Deadly Silence (complete) Chapter 177

There were too many questions Theo wanted to ask. It took him a minute to figure out which one narrow them down to one. He pointed to his own neck, drawing a small line with his finger. “Did you… uhm…”

Shaking her head, Vivian said, “No, it’s not self-inflicted.”

Theo relaxed a little, glad she hadn’t hesitated when answering, and that she hadn’t harmed herself. He refused to think about how it meant someone else might had done it instead. “What about the bruises?”

He watched as Vivian glanced down at her upper arm and sighed. “That’s a long story.”

“Well, we have time,” Miriam urged, as she wrapped her arms around Arlo. “I’m sure Arlo here wants to know the story, too. Right, Arlo?” The dog’s tail thumped the ground a bit faster as she ran her fingers through his thick coat.

“Can you tell me what you already know? … so you don’t have to hear the same thing all over again.” Vivian asked after a minute.

Theo and Miriam exchanged a glance before he answered. “Well… I, uh, told Miriam about us maybe being in danger…”

“I figured you would,” Vivian nodded.

More relief. He’d been worried that she wouldn’t be pleased to find out he’d blabbed, but knowing she’d expected it of him left an odd taste in his mouth. “You figured I would?”

She nodded again, meeting his eye. “Is that bad?”

“Well… no… Not technically. I just…”

“He’s worried you think he can’t keep his mouth shut,” Miriam interjected, earning her a nudge from Theo’s foot. “What? You were having trouble saying it, so I helped.”

Vivian’s gaze seemed distant for a moment before she came back to them, focusing on Miriam. “It’s not that. When he thought Laurent was being mean, he stepped in; I just figured he’d do the same with you.”

The logic was sound, but the leap she’d taken to make it work was a bit questionable. Theo decided to just accept it and move on, glad that she trusted him to… protect her and Miriam? Step between them and danger? He wasn’t sure what it meant, if he was being honest.

“Did he tell you… about my mom?” Vivian asked.

Miriam glanced at Theo before shaking her head. “No, he didn’t.”

*See? I can keep my mouth shut*, he reminded himself, feeling proud that he hadn’t shared that information. It had felt far too personal for him to discuss with anyone.

It took Vivian a couple minutes before she spoke again. When she did, the story she told them left her friends speechless. It might as well have been a feature length movie by the time she finished.

Giving them as long as they needed to digest what they’d been told, Vivian reached over and scratched Arlo under his chin, earning a happy groan from the dog.

“I have so many questions,” Miriam finally said, eyes still wide from the story.

“Go ahead,” Vivian told her with a nod.

“I need a minute to figure out what I want to ask first.”

“How do you feel about everything?” Theo inquired, also having trouble figuring out what to ask. From what he could tell, Vivian hadn’t reacted much while recounting the events of the previous two weeks. This left him wondering if she was overwhelmed, in shock, or in that weird place after a huge emotional bomb, when you didn’t feel anything at all.

She sat on his question for a while before saying, “I’m not sure.”

“That guy… the detective,” Miriam began, a bit hesitant. “He was kind of your dad, for your childhood, but awful, and now he’s gone. I can’t even imagine how I’d feel if I were you. Like… you probably loved him at some point, as a kid, and now…”

“It’s complicated,” Vivian agreed, interrupting Miriam’s ramblings.

It was obvious to Theo that Vivian didn’t feel keen on talking at length on the subject. They did ask a few more questions, but it wasn’t long before the topic was changed to something lighter: what movie they were going to watch.

Miriam and Theo argued — or debated, depending who you asked — on the genre, then which movie. Eventually, it was settled and the first Jurassic Park was chosen.

They were barely five minutes into the movie when Sunny reappeared, a large bowl of popcorn in hand. “I heard you discussing movie options, and figured you’d want something to munch on,” she explained before anyone could ask, passing the bowl to Theo, who gladly accepted it.

“Thanks, Sunny,” he grinned as he set it between Vivian and himself.

“Don’t give any to Arlo,” the woman warned as she glared at the dog, whose head now rested on Miriam’s lap. The girl was much more proactive in petting him, so he’d changed his favourite person to the one sitting on the floor. “He will eat the entire thing, and then make a mess of it five minutes later, if you know what I mean.”

The three teens grimaced at the promise of dog vomit should Arlo get ahold of the popcorn.

As the movie progressed, both Miriam and Theo kept a running commentary on plot issues, acting choices, and little things they noticed in the background. There were a few times he caught Vivian almost smiling at their critiques. Around the halfway point, she began nodding off.

Miriam caught on to what was happening around the same time as Theo. She tilted her head towards Vivian, jutting out her chin a few times, as if he could understand what she was trying to tell him without words.

Sighing with frustration, the girl grabbed the half empty bowl of popcorn and moved it to the coffee table. Once that was out of the way, she tapped Theo’s leg, then pointed towards Vivian, silently telling him to move closer.

Theo glanced over at Vivian, but she was barely able to hold her head up, eyes nearly shut. Deciding to follow Miriam’s advice — could it be called advice? He wasn’t sure — Theo scooted over until their legs were touching. The moment this happened, Vivian’s head moved to the side and came to rest on his shoulder, startling him into stillness.

A wide grin spread over Miriam’s face as she gave him a thumbs up, before turning her attention back to the movie. Theo, on the other hand, wasn’t sure what to do with himself. Should he wrap his arm around her? Just sit there without moving? Lean his head against hers? He needed Miriam to offer some kind of clue on what to do next, but she was busy ignoring the two of them, in favour of Arlo and the movie.

Vivian hadn’t woken up by the end of the first movie, so Miriam took control of the remote and started the second, then the third when that one finished. By that time, Theo had stopped feeling tense, taking the opportunity to lean his cheek against Vivian’s head as she slept.

Footsteps came from behind them as the third movie began, but Theo couldn’t turn around to see who was there without waking his cuddle buddy. “She finally fell asleep?” He managed to glance over his shoulder to see Mr Devreaux standing off to his right. *Shit. Is he gonna be angry I’m cuddling with Vivian while she’s sleeping?*

“Yeah,” Miriam replied, keeping her voice lower than normal, so she wouldn’t wake their friend. “She conked out halfway through the first movie. We just started the third.”

Mr Devreaux gave a slow nod. “Good. She needs it. I came to let you know dinner will be ready in ten minutes, and you’re welcome to join.”

“Thanks, Mr Devreaux,” grinned the freckled girl.

“Yeah, thanks,” Theo added, checking his phone as he hadn’t realized it was already dinner time. The clock told him it was just after six. “Uhm… Is there anyway I can get a ride home for eight?”

”That can be arranged,” the man nodded.

“Isn’t that a bit early?” Miriam asked, frowning at him. “Mom changed my curfew to eleven, since I was coming here, even though it’s a school night.”

Theo rolled his eyes. “It’s not a curfew. I help Pops in the mornings and evenings, when Mom and Andy aren’t there. He has trouble getting in and out of bed.”

“…oh. I didn’t know that,” she replied with a sheepish look. “Where’s your Mom?”

“They’re in Gaza until the end of the month, so it’s just the two of us until then.”

“Huh…”

“What?”

“I just… never thought of you as a caregiver,” she explained with a laugh.

“Having a grandchild willing to take care of him makes your pops a lucky man,” Mr Devreaux said, a smile on his face.

Now Theo was feeling awkward *and* embarrassed. He usually didn’t tell people about this sort of thing; it wasn’t really anyone’s business, but it’d just slipped out. There were a million other excuses he could have used to explain why he needed to be home by eight, and yet he’d just put it out there like it was nothing.

As if sensing the boy’s embarrassment, Mr Devreaux turned to Miriam. “You’re more than welcome to stay until your curfew, if that’s what you’d like.”

“Thanks, Mr Devreaux, that’d be great.”