Deadly Silence (complete) Chapter 24

Oh, he wanted an actual answer to the question and not just something generic. Thinking about it, Vivian wasn’t really sure what to say. “It was… just fine. First day classes are about reviewing stuff, and I had a student guide all day so I was pretty much left alone.”

This brought a frown to her father as he turned back to the stove and checked one of the pans on a burner. The smells that wafted up were rich and tantalizing, and Vivian knew the food would taste just as good. Samuel cooked for them every Monday, a family meal where everyone was expected to make an appearance.

Vivian didn’t understand why Monday of all days, but after her first weekend there it had been self explanatory; the boys had busy weekend schedules.

Laurent had completely disappeared for all of Saturday and most of Sunday as far as she was aware. Gabriel used those days to work on his hobby of restoring old cars, and Sebastian… Vivian wasn’t sure what her eldest brother did but he’d been in and out of the house at least five times on Saturday, and three more on Sunday.

For someone who had his own place in the city, Sebastian spent a fair bit of time at his father’s — unless it was because Vivian was there and he’d been told to make the time? She wasn’t really sure and hadn’t bothered to ask for clarification since it didn’t really affect her one way or another.

“Hey Dad, Reagan’s here for supper,” Laurent said as he strolled into the kitchen to peak at what was on the stove.

“Sure,” Samuel nodded, looking over at the teen who’d followed his youngest son into the room. “Good to see you again, Reagan. How was your summer?”

“Hey, Mr Devreaux,” the redhead grinned, “Pretty busy. Mom wanted to see as much of the Caribbean as possible even though she’d already been everywhere at least five times already.”

Reagan spotted Vivian and hesitated for a second before giving her a small wave. “Hey, Laurent said he’s got a sister now; I didn’t realize it was you. Sorry I didn’t greet you at school today.”

Something in Samuel’s posture stiffened at this declaration, and Vivian guessed he’d expected his son to keep an eye on her and at least help her settle in to the new school.

“It’s fine,” she told him with a small nod. “I prefer keeping to myself.”

Before she knew what was happening, Reagan had taken the plates from her and walked into the dining room. “That’s fair. Everyone knows about you, but not that you’re actually at school.”

This made Vivian frown as she turned and took a few steps into the dining room to watch him set out the plates. “They know about me?”

“Yeah? The whole thing made the news for like a week straight last month,” he explained, counting out the plates and frowning. “We need another plate. Gabriel!”

“Don’t ‘Gabriel’ me when you show up like another lost sibling,” the middle brother huffed, coming in with a hand full of cutlery and an extra plate.

This distraction gave Vivian time to adjust her response to this new information. She rarely followed the news or kept up with current events, so hearing that she had been in the headlines was surreal. Here she thought she was passing under the radar when in actuality everyone knew exactly who she was, just not that she was that person.

That she, Vivian St Peter, was the long lost Devreaux sibling.

It was probably the last name.

For once she was happy to be considered a minor, meaning her name was protected from being published under the law. So long as no one mentioned the difference in last name, it was possible for Vivian to fly under the radar indefinitely.

“Anyway,” Reagan continued, “Everyone knows you exist. Current gossip is the new kid — you — is the long-lost sister, but the whole different last name, and not acting like the rest of the family is making people question it.”

Frowning, Vivian watched the two of them set the table. Reagan seemed like a genuine and kind person — almost the opposite of Laurent — to give her this much information. Was he just telling her because it was obvious she hadn’t realized any of it, or would he use it to blackmail her later?

“So you’re still set on not letting people know you’re a Devreaux?” A new voice asked, causing Vivian to jump a little in surprise before looking over her shoulder to catch Sebastian in the act of stealing a taste of sauce from the pan.

Samuel smacked his eldest son away before moving to block access to the food before more could be stolen.

“I’m not a Devreaux,” Vivian replied, not sure how else to explain herself. “I’m still a foster kid.”

This statement caused Samuel to turn around and look at her, expression unreadable. “You were born a Devreaux, whether you knew it or not, Vivian. You may not feel like one yet, but you’ve always been one of us.”

Putting a hand on his father’s shoulder, Sebastian spoke. “Calm down. She probably just means it’s hard to feel like part of a family she only just met. Right, Viv?”

Vivian watched her brother sneak another taste with the hand not on their father’s shoulder, only to be swatted back again. “Yeah,” she nodded. It was a bit more complicated than that, her feelings about the entire family thing, but Sebastian had summed it up rather well.

The conversation switched to a different topic after that, keeping the mood light as they all took their seats at the table and began to eat. What everyone had been up to the previous week, any new happenings, or interesting stories were shared during this time. It was almost like a debrief of everyone’s life, but in a casual setting with brotherly jabs, teasing, and laughter. Even Laurent was in a decent mood for once, chatting with Reagan more than the others but not biting when people interrupted their conversation.

Since Samuel had cooked, the boys were meant to clean. Vivian had been excused from this chore the first two weeks, but today she helped clear the table, bringing dishes to the sink where Sebastian stood washing them.

With the four siblings working together they finished in next to no time. Having his help turned down, Reagan chatted with Samuel in the dining room until they were done. “Let’s go,” Laurent told his friend, who bade good bye to their father before disappearing from the room.

“I think he’s calmed down,” the eldest brother commented as he took his seat at the table, a cup of coffee in hand.

“I’m stealing Vivian for a few hours,” Gabriel informed them as he walked up behind his sister and placed his hands on her shoulders.

Samuel looked from him to Vivian and back again before nodding. “Sure. I would like to speak with Vivian before you head out.”

“Sure thing.”