Chapter One Hundred and Thirty-Six

Lila couldn’t be less keen for hockey if she tried. After all, once hockey was over, she’d have to have the conversation with her Dad. She slogged her way through her morning routine with an almost permanent frown, her mind whirring away with anxiety. It got to the point where Clare urged Lila to hurry up, or she wouldn’t be going at all.

Whilst in the car, Clare confirmed that she would pick Lila and Asher up after their games before turning the volume of her EDM up and bobbing along with a smile. Lila had been tempted to ask Clare if she’d spoken to their Mum, or otherwise check in on how she was going, but Clare seemed so chipper that Lila didn’t want to burst that bubble – which, after a bemused, half-yelled question from Lila, Clare clarified that Alex was the cause of. Or, rather, his impending return on Monday was.

So, that meant that Lila was entirely preoccupied with her swirling mess of thoughts on the way to Jacoval. Would her Dad be mad at her for doing her own investigation? Would he connect the dots about her illegal activity in conducting this investigation? Would he suspect Asher’s?

She hadn’t been able to sleep last night until she’d prepared the USB with the screenshots from Zack and the video she’d taken of his drop. She ended up spending some time that morning obsessing over every minute detail of the contents of the USB, to the point that she knew the size and dimensions of each photo and the video.

Then, of course, the potential fallout from Daniel, once he realised that Lila and Asher had been hiding it all from him for as long as they had, kept her up as soon as she finally climbed into bed. Lila hadn’t brought it up to Asher, since she didn’t want him to worry about this amongst everything else, but it would be a lie to say that she hadn’t been thinking about it more and more as the impending conversation drew near. While she was confident in their reasoning to keep it from Daniel, she knew that he would be mad, at the very least, that they had hidden it from him…

With a small spike of panic piercing her chest, Lila unbuckled her seatbelt after Clare looked at her expectantly for slightly too long.

“I wouldn’t want to do hockey in this miserably cold weather, either,” Clare chuckled as she watched Lila struggle to take her hockey stick out of the back seat with quivering hands. “You really should’ve done Cheer. That’s indoors, at least.”

The mention of Cheer made Lila’s eyebrow twitch. ‘I think the fuck not,’ she thought with an involuntary shiver. She glanced over at the oval, taking in the various Mulberry Heights students warming up for soccer and hockey. She much preferred this view to the one she would’ve seen if she happened to be in a Cheer competition facing off against Mulberry Heights and Holly-

“Shit,” Lila hissed, ducking low next to Clare’s car, her heart pounding a mile a minute. She peeked over the bottom edge of the window, watching as two figures strolled by the other side of Clare’s car.

“What, what?” Clare’s voice called, evidently perplexed by Lila’s sudden outburst.

“Why the fuck is Asher’s ex here?” Lila spat, gripping her hockey stick with a different kind of tremor. Her eyes were fixed on the couple as they steadily made their way down to the stands facing the soccer boys.

“Huh?!”

Lila tentatively stood now that they had no line of sight of her. Holly’s perfect flaxen curls were unmistakable, as was the round, protruding belly that Lila had glimpsed. Lila could also see that Holly’s dainty hand was tightly clenched around her male companion’s. He was dressed in a Mulberry Heights soccer uniform and seemed oddly familiar though she couldn’t think why.

More importantly, the question of why Holly was here clawed at Lila’s brain. Had she figured out that Asher wasn’t going to go to debates at Mulberry Heights and so came here, under the guise of supporting whoever it was she had now ensnared, to torture Asher more?

Lila continued to observe them for a couple of moments before she realised who the male was. Dylan – the guy that Holly was dating publicly, and the guy that Lila had seen at the shops with Holly over the school holidays.

“That’s his ex?” Clare’s voice broke through the haze that had blanketed Lila’s mind.

“Y-Yeah,” Lila replied, wiping her hands on her hockey pants. They were slick with sweat, despite the cold.

“Damn. Her?”

“Yeah.”

“Damn. Well. She’s definitely pregnant. And I can see why she had a whole roster of guys that could be the father of her baby.”

“Thanks, Clare,” Lila scowled. “Don’t need reminders that she’s pretty.”

“I never said that. Besides, you’re prettier. You look like me, after all.”

Lila rolled her eyes, though she couldn’t deny that Clare’s comment had made her feel a teensy bit better. If Clare thought Lila was prettier, even if she was biased… then perhaps Asher thought the same.

She shook her head forcefully, clapping her right hand to her face. He’d liked her for so long, even when he was with Holly. So… he surely did. Right?

“Well, I’m sure your hockey game isn’t going to be played up here,” Clare said after a pause. “Go on, go warm up with your teammates.”

“Okay. See you after the game,” Lila replied, her voice monotonous. She closed the door and Clare drove off. Lila regretted not getting into the car and taking off with Clare, but… she couldn’t deny her morbid curiosity either.

She inhaled deeply, the biting, icy air filling her lungs. She wondered if Holly had known that Lila would be here, too. When she met with Holly all those months ago, Lila had mentioned that she played hockey – so perhaps the torment was meant to be for Lila, rather than Asher.

‘You’re being paranoid,’ she scolded herself. ‘She’s just here to support her boyfriend… like how you supported Asher last night.’

That counterthought seemed logical, Lila supposed. She made her way down to the oval, hockey stick in tow, her eyes drifting to where Holly was sitting alone on the spectator stands. Holly’s attention was clearly on the soccer boys, which made Lila privately grateful. It was less likely that Holly would look her way, in that case.

Then, a new question made itself known in her mind. Where was Asher? She hadn’t seen him in the carpark, and she couldn’t see him now that she was on the oval, looking at the soccer boys. Had he noticed Holly and walked off? She wasn’t quite sure whether anyone else could play the goalie in his absence-

“Hey,” Asher’s voice halted her frantic search. She spun around, her eyes wide. He smiled at her, though his eyes seemed distant.

Lila immediately threw herself into his arms, hugging him tightly without thinking about who was watching them.

“Whoa,” he chuckled, placing a warm hand on her head. “That’s quite the greeting.”

“Sorry,” Lila mumbled, her grip on him only tightening further. He laughed, returning the hug with a slight sway.

“Don’t be,” he replied, placing a finger under her chin and tilting her head so that their eyes met. “You can hug me all you want.”

Lila nodded before burying her face into his chest again.

“Everything okay, though?” he asked gently after a few more moments.

“No,” she said reluctantly, finally letting go of Asher and stepping back, hugging her hockey stick instead. “Not at all.”

“Is it about after the game?”

Did… Asher not realise Holly was here? Should she tell him?

Without meaning to, her eyes flickered past him and to the stands. Predictably, he turned around to see where she was looking before immediately turning back, his face a ghostly pale.

“W-What is she doing here?” he stammered.

“I don’t know,” Lila replied quietly. “I think her new boyfriend does soccer?”

“New- oh. The Debating Captain. I didn’t realise he did soccer too…” he trailed off, his expression looking entirely perturbed by the idea. Then, he gave a hollow laugh. “Wonder if he’s the fucking Dux, too. Why’d she even date me if there was someone who did all the shit I do?”

Lila took his hand, intertwining his fingers with hers. “Let’s just try and not pay her any mind.”

He glanced at Lila before relaxing his scrunched shoulders, a small smile crossing his face. “It’s not half-time.”

Lila blinked at him. “It’s… not. But why-”

Her question was cut short by his lips on hers, his hands on either side of her face. She dropped her hockey stick, pressing herself against him. This kiss felt rougher than the previous ones that they shared, as though he was trying to deeply imprint the feeling of her body onto his skin in as short a time as possible. Lila leaned into this kiss, finding that she actually didn’t mind it, adding her own desperation to feel him in her response. Her hands began to wander to the thumping beat of her heart, pulling him even closer to her-

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” a familiar voice made Lila jolt. In an instant, Asher had been dragged back a step or two by the scruff of his shirt. Her eyes landed on Isaac’s pink face, which conveyed a deep level of worry that she hadn’t known him to ordinarily possess. “Fucking cut that shit out.”

The fact that Isaac swore made Lila’s heart drop. They’d made him really mad.

“Sorry,” Asher instantly said, pressing his hands to his flushed face. “Uh, Holly’s in the stands.”

“So you decided to give her a show?” Isaac’s tone was nearing shrill, but he managed to rein it in as he added, “Don’t do that, dude. If you keep pulling this shit, your position as a goalie won’t even protect you. You’ll get thrown off the team for your public displays of… I don’t even know if I’d call that affection. You’re lucky Mr Kovac’s busy talking to the Mulberry Heights coach.”

“Sorry,” Asher repeated meekly.

“Don’t be sorry to me. You might also stuff up Lila’s place in her hockey team. I know that if that happened, you wouldn’t forgive yourself. Save it for the bedroom or whatever after the game. C’mon. We’ve got a team to thrash.”

Isaac forcefully grabbed Asher’s arm, leading him towards their soccer team. Asher glanced back at Lila and she gave him a small wave which he returned.

Once they were sufficiently far enough away, she wiped her face, pressing her fingers against her eyelids for a moment. She hadn’t been done with their kiss…

Exhaling deeply, she picked up her hockey stick. Hopefully no one-

“Jesus Christ, Lila.”

Of course someone noticed. She turned around, looking at a bewildered Willow and a slightly apprehensive Alice standing behind her. Lila briefly wondered why Alice looked like that before remembering their confrontation and Alice’s subsequent apology on Tuesday.

It was Willow who had spoken and her eyes darted around the field before she took Lila’s arm, gently taking her over to where their team was warming up. Ms Wright seemed to be suitably distracted as she spoke with Charlotte and Rosa, presumably about tactics. Either way, Ms Wright thankfully didn’t appear to be wanting to hunt Lila down for her interaction with Asher just now.

“What was that?” Willow demanded once she stopped walking.

“What was wh-”

Willow’s pissed expression made Lila instantly shut up and think carefully about her next words.

“… Asher’s ex is in the crowd,” Lila finally said, her eyes darting over that way before looking back at Willow. “So… I think… he just wanted some reassurance.”

“The pregnant one?” Willow’s tone was aghast as she whipped around to stare over that way.

“He’s only had one ex,” Lila replied listlessly. She glanced at Alice, who looked just as appalled as Willow, her face drained of colour.

“Is he gonna pay child support or be in its life?” Willow asked, turning back to Lila. Lila shook her head.

“It’s not his kid.”

“Wait, seriously? I’ve been hearing all over school that it was,” Willow said incredulously.

“Seriously. She told him that it was between a couple of guys or something, none of them being him,” Lila explained, a slight ripple of anger almost taking hold of her.

“… Damn,” Willow uttered, shaking her head. “Can’t believe she decided to go through with it and be a teen mum without even knowing who the father is.”

“Why’d you say that?” Alice asked, pressing her fingertips together. Willow seemed surprised that Alice asked.

“’Cause being a teen mum is nuts,” Willow laughed. “No thank you. I mean, I’ve been with Damian for years, so I’d know who the Dad would be if I got pregnant – but even still, we wouldn’t keep it if I ended up getting pregnant now. Would be even worse being a single teen mum.”

“Oh,” Alice replied softly. “That’s… an interesting take.”

“Are you pro-life?” Willow seemed even more surprised by this. Alice shook her head.

“Not exactly. But I dunno. Abortion’s hard too, from what I’ve heard. My cousin had one, said it was the worst experience of her life – aside from the physical pain of it, she was in emotional pain for months afterwards,” Alice shrugged. She shivered before grabbing her hockey stick. “We’ll fall behind our warmups if we don’t get a move on.”

Lila pondered what Alice had said as she went through her usual warm-up routine. She’d never actually looked into that, since she hadn’t needed to, but she wondered if that was why Holly kept her baby. What did one even entail? From her Modern History classes, the only imagery she had was those… graphic, back-alley ones. Surely that wasn’t what they were like now?

Either way, she hoped she wouldn’t be in the position to either make that decision or go through it. It all sounded unpleasant, in any case.

Soon, Lila’s warm-up routine enticed her to the idea of participating in hockey after all. In the background, her mind was still churning through the fact that Holly had shown up to their school, what Willow and Alice had said on the topic of teen pregnancy, and the sense of dread that stemmed from what she’d be doing after the game was over. But, as soon as the referee indicated with a short blast of their whistle that it was ‘go time’, all of that disappeared, replaced only with a surge of energy and the overwhelming desire to beat Mulberry Heights into the ground.

Like previous matches against Mulberry Heights, they weren’t as tough an opponent as St Peters. Perhaps Alice was still hung up on their loss against St Peters, but she and Charlotte seemed to be playing aggressively enough that Mulberry Heights hadn’t so much as stepped past Lila.

They were in the lead by the time half-time was called, 2-0, and Lila trudged off to the sidelines, her spirits far lighter than they had been earlier that morning. She accepted her cool orange slice from Ms Wright, turning her attention to the soccer match. Asher was pacing in his goal as Isaac and Harrison ducked and weaved around the Mulberry Heights team near the other goal. Lila pursed her lips as she looked beyond the action to Holly again.

Holly looked just as gorgeous as she had when Lila sat with her and Asher at Café Vines – though she was evidently a little bit rounder, and a little bit rosier than back then. She looked to be glowing, almost, as her eyes watched Dylan dart around the field. Lila had no idea what position he was in, but for all his sprinting, it didn’t amount to much in the end as Harrison scored a goal to the whoops of Forestglade College supporters.

Lila smirked as the referee for the soccer game called for half-time. She’d barely processed this fact when Asher appeared by her side with a grin.

“At least they’re getting flogged,” he said impishly, taking his gloves off. “How’s your game going?”

“Much the same,” she smiled. “We’re in the lead, 2-0.”

“Nice.”

“You two behaving?” Isaac called as he jogged towards them, his chest heaving from exertion.

“Yes, Dad,” Asher replied sullenly. “No need to keep checking in.”

“I beg to differ, son. Man, I’m honestly going to be so glad when the season’s over. Don’t think my heart can keep up.”

“You know, you seem pretty concerned about Asher and me kissing,” Lila said suddenly, folding her arms across her chest. “Why’s that?”

“Why?” Isaac looked at her like she was insane. “I thought I told you before that Asher would die if he got detention.”

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“I already said I wouldn’t,” Asher frowned, taking a drink from his water bottle.

Isaac shook his head. “Nah, mate, you would. It’s different when you’re actually given one.”

“Makes it sound like you’ve been given one,” Lila replied with a smirk.

“With all the complaining Lucas was doing in Engineering after he was caught with Cecelia, I feel like I’ve been given a hundred,” Isaac shuddered. “Look, I just want to make sure my buddy’s not in trouble, y’know. Protect the peace and all that. It’s my civic duty.”

Asher snorted.

“Anyway, isn’t your half-time ending now?” Isaac said, turning to Lila. She took a look around at her teammates, who were starting to congregate on the other side of the field in preparation for the second half.

“Guess so,” she sighed reluctantly. “Good luck for the rest of your game.”

“Same to you,” Asher smiled. Isaac nodded in agreement. Lila turned and joined the rest of her teammates, who were idly discussing potential strategies for the second half. But, with the way Mulberry Heights was playing, Lila wasn’t too convinced that they even needed strategies to begin with.

She was more or less proven right, once the game was underway. This time, though, Mulberry Heights seemed to be fighting back as they charged towards Lila, the ball in their possession.

Finally, Lila was able to properly join the fray, tackling and passing over to Charlotte and even Alice with unparalleled efficiency. Much of the remainder of the match involved the clashing of sticks and steel-willed determination from both teams, centered on the middle of the oval. It meant that Lila could intercept and otherwise participate more.

To her chagrin, the game was eventually called with no additional goals scored on either side.

Alice looked particularly wiped as she sunk onto the field, catching her breath. It wasn’t surprising, since she basically hadn’t stopped in the second half, given how intense the battle for the ball was without going anywhere far.

“Good work,” Lila smiled, offering Alice a hand so she could stand again. Alice looked up, her eyes full of apprehension once more, before accepting the assist.

“Thanks, Lila. Good work, too,” Alice replied, dusting herself off. “And… uh, thanks for not getting distracted at half-time with Asher, I guess.”

Lila snorted. “You have Isaac to thank for that. He’s watching us like a hawk on and off the field.”

“Well, if that’s what gets him off,” Alice joked.

“Ew, I didn’t need that imagery,” Lila replied, her tone just as unserious.

Alice laughed and they trudged over to the rest of their team. They gave sportsmanship handshakes to the Mulberry Heights team, who seemed displeased at having lost but otherwise took it graciously – perhaps far more graciously than Forestglade College had last week against St Peters.

“I feel like I could sleep for a hundred years,” Willow yawned once their team finished with their customary post-game huddle, war cry, and debriefing.

“Same,” Alice replied, stretching. She glanced over at the stands before looking back at Lila. “Who’s the pregnant ex?”

“The blonde girl with the cashmere scarf on the bottom row,” Lila said in a low voice. She watched as Willow and Alice simultaneously looked in that direction. Holly wasn’t hard to spot as she’d been given a wide berth, and the hockey spectators had begun to depart now that the match was over.

“Do you think she knows who you are?” Willow queried, her tone conspiratorial.

“We… met once, while she was with Asher. And we have each other on Instagram,” Lila sighed. She really didn’t want to keep talking about Holly, but she couldn’t escape just yet since the soccer game was still going. It was marginally better than being left alone to worry about her talk with her Dad, though.

“Seriously?” Alice’s expression was gobsmacked.

“Yup. And she was pregnant when I met her, too. Didn’t know it at the time, though.”

“Yikes. So she wasn’t showing?” Willow asked, her face full of keen interest in the salacious details.

“Nah. She was, like, barely three months or something,” Lila shrugged, feeling increasingly more uncomfortable the more Willow probed. She did understand where it was coming from, since she’d do the same if the roles were reversed, but she started to look for a way out of this conversation all the same.

“C’mon, Willow. You’re clearly bothering her,” Alice said quickly, pulling on Willow’s sleeve.

“But it’s crazy as heck!” Willow protested though she did allow herself to be taken towards the carpark. “See you later, Lila.”

Lila said her goodbyes to Willow and Alice before turning back to the soccer game, feeling incredibly grateful that Alice had picked up on her uncomfortableness without having to tell them. It looked like the soccer boys still had a few minutes left, but she didn’t want to keep standing on the oval in view of Holly. At the same time, she didn’t want to even go near the stands on her own either, since Holly was still sitting here.

Lila sighed, tapping her hockey stick against her leg as if it would give her an answer to her predicament. Instead, all it gave her was the fear that Holly would be watching their next game too, since it’d be at Mulberry Heights.

She pursed her lips before sneaking a peek at Holly.

Their eyes met. Holly smiled.

Lila instantly wanted to throw up. Was Clare here yet?

The cheers and yells of the boys playing soccer gave Lila the perfect out to pretend she hadn’t noticed Holly. It looked like another goal had been scored for Forestglade College and she clapped around her hockey stick, surveying the field.

She smiled as she saw Asher bounce on his heels inside his goal as a small celebration of their goal before he quickly braced himself for the incoming Mulberry Heights team.

They’d hardly come into his zone when a blast from the referee’s whistle indicated it was all over. From the way the Forestglade College boys boisterously huddled up, Lila could tell that they’d won this match. They gave the school war cry before breaking off into sportsmanship handshakes – which, to Lila, felt a bit backwards.

She watched on as Asher seemed to hesitate for a second when he came across Dylan. But he grasped Dylan’s hand and firmly shook it before moving on to the next as though nothing happened. Lila could tell from Asher’s posture that he was incredibly serious, and it was at that moment that Lila realised that Mulberry Heights was one of the ten schools involved in the morphine ring as buyers.

Once the formalities were out of the way, it was with boundless energy and a broad grin that Asher jogged over to Lila, scooping her up into a hug before spinning them both.

“That’s quite the greeting,” she giggled, holding just as tightly onto him. He set her down with a beam before the angry, seagull-like squawk of Isaac made them look his way.

“We’re not even doing anything,” Asher insisted reproachfully.

“I smell it in the air. Affection,” Isaac replied dramatically, pointing an accusatory finger at Asher as though exposing him for a crime.

“Dumbass,” Asher smirked, kicking at Isaac’s shinpads which he nimbly dodged. “Besides, you said you couldn’t call it affection.”

“Yeah, nah, that face-sucking from before was just lust, not affection. Almost needed to sew my eyes shut.”

“I feel like you were mistaken. We can reenact it, so you can-”

“No thank you,” Isaac cut Asher’s cheeky suggestion off with a well-placed whack on his shoulder. Asher chuckled, taking hold of Lila’s free hand.

“Ready to-”

“… juice,” Zack’s voice made both Lila and Asher stiffen, halting whatever he’d been about to say to Lila entirely.

“Yeah, yeah. Same place?”

Lila almost stopped breathing. Who was Zack talking to? She didn’t want to turn and check, but her curiosity was begging her to – until she saw the look on Asher’s face.

“… girlfriend.”

“… need a jumbo…”

“Not that kind…”

“Mango?”

“… discount?”

“… customer… I’ll check.”

Was Zack seriously still doing drops? Lila hadn’t considered that he would, since he ratted out Jason just two days ago, but it really sounded like he was facilitating more.

“Uh, you guys alright?” Isaac asked, his eyebrows knitting together in confusion. “You kinda just… stopped saying stuff.”

“W-We’re good,” Asher stammered. “Well, I’m good-”

“It’s, uh, ‘cause Holly’s just there,” Lila stumbled to explain, gesturing to Holly. Isaac’s eyes flashed.

“You mentioned that before, but I thought you were joking. She better not come anywhere near you guys, or I’ll call the Police.”

“Call the Police?” Lila blinked.

“Well, it’s not like I can hit a pregnant person. Or a girl, in general.”

“What, and you’re hoping the Police would?” Asher replied derisively.

“Of course not,” Isaac bristled. “But they might put a restraining order in.”

“I really don’t think that’s how that works,” Asher said sensibly.

They started to bicker about whether or not that was how it worked, though instead of listening in, Lila’s eyes slid over to the group passing the trio by, with Zack in the centre. She could see that Dylan and a few other Mulberry Heights boys were part of it, along with Will Reedy from Forestglade College. Was Will a customer or facilitator?

Theo, by contrast, was already heading up to the carpark, car keys swinging from his right hand. A few other Forestglade College soccer boys were wandering over that way, still seeming chuffed by their win.

Was it really not suspicious to anyone else that a group of both Forestglade College and Mulberry Heights students were suddenly hanging out together? Or… was it seen more as a friendly social gathering, since soccer drew them together?

Lila’s phone buzzed and she pulled it out of her zip pocket. It was a text from Clare.

‘Where r u??’

‘Coming,’ Lila sent, putting her phone away again.

“We gotta go, Asher,” Lila said, “Clare’s here.”

“I gotta go too,” Isaac said, stretching his arms. “Maccas duties calls.”

“You’ve been working a whole bunch,” Asher commented, exchanging a meaningful look with Lila. “Are your shifts always with Elise?”

“’Course not,” Isaac replied shortly. “There’s more employees than just me and her, you know.”

“Have you asked who she’s got a crush on?” Asher asked pointedly. Isaac’s face turned a deep red colour.

“Definitely not,” he murmured. “Don’t need to.”

“Why?” Asher queried, raising an eyebrow.

“’Cause… it’s not me. I’m gonna be late. See you guys next week,” Isaac had barely finished his sentence before he jogged off and up the hill.

“I feel like I’m beginning to understand why everyone was so frustrated with us not getting together,” Asher sighed, shaking his head. “Especially if we were as obvious as this.”

“No kidding,” Lila responded. He looked down at her and smiled.

“So, shall we race to Clare’s car?”

“Surely my hockey stick gives me an unfair disadvantage,” Lila replied playfully.

“True. But I’ve got a backpack, so I reckon we’re even. 321, go!” Asher sprinted off like a jet, cackling as he did so, said backpack thumping against his back.

“Oi!” Lila called after him before sprinting after him, unable to contain her own laughter as he spun around and poked his tongue out at her. She barely registered Holly watching them intently as she passed, though a small part of her was glad that Holly had noticed.

Predictably, Asher summited the hill first, turning to her with an infectiously gleeful expression. Once she reached him with a goofy grin on her own face, he took her hand.

“Clare’s that way, I think,” he said through shallow breaths. “C’mon.”

She allowed herself to be led ‘that way’, unable to help herself from peeking once more at Holly from the corner of her eye. It seemed that Dylan was speaking to her about something as Zack’s group began to climb the hill to the carpark. Was he telling her that he was about to buy some opioids?

‘Sucks to be him when this operation shuts down,’ Lila thought as they approached Clare’s car. The rumble of EDM was evident even from the outside and Asher opened the front passenger door for Lila, grabbing her hockey stick and other belongings before taking them to the back with him.

“Jeez, I was about to send out a search party for you two,” Clare commented once they closed the doors and buckled themselves in. “What took you guys so long?”

“Just talking to Isaac,” Lila responded swiftly. It wasn’t a lie, but he wasn’t the only cause for their delay.

“Righto.”

The car ride home was rather uneventful, which helped Lila disconnect her mind from what happened that morning. Now that they were going home, Lila reluctantly started to prepare to talk to her Dad.

They arrived home with hardly any words shared amongst each other before Clare applied the handbrake and turned to Lila and Asher.

“Mum’s out,” Clare said briskly. “Daniel told me. He’s noticed that we haven’t been talking, but I think Mum asked him to tell me so I could tell you guys. So… at least for now, you don’t need to worry about seeing her. I’m guessing you told Asher that Mum found the photo of you and him?”

“Sure did,” Lila exhaled heavily, suddenly feeling incredibly weary. “She still hasn’t spoken to me either, so I have no idea if she’s realised that it’s Asher in the photo too.”

“Alright. Uh, I’m still on my week break, so I’ll be home for, like, an hour but then I’m going to visit some friends for some board games.”

“Rude. You could play board games with us instead,” Lila replied, though it was half-hearted.

“Sure, but you can’t drink wine. Well, I’m not going to let you drink wine, anyway. Or any alcohol.”

“Noted.”

“It does also mean that I won’t be home, since I’m only my Ps.”

“Double noted.”

Clare unbuckled her seatbelt before Lila stopped her.

“I-Is Dad home?” Lila asked with a slight tremble.

“Yeah. I think he sent Mum on her way to go shopping or something. I’d… say that it’s definitely been orchestrated that way. Probably figured it’d be for the best since you’d be home all day. And he probably thought I’d be home, too.”

Lila sighed, partly from relief and partly from the fear that she actually would need to talk to her Dad today after all.

“Anything else?” Clare questioned with a raised eyebrow.

“I’m all good,” Lila said, unbuckling herself. “Just… thinking.”

“Well, you can do that in the house,” Clare said with a frown. “You’ll just get cold out here. And no, I’m not going to let you do things in my car, if you were going to say something about warming up.”

“I wasn’t-”

“Then get out.”

Lila heeded Clare’s instruction and gently closed the car door behind her. The trio entered the house, leaving their shoes at the door, before immediately heading upstairs, passing no one in the kitchen or living room.

“Door open, Lila,” Clare reminded her as she shut her own. Lila rolled her eyes, but heeded this instruction as well, gesturing for Asher to head into her room. He did so and her eyes landed on a towel neatly folded on the back of her chair. She hadn’t put that there… had Clare? Or… had her Mum put it there? Hers was in the bathroom, so she thought it was likely for Asher in any event.

“I think this is for you,” Lila said, passing it to Asher before he could sit down. “You can have a shower first.”

“Oh, thanks,” Asher replied gratefully, taking the towel and his backpack with him to the bathroom.

Lila fell backwards onto her bed, staring up at the ceiling. Should… they go for it immediately after Lila showered?

Her mind quickly fell into a jumble as she tried to think about their approach to all of this, her anxiety tying her up in knots. This wasn’t something she could plan, really. It all depended on her Dad’s reaction from the outset. If… he was pissed at them, then she’d just leave the USB and folder of info on his desk and hide away upstairs. If he wanted more answers, then she’d need to explain those, at least.

It was no clearer by the time Asher returned to her room with his face flushed from the heat of his shower and a quiet, “I’m done.”. Lila jumped up, grabbing some warm, comfortable clothes, before heading to the shower.

She subconsciously went through her usual routine, only barely noticing how nice the water felt against her skin, and exited in a few minutes. Asher was sitting backwards on her desk chair, twisting idly from side to side. He looked up once she entered, giving her a small smile.

“Feel better?” he asked as she crossed her room and sat on her bed.

“Yeah. You?”

“Marginally.”

“When should we talk to him?”

Asher grimaced. “I don’t know. If we do it now, then the rest of the day might be awkward. But… if we do it later, then we’re just going to overthink ourselves to death.”

“We… tend to do that,” Lila reluctantly agreed.

“Clare’s already gone, by the way,” Asher added. “She popped her head in to say that while you were in the shower.”

“If that’s the case, then… there really is no obstacle to going now, since she won’t know that we’re talking to Dad with Daniel and excluding her on purpose.”

“She seemed real annoyed by that last time.”

“Wouldn’t you?”

Asher shrugged. “Never been privileged enough to experience those pitfalls.”

Lila snorted and he smirked before it fell away entirely.

“Well, I think going now’s the only option,” Lila said, standing up and stretching. Her stomach was feeling much like the interior of a washing machine on the spin cycle, but she knew it wouldn’t improve if she delayed any further. “But let me check the USB first.”

Asher nodded, getting off her chair and offering it to her. She accepted it and opened up her laptop. All seemed fine with the USB and she even asked Asher to check.

“You’re good,” he affirmed. Then, he pointed at the folder on her desk. “I’m guessing that’s the stuff?”

“Sure is.”

He gingerly picked it up and kept it close to him. “… I guess… that’s that, then.”

Lila stood up but didn’t make any further movements. Could… they just pretend they hadn’t seen anything?

‘Definitely not, dumbass,’ she thought to herself, shaking her head forcefully. She took the USB out and gestured for Asher to follow her.

Lila tried knocking on the master bedroom door, but there was no response.

“He might be on the bottom floor in the study, or in the living room,” Lila said reluctantly. If he was going to be hard to track down, then they could surely forget about telling him.

‘Idiot,’ she chastised herself again.

In the absence of any other rooms on this floor that her Dad would be interested in, she knocked on Daniel’s door.

“What?” he asked, sounding rather annoyed.

“It’s Lila and Asher.”

There was a pause. “Come in, I guess.”

Lila swung the door open and Daniel swivelled on his chair to face them both.

“What’s up?” he asked, rolling his shoulders. Lila’s eyes were drawn to the papers on his desk as she entered, though she didn’t sit down as she usually did.

“I thought you weren’t using the paper system for the Banker,” she said.

“Old habits die hard,” Daniel shrugged. “This is only for totals and all that, just so that I can work it out myself first in case something goes wrong on the spreadsheets.”

“Has that been happening?” Asher queried.

“No,” Daniel admitted. “But it might. Then I’ll have to manually figure out what happened. At least, if I already have an idea of the inner workings, then it’ll be easier to resolve. I’m more… worried about it, I guess, because I have expenses to pay now to run the Banker activities at school.”

“You really sound like a dedicated businessman,” Lila chuckled.

“That makes me sound old,” Daniel replied.

“Shit yeah, it does. 13 going on 65. Gonna have to plan your funeral soon,” Lila stated before breaking into laughter. Both Asher and Daniel joined in.

“Anyway, I doubt you’re here to just inspect my paperwork,” Daniel said once they sobered up. “What’s going on?”

Lila hesitated. She hadn’t actually planned for this part, beyond knowing that Daniel would be upset.

“Uh… well, we need to tell Dad something,” Lila eventually said, glancing at Asher. “But… it involves you. Well, it involves the Banker.”

He looked utterly confused. “What?”

“Essentially, we need you to be there too since you deserve to hear it,” Asher interjected. Lila gave him a grateful smile.

“And when is this supposed to happen?”

“As soon as I can track Dad down. We need a computer, so it’ll be in the study.”

Daniel rubbed his forehead, sighing deeply, before standing up.

“Well, if Asher’s gotta tell me it too, then it must be serious,” he commented. “I’ll wait for you guys there, I guess.”

“Thanks,” Lila smiled.

Daniel slipped out of his room, and Lila thought, for an insane moment, that maybe they could close Daniel’s door and-

“Where to next?” Asher asked, his hands in his pockets.

Lila cleared her throat, feeling the immediate shame about her thoughts flood her face. “U-Uh, maybe the living room.”

He held out a hand for her to take, which she did, before they headed downstairs together. Luckily, they didn’t have to go far to find her Dad – he was sitting on the couch in the living room, watching a true crime show.

The USB felt like it was burning a hole in her pocket as she took a deep, shaky breath, her hand still intertwined with Asher’s.

“H-Hey, Dad,” Lila said tentatively.

“Hey, kiddo,” her Dad said almost immediately, looking towards her. “Hello, Asher.”

“Hello, Mr Moloney.”

“What’s up?” he asked pleasantly, turning his gaze back to the TV. She glanced at Asher, who gave her an encouraging nod.

“U-Uh, the… thing is,” Lila said, nervously clearing her throat. “Asher and I have something really important to tell you.”

Her Dad paused what he was watching.

“Pardon?” he queried, turning to face her. She felt her cheeks redden as she spoke.

“Um. Asher and I have something really important to tell you.”

Her Dad took off his glasses, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand. It felt like an hour passed before he spoke.

“Is this a conversation your mother should be a part of?”

“Definitely not,” Lila said flatly. He placed his glasses back on his face, his hazel eyes piercing.

“There are only two things that I can think of that would elicit that reaction,” his tone was incredibly grave, his eyes not leaving her face. “You’re either about to confess to me that you’re doing the same work as your sister.” He stopped, scrutinising her carefully before continuing, “Or that you’re pregnant.”

Lila spluttered, which rapidly turned into a hacking fit, her face even more red than before. Asher immediately rubbed her back as best he could whilst still holding the folder, his other hand squeezing hers with obvious concern. Her Dad gave a heavy sigh, the lines on his face deepening as though he aged thirty years in mere seconds.

“I was afraid this day might come,” he said gently. “How far along-”

“Dad! No!” Lila managed to force out, her eyes watering. “Jesus.”

Her Dad looked incredibly perplexed. “Sorry?”

“I promise you, I am not pregnant. I can’t even be pregnant. Haven’t done anything to get pregnant. I swear.” She managed to look earnestly into her Dad’s eyes, her tone as honest as she could muster. Her Dad looked between them both.

“Really?”

“Yes really!” Lila was beginning to feel exasperated. The mortification at having this be raised, with Asher standing right next to her, almost made her want to turn tail and forget about telling her Dad anything ever. Plus, after everything she’d heard and seen today, between Holly, Willow, and Alice, she had just about had it with the word ‘pregnant’. She refused to even glance at Asher as she added, “I’m a virgin. Seriously.”

‘Despite my best efforts,’ she thought with a touch of despondence. Her Dad didn’t need to know about that part.

Her Dad was silent once more, though his face was beet-red.

“Sorry, kiddo,” he said awkwardly. “I just assumed. Since, well, you’re at that age-”

“Dad, for the love of God and all these Jesus pictures in this house, please stop talking about it when Asher’s right here,” Lila whined, burying her face in her hands. “I’ll end up passing away from embarrassment as a virgin if you keep going.”

She heard Asher inhale sharply, as though trying to stop a laugh from escaping. Her Dad sighed heavily again.

“Alright, alright. I get your point. What is it that you want to tell me?”

Lila looked up from her hands. “Daniel’s waiting for us in the study. We’ll explain there.”

“Daniel?” Her Dad looked worried. “What’s happened now?”

“Like I said, we’ll explain in the study,” Lila replied. “You’ll need to turn your computer on.”

“Now I’ve entirely run out of predictions,” her Dad said as he heaved himself to his feet.

“I’m glad,” Lila huffed, her residual mortification still present on her cheeks.

“Sorry, Lila.”

“You should be.”

There was one plus side to her father’s misunderstanding. It served to break all of the tension in her mind about what she was actually going to tell him about. Now, she was sure this conversation couldn’t go any worse than that.