Ashleigh frowned at Higgs' blunt observation - not because she cared that his tone wasn't exactly flattering, but because it didn't make logical sense. She'd been eating! When she made Alicia sit at her table with her, she ate and Alicia pushed food around. It had, in a strange way, been good for Ashleigh because it had given her the extra motivation she'd needed to push herself through the disinclination. Last time she'd seen Higgs, at his house, she'd barely been eating. How could she be thinner now? She supposed there was a certain amount of added stress, not to mention the extra exercise of trying to make sure Alicia got exercise. And she'd worked through lunch most days, because she had to be home on time if she wanted to make Alicia do something other than go straight to bed.
Perhaps it made more sense than she'd first thought. As she walked him through the ministry to a place they could safely apparate, Ashleigh considered the question. She was... tired. Tired of getting Alicia up in the morning, tired of trying to make conversation when Alicia preferred to stare into space, tired of worrying. None of which was information she thought it would be helpful for Higgs to have. "I'm sleeping better," she told him, despite being almost certain Higgs hadn't ever known she was sleeping badly. It was true, and (on the surface) reassuring. If it worried Ashleigh more than she cared to admit, that she apparently needed someone in the flat in order to sleep well, that was something she intended to discuss with a professional. Just as soon as the Alicia situation was... handled.
"How are you?" she asked in return. She assumed their old unspoken rule, that of not talking about Alicia, would still be in effect. As far as Ashleigh was concerned, not thinking about Alicia for an hour would be something of a relief. "Where have you been staying?" Again, she didn't feel she needed to say that she wouldn't tell Alicia his answer.