Deadly Silence (complete) Chapter 107

By the time Vivian woke up it was late. Realizing she wasn’t in her own bed, it took her a minute to remember how she’d ventured to Laurent’s room after tossing and turning for hours.

Every time she dropped off to sleep her body would jerk awake after a few seconds. It felt like the room was too big and too empty; an odd feeling for someone who hated tight spaces. The house was also too quiet, just like the locker had been once the girls had left. It made Vivian’s heart race just thinking about it and she knew there was no way she’d be able to sleep if things continued.

She’d checked the time and noted school had been out for a while already — maybe Laurent would let her sit in a corner of his room if she asked nicely. That would take care of the oppressive silence and hopefully the feeling of… she wasn’t even sure what to call the feeling that kept her from sleeping.

It was only after she’d left her room that Vivian realized she was still holding onto the pink elephant Theo had given her. *Too late to go back now*, she told herself as she neared her brother’s room.

He’d opened the door and allowed her to come in. She sat on the floor by the chair Reagan was using, turning down his offer to switch places. The next thing she knew it was night and the room was dark.

There were a few lava lamps providing light in different colours, giving the room an ambience Vivian couldn’t help but like. Laurent had good taste; she really should ask him to help with her own room.

Pushing herself up, she looked to her right and noted her brother was already asleep. There was at least a foot of space between them and his back was to her, but Vivian could just make out the steady rise and fall of his chest as he breathed.

*Why didn’t he wake me up when he went to bed?* She wondered absently, slowly extricating herself from the bed so as not to wake him. When her stomach grumbled Vivian paused, sneaking a look at Laurent but he continued to sleep. *Guess I slept through dinner, too. They should have woken me up.*

Leaving his room and closing the door as carefully as possible so it wouldn’t make a noise, Vivian made her way downstairs hoping there’d be some leftovers she could grab.

To her surprise, someone was sitting at the island counter in the kitchen. Samuel looked up when she entered, his computer screen a mess of different windows and things she couldn’t make out from where she stood. “You’re awake,” he said in greeting, turning on his stool to face Vivian. “How did you sleep?”

“Uhm…” she hummed a little. How had she slept? She couldn’t remember falling asleep, or being asleep, only waking up. “Good, I think.”

“Good,” he nodded, getting to his feet and moving to the fridge. “I saved you a plate.” As he spoke, Samuel pulled said plate from the fridge, showing her what he’d made — lasagna — before placing it in the microwave to reheat.

“Why are you still up?” Vivian asked as she slowly made her way to the island counter, taking the stool at the end for herself. It put two empty seats between herself and Samuel, but she didn’t want to see what he was working on — Paul would want to know what she saw and she didn’t want even the temptation to look.

*I missed his call*, she remembered, her heart dropping into her stomach. Suddenly food didn’t sound so good. *Did Abby take it? … what’s going to happen now? Will he go after Miriam and Theo right away?*

“What are you thinking?” Samuel asked as he returned to his seat, his eyes locked on his daughter as she struggled to rein in the panic that welled in her chest.

“Just… remembering today. Or is it yesterday…?” Vivian shook her head a few times. “Doesn’t matter. It’ll pass.”

“You can talk about it, if you want,” her father offered. “Or we can find someone for you to talk to about it, if you’d prefer that.”

Was he talking about therapy? Vivian frowned. Therapy only really worked if you opened up to the person in the other chair and she wasn’t able to do that, especially not with a stranger paid to be there. “I’ll be fine once it’s not as fresh.”

She could tell he wasn’t pleased with her response, but said nothing except to nod in understanding. A silence fell between them until the microwave beeped. Before Samuel could twitch, Vivian was halfway towards the appliance, retrieving her food before returning to the island counter.

Even leftover the food was delicious. If he hadn’t been a business man she was sure Samuel could have made it as a top-class chef.

Her father worked while she ate, the silence between them comfortable.

Though her stomach was churning with worry over Paul, Vivian was too hungry to let it affect her appetite. She cleaned her plate before she realized it.

“Looks like you enjoyed that,” her father chuckled.

“You’re a good cook,” she shrugged, taking her dish to the sink and washing it before setting it in the drip tray to dry.

“Going to bed?”

Vivian paused. “I’m not sure.” At the moment she didn’t feel sleepy but her body wasn’t quite in top form just yet. More rest wouldn’t be a bad idea… if she could fall asleep. Just laying around was too boring.

“Why don’t we watch a movie together,” Samuel offered, looking away from his laptop. “I’ll even let you choose.”

A movie did sound good, and company wouldn’t hurt. Vivian didn’t want to dwell on how she seemed to be looking for company when usually she went out of her way to avoid it. The events of the day had really done a number on her head.

“Okay,” she agreed. “But you can’t complain with whatever I choose.”

“Deal,” he nodded without hesitation, which made her want to choose something he wouldn’t enjoy just to be difficult.