Scattering Lilac Ashes

Chapter Sixty-Four

The bus trundled to a stop outside Lila's usual bus stop and she tapped Asher's arm. He followed Lila off the bus, Daniel close behind. None of them spoke as Lila led the way to the Moloney home, her keys jangling as she unlocked the house. She opened the front door for the boys and Daniel entered, his eyes seeming downcast. Asher hesitated.

"Do I just go in?" he asked tentatively.

"Yeah," Lila affirmed. "We're a shoes-off household, too. Just pop them in the entryway. You'll see a billion shoes there."

Asher passed through the doorway and Lila followed, closing the door behind her. Daniel was nowhere in sight. Asher straightened up his shoes perfectly, before staring at them for a second and kicking them slightly so they were skewed. Lila privately thought this was amusing, but didn't draw any attention to it.

"We'll give Daniel a minute to sort himself out," Lila suggested, gesturing for Asher to follow her. He looked nervously about the house, his eyes resting on one particular picture of Jesus.

"You... have a lot of Jesus pictures," he said quietly. Lila also found this comment quite amusing.

"Sure do," she chuckled. "No sinning in this house, please."

"Wasn't planning on it," Asher replied, his face turning a strange shade of pink. He averted his gaze, looking instead down the hall.

"There's the kitchen," Lila said, gesturing for Asher to head in, which he obliged with a hint of curiosity playing across his face.

"Hello, Asher," came Clare's excessively polite voice. "Fancy seeing you here under these circumstances."

Lila groaned. She hadn't realised that Clare would be home now.

"What're you doing here, Clare?" Lila asked, passing through the doorway. Clare was perched on a chair at the kitchen counter, looking towards Asher with great interest.

"It's exam time," Clare said simply.

"So?"

"So, I don't have class. Surprise."

Asher was standing awkwardly in the middle of the kitchen, looking back and forth between Lila and Clare.

"Do you want a juice or a soft drink?" Lila asked, opening the fridge.

"A juice would be great," Asher said, his voice wavering slightly. Lila smirked as she pulled out a carton of juice. He definitely seemed intimidated by Clare.

"I don't bite, you know," frowned Clare, sitting back in her chair.

"I know," Asher said quickly as Lila poured three cups of juice. She handed one to Asher and Clare. Both thanked Lila before Clare sighed deeply.

"I guess I was pretty angry, the first time I met you," Clare said softly, tracing the edge of her cup. "Sorry about that."

"No, no," Asher remarked emphatically. "We were in the wrong."

"I can't disagree," Clare laughed, taking a sip of her drink. "But it's okay. You can relax here. Clare isn't as uptight as Roxy."

Lila snorted before quickly taking a sip of juice as well, avoiding eye contact with Clare.

"What're you tutoring Daniel in?" Clare asked, clearly choosing to ignore Lila.

"Maths," Asher replied instantly.

"Really? I thought he was pretty good at Maths."

"Yeah. He's having trouble wording the assignment," Lila interjected. "You remember the weird wordiness of Maths assignments."