Deadly Silence (complete) Chapter 81

Theo couldn’t help feeling nervous. It wasn’t as if this was an actual date, but getting to spend most of the day with Vivian — and, yes, her bodyguard, too, but that was beside the point — was both exciting and nerve wracking. He was more than capable of keeping a conversation going, but would she actually have fun?

It was weird how his usual confidence was wavering. Never had he gone into a situation not feeling a hundred per cent but here he was, waiting to be picked up by a girl he liked, worrying she wouldn’t enjoy his company.

The doorbell rang, breaking Theo free from his worries as he glanced at the clock. There was still fifteen minutes before she was supposed to arrive. Had she gotten there early?

Before he was able to leave his room, Theo could hear Pops talking loudly to whoever was at the door and winced. The old man could be… if it was Vivian at the door it was best not to leave the two of them alone for long or Pops would start talking about embarrassing stories.

“Theodore!”

“Coming,” Theo shouted, taking the steps two at a time to reach the ground floor in seconds.

It had been Vivian, arriving early to get him for their not-date. Theo took a moment to note her appearance. Today her hair wasn’t pulled back in its usual ponytail but twisted into a loose braid. She wore a burgundy cardigan over a black and white patterned shirt and dark jeans that hugged her legs. Unlike the clothes, her sneakers looked well worn, something that surprised him a bit but he decided it was best to say nothing on the topic. She looked good. Really good. Unlike a lot of girls their age, she showed little skin, her shirt not revealing even the hint of cleavage and looked like it was more for comfort than anything else, and yet she made it look good.

*I have it so bad…* he thought to himself as a silly smile spread over his face. “You’re early.” Theo had thrown on a blue and white checkered button up shirt and jeans, nothing that amazing but he’d decided to go for casual since this wasn’t a date; just two friends hanging out. *Maybe I should have tried a bit harder.*

“I know. Sorry,” she told him. “On time for me is fifteen minutes early. I should have told you that.”

“Theodore, is this the girl?” His pops asked, whatever filter the old man had being long gone.

Not wanting Pops to say more — they’d had a heart to heart the previous night and Theo had talked about having a crush on Vivian — Theo put a hand on the old man’s shoulder, giving it a tight squeeze. “Pops, this is my friend, Vivian. Vivian, this is Pops; he’s my father’s dad.”

“Nice to meet you,” she told Pops with a small nod, raising her voice a little to be heard.

“You’re quite the pretty little thing, aren’t you?” Pops chuckled as he nudged Theo with an elbow. “Right, Theodore?”

Feeling his cheeks heating up, Theo cleared his throat. “She’s a bit too young for you, Pops.”

“Bah,” he exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. “I’m allowed to notice pretty things without it being weird.”

Vivian’s expression had barely changed as she watched their interaction. Not wanting to push his luck, Theo said, “I’m ready to go. I’ll be back later, Pops.”

“Yeah, yeah,” the old man huffed, waving a hand as he ambled back towards the living room. “Don’t do nothing I wouldn’t!”

Theo let out an awkward laugh as he stepped outside, closing the front door behind him. It would have been better if he’d made it to the door before Pops, but since the plan was to, eventually, introduce Vivian to his family — hopefully as his girlfriend — it was good to get the most embarrassing of them out of the way.

“Your pops seems nice,” she told him as they walked towards the dark blue sedan where a large black man stood waiting for them.

Figuring this was Tyrell, Theo took a second to look him over. They were close in height but the former was much larger. Broader in the chest, well muscled… Yeah, this wasn’t someone to mess with. As far as bodyguards went, Tyrell looked like he could do the job just by standing there and scaring away potential threats. The man wore a fitted black tee and chinos, which was different from the well tailored suit he’d worn at Coffeeholic.

“This is Tyrell,” Vivian said, motioning to the man standing by the car. “My bodyguard. Tyrell, this is my friend, Theo.”

“A pleasure.” The man’s voice was so low it seemed to make the air itself vibrate.

“Nice to meet you,” Theo greeted, holding out his hand, which was engulfed in the other man’s when they shook. Yeah, there was no way he was going to ever do anything to make Tyrell angry. One slap from that hand would send Theo through a wall, of that he was certain.

Without waiting, Tyrell reached over and opened the car door, motioning for them to get in. Vivian slid in first and Theo followed right after before the door was shut.

Inside was pretty nice; the car had to be on the higher end, which wasn’t a surprise. Still, it was one of those things Theo always noticed about the people in his life — what luxuries their money went towards. A nice car, though not excessively fancy, was one of the better choices, and one that most wealthy people rarely made.

“Sorry about the whole bodyguard thing,” Vivian said as she buckled her seatbelt, her voice low as her eyes followed the man in question as he walked around the car to the driver’s door.

“No worries,” Theo assured her, though he wasn’t really sure how he felt about having the scary man follow them around all day. It kind of felt like they had a chaperone, but Vivian had said her father wasn’t opposed to her dating.

Not that this was a date. But if he was fine with her dating, then being somewhere with a male friend, just the two of them, shouldn’t require a chaperone, right?

Vivian let out a hum as she pursed her lips. “Okay.”

“Maybe people will let us through the lines for rides so the big scary man won’t be standing right behind them,” he joked, earning a chuckle from Vivian.

“I kind of want to see that happen, now.”

“What’s that, Miss?” Tyrell asked as he settled into his seat.

“I want to see if people will let us cut in line because you look scary,” she explained, causing Theo’s mouth to drop open. She actually *told him* he was scary?

“Sorry, Miss Vivian, but I don’t plan on going on any rides.”

“How are you supposed to keep me safe if you aren’t on things with us?” She asked, a light tone to her voice. Vivian was teasing her scary ass bodyguard? Theo glanced between the two and grinned.

Even if it meant they weren’t able to ride things just the two of them, getting in on teasing the big man wasn’t something he could pass up. “The scary man might be scared of the scarier rides,” he managed to say, hoping his tone came out teasing enough so it wouldn’t be taken as a jab. “We could stick to the chill rides.”

Tyrell shook his head. “You’re supposed to ignore me and have fun, Miss Vivian. My job is to be your shadow, not your ride-a-long.”