Deadly Silence (complete) Chapter 92

The dates on these reports coincided with Annie’s death and Vivian’s escape. Was this how he explained how he’d gotten shot? By killing off both wife and child like the bad guy in a movie? Because they’d escaped his clutches?

Vivian supposed that made sense. How else would he explain away them no longer being around. Why go the easy route and say his wife — Annika? — had left him, taking their daughter with her. No, he had to kill them off in a horrific way: incinerated in a car.

“Where’d he get the bodies, though?” She muttered, a shudder running down her spine. Had he kidnapped a mother and child to fill in for them? The thought made her want to throw up, but Vivian forced down the bile and refused to allow him to affect her in such a way for a third time.

Those two bodies… the report said they couldn’t be identified through DNA as the fire had burned too hot. Dental reports weren’t viable either, though it didn’t specify why and Vivian preferred not knowing. The car was Paul’s, and the remains were the right size and gender; along with a few other things that’d survived the fire — like a wedding ring — confirmed it was his family.

If it’d been anyone else, if the story had even a tiny bit of truth to it, Vivian might have pitied the man. The picture he’d painted was of a loving family torn apart by nothing more than bad luck; suddenly he’d found himself alone in the world. Vivian understood some of how that felt, because he’d done the same to her that day in the woods. He’d taken Vivian’s world — her mother — and ended it with the pull of a trigger.

Vivian needed a break. She felt sick after reading all that. There were still a few more pages to go through but they’d be there after she’d calmed herself down.

Time to think about something else; like how she was going to deal with practice tomorrow. Theo would likely attempt to start a conversation — both he and Miriam had been texting on and off since yesterday. Vivian hadn’t read a single message, let alone opened any to see what was being sent. How would they react in person after being ignored?

Getting up from her desk, she ventured to her bed and flopped down on it, phone in hand. It would be easy to tell them things had gone a bit sideways and she wouldn’t be able to hang out for a while, but Vivian knew that wouldn’t stop them from asking questions, demanding answers.

Thumbing her phone’s screen, she scrolled through yesterday’s photos. Theo looked like he was having the time of his life. Even the few shots she’d taken of Tyrell showed hints of a smile. “I should have saved the ones of me from the chat,” she murmured as she closed the app and let out a sigh. There was no way she could open the chat to grab the photos without reading whatever her friends had sent, and that would lead to crushing guilt because of what she was doing.

Feeling no better than before, Vivian forced herself to her feet and decided if she was going to go through with all this her friends wouldn’t be the only ones who suffered. She’d run her troubles away and die in the process, if past experience was anything to go by.

Three eighths of a kilometer would be half a kilometer by the time she finished or so help her…

Running to collapse hadn’t happened, but running until she was forced to stop from dry heaving had been a new experience. It’d taught Vivian an important lesson; running straight through was stupid. Most of Sunday she spent switching between homework, making notes about Paul’s file, and running.

The exhaustion she felt collapsing in bed that night was all consuming, to the point her mind couldn’t even muster a dream. In the blink of an eye Vivian went from curling up in bed to sleep to her alarm’s angry blaring.

Burying her face in a pillow, she fought the urge to turn the damn thing off and return to sleep. After ten seconds the alarm began to rise in volume, forcing Vivian to sit up and grab the offending device. Blessed silence met her ears as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

She hadn’t been able to come up with a plan on dealing with Theo or Miriam. Everything felt wrong; not that there was a right way to do it. They deserved to know why but that was the one thing she couldn’t tell them.

Getting dressed and putting everything back in her school bag, Vivian stifled a yawn as she made her way downstairs to find something for breakfast.

The house was silent as she puttered around the kitchen, frying an egg that was then placed on a slice of toast. Simple but filling. She was halfway through her breakfast when Laurent made an appearance, looking much more awake than should be allowed at that hour.

They exchanged a nod in greeting. Vivian checked the time on her phone, swiping away yet another message sent from Theo. The pain in her chest when she did this had dulled since yesterday as she compartmentalized her feelings on the matter. What other choice did she have but to stay detached from everything?

“You coming?” Laurent asked as he walked out of the kitchen, talking around a piece of toast in his mouth.

Was he going to give her a drive again? Vivian wasn’t opposed to this. Tyrell was fine, but he worked for Samuel. If he noticed anything off about her it was likely reported in. It would be best to avoid needing his services for the time being. “Yeah,” she nodded, stuffing the last of the food in her mouth.

Just like last time no words were shared between the siblings on their way to school, with a short detour to pick up Reagan. Vivian absently wondered why Reagan didn’t just drive himself to school like everyone else. *Maybe he doesn’t have his license?* She asked herself as she looked out the window without really seeing anything. *No, I doubt that. They’re pretty much joined at the hip anyway. If anything they’re more like…*

Vivian’s train of thought came to an abrupt stop as her gaze flicked over to stare at Laurent. *No… there’s no way… or is there?*