Chapter 119 - Theodore
Usually Theo enjoyed going to track meets. Competing against others, mingling with students from other schools… He loved every aspect of it.
Today was different.
He’d heard Vivian’s father tell her she might have experienced a flashback, reminding him about what Laurent had told them earlier in the week.
She never talked about her childhood.
Laurent said they had access to her records from foster care, which meant they probably knew about everything that happened to her since being placed in the system. Even with all that information, no one had any idea how Vivian had lived for the first eight years of her life.
Vivian had said the same thing, over and over again, without pause until her father had shown up. Her words had been so faint that no one had been able to make out what she’d been saying by listening; but Theo had been watching her mouth. Mimicking how her lips were moving, he could hazard a guess on what she’d been whispering.
He’d made the choice to not tell anyone what he’d figured out. Maybe it was because he worried Vivian wouldn’t appreciate him spreading it around but, in truth, Theo was being selfish; he now knew something others didn’t. It was almost like sharing a secret with her, though he wasn’t really sure if it could be considered one or not.
When he finished his events, instead of socializing with the others, Theo headed straight for Laurent, who was surrounded by his usual crowd. Everyone had figured out Vivian was his sister, since it was Mr Devreaux who’d come running during her … episode, as it was being called, and now they were trying to get answers out of him.
Why hadn’t he said anything? Why hadn’t she said anything? Why were their last names different? What was her deal?
Theo rolled his eyes at the gaggle of teens before pushing through them to grab Laurent’s arm. “We need to talk,” he told the youngest Devreaux son, dragging him away from the crowd with little effort.
Once they were a ways away, Laurent jerked his arm out of Theo’s grip. “I didn’t need rescuing.”
“I wasn’t there to rescue you,” he sighed, waving a hand as if to brush that idea aside. “I need to talk to you. About Vivian.”
Laurent tensed at the mention of his sister, but he didn’t outright shut the conversation down. Theo considered this progress in their overall acquaintanceship. “What about?”
“Were you being honest on Monday, when you said she never talked about her childhood? That you don’t know if she was raised by your mom?”
Lips forming a grim line on his face, Laurent stared at Theo for nearly a minute before speaking. “Yes, that’s right.”
“Hm…”
“Why?”
Theo glanced towards the crowd, their team, then the bench where Vivian had been seated before Coach Mac had told her to go home — she’d been given a pass and didn’t need to stick around like the rest of them. A few of their teammates had been annoyed by this, but Theo took the opportunity to tell the guys about what had happened on Monday. He never said any names, but it didn’t take long before everyone figured out Vivian had been the target of bullying; he also inferred that Adriana being benched must be punishment for taking part in it. He even wondered, out loud, if the other girls on the team had known about it, since it’d happened in their locker room just after practice. There was no way anyone would have been able to pull it off without help — not in the locker room, not at that time of day. It was also why, when Adriana began to complain about Vivian being exempt from the rules, the guys chose to walk away, ignoring everything she said.
Was it fair that one person was given special permission? No. But at the same time, it also wasn’t fair that half the team might have been the cause of the ‘episode’.
“I… Look. All I’m able to do is guess, and I don’t want to say anything until I can confirm it.”
“So, what are you asking me?”
“I want to have a one-on-one talk. With Vivian. I get you’re all being careful around her, and letting her get wherever in her own time, but I think I might be able to get through to her — at least a bit.”
Laurent was still staring at him with that same expression on his face. “What makes you think you’d be able to get her to talk?”
Theo opened his mouth, then snapped it shut. Did he want to tell this guy about what he’d gone through as a child? “I think we might have something in common… in our past,” he explained after a handful of seconds had passed. “Something about what happened today reminded me of how I dealt with things back then.”
“And you think talking to her about it will get her to open up?” Laurent’s face had softened a bit as he listened, but there was still an edge to it.
Raising his shoulders in a shrug, Theo said, “It can’t hurt, can it? Have any of you gone through something traumatic that can be used to empathize with her?”
Again the other guy’s lips pursed into a hard line. “I can’t say I have,” Laurent finally admitted after a minute. “And I doubt my brothers are any different, or I’d have heard about it.”
“And your father?”
Laurent let out a dry laugh. “Ha. He isn’t the type to talk about that kind of thing with anyone — even Vivian.”
“So give me a chance to talk to her, just the two of us, and I’ll see what I can learn. What’s the worst that could happen?”
“She decides to stop talking altogether? That she decides she doesn’t want to stay with us and stops the adoption process before it can be finalized?” Laurent raised a finger with each point. “You’re also risking her never wanting to talk to you ever again.”
The thought of Vivian cutting him out completely made Theo hesitate but, deep down, he knew the risk was worth it. Even if she decided she wanted nothing to do with him ever again, not trying would haunt him for the rest of his life. “I know,” he told Laurent with a nod. “But this is more important than that, isn’t it?”
Laurent stared at him some more before finally letting out a sigh. “Let me call Dad and see if he’s willing to give you a chance.”