Deadly Silence (complete) Chapter 115

Vivian’s day was strangely uneventful. Waking up on the couch with Tyrell sitting in a nearby chair watching some docuseries on the TV had been the only  thing that could be considered out of ordinary to happen.

The meeting the principal had set up with the Johnson and Curtis families had to be postponed, as both were out of the country and couldn’t attend. This resulted in Adriana and Emma serving detention during lunch hour and being banned from extra curricular activities until further notice. Neither girl came after Vivian in retaliation, but there always seemed to be a teacher present regardless.

Otherwise, the students left her alone, for the most part; a few more boys approached her with lewd comments about whatever conversation her fake online self was having with them but, compared to the last week, it barely made a blip on her radar.

As usual, Laurent kept his distance, but she did catch sight of him more often throughout the day, as though he purposefully came to check, but not really, on her between classes.

When school finished for the day, Vivian stepped out of the building to find her father waiting instead of Tyrell. She hesitated, then figured he must have been worried about how she fared after yesterday, so she could forgive him showing up, even if it meant someone might realize she was a Devreaux.

Now that she thought about it, Abby hadn’t been in school, as far as Vivian could tell. There was a rumour going around that her home had been burglarized and Mrs Demoine had ended up in the hospital, but it was all speculation at this point. No matter *why* the other girl hadn’t been to school that day, Vivian was just glad it meant she was left alone.

Tomorrow at practice, however, would be a different story. She had no idea how to deal with the girls on the team. They usually didn’t bother with her when not at practice, so today hadn’t been weird, but tomorrow? That was a whole different can of worms.

“How was school?” Samuel asked as he pulled out into traffic.

“Mmm… quiet, I guess,” she replied, knowing a simple ‘fine’ wouldn’t be accepted. “I was left alone.”

Her father nodded once before speaking again. “That’s good. Have you decided about Thanksgiving?”

The switch in topic was quick, and Vivian had completely forgotten she was supposed to decide how they’d spend the holiday. “Oh. Uhm. I should be fine with what you usually do,” she said after taking a moment to debate which answer would be in her best interest.

Not meeting the extended family was the smarter choice, but it was possible if she didn’t go they’d cause a fuss, and that would complicate things. It was best to appease the many by showing her face. It didn’t mean she had to get to know any of them on more than a surface level.

“Alright. I’ll let them know to expect us,” he, again, nodded. “You’re also taking the written test for your license tomorrow during your lunch. I’ve already contacted the school about it.”

Vivian winced. She’d forgotten about that, too, and hadn’t touched the Driver’s Handbook since Friday. *Well, if I fail it’s not the end of the world, right? I don’t want my license anyway…*

It felt wrong, going in knowing she was going to fail. Didn’t taking the test cost money? Samuel would need to take time out of his own busy schedule to get her there and back, wouldn’t he? “Are you bringing me, or will Tyrell?” She asked after a minute.

“I have to be there,” he replied. “Since you’re still a minor, you need a parent or guardian to sign off on it.” He paused. “Would you rather Tyrell accompany you?”

Vivian shook her head. “Doesn’t matter who. I just know you’re busy, and I don’t want to be a problem.”

“You’ll never be a problem, Vivian,” he assured her, meeting her gaze in the rearview mirror.

*If only he knew*, she thought to herself.

Things had been simple, for the most part, since moving in with her biological family; however within the last week everything had turned to chaos. There were multiple things going on at the same time, overlapping one another in such a way Vivian wasn’t sure how to deal with any of it.

Paul’s phone was in Abby’s possession, which was more than a singular problem, but Vivian preferred clumping them all into one for sake of brevity. Next came Thanksgiving with the entire family, of which she hadn’t yet met. There were supposed to be a fair few of them, too. Then, she had to deal with the girls on the track team, coupled with the Saturday meet; nothing fun was going to come out of either of those things. Driver’s test? Seemed so normal compared to everything else, but it still added to the ever growing pile of things to worry about. Someone catfishing as her online was also a thing but, more often than not, Vivian forgot about it.

Lastly was Miriam and Theo. This was probably the one that caused Vivian the most stress. Having found someone she could call a friend, two people actually, only to need to cut them out, hurt more than she expected. She’d thought after years of keeping herself closed off from others, that going back to that after opening up a bit would be easy; but it wasn’t. Within the short span of time since meeting them, it was like she’d forgotten how to lock those feelings away. A dull ache in her heart was a constantly, reminding her of what she’d gained and subsequently lost.

Luckily, a few of those things were taken care of the following day. Practice came and went without anyone bothering Vivian. The girls gave her a wide berth, while the boys did as they usually would; the reason for Adriana’s ban from the team hadn’t been leaked yet, which was surprising, so none of the boys treated Vivian any different.

The driving test wasn’t as bad as expected and Vivian managed to pass, though she wasn’t quite sure how that happened. Most of the answers she’d written down had been guesses and to find out she’d gotten them right was a surprise.

Still, it was one less thing to have on her plate.