Disney movie?”

“Sounds mysteriously delightful,” Lila grinned. “Just how much research did you do?”

“A bit.”

The idea that Asher had researched things for the two of them to do together, for some reason, made Lila feel flustered and giddy all at once. Truthfully, though, she had some ideas of her own.

“There’s a bookstore in the city that I’ve been thinking about going to,” she said softly. Her eyes flickered to his face, and he looked back seeming rapt with attention. “… With you,” she added in a whisper.

“Really?”

“Y-Yeah. Um, it sells antique books and rare books, as well as y’know, ordinary books. I went once a few years ago, and it’s floor to ceiling packed with hidden gems.”

“I’m sold,” Asher replied, his tone incredibly serious. “We can go whenever you want.”

“W-Well, I think in the city, they usually have late-night shopping on Fridays. We could go on Friday and not have as much time pressure to visit all the shops that we want to.”

“Sounds like you’ve thought about it.”

“Briefly.”

“Anywhere else you wanna go?” Asher queried. Their eyes met and he tripped, catching himself just before he could fall completely. Lila pressed her lips together to prevent herself from laughing at his near-miss. A beat passed and it felt safe for her to answer his question.

“Someone told me a while ago about a place called Bounce, I think. It’s essentially just filled with trampolines. I… thought it might be fun. If you wanted to.”

“Never heard of it,” Asher said, tapping his chin, his cheeks tinged with a reddish hue. “Sounds perfect.”

“I saw that they do reduced prices on Tuesdays.”

“Even better,” Asher laughed. “I didn’t realise that you’d thought about things to do, either.”

“It’s just places that I’ve wanted to go to,” Lila said sheepishly. “But… since it seems like you wanna hang out still, I reckon they’d be good places for us to go to together.”

Asher was silent for a few moments. For a horrible second, Lila was convinced that she had misread his intentions. Did he actually want to hang out?

“The… other days,” he eventually said, “we could just hang out at mine? O-Or yours. If you wanted me to hang out at yours. I don’t mind.”

“I think your place is better than mine,” Lila laughed, relief easing her mind. “Besides, it’s a bit squashy, I think.”

Asher nodded. Then he sighed, running his fingers through his hair.

“I suppose we don’t know when we’d be done looking through the photos, and deciding where to go from here,” he added softly. “So, it’d be good to have a couple days spare. In case we have to do some more investigating. It gets a bit complicated when school’s on.”

Lila murmured her agreement. They were silent for a minute or so, with Lila firmly keeping her arms crossed underneath her chest. Now that she was sure that Asher did still want to hang out with her, her hands felt the urge to go wandering. She was starting to feel far too comfortable in Asher’s presence, even in the quiet. Eventually, she’d do something she couldn’t take back. Keeping herself in check was getting harder with each passing second. Would she even survive the rest of the holidays if they kept hanging out?

‘But… if we keep hanging out,’ Lila thought as they followed the winding path, ‘maybe he’d feel ready to date…’

She shook her head, dispelling the thought. ‘That’s not what’s important right now,’ she admonished herself. The farmhouse was slowly coming into view, after all.

It looked just as desolate and decrepit as their last visit. A wintry gust of wind rattled the windows, as though trumpeting their arrival. The icy cold hand of fear began to tighten its grip on Lila’s stomach as her wide eyes took in every detail. She wondered, after all her curiosity and bravado vanished in the face of the creaking farmhouse, why she was here after all.

Asher stepped forward, craning his neck as he inspected the windows. He was still a couple of metres from the splintering stairs when he looked back at Lila, his face pale.

“I don’t see anyone,” he said in a low whisper, his eyes darting around behind her. She turned in case there was something there, but saw nothing.

“… I know we don’t have the disposable cameras anymore, but… should we take pictures on our phones?” Lila suggested, hunching her shoulders in an effort to discourage the goosebumps trailing down her neck.

“Good idea,” Asher replied grimly, taking his phone out. They both snapped pictures of the surrounding area. With each succeeding picture, Lila’s grip on her phone weakened. Would the person, or thing, reappear? What was that?

Most importantly, though – assuming it was Marlene, why did she take the pictures of the farmhouse and try to remove traces of the existence of said pictures?

Clearly, they needed to investigate. Was it relevant to Asher’s Mum? Or… was it relevant to a secret Marlene was hiding?

Despite this need, though, Lila’s feet were firmly rooted to the ground. She couldn’t will herself to move closer.

“Are you okay?” Asher’s voice pushed through the fog clouding her mind. She looked up, meeting his warm, concerned eyes with her fear-filled ones.

“Ye-” Lila stopped herself, taking a deep breath before shaking her head. “No. I’m… terrified.”

Asher nodded, reaching an arm out to her.

“If you need to, you can hold on,” he offered quietly, looking down at the ground rather than at Lila. Her heart skipped a beat, her fear transferring from the depths of the eerie farmhouse to taking a step like this with Asher. But, as her knees shook, nearly buckling underneath her, she found she had no choice if she was going to find answers.

“T-Thanks,” Lila’s voice trembled, her hands even more so, as she accepted his arm. He nodded again, his cheeks rosy. A rush of tingles ran through the arm holding his, zapping her with sudden energy. She began to feel hot underneath her jumper from both his warmth and the heat from her cheeks, desperately trying to think about something else other than the fact that they were touching.

He wordlessly moved forward and, under his guidance, Lila found the strength to follow. He led her towards the steps, testing the first one with his foot.

“Should… be okay,” he said tentatively, glancing at her. “You ready?”

Lila took a deep, bracing breath before giving Asher a hesitant smile. “As I’ll ever be.”

Evidently taking this as a ‘yes’, Asher carried on up the stairs, gently helping Lila with the arm she was still holding.

Once they reached the landing, Lila let go of Asher’s arm.

“You can keep holding on,” he said, seeming surprised that she let go.

“Nah, should be okay now. I just… couldn’t get myself to move back there. But now that we’re both here, I feel a bit braver.”

“Alright,” Asher replied, “if you need me, I’ll be here.”

“I know. I trust you, remember. I know I can count on you. Thank you.”

“… You’re welcome. A-And I, you.”

They exchanged a small smile before turning their attention to the peeling, discoloured front door. Asher straightened his posture before reaching for the doorknob.

“Wait,” Lila interrupted him just as he was about to grasp it. “What’s your plan?”

“My plan?” he blinked blankly at her. “For what?”

“What if whoever, or whatever, that was is still here?”

“Oh.” Asher lowered his hand, looking thoughtful. “Slap ‘em?”

It was Lila’s turn to blink blankly at him. “… Sorry?”

He shifted his weight between his feet, his expression embarrassed. “… Don’t slap ‘em?”

Lila exhaled heavily, banishing the impending snort in an effort to remain serious. “Look, if you want to slap them, go ham, I guess. I was hoping for something a bit more planned out than that though.”

“I’m panicked outta my mind, Lila, I’m probably more likely to kick them and then run screaming,” Asher said frankly, placing his hands on his hips.

“You don’t seem panicked,” Lila observed.

“Trying not to be,” Asher replied briskly. “Don’t wanna psych myself out too hard. Then I’ll be unproductive. Fake it ‘till you make it and all that.”

“Fair enough, I guess.”

Asher sighed, seemingly more to himself than in response to Lila, before finally gripping the doorknob. With a low groan, the door swung open, allowing small amounts of sunlight to softly shine into the entryway.