Deadly Silence (complete) Chapter 176

Laurent’s text was unexpected, but not unwelcome. It was written to sound like Theo needed to talk to Vivian, and he was fine with that. If it meant he got to spend time with her, then he wasn’t about to complain.

It did make him worry. Had something else happened? Neither she nor Laurent had been at school since Thanksgiving. Add to that, the rumour going around that the Devreaux family had been in a horrible car crash Monday evening, had left both Theo and Miriam worried as to the state of their friend.

It didn’t help that all text messages to Laurent were left unanswered until Tuesday night. When he finally responded, it was with a generic message saying they were all fine.

Theo felt like he was going crazy, not knowing what was going on. Miriam wasn’t doing much better, but was more reserved about it. While he sulked, she powered through, saying if anything bad had happened, someone would have told them.

Without a time specified in the text, Theo was left waiting impatiently for someone to come pick him up. It would have been easier if he drove there himself but, without a code to get through the front gate, it was pointless to bother trying. So he waited in the living room, where he could see the driveway from a comfortable spot on the couch, while Pops watched one of his favourite game shows.

Just after one, Laurent’s car pulled into the driveway, surprising Theo. The guy had come to personally pick him up?

“I’ll be back in a few hours,” Theo told his pops, who flapped a hand in response, eyes glued to the TV.

As he approached the car, Theo noticed Miriam was already sitting in the back seat. So it wasn’t just him going? And Laurent had picked them both up? What was going on?

Opening the passenger door, Theo slid inside and buckled his seatbelt. “I thought you said you were sending someone to get us.”

“Are you complaining?” The guy asked, tone clipped as he half turned in his seat to reverse out of the driveway. It was then Theo noticed the injuries on Laurent’s face, and that he wasn’t wearing any of his usual facial piercings.

“What happened to you? You look weird.”

“Theo,” Miriam chided him, her hand coming up between the front seats to smack him upside the head. “Be nice.”

“I’m being honest,” he tried to defend himself, leaning forward as he turned to look at the girl in the backseat. “It’s a fair question.”

“I was in an accident,” Laurent replied once they were on the road. “I’m sure everyone at school already knows, so why don’t you?”

“We know better than to trust rumours,” Miriam explained with a roll of her eyes. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” he assured her with a small nod. “Just a few cuts and bruises, for the most part.”

“What about Vivian?” Theo asked.

“She wasn’t in the car.”

Relief poured over Theo as he leaned back into the seat.

“What about everyone else?” It was Miriam who thought to ask about the rest of the family, making Theo feel awkward for not doing so himself.

“It was just Sebastian and me. It’ll take him a few weeks to fully recover but, otherwise, he’s fine.”

“Glad to hear,” she nodded, leaning forward so her face was almost between the two seats in front of her. “How’s Vivian doing? What should we expect, exactly? You said we’re to talk to her, but is there anything specific we should cover?”

Laurent suddenly looked uncomfortable, catching Theo’s attention.

“Does she knew we’re coming…?”

“She does,” her brother assured him. “But, this is more for her to talk to you, not the other way around.”

Miriam frowned at this. “Does that mean something else happened? Or did everything finally resolve itself, so she feels comfortable talking about it?”

“Stop asking questions, and just wait until you talk to her,” he grumbled in response, fingers tightening on the wheel.

Theo and Miriam exchanged a look and decided poking the grumpy person driving the car wasn’t the thing to do.

It didn’t take long for them to arrive at the Devreaux’s home. After getting out of the car, but before they reached the front door, Laurent hesitated, then turned to them and said, “I hope you like dogs.” He didn’t wait for them to react as he turned back around and continued on his way.

Unlike Theo’s first visit, there were more people around. A woman greeted them at the door and took their jackets, a man walked by on his way out, and a few more followed after a moment.

“You two must be the friends!” A cheerful voice greeted them as they stepped further into the foyer. From the stairs came an older woman with short blond hair, wearing a 50’s style, short sleeve, pink and white polka dot dress. “I’m Sunny Lamont, great-aunt-a-few-times-removed, or something like that.”

“I’m Miriam Wilson,” the girl greeted this new person, before gesturing to Theo, “and this is Theodore — Theo — McCullough. It’s nice to meet you, Ms Lamont.” During this introduction, Theo was busy trying to see where Laurent had disappeared to without success.

“Please, just call me Sunny. I’m sure you’re just bursting to see Vivian, so let me show you the way.” The woman motioned for them to follow her down the hall. It didn’t take a genius to see she was taking them to the living room, one of the few rooms Theo could have found on his own.

The TV was on, like last time, but instead of claymation, an old black and white film played. What was even more surprising, was the massive dog stretched out on the couch, head resting in Vivian’s lap as she ran her fingers through the thick fur.

“Arlo!” Sunny exclaimed, clicking her tongue. “Vivian, your father won’t be happy if he finds out the dog was on his couch.”

Theo’s breath caught in his throat when Vivian turned her head to look their way and he saw the bruises. The skin across her jawline, down her neck and across her shoulders was a myriad of different colours, leaving him unable to form words.

“That’s… a huge dog…” Miriam somehow managed to squeeze out as she took half a step back.

“I know, I know,” Sunny sighed, making shooing motions at the giant mutt, who grumbled as he stepped off the couch. “You know better, Arlo. Shame on you.”

Arlo gave Sunny his best hurt puppy look, but she wasn’t having any of it. After a minute, the dog sat on the floor, but returned to rested his head in Vivian’s lap, as though to say, ‘you can’t stop me from getting what I deserve.’

“Ignore the sook,” the woman told them with a sigh. “He may be huge, but the scariest thing about him is how much he drools. He’s a scaredy cat under all that bulk.”

“Is… he yours?” Miriam inquired, taking a tentative step forward. She gave Vivian a quick smile and wave before returning her focus to the dog.

“He is. I decided to come for a visit, and he loathes to be left home alone, so here we are.”

Something in the woman’s tone made Theo think she’d actually brought the dog for another reason; one that was sitting on the couch.

Vivian looked tired — exhausted, really — but there was something else about her that’d changed. He couldn’t put his finger on what it was. He watched as Miriam reached out to pet Arlo, whose tail began to thump against the floor from the attention.

*Here I hoped I’d get some time with just the two of us*, he silently sighed. *Even if Miriam hadn’t come, I’d never be able to compete with this guy.*

Grinning from ear to ear, Miriam settled on the floor next to the dog and looked back at Theo. “He’s super soft.”

“I do not doubt that,” he replied with a crooked smile.

“Sit down already,” the girl admonished him, waving a hand at the spot next to Vivian. “You can pet him, too.”

Sunny let out a laugh. “I’ll leave you all to it. Try not to spoil him too much, would you? He’s already a bit of a princess.”

Vivian spoke for the first time. “No promises.” She sounded tired, but normal.

Giving Miriam a quick glance, Theo took the seat she’d gestured at, just to the right of Vivian. Suddenly, he was nervous, unsure how to start the conversation. Not only was she covered in bruises, it looked like she’d somehow cut her neck, and her right hand was wrapped in a bandage.

“He doesn’t bite.”

Theo looked up to meet Vivian’s gaze. She tilted her head towards the dog, as if to ask ‘why aren’t you petting him?’

Laughing awkwardly, he shook his head. “Sorry. I know. I was just wondering about—” Miriam elbowed his shin, causing Theo to yelp. “What was that for?!”

“Ignore him, Vivian. He’s being an idiot.”

Vivian looked from Miriam and back to Theo, then shook her head. “Just ask what you want to ask, instead of hoping it comes up later.”