Chapter Ninety-Nine

Asher said nothing on their journey to the rumpus room, though he slowed his pace to match Lila’s. He opened the door for her, inviting her inside with a hand gesture. She scurried in, taking her usual place with an unusually prim posture. He closed the door with a sigh before sitting down on the couch.

Lila wasn’t exactly sure what to say, and the silence between them lingered for an inordinate amount of time. Then, Asher made a popping sound with his mouth.

“… So… you’re probably wondering why I’m not upset,” he said reluctantly, his eyes lifting to her face. She nodded vigorously.

“After taking a minute to think… I… well. It’s just… thanks.”

“Thanks? For what?”

“I’ve said before that I like the way you think. The way your mind works is different to mine. And… it opens me up to potential possibilities that I’d never consider. I still think it’s unlikely that Gabriel and even Marlene, I suppose, killed Piper but… you made some good points. Hard to hear, but there’s value in considering all different types of views, rather than being stuck in my own head. I mean… what if it ends up being true?”

He ruffled his hair, tugging at it briefly before letting his hand fall to his side with a thump. “And… it’s downright a disturbing possibility. But one that I need to keep in mind. Prepare for. If I keep my mind closed and my eyes blind, then I’ve failed in using my brain to its fullest.”

His eyes nervously met hers. “Does that make sense?”

“So… you’re not mad because I gave you a bogus theory?”

He laughed – this one hearty, full of both life and relief. “Kinda. I’m more mad at myself for wanting to dismiss something that’s just as valid as any other theory – after all, they’re just theories. Even if I don’t wanna hear them, or think that they’re true – sometimes you just have to face the music. Give it a fair chance. I still don’t think it’s true, though.”

“I don’t either.”

He scrutinised her through sharp, narrow eyes. “Is that because I shut you down straight away? Well, about Gabriel, at least.”

Lila shook her head earnestly. “Not at all. Gabriel’s just a cinnamon roll disguised as a man.”

Asher gave an almost violent laugh, wiping at his eyes. “I didn’t expect that – and I didn’t expect it to be so accurate, either.”

Lila chuckled before continuing her analysis. “His reaction to me staying at home during the week seemed completely sincere – and his apology afterwards too, for that matter. Then, there’s the fact that Marlene was on Vanuatu with you when Piper’s body was found, and probably dumped. So Marlene couldn’t have done that, if she was dumped on Monday.”

Asher folded his arms across his chest, evaluating her statement with a furrowed brow. “Alright. I’ll believe you for now.”

Lila’s posture relaxed entirely. Asher seemed to notice this as he shifted his own posture, his face pulled into one of discomfort.

“Sorry. I made you stress out, didn’t I? I… should get better at communicating,” he said softly.

“You’re good,” Lila replied. “I understand. I’m sorry that I sprung that on you. Of course you wouldn’t be happy.”

Asher roughed up his hair with both hands, making a sound of frustration. Then, he suddenly clapped them together once, as if a thought struck him.

“Did you manage to find stuff about your Dad’s investigation?” he queried, his eyes glimmering with hope.

“Actually, I did,” Lila replied, reaching over to her bag. Then, she stopped. “Something weird happened, actually.”

“What, something else? It’s been a weird week.”

“No kidding… well… when I went to grab my wallet the other day-” Lila cut herself off as she remembered why she had to grab her wallet. There was no way she was going to tell Asher she needed it to get the Pill. Blushing, she carried on, Asher’s expression seeming none the wiser as to the fact that she paused.

“-and, uh, I… um.”

There was no use. She was completely flustered now.

“What happened?” Asher asked, his eyes not leaving her face. Lila inhaled deeply, trying again.

“S-So I was looking for my wallet in the bags I took to yours. And I found the folder we took from the farmhouse and the stack of photos of Marlene’s place in one of them.”

Asher blanched, alarm etched into his face. “B-But we put those away in my room.”

“I know. Before you left for the airport, Marlene told me she had to pack my bags – so, she probably put them there.”

“Why?” Asher placed a hand on his chin, clearly perturbed by this new information. “If it were me, I’d throw away all the photos of my place. And if she didn’t know about the folder, she wouldn’t have known to give it to you. It was with all my school stuff, like even under a few things. So… it was entirely intentional.”

“Yeah. I’d thought as much too.”

“Weird.” Asher combed through his hair with his right hand before resting it flat on his head. “Even if… she didn’t murder Piper, I still can’t figure out what she’s doing or why she’s doing it.”

“Neither… but… let’s park all that for now,” Lila suggested, pulling both the folder and the envelope of photos out of the bag. “I recorded a video of me going through my Dad’s office. Here, I’ll pull it up on my phone. I tried to think about how this folder and the photos tie into my Dad’s investigation-”

“Hold up, they do?”

Lila took her phone out, opened the video and passed it to him, accepting that it would just be much easier to show him what happened rather than stumble over herself and confuse him further. He gingerly took it, his unsure eyes meeting her encouraging ones, and began watching with the volume turned up. Lila cringed once more at the sound of her voice. Asher glanced at her, but it didn’t seem as though he really ‘saw’ her as he stared back down at her phone.

Lila began to flick through the photos and the folder again, spreading them across the coffee table, as her past self went through trying to figure out how to unlock her Dad’s filing cabinets. She heard a snicker from Asher just after her past self complained about not practicing, but tried to pay him no mind.

She still didn’t feel smart enough to figure out anything new. Frowning, she poured over the documents in the folder again. Evelyn Whitley… that name still bothered her to no end. But why?

Eventually, Asher passed her back her phone, his face oddly flushed.

“Thanks,” Lila smiled. He seemed to be avoiding her gaze as he sat forward, his attention instead on the folder.

“Everything okay?” she questioned, pushing it closer to him. His blush seemed to deepen further as he nodded.

“Y-Yeah. Just… thinking.”

“Ah, about the investigation on the Hospital?”

“Not… exactly.”

“What, then?”

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it. Uh, so, analgesics and missing funds, right?”

Lila cast a sceptical look at him. He picked up the folder in its entirety, bringing it to his lap. She quickly stopped looking, her own blush forming on her cheeks. What was up with this weird energy in here? Why did she suddenly feel so hot?

With a jolt, she remembered how her recording had ended – with her phone falling straight to her thighs. Was… that what was bothering him? What was he thinking about, if it wasn’t about the Hospital?

… Was it what she was starting to think about?

With a gulp, Lila readjusted her sweater, trying to inconspicuously cool herself down. Her fingers brushed against the cold metal of the necklace Asher had helped put on her, and her blush grew more vibrant.

“… seem connected.”

“H-Huh?”

She blinked rapidly, zoning back into the conversation. Her eyes drifted to his face, which had returned to its normal colour.

“I, uh, said that they do seem connected. This folder and your Dad’s investigation. But the how… I’m just not sure.”

“O-Oh. Yeah. Um, well, I also typed up a couple things on my laptop. Give me a sec.”

She took out her laptop from her bag, swiftly opened the document and presented it to Asher. He took it carefully, his eyes darting down the page. Was he doing his speed-reading thing again?

“Hmm,” he finally said thoughtfully, returning her laptop to her hands. “So, from your notes, I guess your main thoughts are that your Dad knows nothing about my Mum’s disappearance, that the investigation he’s working on for my Dad, which started in August last year, is about missing funds and analgesics, that it’s unlikely that either of those things were perpetrated by patients, that the amount of missing drugs had to be significant enough to capture the attention of my Dad (or other Hospital staff). Then, you added that your Dad had a list of roles at the corporate level and a document listing analgesics. You also reckoned that the role descriptions were to know what abilities certain employees had that could help with committing fraud and theft, and that he had the list of analgesics to help pinpoint which analgesics or figure out why certain ones were taken. I basically just read from your notes but is that about right?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

Asher placed his hand on his chin, squinting at her laptop. “Your writing about all this was pretty formal. Extravagant even. It’s… cute.”

Lila’s face reddened as she opened the lid. Could she hide behind it? If she tried now, she’d look super weird…

“Sorry. I know you don’t like being called cute.”

“I-It’s… fine.”

“Lila,” his tone was cautionary, but she raised a hand to stop him from speaking further.

“I’m serious. It’s fine. A-As long as it’s from you.”

She trained her eyes directly onto the screen, which swam before her. She couldn’t read anything on it, for her mind was swirling in time to the tornado of butterflies that had awakened within. He didn’t speak for several seconds. Then –

“Alright. Lila, you’re really cute. Adorable. Pretty. All of those things, and so much more. Thought I’d just mention that.”

‘Oh God,’ Lila thought as her heart beat strongly in her chest. Was her heart about to burst out of it? What was happening? Why’d he say that? And why couldn’t she stop smiling?

“Sorry. You seem freaked out. I didn’t mean to freak you out. It was a bit much. But… I couldn’t resist. Sorry.”

She was no longer in command of her body. She wanted to look at him, but her eyes didn’t want to obey. She sat, frozen, her mind processing what he said – syllable by syllable.

“Ah, shit. Alright, um, well, b-back to the investigation,” he said hastily. “S-So, I think you’re right – where it has to reach a certain point of concern to bring in someone like your Dad to investigate. But… as for where that point is, I’m not sure.”

Lila stiffly nodded in acknowledgement, but couldn’t do much else still.

“As for the connection between these documents, I reckon… that the blueprint is to show different avenues of how someone could smuggle the drugs out of the Hospital. Then, the list of employees – well, that’s so whoever’s running the investigation can match up the people to the roles. Find potential witnesses, maybe. And, finally, the money orders… I know a little about finances, but I don’t think I’d know enough to figure out if these money orders are meant to be the fraudulent ones, or if it’s payment for drugs or anything like that.”

Lila felt a bit more in control of herself as she finally looked up at him. “I don’t think we need to finish this investigation. My Dad’s more than capable. I’m just more interested as to why whoever left the folder behind did so.”

“Yeah… I guess that’s true. The investigation will run its course.”

Asher touched the document outlining the analgesics. He frowned, tapping the list.

“… Something’s… there’s something that sounds familiar about all of this.”

“Besides Evelyn Whitley?”

He looked at her in confusion. “I still dunno about her, but there’s something else. What is it?”

Lila bit her bottom lip. What was Asher seeing that she didn’t?

Shuffling closer so that she could see the list as well, Lila tried to think. Now that he pointed it out… it was bothering her too. It niggled at her, itching to escape. What was it?

An inkling was beginning to take hold in her mind. What… was… it?

“May I?” Lila asked, pointing at the list.

“Go for it,” Asher responded, handing it over.

Lila scanned the list again. Codeine… Fentanyl… Morphine…

“Why does codeine sound so familiar?” Lila asked, her eyes flickering to Asher’s face. He looked momentarily puzzled before he clicked his fingers.

“It’s been a while, but in 2018, codeine was basically outlawed from being available over-the-counter. Nowadays if you need codeine for, uh, I think that list says it’s commonly used for pain relief and treatment of cold and flu symptoms, you need a prescription. It’s much more regulated now.”

“That must be why Dad crossed it off the list,” Lila murmured, running her finger along the line her Dad had drawn through ‘codeine’. She looked up at Asher with a small smile on her face.

“Thanks, Mr Dux. I knew I could count on you for the answer,” she said playfully. He gave an exaggerated bow.

“All in a day’s work. Being a Dux means knowing things, you know.”

Lila laughed – but it was cut short.

Dux.

“… Livi and a couple others are running a side gig, using the Banker’s money to fund it. It’s been working pretty well.”

“What’s the side gig?”

“It’s… supplying drugs, to whoever wants them. Mostly to the sports teams.”

“D-Drugs?”

“Nothing specifically illicit, like cocaine or anything like that. Um, not sure if you’ve heard of it, but it’s morphine. Pain reliever that they use in hospitals.”

Lila stared at Asher. She wasn’t sure how to articulate what she’d remembered – but she was dead certain. That’s why it was familiar.

“T-Theo,” Lila uttered quietly. A flash of hurt crossed through Asher’s eyes.

“I’m Asher, Lila.”

“I know that,” Lila replied swiftly, panicking now that he’d gotten the wrong idea. “I just remembered what Theo told me.”

“What’d you remember?”

“Livi, and that group – they’re supplying morphine to the sports teams, and whoever wants them at school.”

Asher’s jaw fell open. “I can’t believe I forgot.”

“I can’t believe I forgot too.”

Asher’s eyes darted from the left and right sides of the coffee table, his face completely sombre.

“Lila – do you reckon Livi’s group is getting it from my Dad’s hospital?”

“I… I have no idea,” Lila replied truthfully. “Maybe?”

Asher shot up into a standing position. “I’m just gonna grab something real quick – be right back.”

He virtually sprinted away from the couch and into his room, reappearing almost as quickly with a book in his hands.

“Let’s write down the people from Grade 12 that we know are involved in Livi’s group and then Grade 12s that are potentially involved. People like Theo, or maybe peripheral friends or something. Maybe we could figure out the network – see where it’s spreading.” His voice sounded desperate as he heavily sat back down on the couch, flipping open the book. Now that he was closer, Lila could see that it was a copy of this year’s yearbook for Forestglade College.

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She created a new page in her document with a large table separated into two columns – ‘Involved’ and ‘Associated’ – as Asher continued flickering through the yearbook, his concentration emanating from him like a thick fog.

Then –

“Oh, there you are,” Asher chuckled, pointing at Lila amongst the sea of her Grade 11 PC classmates.

“Thought you were looking for Grade 12s,” Lila laughed, taking a peek.

“I mean, yeah, but Grade 11 comes first,” Asher replied abashedly. He turned the page – landing on the Grade 12s.

“Damn, what’s Livi’s class?” he questioned, glancing up at Lila. Lila shrugged.

“Honestly, didn’t even know she existed until last term. Couldn’t tell you anything about her, even her last name.”

“She’d be in here as Olivia,” Asher noted, turning his eyes back down to the yearbook. “I think you’ll need to help me find ‘em.”

He angled the yearbook so that she could see it clearly from where she was sitting. Lila skimmed both of the pages that she could see, trying to see any familiar students. Now that she thought about it, none of the Grade 12s had given their last names when they introduced themselves, nor did she know any of their classes. Not even Theo’s.

With a sigh, she moved her laptop away, using her finger to help with combing through the faces within the class photos on the page closest to her.

“Ah, there’s Theo. Uh, Theo Liang,” Asher said after a few moments, pointing. Lila turned to her laptop, noting down Theo’s name and class – 12B – in the ‘Associated’ column.

Lila continued her own search, landing on Zack. “There’s Zack. Zack Anderson, 12E.”

She wasn’t quite sure how involved Zack was but recalled his efforts in helping Theo during soccer practice. She had a strong suspicion that it had been morphine that he gave to Theo, knowing what she knew now… She put him in the ‘Involved’ column.

“Uh, looks like Harper’s in 12A. Harper Tran,” Asher pointed at Harper amongst the 12A class. Lila noted her in the ‘Associated’ column. She didn’t have any information as to whether Harper was directly involved in the morphine ring… but… in saying that, she was the Captain of the Dancettes. If morphine was being supplied to sports teams, the Dancettes may be connected…

Lila scratched her head before moving Harper to ‘Involved’. As long as she was on the list…

“There’s Jake, um Jake Taylor. 12C,” Asher observed. Lila placed him in the ‘Associated’ column before pausing.

“Does Jake do a sport?” she asked, frowning at her table.

“Rugby,” Asher confirmed, peering even more closely at the yearbook photos. With a sigh, Lila moved Jake to ‘Involved’. As far as she was concerned, anyone who was connected to a sport may as well be ‘Involved’ for now. She focused on the page closest to her again, inspecting classes D, E and F.

“Can’t see anyone else on my page,” Lila said tentatively.

“Neither,” Asher replied. “I think there’s another page.”

Lila turned it, revealing classes G, H and I.

“There’s Vivian. Vivan Macleod, 12G. And right next to her is Olivia Malouf. Huh…” Asher trailed off, seeming surprised. “Didn’t realise Olivia had an Arabic last name.”

“Malouf is Arabic?”

“Yeah. Uh, when I was younger, I was tutored by a University student – his name was Joseph Malouf. He was Lebanese, actually. I wonder if they’re related…”

“Maybe.”

Lila put both Vivian and Olivia into the ‘Involved’ column. She had just saved the document when Asher inhaled abruptly.

“What?” Lila whipped her head to face him.

“You’ll never guess,” Asher said, his voice trembling slightly.

“Guess what?”

Asher wordlessly pointed to Jason – sitting proudly with his 12H classmates – and Lila cast her eyes down to the list of names. Her heart stopped.

Jason Whitley.

“I-Is that why Evelyn Whitley sounds familiar?” Lila asked breathlessly. “Since Jason’s virtually everywhere as the Head Boy.”

“Probably. I didn’t realise that was Jason’s last name.”

“Why didn’t you remember his last name?” Lila questioned curiously. “I thought you would since you’re in the upper echelons of the College.”

“He’s not in any of the circles I travel. Besides, I’m too busy trying to get Isaac to shut up and sit still in Assembly to pay attention to anything that goes on there. I may be the Dux, but I don’t care too much about what other people are achieving. It’s hard enough to stay in my own lane.”

“Well, that tracks, I guess,” Lila muttered, adding Jason’s name to the ‘Involved’ column. Were Evelyn and Jason related?

“You know, something has bothered me since we first met the Grade 12s,” Asher piped up, tapping on Jason’s face in the yearbook. “He told Livi that I was the Dux of Grade 11, and ‘the son of the CEO of Forestglade Private Hospital’. I thought that was weird at the time since I’ve never really talked about it at school. But… if he’s related to Evelyn, then… it’s kind of a given that he’d know who I am since she’s the Vice. I imagine that it would’ve come up once or twice – that the CEO’s son also goes to Forestglade College. At least, that kinda stuff is what I imagine old people talk about, besides work.”

“That makes sense.”

They sat in a contemplative silence. What did it mean? If Jason was involved in the morphine ring at school… then was his relative, Evelyn Whitley, supplying it from the Hospital? That didn’t make sense – she was second in command over there. Why would she jeopardise it like that – just for a bunch of high school athletes?

Lila tapped the edge of her laptop. This would be the perfect time to do some open-source searches on Jason and Evelyn. At the very least, they should establish whether they were related. Surely there were lots of Whitleys floating around.

“Alright, I’m gonna do some research on them,” Lila said determinedly. “I hardly know anyone in Grade 12, except my hockey girls and I haven’t noticed anything related to drugs or morphine with them. Out of us two, I reckon you might have a better shot at thinking about who else might be connected.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

Lila swiftly opened up Facebook, searching for Jason Whitley. She found him pretty quickly, given they had 58 mutual friends, and it looked like his profile was open.

He didn’t have any family members listed, but he had a few posts of moments he was tagged in, like when he received his title of Head Boy at the end of last year, and Christmas celebrations with family. These posts originated from a Morris Whitley. Was that his Dad?

Morris’ profile had far less information than Jason’s. She could see that he was listed as ‘Married’ but not to whom. With a sigh, Lila returned to the posts Morris had made. Perhaps he’d tagged Evelyn…

That again bore no results – there was no one else tagged besides Jason. Scrolling through the rest of his posts, Lila saw a few birthday messages. A lot of them seemed to come from Forestglade College students. A few others were clearly from family members.

“Bingo,” Lila murmured to herself. There was one, posted by an Eve Dupont, that read:

To my not-so-baby boy, happy sweet 16th! To think you would grow into the fine boy that you have. I am so proud. Love Mum.

PS I hope you enjoy taking your new car for a spin – on your Ls, of course, which you passed today!

A few love heart, smiley face and present emojis were intermingled throughout the message. Eve could be Evelyn. Was Dupont her maiden name? Or had she remarried? The current profile picture on Eve’s Facebook page was of a frangipani flower – so Lila clicked on her profile. Perhaps she’d been tagged in something that showed her face…

Eve’s profile was sparse. It didn’t take long for Lila to find something.

It was a photo that Eve shared from the Forestglade Private Hospital’s Facebook page to her own personal one – a headshot from 2015, announcing the appointment of Evelyn Whitley to the Vice CEO position. This photo matched the photo of Evelyn that Lila had seen amongst the photos in Marlene’s notebook.

Although… perhaps Eve was just sharing it for fun. She needed something else.

She left Eve’s page as a separate tab for now. Looking back through Jason’s profile, she scrolled back further. There was a post from three years ago by a different person – John Dupont – featuring a photo of people sitting around a roast on a dining room table:

Happy family times at the Whitleys! Delicious lunch with my sister Eve Whitley, nephew Jason Whitley and brother-in-law Morris Whitley.

The names were underlined in the post, indicating that they were tags. Clicking on ‘Eve Whitley’ redirected to ‘Eve Dupont’.

Goosebumps trailed their way down Lila’s neck and arms. She’d been right.

“Asher, Evelyn Whitley is Jason’s Mum.”

He looked up, seeming stunned by the revelation. “Wait, seriously? His Mum?”

“Yeah,” Lila replied, showing him her laptop and going through what she’d found.

“Damn,” Asher gave a low whistle. “That’s why he walks around like he’s the best thing since sliced bread.”

“I mean, he is the Head Boy and popular,” Lila stated, inclining her head. “That’d be enough to give anyone a big head.”

Asher looked thoughtful for a moment before suggesting a few more names for Lila to add to the ‘Associated’ column. Lila didn’t recognise any of them but dutifully noted them down.

Lila placed the laptop on the coffee table before them both. Was the supply of morphine at school coming from Jason? Which, in turn, was coming from his Mum, the second-in-command of the Hospital?

“What should we do with this info?” Asher asked quietly, resting his head in his left hand.

“I… dunno,” Lila replied truthfully. “Should… should we tell my Dad?”

“Your Dad?”

“Well, it seems like his investigation is still ongoing. If he hasn’t found out the ‘who’ just yet, maybe pointing out the connection to Evelyn would be helpful. It’d help your Dad, too.”

“It would… but how would we even go about it? The only reason why we know he’s investigating missing analgesics is because you broke into his filing cabinets and rifled through his folders.”

“True…” Lila sighed heavily, the beginning stages of exhaustion starting to take hold. “I guess we’ll have to think on that one.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I do think we need to tell him. But we just need to be careful, I think. Especially since the morphine ring is connected to Daniel.”

“You’re right, as usual.”

“I like the sound of that.”

Lila glanced at him to see him grinning playfully at her.

“You’ve heard it plenty before, I’m sure,” she chuckled.

“I suppose I have,” Asher replied, eyeing her carefully. “But it sounds the best coming from your lips.”

Lila’s heart skipped a beat. ‘Why does he keep saying stuff like that to me?’ she thought, battling the blush spreading across her face. ‘Doesn’t he realise what it’s doing to me?’

“… Asher… I… I don’t know how to put this… but… I think it’d be best if you stopped saying things like that,” Lila said quietly, staring directly at her knees. “It’s… well, it’s… frustrating. Since… I want-”

“I’m sorry,” Asher interjected, his complexion a brilliant scarlet. “I understand. It’s my fault entirely.”

On one hand, Lila wanted to hear Asher say those things to her until the end of time – but on the other, her heart ached. She yearned to be his, and him hers, but if he wasn’t ready… or was he? It was confusing.

She knew that he didn’t want to hurt her, but… there was no escaping the undeniable truth that it was hurting her. At the same time, she didn’t want to hurt him by shutting him down, either. Twisting her hands in her lap, she wanted to at least explain that part. How would she do that in a way that he understood where she was coming from?

“Asher-”

“No, no. You’re absolutely within your rights to ask me to stop.” He looked incredibly guilty, averting his eyes from her entirely. “I sometimes forget myself. But it’s not fair on you, and I’ve been told time and time again. I just can’t seem to fucking get it together.”

Lila tried to think of a response but before she could, Asher clapped his face with his hands.

“I think we should take a break,” he suggested.

A break? Did… he want to take a break from Lila altogether? Again?

“Wanna play a game?” he asked, already grabbing a set of joy cons. His suggestion was without his usual enthusiasm – sounding more as though he was forcing himself to move on.

Lila breathed a small sigh of relief. He probably meant a break from their investigation.

“Y-Yeah. But maybe we should pack away all this stuff first.”

“Good idea.”

They packed away the contents of the envelope and folder before something occurred to Lila.

“Should I take these home with me?” she asked, patting the folder.

Asher paused before lowering the envelope of photos next to her hand. “Well, it’s not as though Marlene hasn’t already seen them,” he said slowly.

“She has tampered with them once before, though.”

Asher scratched the side of his jaw, clearly deep in rumination.

“You’re right. But wouldn’t it be bad if your Mum or Dad found that stuff?” he eventually inquired.

“Probably… but they also don’t suspect anything. Sometimes Mum comes into my room, but usually my room is tidy enough that she doesn’t look through anything. I don’t think anyone would be motivated to look through my stuff. Clare rifles around for clothes and things every so often and Daniel sneaks in to borrow my highlighters but, I mean, I’ve got some hefty blackmail on both of them if they wanted to tell Mum and Dad.”

“You seem like you enjoy that fact,” Asher chuckled. Shaking his head, he gave a small sigh. “Alright, your points are solid. While my Dad and Gabriel don’t generally come into my room, Marlene has already found all this stuff at least once – and it was most likely her who took the farmhouse photos and tried to erase them from the receipt. She could compromise it further, and it would probably give me some peace of mind if it’s not here.”

Lila wordlessly packed them both back into her bag. The rest of the afternoon up until being called down to dinner was spent as many an afternoon had with Asher – playing games, watching videos, laughing and talking. It was almost a shame to come back downstairs for dinner, but when the smell of a homely quiche with ham, cheese and spinach, hit Lila, she couldn’t resist. Whilst simple, it did well to fill Lila’s growling stomach. Marlene hadn’t joined them for dinner, instead preferring to remain in the butler’s pantry, which suited Lila just fine.

Her theory regarding Marlene’s involvement in Piper’s murder still played in the back of Lila’s mind, though she reminded herself often that she didn’t have evidence pointing to Marlene. It was hard to believe that Marlene would be capable of such vicious cruelty. Especially when thinking back to Marlene being the Quack Queen. Actually…

“Hey, Asher,” Lila said quietly, scooping a bit of the quiche onto her spoon.

“Hey, Lila,” he replied, glancing at her curiously before shoving some quiche into his mouth.

“Do you know if QQ posted anything on her streaming channel about the vacation?”

“I didn’t check,” Asher responded, pulling his phone out of his pocket and tapping rapidly on it. “Why?”

“Just curious,” Lila shrugged nonchalantly. “I mean, the trip didn’t feel planned, but maybe it was. I’m guessing she didn’t stream while away.”

“Definitely not. Besides, the reception was bad, remember?”

“Clare told me that reception is just fine in Vanuatu,” Lila said in a low whisper. “Maybe what Marlene told you was a lie?”

Asher fell silent, scooping another bit of quiche into his mouth slightly aggressively now. He looked down at his phone and pushed it over to Lila. She picked it up, reading through the most recent post – made at about 4am that morning.

Hiya Quacklings

Sorry for my unexpected break! I’m back and ready to stream. See you all on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 10.30pm to 2am AEST as usual! Monday’s stream will be Stardew Valley – can’t wait to see you all back on Quacklevania!

Quackers!

Love always, Quack Queen

Lila scrolled down to the post before it – posted on Thursday night, 10.15pm.

My loyal Quacklings

I’m taking a week off from streaming! Sorry for the late notice, but I won’t be streaming tomorrow, or next week. Something unexpected has come up and I’m so, so sorry to disappoint you guys. To make up for it, I’ll be hosting a giveaway after I come back for all sorts of merch and Steam gift cards. I hope you can forgive me!

Quackers!

Love always, Quack Queen

“Are you two wanting dessert?”

Marlene’s voice scared the living daylights out of Lila, who dropped Asher’s phone onto the tile before it bounced onto her foot. She clutched it, moaning in pain, as both Marlene and Asher immediately flocked to her.

“You okay?” Asher asked, his eyes full of concern. They travelled down towards her foot and then over at Marlene.

“Do you think we need some ice?” he questioned, his voice wavering with a hint of panic.

Marlene pressed her lips together, as though assessing the situation before responding. “I can prepare something – do you need some ice, Lila?”

“No, no, I’m fine,” Lila mumbled, her face flushed with embarrassment. “I’m more concerned about your phone, Asher.”

He bent down and picked it up, wiping the screen on his shirt. “Don’t be,” he smiled. “It’s fine.”

“Good. Sorry I dropped it.”

Asher and Marlene exchanged a look.

“Are you sure you’re alright, though?” Asher pressed, pocketing his phone with a slight frown.

“Really, I’m fine,” Lila insisted. The throbbing ache had dulled anyway, since it was only the corner of Asher’s phone that had struck her.

“If you’re sure,” Marlene nodded. “Shall I bring some dessert?”

“I think so,” Asher replied, turning to Marlene. “Dessert makes everything better.”

“I agree,” Marlene smiled before exiting to the kitchen. Asher hesitantly sat down, his forehead still creased with worry.

“You seem overly sensitive,” Lila said after a few moments of him pressing his hands together, the anxiety flowing off him in waves. “I’m much tougher than that.”

“I know,” he murmured. “Sorry. I guess… I’m just… I mean, today’s the first day we’ve hung out again. I didn’t want you to leave here hurt, in any kind of way. But I’ve messed that up already. A few times.”

“It’s not your fault,” Lila said incredulously. “I just got spooked and dropped your phone. It didn’t even land directly on my foot, just bounced onto it.”

“Yeah,” Asher replied, avoiding her gaze. “I know. But… yeah. Never mind.”

“What’s on your mind, Asher?”

“It’s… well. It’s just my own stuff that I need to sort out in my head.”

“I can help, if you want-”

“Slice of sponge cake with some chopped berries and custard,” Marlene announced pleasantly from the doorway. She carried in two small bowls filled with dessert before taking their dinner plates and returning to the kitchen.

Lila and Asher ate their desserts in silence. Lila felt incredibly awkward with the amount of attention and concern Asher and Marlene showed her. It gave her an odd suspicion – one that made her feel as though there was something else behind their reactions. Something besides a usual level of concern when someone expressed pain.

Once they were finished, Asher invited Lila to head back upstairs.

“What time are you leaving?” he asked softly upon closing the door to the rumpus room.

“I’ll see if my Mum or Dad can pick me up now,” Lila replied, unearthing her phone. She caught sight of Asher’s expression – he seemed disappointed.

“I’m not doing anything tomorrow,” Lila noted with a small smile. “If you’re not doing anything, then I can come back.”

His eyes lit up as he nodded enthusiastically. “Not a single plan for me.”

“Great,” Lila grinned, continuing her usual message to her Mum, asking for her to be picked up. Her Mum replied with a ‘thumbs up’ and Lila pocketed her phone. “Mum’ll be here in, like, twenty minutes or something.”

“Alright. Um. I…” Asher’s voice waned as he lingered by the door still, seeming incredibly unsure of himself.

“What’s up?” Lila queried, taking her usual seat, her eyes trained on his expression.

“Uh, well, I know you asked me to kinda… stop…” his eyes flashed in clear frustration as he crossed his arms, looking intently at a particular spot in his carpet.

“… Yeah?”

“S-Stop giving you mixed signals, I guess. At least, that’s what Gabriel yelled at me about. And I see where I was going wrong with all that… but… there’s something else.”

Something else? Was… was he going to ask her to be his girlfriend now?

He glanced up at her, his lips pursed. Then, he sighed heavily. “I’m an idiot, and I don’t want to keep fucking this up, but… the necklace wasn’t the only thing I got for you.”

Lila blinked before looking down at it. Her eyes flickered back up to his face, which was beet red.

“Lemme just… I’ll be right back,” he said, passing her at almost a jog. He burst into his room and she could hear him stumbling around in there before he emerged a couple seconds later. In his hands was a colourful woven bag that looked to be in a traditional style. It looked fairly sturdy from where she was sitting, and generally good quality.

Instead of sitting down next to her, he gently handed her the bag. Accepting it gratefully, Lila was surprised at how heavy it felt. Opening it, she saw a myriad of other things – a woven fan, a carved turtle necklace, a small wallet, a vibrant purple woven headband and an illustrated book of traditional myths and legends originating from Vanuatu.

Puzzled, Lila looked up at Asher, surprised to see him hiding his face behind his hands. Was he… ashamed?

“Thank you,” Lila said warmly, looking back down at her spoils. “These look amazing.”

“I… got you something for every day that I missed you,” he said in a muffled voice.

“O-Oh.”

“Yeah. Uh. I just wanted to say that. As like the last thing that I’ll say of that nature for a while. It felt important to let you know. Sorry I didn’t give it to you earlier – I was kinda anxious to know if you liked the necklace, since that’s the nicest of all of the things I got you.”

Lila lightly held the pendant on her chest, a smile growing on her face. She could live with this violation of her request. A tingly feeling in her heart was spreading throughout her body, carrying with it a light warmth. There was a certain sweet charm to this – especially with Asher’s nervousness.

“Thank you. You didn’t have to. I appreciate everything you got me. I’ll let you know my favourite myth, once I read through this bad boy,” Lila beamed, tapping the spine of the book. Asher breathed a sigh of relief.

“I’m glad. I’ll stop confusing you from here on out. Promise.”

“Thank you.”

Asher’s energy returned as he challenged her to another game whilst waiting for her Mum to come by. All too soon, a text message buzzed on Lila’s phone, announcing her Mum’s arrival. Reluctantly, Lila stood up, collecting her bag of stuff and the souvenirs from Asher.

“Looks like I have to go now,” she noted, unable to contain the sadness in her voice.

“Yeah,” Asher replied, his own tone despondent. “But I’ll be seeing you tomorrow, yeah?”

“I’ll just have to double check with Mum, but I don’t see there being a reason why not.”

Asher nodded and they left the rumpus room. They passed Marlene in the kitchen and she farewelled Lila with a polite smile. Lila returned the gesture, coupled with a wave. Asher turned the security alarm off as Lila took off her slippers, and, in an instant, they had stepped out in the chilly outside world.

Opening her Mum’s car, Lila could feel a rush of warm air hug her body in welcome.

“Hi, Lila. Hi, Asher,” her Mum said from the front passenger seat, a sunny smile on her face. “Did you have a good time today?”

“Yes, Mum,” Lila nodded, passing her Mum her bags. “Actually, I was wondering if I can come back tomorrow?”

Lila’s Mum looked over at Asher, who was shifting his weight between his feet, his hands in his pockets as he waited for an answer. Lila’s Mum turned her head to Lila, her face thoughtful.

“No,” Lila’s Mum stated simply. Lila’s shoulders slumped as she looked at Asher apologetically, before recognising that her Mum was still speaking.

“I think Asher should pay us a visit instead,” Lila’s Mum added, her grin widening. “Come have dinner with us tomorrow night, Asher.”

His face turned an interesting shade of pink. “Are you sure? I don’t want to overstep.”

“Of course I’m sure. You can tell us all about your trip. Tell you what, you can come over at whatever time suits you. But I’ll make sure to make enough tocino for dinner, as well as some extra for you to take home,” Lila’s Mum asserted.

Asher met Lila’s eye, a broad smile having replaced his anxious expression. “I’d love to, Mrs Moloney. I’ll see you both tomorrow.”

“Excellent,” Lila’s Mum replied, a note of enthusiasm in her voice. “I’m sure Daniel will be delighted to see you too.”

“Hope so,” Asher chuckled. “If not, I’ll have to rethink my tutoring skills.”

Lila’s Mum also chuckled before turning her attention to Lila. “Lila, come get in the car. You’ll freeze into a popsicle out here.”

“R-Right,” Lila responded, her teeth already beginning to chatter. “See you tomorrow, Asher.”

“See you tomorrow, Lila,” Asher smiled, waving. Lila returned the wave before jumping into the driver’s side. She set off, a feeling of relief washing over her. She was surprised that her Mum invited Asher over tomorrow, but, mostly, she was relieved that she’d be able to see him again, one last time, before their school life started up again on Monday.