Deadly Silence (complete) Chapter 89

Weekends at the Devreaux residence were always quiet. It was rare anyone was home, though people came and went more than ever before.

From her room, Vivian could see when someone pulled up the drive and noted six different visitors since she’d arrived home from the park. Samuel had stayed in for some reason, meaning anyone who needed to speak with him had to come to the house. It didn’t bother her as she had no intention of venturing out of her room until she needed food, but it was a change from what she’d been expecting.

About an hour after she’d settled in to wait out the weekend in her room, Miriam texted, asking how the day was going and if there were any more photos. Vivian had forgotten she’d put off looking at the chat in the car and opened it to see the sad looking pie.

It made her smile only for it to disappear a second later.

*Push them away*, she reminded herself as she closed the chat window and dropped her phone on the bed.

The simplest way to sever ties was to tell them she was no longer interested in being their friend, but that would be a lie. Even if she’d broken her rule once with Gabriel, she wasn’t about to do it again just yet. They didn’t deserve what she was about to do, and thinking about it made her heart hurt.

She didn’t want to do this.

Sitting at her desk, Vivian stared at the textbook that held the photo of her mother, not wanting to see it again but knowing exactly where it hid. He wasn’t playing fair, as usual, and she was stuck going along with whatever he wanted.

Just like before.

Vivian clenched her hands into fists, nails digging deep into her palms. There had to be a way out of this mess though none came to mind.

What was his end game, anyway? What did he want out of this? It couldn’t be about tormenting her, could it?

The last time they’d been together — not at the police station, but before that — he’d wanted Vivian dead, killing her mother by accident when she’d gotten in the way. There was no way he’d forgiven Vivian for that. Paul was… had been… obsessed with Annie Devreaux. The control he’d forced upon the woman had been intense and Vivian hadn’t fared much better, though for different reasons.

Could this be about control?

Control had always been the centre of Vivian’s life and something she felt was never hers to have. Before or after her mother’s death she hadn’t been allowed to dictate where her life went until just recently. Samuel had given her the freedom to do whatever she wanted, for the most part, and hadn’t tried to tell her how to live, how to act… she was allowed to just exist.

From the bed her phone dinged again, but she ignored it. On and off for the next few hours it would ding, eventually forcing her to put it on silent mode. Both Miriam and Theo had texted her, in the group chat and separately. She wanted to open the messages and read them, to respond, but Vivian forced herself to swipe the notifications away and lock the phone again, setting it face down on the bed.

They would be angry about being ignored, but that was a problem for another time. On Monday she would need to figure out how to deal with breaking the friendships but for now she couldn’t think straight.

Maybe she could just avoid them forever. Was that possible? A few of her classes overlapped with Miriam’s, so it would be tricky. Theo would be easier, since he was in his senior year and they didn’t share any classes; except they were both on the track and field team, weren’t they? Three mornings a week she had to be in the same place as him with nowhere to hide.

A sudden thought came to her; Laurent didn’t want her hanging around Theo. Did that mean if she asked he’d intervene on her behalf?

No. She couldn’t do that. The last thing she wanted to do was get yet another person involved in her mess of a life.

It was relatively late when the burner phone began to buzz, the vibrations making it dance across her desk. Vivian stared at it for a couple seconds, swallowing the lump that’d formed in her throat before reaching with trembling fingers to answer.

“Good evening,” Paul greeted her, voice dripping with fake honey. “Did you enjoy yourself today?”

Just like earlier, Vivian’s voice seemed to have left. Opening her mouth to respond, no sound made it past her lips.

“Good, good. Now. There’s something I need you to do for me.”

Vivian swallowed again and managed to get out, “…what’s that…?” in a shaky voice.

“It’ll be easy for you to do,” he assured her with a soft chuckle. “I just need you to do some digging on Samuel Devreaux.”

How was she supposed to do *that*? And what was she supposed to dig up, anyway? “I… why?”

“Because I told you to.” There was a hint of annoyance in his voice, causing Vivian to clam up. “Anything is relevant, my little Vivi. Even the smallest, inconsequential information is important. I’ll be checking in with you regularly moving forward. Monday, Thursday and… Saturday? Yes. I’ll call you on those days, at this exact time. Make sure you have something to tell me when we chat or I’ll be…” he took a deep breath, exhaling it slowly, “… disappointed. You don’t want that, do you?”

A disappointed Paul was not good; it was best to avoid disappointing him at all cost.

“Hello? I need you to answer when I ask a question.”

“…yes…” she murmured, feeling like she was being torn in two from the inside. How was she supposed to do as he asked? Would he know if she made something up on the spot?

Yes, he would. He always knew when she lied. Vivian would have to do as she’d been told or risk… She couldn’t finish the thought as her eyes locked on the phone she’d been ignoring all evening, silently laying on the bed.

“Do I need to remind you what happens if you disobey me?”

“…no…”

“Good girl. You have until Monday to get me something; I have high hopes for you.” The call disconnected. He was never one for goodbyes, something she hated that they had in common.

*How am I supposed to do this? What am I supposed to be digging up? I don’t even know where to start!*