Scattering Lilac Ashes

Chapter Ninety-Three

CW: Murder and mutilation of a person under the age of 18. 

Clare had managed to snag a 10am appointment for Lila to see the doctor, though Lila wished she had more time to sleep after pressing 'snooze' on her alarm. The excitement from the show had exhausted her far more than she realised.

She went through her usual routine at a snail's pace. She just finished getting dressed when Clare popped her head into her room.

"Oh, you're awake. Good. Just make sure you bring your Medicare card, alright?"

"Ah, thanks," Lila replied, yawning. "Just gotta find it then I'll head down."

"Perf."

Clare disappeared with a snap of the door. Lila turned her attention to the bags she'd taken to Asher's. She couldn't remember which bag had her wallet, but she was positive that it was in one of them.

The first bag didn't, so she zipped it back up and started going through the second bag. Something... was off about it, though.

'What's this doing in here?' Lila thought, pulling out the envelope of photos of Marlene's place. She was certain, without a doubt, that this had been left at Asher's – along with the folder they'd taken from the farmhouse. She would've remembered packing it...

With a frown, she looked through the back pocket that held her laptop and her heart stopped.

The folder was neatly sandwiched between her laptop and the protective cushioning in her bag. She definitely remembered last seeing it in Asher's drawer, hidden amongst his school stuff. How did it end up here?

Her breathing quickened as she shakily pulled it out. One of the scraps of paper fluttered onto the floor and she placed the folder on her desk, collecting any other wayward bits of paper. Looking down at the pieces in her hand, it was undeniable. This was absolutely the folder they'd found – she had the end corners of the blueprints right in her hands.

Trembling, she stood up, looking down at the folder. She was almost too scared to open it but did anyway. It... seemed the same as when she'd last seen it.

"I'm sorry I had to pack away your things," Lila recalled Marlene saying to her as she passed along her bags at the Maccas. Marlene... found the photos and the folder and put them in her bag? Why?

"Did you find your card?"

Lila slammed the pieces of paper she had in her hands back into the folder and closed it again.

"N-Not yet," Lila stammered, cautiously turning her head towards Clare.

"Do you need a hand?"

"No, thanks," Lila said with a bit more force than necessary. Clare looked bemused.

"Alllll righty then," she drawled, closing Lila's door again. Lila turned back to the folder. She needed to hide it, in case someone went into her room, so she piled a couple of textbooks onto it. Hopefully, the stack was boring and unrelatable enough to anyone who came in that they wouldn't want to inspect it.

She almost stepped on the envelope of photos, which she shoved under one of her pencil cases in her top drawer. She didn't have time for this.

She hurriedly shoved her hand in the next bag, grasping her wallet with relief. She checked that her Medicare card was in it before bounding down the stairs, two at a time.

Clare joined her at the landing and they both headed to Clare's car without a word. Lila's mind was spinning, her previous exhaustion replaced entirely with anxiety.