Deadly Silence (complete) Chapter 72

A few minutes after Vivian had settled Tyrell strolled into Coffeeholic, looking at ease with a hand in his pocket as he looked around. His eyes swept over her without stopping, as though she was invisible. Good. The last thing she needed was for Theo to see her talking to a giant of a man and ask how they knew one another. How would she explain he was her bodyguard without getting questioned further?

Having arrived fifteen minutes early, Vivian was well settled into her spot when Theo arrived with five minutes to spare. The look of surprise on his face when he realized she was already there made her wonder if he expected her to only show up on time, or maybe even late? Or did he expect her to not show up at all?

Theo gave her a wave and a smile before he went to the counter and ordered something. This was when she realized Miriam’s plan on seeing if he would buy her a drink was a flop; Vivian had already ordered one for herself and it was already almost half gone.

Once he was done at the counter Theo walked over and took the seat opposite Vivian, his back to the room. She wondered if he realized how vulnerable that made him; did he realize anyone could sneak up on him and he’d never know? Tyrell’s instructions on where to sit had made her aware of the fact she’d always subconsciously taken into account the direction she faced.

She’d always hated having her back to the room, though was less bothered if it was only to a portion of the room. With her back now against a wall Vivian felt a lot more at east in a public setting than she had in a long while, though that might have to do with the fact Tyrell was still hanging out, chatting up one of the baristas as though he didn’t have a job to do. His eyes were always on the move, taking note of anyone who entered or exited the building, and even seemed to scan the pedestrians who walked by the windows outside.

“You got here early,” Theo spoke, drawing her attention from watching her giant bodyguard to the boy who sat across from her. “Hope you weren’t waiting long.”

“Not long at all,” she assured him, thinking fifteen minutes early was the perfect amount of time to arrive for a meet up. “So what did you want to talk about that had to be in person?” As she spoke, the same barista as before delivered Theo’s drink, leaving them alone once the job was complete.

Taking a sip of his drink, Theo eyed her curiously before he set down his cup and let out a breath. “Straight to the point, huh?”

“Yep.”

A lopsided smile crossed his face as he let out a chuckle. “You really are something else…”

Vivian shrugged her shoulders a little as she took another drink of her hot chocolate. “So what’s up?”

She watched as Theo shifted in his seat and wondered if he was nervous about whatever he wanted to talk about. Why would he be nervous, though? He was the one who wanted to meet up so he should have everything thought through.

“I wanted to, ah… I wanted to apologize for lunch today.”

Vivian blinked, surprised by what he’d said; it wasn’t at all what she’d expected. Not that she was *expecting* him to confess any feelings to her — not at all, as that wasn’t what she wanted in the least — but to apologize? This could have easily been done over text.

“I kind of over reacted when Laurent dragged you off,” he continued after a few seconds, his eyes firmly locked on his drink. “He’s not exactly the… nicest guy though he’s never, like… hit anyone before, but the way he talks… I’m sure you know what I mean, being his sister and all.”

Vivian nodded, a bit at a loss for words as the boy continued to speak, as though he couldn’t stop the words from spilling out of his mouth.

“I’m not even sure what I expected him to do, if I’m being honest. But the thought of you dealing with him on your own just made me… I don’t know, I just didn’t like the thought of it. He and I don’t really mesh well on a good day since we’re so different so I think, in my mind, that meant you wouldn’t get along with him either.”

“I don’t get along with him,” she told Theo, unable to stop herself from interrupting. This earned her a startled look from the boy and she simply shrugged her shoulders again. “We live together but don’t really talk.” She didn’t want to bring up how he’d only recently begun to insert himself in her life — it’d happened three times within the past week — and since it was such a new development Vivian wasn’t even sure how she felt about it just yet.

“He doesn’t like… treat you badly or anything, does he?” The tone in Theo’s voice was that of worry and something else she couldn’t quite put her finger on.

“It’s more like I don’t exist,” she corrected. “I don’t mind it, especially since I was kind of dropped on him without warning.”

“Yeah… about that… I was hoping you’d be okay sharing how all that happened.” Theo was watching her now, the corner’s of his lips twitching as if he was trying his best to not smile for once. Was it because he wanted her to know he was taking this conversation seriously? “Not that it’s my business, but I’m just, y’know, curious. How does a family not know they have a daughter and sister for sixteen years? It just seems unreal.”

Vivian pursed her lips, eyes gazing down at her drink in silence as her mind went through possible ways to answer his question without being too blunt and rude. Shutting him down without a proper reason felt rather cruel when she’d been the one who’d accidentally brought up the topic. “It’s… a long story,” she muttered, fingers tightening around her drink. “I shouldn’t have brought it up.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he assured her with a forced laugh. “I was asking cause I’m curious, but you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to. It’s not really any of my business so I shouldn’t have asked.”

“It’s fine,” Vivian nodded once, looking up at him again. “Is that all you needed to talk about?”

Theo let out another laugh, though this one more awkward than amused. “Do you really not like my company that much?”