Deadly Silence (complete) Chapter 183

Figuring out what to give everyone for Christmas had been difficult for Genevieve. It was their first time celebrating it together, and she didn’t want to settle for cheap things that held no meaning. The biggest issue was she no longer had any money of her own, only Samuel’s credit card. Buying her father a gift with his own money just didn’t sit well with her. Using the credit card for her friends was easier, and she’d done just that without thinking twice.

When she did come up with an idea, she hesitated on it for a couple weeks. She’d even talked it over with her therapist, as she worried it wouldn’t be well received by her family.

This was how she ended up on the road trip with her two friends and Jacques. Genevieve had specifically asked for him to drive, as she didn’t trust Gilbert or Tyrell to keep it from her family — not once they realized where they were going.

Her childhood home was in worse shape than she’d imagined, not that she’d expected it to be pristine, either. Paul had a tendency to throw things around when he was angered, so the sight of everything being tossed about, broken and torn, was no surprise. What was a surprise was the feeling of nostalgia the place brought. It made Genevieve want to turn around and leave. Having others there to keep her grounded gave her the courage to go through with the plan.

She’d wanted to look inside the box the moment she found it, but held off. She had a good idea what was inside, but didn’t want to go through the emotional baggage that would surface if she did.

The next day she was kept busy, decorating the ridiculous tree. Genevieve wasn’t allowed to use the ladders needed to decorate most of it, so she busied herself passing ornaments, from the multitude of boxes scattered all over the floor, to those putting them on the tree.

Samuel was supervising, walking around the monstrosity and telling the boys where things should be placed, to the point Laurent let out an frustrated noise, “Why don’t you come up here and do it yourself?”

“You won’t learn if I do it for you,” he replied, taking a drink from his glass of eggnog.

There was some more back and forth, but Genevieve’s mind was elsewhere. She was sure her family noticed, but none of them said anything about it. Maybe they thought she was stuck in her head about it being their first Christmas as a family; regardless, she was glad they let her be.

It also didn’t help that she couldn’t stop replaying how she’d kissed Theo. It’d been a spur of the moment thing, brought about by how thoughtful his gift had been. All she could think to get him was a framed picture of the two of them, while he’d gone and given her something so much more unique and thoughtful.

Would the same thing happen with her own family? Would she give them their gift, only for them to have found something that came from a more thoughtful place?

By Christmas Eve, she couldn’t take it anymore. Her anxiety on the matter was at an all time high, and her therapist had said there was no need to wait until the day of to exchange gifts, if it was bothering her so much.

Genevieve gathered her family in the living room that evening, nervous at what she was about to do.

They settled down, her father sharing the couch with her, while Gabriel and took the love seat for himself, Sebastian the easy chair, and Laurent settled on the floor.

“So what’s this about?” Laurent was the first to speak after everyone had gotten comfortable.

“I’m… feeling… nervous about what I got for everyone,” she began, feeling awkward and a bit stupid for being unable to get over her own fears. “So I want to give you your gifts tonight.”

“I don’t see a problem with that,” Samuel replied, giving a small nod before looking around the room as her brothers did the same. “Go ahead, Genevieve.”

Pursing her lips, she grabbed the bag she’d set beside her on the couch, pulling out four wrapped boxes. They were almost identical in size to the one she’d given Theo, though a bit thicker. “Before you open them… uhm…” she hesitated, unsure how to say the next part without giving anything away. “I’d, uh… rather not be around when you… uhm… choose to, uh…” The words just weren’t coming, and she was beginning to panic.

Samuel placed his hand over hers, giving it a squeeze. “We can open them, but you don’t want us to do anything with the gift?”

“S-something like that,” she murmured, feeling her face heat up. “It’s not… it’s just…” A frustrated noise came from her as she couldn’t get the words to come out. “It’ll make sense, when you see what’s inside.”

They all exchanged looks, but said nothing as they tore at the wrapping paper. Everyone opened their box and frowned. Samuel pulled out a folded page that had begun to yellow with age.

“Don’t open it,” Genevieve told her father as he’d begun to unfold the paper.

He froze, giving her a confused look. “Okay, I won’t… but, what is it?”

Genevieve looked at each of her brothers in turn, then her father, before staring at her lap. “I’ve been working on remembering some of the… better times, from back then, and… and I remembered something mom used to do a few times a year. I asked her about it once, and she said that, on special days, she wrote letters to the people she loved, and kept them safe so that the next time they saw one another she could give it to them.” She shifted a bit in her seat, wishing they could just read her mind so she wouldn’t have to say it out loud. “Those are… the letters she wrote for each of you. Every year, on your birthdays, and holidays, until she died.”

Glad to have that done and over with, Genevieve let out a breath and waited to see what they thought of the gifts.

It was from their mother, really, and only delivered through Genevieve, which made her feel like it was a cop-out as a gift. At the same time, it was something Annie had wanted them all to have.

Strong arms wrapped around Genevieve, pulling her into a crushing hug. “Thank you,” she heard her father whisper. “Thank you, Genevieve.”

Someone else joined in, their weight adding to the feeling of being crushed. “I.. can’t… breathe…” she managed to gasp after a minute, causing everyone to laugh as they released her from the embrace.

“Is that why you went on that road trip last week?” Gabriel asked, now sitting on her other side, his head resting on her shoulder.

“… yeah…” she said, unsure if they’d be unhappy that she’d done it without them.

“Can we go, sometime?” Laurent asked. He was now sitting on the coffee table with Sebastian. “To see where… where you lived?”

Genevieve thought about it for a minute before making up her mind. “One day, but… not… not yet.”

“We have time,” Samuel assured her, pulling her close again and planting a kiss on the top of her head. “Whenever you’re ready, we’ll be here.”

*Is this what family is suppose to be like*, Genevieve wondered as she closed her eyes, enjoying the sense of peace that settled deep in her heart.

Wherever Annie was now, Genevieve hoped she knew her daughter had found her way home; to the family that’d been on the woman’s mind, every moment, of every day, throughout the eight years she’d spent as a captive. That her little girl had finally found the happiness she’d wanted for her since the day she’d been born.

**—FIN—**