Chapter 132 - Laurent
Listening to the conversation between his father and sister from just outside the kitchen, Laurent couldn’t help the feeling of guilt that gnawed at him from within. He could recall, with vivid clarity, what he’d said during Vivian’s second dinner with them; he’d lashed out at their mom, saying she’d abandoned them. At the time, he’d been so angry. A part of him had always thought that, one day, he’d get to confront the woman who was suppose to be his mother. Unlike everyone else, he had no memory of her, as he’d only been a few months old when she’d disappeared. It hadn’t been fair, to be the only one without some kind of connection to Annie, and it’d left him feeling angry and bitter whenever the topic was brought up.
Hearing that this woman he’d resented his entire life hadn’t forgotten about them, had told their sister of their existence in a roundabout way… It left an odd feeling in Laurent’s chest. For the first time, he was starting to believe Annie hadn’t left of her own free will. If she had, Vivian wouldn’t be as traumatized, right?
As much as he wanted to hear one of her stories, Laurent knew he wasn’t in the headspace to do so, not without breaking down. Instead of leaving, so they could continue the conversation, he chose to step into the kitchen and interrupt. “Morning,” he nodded to them both, as he made his way to where the boxes of cereal were on the counter. Taking a few seconds to decide which called to him that morning, he grabbed one and set it on the island counter.
As nonchalant as he was acting on the outside, inside he was unsettled. Theo had gotten through to Vivian somehow, and this morning their father had gotten her to talk about it more. How had they done it? What was the secret to getting her to talk? There had to be something that was said, or done, or…
It was when he finished pouring the milk into his cereal that Laurent thought he’d found the common denominator in both instances. Hell, when he’d confronted her about Theo, and the bullying… the way she reacted, closing herself off… it was all beginning to make sense.
Of course that’s the trick, he told himself, holding back a sigh as he chewed on his food, eyes going from his father to his sister and back again. “So, Vivian,” he began after his second spoonful of cereal. “What’s the deal with the second phone you kept secret?”
His sister froze, eyes wide as she stared at him.
“Laurent,” his father snapped, clearly angry.
“What?” Laurent shrugged. “We all want to know, so why not just ask her about it?”
Vivian’s eyes flicked to their father for half a second before returning to Laurent. “…uhm…”
“Don’t worry about it too much,” Laurent continued as Samuel got to his feet and circled the island counter. “I’ll tell you stuff in return.”
Their father had his hand on Laurent’s shoulder before he paused. “What are you saying?”
Laurent glanced back at Samuel and rolled his eyes, something the old man hated. “Vivian works on a quid-pro-quo system. If you’re honest with her about something, she’ll do the same. You circle the truth, she’ll circle the truth. You refuse to talk about something, she’ll refuse to talk about it, too.
“I want to know about the phone, so in exchange I’ll tell her how we found out about it in the first place.”
Samuel stared at his son for a long moment before looking over at Vivian, who hadn’t moved a muscle. “Vivian…”
“So,” Laurent began, shrugging off his father’s hand, “There’s a lot about our family you don’t know — and I’m not gonna get into all of that,” he added, sensing Samuel’s gaze boring through the back of his head. “Just that Dad took your word on Abby’s part in the locker thing. Her family actually works for him, so Sebastian and Gabriel went over to have a chat with them. Abby, in all her infinite superiority complex wisdom, mentioned the phone, and gave it to Gabriel.”
Both father and son were carefully watching Vivian as she grew paler with each sentence. The hand she held the spoon with was turning white at the knuckles, until she realized what was happening and dropped it onto the counter.
“From there,” Laurent ate some more of his cereal as he spoke, “we figured out some lady gave you the phone when you went to the bathroom at the amusement park. Since then, you’ve cut off both your friends, and have been struggling about whatever you were told over the phone.”
Looking up from his bowl, he caught Vivian’s eye and gave her a crooked smile. “Dad’s good at uncovering information. There’s only one person he’s never been able to dig something up about: Mom, after she disappeared.”
“Laurent,” Samuel snapped a second time, but there was less bite to it.
“Anyway, that’s what I know about the phone. So, your turn. What’s up with it? Who gave it to you, and why? Whatever you’re willing to tell me, I’ll be fine with it.”
She looked from one of them to the other, lips pursed. It felt like she was vibrating with fear, but Laurent wasn’t about to back down. He always believed his father was too soft when it came to Vivian — though he did concede some instances required that sort of approach — and they’d never learn anything without giving her a good push every now and then.
“I…” she croaked before her voice failed. “Uhm…”
Laurent was patient — he’d only just started his breakfast — and ate while he waited to see if she would give anything up. Their father continued to stand just behind his son, as if he worried any movement would cause Vivian to flee.
Almost finished with his cereal, Laurent decided to try a different approach. “Do you know who sent you the phone?”
It took another minute, in which time he’d finished eating and was in the process of bringing the bowl to the sink when she said, “…yes…”
“Do you know why?” Laurent asked after rinsing out his bowl. She only spoke again after he’d returned to his seat.
“… I’m… not really sure…”
“We know you talked to someone twice on the phone. Can you tell us what they wanted?”
Vivian’s gaze flickered between them again, and Laurent could tell his father was trying to be patient, fighting an inner battle to stay silent.
Laurent was actually surprised Samuel hadn’t jumped in and taken over the conversation. Usually, he’d have been pushed out by now, and yet Samuel hadn’t said anything for a while. It was almost as if he was trusting his son knew what he was doing.
“…information… on you,” she finally said as she locked gazes with her father.