✔︎ 𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐃𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐄 [𝐆𝐓𝐀𝐕]

𝐶𝐻𝐴𝑃𝑇𝐸𝑅 𝑆𝐸𝑉𝐸𝑁 - 𝑇𝑂 𝐿𝑂𝑉𝐸 𝑂𝑅 𝑇𝑂 𝐿𝑂𝑆𝐸

Vinewood, Los Santos, April of 2015

"I'll see if I can track his phone."

A couple months after Amanda's confession, everything seemed to return to it's relatively calm state, but with danger always looming on the horizon, she was never really off guard. She was now sitting at the kitchen island whilst Michael paced up and down the kitchen, clearly frustrated. Franklin had completely dropped off the grid, and whilst Lamar just thought he was busy, Michael knew something was up. So, he did what any logical person would do and phone the guy who just had his bank account robbed - because he was the safest person to go to for shit like this.

A new list had been released on the streets today, and whilst Michael's price had stayed the same, Amanda's almost doubled; apparently being pregnant means you're worth twice the value. Trevor and Franklin were also on the list, with Franklin being worth just 500k and Trevor being worth 2 million.

After he put the phone down, Michael sat across from Amanda and run a hand through his short hair. He was tired, that much was obvious, having been up since 7am and dealing with the stress of Franklin going mis-

"Oh my God Michael I'm going to be sick."

Amanda barely made it to the sink before she was spewing her guts up, clutching her stomach tightly. Michael was by her side at the speed of light, gently brushing her hair behind her and holding it in place so she wouldn't get any vomit in her hair.

After the last of it, she finally lifted her head up and breathed deeply, her hands trembling and skin pale. She hadn't felt sickness like that since Jimmy, and for the first time she actually thought about the gender of the baby.

"What do you think it's gonna be, boy or girl?" Michael said.

"What are you, a fuckin' mind reader?" Amanda replied as she tied her hair in a low ponytail and sat back at the island.

Michael chuckled and rolled his eyes before sitting back across from her, aimlessly flicking through his phone. They stayed like this for a while, a blissful silence washing over the house as any previous tension was washed away. But, it should be commonly known by now that things could never go well for Michael, and this was proven when he got that fateful phone call.

"We've uh, just found Franklin...or what's left of him."

This sent Michael into a fit of rage, fuming about the loss of his companion and just how awful this situation was altogether. Amanda did the best she could to comfort him, but she knew all to well that when her husband was angry, he much preferred to be left alone.

By the time 4pm rolled around, Amanda was just getting ready for work, when Michael came storming into their room, his eyes lit with a fire that made Amanda want to shrivel up and hide. She tried her best not to show this though, instead just choosing to frown at him as she shrugged on her FIB jacket and picked up her car keys, but when she moved to exit the room, Michael blocked the door.

"What's your problem?"

"You think I'm gonna fuckin' let you go out there when one of my best friends just got dismembered and left for dead? You're worth nearly 10x what he was, you really think that some prick ain't waiting right outside those gates with a gun ready to kill you and my fucking child?"

"Yeah Michael I'm worth this much for a reason," she spat, "because I'm harder to kill."

"No-one's untouchable, Amanda."

"No but I cut it pretty damn close." She muttered, shoving past Michael and running down the stairs.

"God damn it just listen to me!" Michael shouted as he followed her.

"No!" She yelled back, "if you're gonna be like this then maybe I'll have to hide out somewhere else without you. I won't live my entire life in fear, not like you."

He stood on the stairs for a moment and just stared blankly at her, making no move to stop her as she opened the front door. But, when Amanda felt a strong grip on her shoulder forcing her to swivel around and look her husband directly in the eyes, she knew he wasn't finished.

"I can't lose you too!" He said, his voice breaking at the last word.

"Why? Look at me. Why?" She asked, her voice barely above a whisper as she felt tears prick at her eyes.

"You know why. I need you. You win so...don't leave. Please stay with me."

And god damn it if Amanda hadn't seen Michael cry she definitely had now. He was drunk, she could tell by how he stood, but he wasn't so drunk that he'd pass out if you jabbed him in the shoulder. He was at the stage of drunk where if you open your mouth, the words just don't stop spilling out. Tears fell down his face as he looked at her, his eyes begging her to just stay with him, even if it was just while he fell to sleep. Amanda silently agreed, tossing an arm around his shoulders and guiding him to their room.

She shot a quick text to Dave and told him she'd be at work a bit later than expected but didn't even get to send it before Michael was pulling her beside him. He pushed her lightly onto her side and pressed himself behind her, wrapping an arm lazily around her waist as his breathing became more shallow.

Amanda waited, waited and waited some more. She entertained herself with stroking Michael's hand with her thumb for what felt like years before he started snoring, a sure sign that he had fallen to sleep. As cautiously as she could, she lifted Michael's arm so she could get up, something he grunted at but made no move to stop. Amanda stood and turned behind her to check that he was still asleep, and felt something in her heart soften when she saw his hand now on her pillow, gripping it tightly.

50+ missed calls from Dave Norton.

30 unread texts from Dave Norton.

Dave: Amanda, we need to talk.

Dave: Your house isn't safe, you need to leave.

Dave: Right now.

Dave: Amanda! I thought you knew how to work a phone. Get out of the house!

Dave: We detected a bomb planted in the closet - it's minor but if you're in your room it's going to kill you.

Dave: AMANDA! GO!

Dave: There's a 5 minute timer on it. (Delivered 2 minutes ago.)

And before she even had time to think about what was happening, the little beeping sound coming from her closet told her she didn't have much time left.