Deadly Silence (complete) Chapter 78

It took Theo a minute to get the text to open on his phone, his heart beating like a drum as he read it.

Vivian: \[Would it be alright if I called?\]

Theo felt his chest suddenly constrict at the simple message. The only reason he could think of that would make her feel the need to call is to give him bad news.

Theo: \[Yeah, that’s fine. Call whenever you want.\]

He rolled onto his back before sitting up, crossing his legs as he waited for the call to come through, half excited to talk to her, half dreading to hear what she had to say.

It felt like he waited for an eternity when really it was closer to thirty seconds before his phone began ringing in his hand. He answered after the first ring. “Hey Vivian,” he said, keeping his tone light in hopes she wouldn’t hear how nervous he felt.

“Hey. So. I’ve got the green light for the amusement park, but, uhm…” her voice trailed off and he could almost see Vivian pursing her lips as she worked to find the right words.

“But…?” He prompted after a few seconds of silence.

A sigh came through and he couldn’t shake the feeling she might be regretting the entire thing. “I’m not allowed to go anywhere without my… without my bodyguard?” Her voice rose a bit on the last word, making it a question instead of a statement.

A bodyguard? Why did she have a bodyguard? Was it because she was going somewhere with a boy? “That’s… fine,” he managed to say. “Can… I ask why you need a bodyguard?”

There was some background noise, most likely from her moving around wherever she was calling from. It died down after a few seconds as she seemed to have settled. “Yeah… so… about that. Come to find out I’ve had one since moving in,” she finally explained, her tone sounding odd. Not defeated, but maybe that she’d resigned herself to the fact.

“Come to find out?” He frowned, leaning his back against the side of his bed. “That makes it sound like this bodyguard stalked you.”

“No… nothing like that. He was introduced as my driver.”

“…what?”

Another sigh came from her but Theo wasn’t sure if it was because he wasn’t understanding or because she’d had a secret bodyguard.

“It’s… a long story,” she muttered, clearing her throat before continuing to speak. “If I’m going to the amusement park Tyrell needs to be the one driving me there and back.”

*Tyrell? That must be the bodyguard’s name. So was she worried I would be mad I couldn’t drive her…?* “Okay, I can understand that I think. Does that mean you’ll be picking me up, or am I still getting there myself?”

There was a few moments of silence on the other end, to the point Theo had to check his phone to see if the call had dropped. It hadn’t, she just wasn’t saying anything.

“Vivian?”

“I’m still here, sorry,” she said almost right away. “I just… hadn’t thought of that. I’m pretty sure he won’t have a problem picking you up? I was texting him to ask.”

Vivian was such an awkward person and he couldn’t keep the stupid smile off his face at her flustered tone. “So what’s this bodyguard of yours like, anyway? Should I be worried?”

“Uhm… well… Tyrell’s only been my bodyguard since yesterday, so I’m not sure how to answer that? He seems nice enough.”

“I thought you said you’ve had one since you moved in?”

“Gilbert … hurt his leg the other day,” she explained, but something was off in her voice, as if she was intentionally skirting around something she didn’t want to talk about. “Tyrell is covering for Gilbert while he recovers.”

Theo wondered how this Gilbert had hurt his leg and if it had something to do with Vivian. Had her bodyguard gotten hurt in the line of duty…? The thought sent a chill down his spine. “I look forward to meeting Tyrell tomorrow, I think.”

“You’ve probably already seen him.”

“…huh? When?” Theo racked his brain, trying to remember if he’d ever met someone with the name Tyrell before but came up empty.

“He was at Coffeeholic. Big black guy in a suit.”

Theo froze, recalling exactly who she described. The guy had been tall, broad and definitely not someone to mess with. *That* was her bodyguard? What kind of car did he drive to fit all that mass behind the wheel? “Oh,” was all he managed to say.

“He texted back. Said picking you up wasn’t a problem.” There was the sound of relief in her voice, which broke Theo from his frozen state.

Now he needed to decide if getting in a car with the scary guy was a smart move, but it sounded like Vivian trusted Tyrell so why shouldn’t he?

Then again, he was being paid to keep her safe and Theo was *kind of* trying to pursue her.

“I wouldn’t worry about it,” she finally said, as if reading his mind. “I thought he looked scary when I first met him. I think as long as you don’t threaten me he’ll probably just ignore your existence.”

Theo couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped from him at her words. “Good to know. Threatening you hadn’t been part of the plan anyway.”

“That’s… good. What time did you want to be picked up?”

They worked out the logistics of when and where they’d pick him up before the call was brought to an end. Theo, for his part, was feeling good about the entire affair. Nervous, sure, but good. He’d only ever seen Vivian outside of school the once, at Coffeeholic, but she’d still been in the school uniform; he was curious to see what sort of aesthetic her regular clothes would follow.

A small part of him hoped she’d be into cute dresses, but she didn’t seem the girly type so he wasn’t holding his breath on that front. It’d still be nice.

Now that tomorrow’s plan was confirmed, Theo got to his feet and left his room, wandering to the living room where he found his grandfather watching a game show. “Hey, Pops, I’m gonna be out tomorrow.”

“Eh?” The old man said, voice louder than it needed to be as he was half deaf and refused to wear hearing aids. “Going out somewhere? Care to bring your old man with ya?”

“You wanna ride the roller coaster with me?” Theo shot back with a laugh.

“… never mind. I’ll stay home. It’s better here anyway.”

Theo laughed some more. His father’s father, Pops as he was called, lived with them as he was at an age where living alone wasn’t viable and Theo’s mother wasn’t willing to put the man in a home. Pops had been an integral part of their life when his son, Theo’s father, had died and none of them were willing to ship him off to live away from the little family he had left.

Even when his mother had remarried, Pops had been there, even walking her down the aisle at the wedding. The relationship wasn’t perfect, but it was full of love.

“So who you going on the roller coaster with?” Pops asked after a minute, half turning in his chair to look at his grandson.

“Well…” Theo hedged a bit, wondering just how much to tell Pops, who was a notorious gossip among family members. “There’s this girl…”