Chapter 105 - Samuel
That girl getting away scott free wasn’t acceptable.
Samuel didn’t care if there was evidence linking her to the incident or not; Abigail Demoine had to pay the price for what she’d done to his daughter.
After he’d seen Vivian to her room so she could rest, he’d gotten changed and gone directly to the gym where he proceeded to spend the next hour at the punching bag.
Sweat poured into his eyes as he raised his hands to stop the bag from swinging back and forth. Getting that excess of energy out of his system helped keep him sane and from doing something stupid. It wouldn’t do if he retaliated again the Demoine girl only to make a mistake and get caught.
A plan had begun to form as he’d struck the bag again and again, fine tuning itself over the course of the hour until Samuel knew what had to be done and how to carry it out.
Taking a swig of water from a bottle, he picked up his phone and dialled a number. The line connected after a single ring. “Sebastian, I have a job for you.”
“Sure thing,” his eldest son’s voice came through. “How’s Vivian? Laurent filled Gabe and I in already.”
Samuel was aware his youngest son had been texting during the meeting with Mrs Lewis and afterwards, and had figured that was the case. “She’s… Vivian,” he replied, knowing it was a lame answer but unable to find any other way of describing his daughter’s state.
A soft chuckle came through the phone, causing a smile to tug at the corners of his mouth. Sebastian understood exactly what he’d meant.
“As stoic as ever, then? She bounced back fast.”
“She did… and it worries me.”
“You think she faked it and plans to deal with everything when no one else is around?”
Though his son couldn’t see it, Samuel tilted his head to one side then the other, as if weighing his thoughts before speaking them out loud. “I get the feeling she won’t deal with it at all.”
“…you think she, what, compartmentalizes everything? At sixteen? Is that a thing? I know we’ve been trained to do that, but we started at a young age and intentionally worked on it.”
“Depending on her living situation prior to being found…” Samuel trailed off, not wanting to think about it too much. “Her recovery from the shooting made me think that might be what she was doing, but it just didn’t seem… right. Now, though, I saw her before she pulled herself together and to see it happen was…”
“Laurent said it was like watching someone stuff everything into a suitcase and force it closed.”
“That works,” their father agreed with a sad laugh. “Something like that, anyway. I don’t like it.”
“You know if you push too much too fast she’ll never open up,” Sebastian warned.
“I’m aware. She did take a step forward by telling me who’d done it, so I like to think I’m making some progress.”
“You are. I’m not home enough to see her as often as you, and that might be why I’ve noticed it the most, but she’s changed quite a bit from when she first arrived.”
“…has she?”
“Think about it, Dad. But we got off track. What’s this job you want me to do?”
“I’ll give you the details tonight after dinner. It’s nothing you can’t easily get done.”
“I look forward to it. See you at dinner.”
They hung up and Samuel wiped the sweat from his face with a hand before leaving the gym to shower and change. There was still a fair bit of work to get done before everyone gathered. His plan for tonight’s meal was lasagna, and though he’d prepped everything beforehand it would still take a bit to finish.
As he cooked, he thought about what Sebastian had told him; just how much had Vivian changed since moving in?
Maybe I’m too focused on gaining her trust that I’m missing everything else? The thought didn’t sit well with him as he slid the lasagna into the oven and set the timer. I’ve been trying to win her trust but that might be the wrong way of going about it… except I don’t know what else to do. What does she need the most? What does she want? I’ve never really tried to see things from her perspective that way. I just believe I know what’s best and that’s that… but every time something happens she’s the one that is forced to guide me through it.
This revelation left a bad taste in Samuel’s mouth. He didn’t like how stupid he’d been about everything. He thought he’d been listening to everything she said and reacting appropriately and yet looking back none of his decisions had been for her but for him.
I really am a selfish man.
Feeling the need to set things right and feeling the need to have this conversation with Vivian herself — and to apologize for how blind he was — he made his way upstairs and gave her door three soft knocks. Straining his ears, he listened for any sound but heard none. Was she sleeping?
Quietly, he turned the knob and opened the door wide enough to peek inside. There was no sign of Vivian.
His heart began to pound in his chest as he threw open the door and looked around the room. She wasn’t there. Her bed had been used since he’d left her earlier but she wasn’t anywhere to be found.
It took too many steps for him to reach her bathroom, which was also empty, and so too was her closet. She’s claustrophobic and I gave her a walk in closet, he thought to himself with a grimace. Why hasn’t she said something about it? Does using it make her anxious?
His worries over the closet were soon replaced by needing to know where she’d gone. Not thinking, he tried calling her only to hang up after the first ring. Even if she had her phone it was security locked; she wouldn’t be able to answer it. Anger flared through him again as he thought about the two girls responsible for this mess.
Forcing the grip on his phone to relax — the last thing he needed was to break the thing — Samuel marched out of his daughter’s room and down the hall. He’d find her even if it killed him, and whoever was responsible would pay a heavy price for it.