Deadly Silence (complete) Chapter 41

“I don’t dislike it,” she finally answered after a full minute had passed, the words coming out slow as if she wasn’t confident in them.

That was… progress, Samuel decided with a small nod. Part of him wanted to get Vivian into therapy in hopes of helping her open up, to trust in others, but he was aware she’d been in therapy before and nothing had come from it. She’d almost closed herself off more because of it, if the reports he’d read were accurate. The more someone pushed her to open the tighter she held the door closed.

Most of the time.

She did open up from time to time but it was only after small pushes, otherwise she didn’t bother. If he wanted her to be open he had to push her boundaries in such a way she didn’t feel pressured, but enough that she felt a desire to share, that she understood it was coming from a place of care.

Samuel wasn’t sure how much or how little pressure to exert, and he didn’t want to push her further away before finding it. This meant he was stuck applying a tiny amount and raising it in increments until something changed.

“I made a friend at school, I think,” she blurted out all of a sudden, surprising her father.

Happier than he was willing to admit, or show, Samuel nodded again. “That’s good.” A friend might help her settle in and relax. Having someone her own age, an equal, was a benefit that couldn’t be denied when it came to mental health. The last thing he wanted was for her to feel alone at school.

“Her name is Miriam. Miriam Wilson?”

Why did that name sound familiar? Samuel thought about it for a moment but was unable to place why it felt familiar.

As if sensing his thoughts, Vivian cleared her throat a little before saying, “She’s there on the scholarship you created.”

Ahh, that was why he knew the name but couldn’t place it. The first few years of the scholarship he’d been on top of it, carefully keeping track of the students’ progress and even how they fared in their post secondary studies. It didn’t take many years before he lost interest in it, delegating the task to someone else to figure out.

He’d have to review the girl’s file now that she was connected to Vivian. The scholarship was only available for a student whose familial income was below a specified amount, so it was possible this Miriam wanted to be friends with his daughter for the financial gain.

Except, Samuel reminded himself, Vivian wasn’t telling anyone about her being the Devreaux daughter who’d been found.

“Does she know you’re a Devreaux?” He questioned, keeping his tone light with some curiosity, not wanting to put her on the defensive if she realized why the question was being asked.

Vivian hesitated, then shrugged. “Everyone thinks I’m a Devreaux, but no-one’s actually come out and said it or asked. Miriam knows the rumours, and I know given enough time she’ll ask, but she hasn’t bothered to yet. I think she’s worried I’ll drop her when it comes out.”

This had Samuel frowning. Why would that mean the friendship would end? Vivian didn’t seem the type to just drop someone like that, at least not after calling them a friend. She wasn’t the type to let someone be close enough for the title — at least not according to her file — without being fully committed to it. “Why would she think that?”

“Because people at school treat her like she’s trash because she doesn’t have the money to buy her way in like they do.”

“Who are these people?” Something in Vivian’s tone had put her father on edge, but he didn’t want to jump the gun just yet.

“Students, mainly. According to her, complaining to faculty does nothing because she hasn’t technically spent any money to be there like everyone else. Or, that’s her opinion on it, anyway. I’ve witnessed some of it; some students are anything but polite when she’s around.”

“Are we talking pushing and shoving? Words?”

Vivian shrugged again, taking a cookie from the tray. “Only words so far.”

“Interesting…” he murmured to himself. “Can you tell me if it escalates?”

“Why?”

Samuel blinked as he watched his daughter nibble on the cookie. Why? Wasn’t it obvious? “Because I’m paying her tuition. If she’s mistreated then it’s a reflection on me if the school does nothing about it.”

“Then why didn’t you do anything about it last year? Or the year before?”

Those were good questions, and Samuel had some shame over the fact he’d avoided being responsible for something that’d been created in memory of Annie; that he’d stopped caring about the students his wife would have watched over if she’d still been alive, protecting them from the scorn of their peers and giving them a safe space to retreat into.

“I don’t have a good reason,” he finally admitted. “I’ve let a lot of things slide for years for no reason other than I just didn’t want to deal with it anymore. I’m a selfish person that way.”

Vivian nodded slowly, as she stared off into the distance. Samuel wondered what was on her mind after hearing his confession. Would it affect their relationship? He’d told himself he would be honest with his daughter when she asked questions, though there were a few things he would refrain from answering should she ask. In those instances, he planned on simply telling her he couldn’t answer whatever question had been posed. If she continued to ask, he would deal with it on the spot, but Vivian didn’t seem the type to push something after being told no; she would skirt around and find another avenue in an attempt to find answers but that was something he’d see coming and could plan for.

At least that was how she dealt with asinine rules.

“Okay,” she finally said after finishing the cookie.

“Okay?”

“I’ll let you know if it escalates,” she clarified with a nod.

Did that mean his blind eye to the situation was forgiven? That she understood? Or was she pretending they’d never had this conversation?

Would she hold this against him later? Keeping her true feelings bottled up like everything else until they could be of better use?

Was he over thinking things?