Deadly Silence (complete) Chapter 40

Samuel shook his head, his heart clenching at the thought of his daughter witnessing Annie’s murder.

But it would explain a lot, he mused as he closed the safe and replaced the books, careful to clear any dust from the rest of the shelf with his hand.

Vivian refused to talk about life before arriving at the church. Was it because talking about it would mean reliving that moment in time? Or maybe her mind blocked it and she couldn’t remember anything; and instead of saying she didn’t remember she just said nothing?

No, that didn’t feel right.

Back in the kitchen, Samuel flicked the kettle back on for a third time, lost in his thoughts.

He’d wondered if Annie had raised Vivian for the first eight years of their child’s life, but there was no way to confirm it since their daughter wasn’t talking. If this new information was saying what he thought it was, Samuel would put a decent chunk of money on this being the case — that Annie had been a part of Vivian’s life until her death.

Rubbing a hand over his face, Samuel wasn’t sure how to feel about this new line of thought. Why hadn’t she reached out to him during that time? He was certain she hadn’t run away from him, but sometimes he worried. It was hard not to think the worst after seventeen years.

The click of the kettle turning off brought Samuel back to reality. Glancing at his watch, he was pleased to see the fifteen minutes he’d given his daughter had nearly passed. Bringing the snacks and hot chocolate up to her room wouldn’t be infringing on the time he’d given her to decompress a bit.

Arranging everything on the tray, Samuel made his way upstairs to his daughter’s room where he stopped before entering, knocking first.

“It’s open,” her voice came through the door.

Stepping inside, he noted Vivian had changed into jeans and a graphic tee a size too big. Her raven hair was pulled back into a messy bun at the base of her skull, which surprised him as she seemed to prefer letting her shoulder length hair fall loosely instead of bound.

Red still rimmed the brown eyes that matched his own, but Samuel pretended not to notice as he set the tray on her bedside table. Picking up the mug of hot chocolate, he passed it to the girl who sat in the middle of her bed looking lost.

“Thanks,” she murmured, accepting the mug and holding it with both hands as if she needed the warmth it provided.

Taking his tea, Samuel chose a cookie before sitting on the edge of the bed. “I wasn’t sure what you’d prefer so I brought a bit of everything,” he explained, hoping she would talk to him even if it was about nothing in particular.

As if only just realizing he’d brought snacks, Vivian looked over at the tray and seemed to take note of what was on it. A hint of a smile tugged at her lips, but Samuel wasn’t sure if he’d imagined it or not. “Looks good,” she informed him, though she didn’t move from her spot on the bed to reach said snacks.

Reminding himself to be patient and not push her further than she was willing, Samuel sipped at his tea between bites of his cookie. “Have you thought about what extracurricular activities you’d like to pursue at school?”

A frown appeared on his daughter’s face at his question. It was a safe bet she wasn’t expecting the conversation to go in this direction but Samuel was good at getting people to tell him what he wanted to know — he just needed time.

“Nothing comes to mind.”

She did act like a loner most of the time, Samuel reminded himself, and extra curricular activities were group based. Unfortunately, the school required every student to participate in at least one so it wasn’t really up for debate.

“Do you have any hobbies or interests that might align with any of the clubs?”

Vivian took a sip of her hot chocolate and frowned again, though this time it was at the drink. Did he make it wrong? He’d followed the instructions on the can and it was a three step process; how could he have screwed it up?

Instead of commenting on whatever thought had come to mind, Vivian took another sip of the drink before answering. “I don’t know.”

Now it was Samuel’s turn to frown. She was so distant, so disconnected from the people around her and it made him worry.

“I don’t mean to overstep, or suggest anything, Vivian, and I only ask this out of concern… but do you suffer from depression?”

Her eyes rose to meet his, a mask without emotion on her face. “Depression?”

Samuel nodded once, choosing to see if she would say more on the topic.

It was good she didn’t outright reject his question, choosing to think about it for a minute as if accessing how she felt and comparing it to what constituted depression.

“No,” she finally replied, shaking her head before reaching over and snagging a couple strawberries. “I’m not depressed.”

Unsure if he believed her, Samuel decided to accept it as truth for now. “Okay. Thank you for answering.”

For a few minutes they sat in silence. From what Samuel could tell, his daughter looked miserable though it didn’t show on her face but in her posture. Unable to help it, he smiled.

Vivian noticed this and frowned again, causing a chuckle to escape Samuel. “I was just thinking how glad I am that you’re here,” he told her, not wanting to point out how her posture gave away how she felt. If she didn’t know about it she wouldn’t correct it and he’d be able to read her mood more easily.

She hummed a little in response to his statement, which had him wondering if he should push just a little; to see if she would be willing to open up just a little bit.

“Do you like it here? With us, I mean.”

This had Vivian tilting her head a little to once side, an odd expression on her face. She looked unsure how to answer, or maybe how to avoid the question? Samuel had noticed she was good at giving non-answers when she didn’t want to answer something specific. It varied from topic to topic, but if he was direct with his questions it gave her less wiggle room to talk around the answer.

Sometimes he let it slide, while others he was more persistent. Should he persist with this question if she chose not to answer, or let it go? It was hard to tell one way or another.