Vinewood, Los Santos, February of 2015
"How are you feelin'?"
It was the next day, and Amanda had just been discharged from hospital. Despite how happy she was to be going back home, Trevor's visit yesterday had given her a lot to think about, and she was distant. Michael noticed this but didn't want to push her, so he settled on listening to the radio until she was ready to talk.
"Michael?" She said quietly, breaking the silence.
"Hmm?"
"Remember Trevor's brother, Ryan?"
"Yeah..." He trailed off, scratching the back of his head nervously as they waited for the traffic light to turn green.
"What do you think happened to him?"
"No idea Mandy."
Amanda turned her head to look at him and peered into his eyes. She could see he was nervous and his face wore a guilty look.
"You're lying." She said bluntly, turning her head back towards the road when the lights went green.
"What? I'm not-"
"Michael," She cut him off, "I've been with you for 25 years. Trust me, I know when you're lying, you're like an open book."
"Right." He mumbled.
"Look, you don't have to tell me what happened, I can make a pretty good guess. I just wanna know why."
"Because he was tryna take you away from me, Amanda! Shit, there was nothin' else I could do."
She was quiet for a moment, trying to process what she'd just been told. She ran her hands through her hair then went through her contacts on her phone, and Michael's heart skipped a beat when he heard the phone ringing.
"Amandaaaa!" Trevor's voice came through the phone, "didn't think you were gonna speak to me after your little threat yesterday."
Michael raised an eyebrow.
"Shut up," She said, "Michael, tell Trevor what you just told me."
Michael pulled up to the house and shut the car off, but made no move to get out. He could hear Trevor humming on the other end of the phone, probably forgetting he was on the phone in the first place, making Michael question if Trevor would actually be bothered to hear what he had to say.
"Michael." Amanda said.
"Okay, okay. Trevor, I gotta tell you somethin'...about Ryan."
There was another moment of silence before Trevor spoke.
"What?"
"I...I killed him. But fuck just- just hear me out, okay? I was scared that you were gonna take Mandy away from me and I knew that if you just had a reason to hate her-"
Trevor put the phone down before Michael could carry on.
Amanda got out of the car without another word, with Michael right on her tail. They opened the door to Tracey and Jimmy sat on the stairs, the worried expressions on their faces gone as soon as Amanda walked through. They hugged her tightly for a few minutes before she pulled back, her tone of voice clearly showing she was furious but trying to put on a brave face for her children.
"Uhh, do you mind going upstairs for a minute? I need to talk about something with your father."
The kids rushed upstairs without protest, then Amanda turned to Michael with such disappointment in her eyes it reminded him of his father. She grabbed his wrist and pulled him into the room, shoving him down on the couch before she sat beside him.
"I'm not angry Michael, I'm just..."
"Disappointed, I know."
"How?"
"Just because you spent the past 10 years hating me doesn't mean I don't know you inside out."
"Right."
Amanda sighed and sat back, slowly reaching for Michael's hand. He accepted her touch like he was desperate, choosing to press his fingers into hers and play with her hand like it was the most fascinating thing he had seen in his life. After about 30 seconds of this, Amanda cleared her throat.
"How do we tell the kids?"
"Tell 'em what?"
"That I'm pregnant?"
"Oh yeah, uhhh..." He trailed off, completely distracted with Amanda's hand. He was touching it like he'd never seen it before, and all Amanda could do was raise her eyebrow at him but made no move to pull away, knowing she was no match for his grip.
A few hours later, Amanda was startled awake by Tracey kicking her in the legs. Turns out, her and Michael had both passed out on the couch after they were supposed to tell the kids the big news, and Amanda was even more surprised to find out that she was completely cozy in between her husbands legs!
"Mom, that's gross." Tracey grimaced as she stepped away from them both.
"Sorry sweetie, I don't even remember going to sleep." Amanda said honestly, putting all her weight into her hands so she could push herself upwards. A minute later, Michael groaned as he woke up, not nearly as confused as Amanda was.
"Why'd you move? You were keeping me warm- oh hey Tracey." He said nervously as he also sat up.
"Anyway," Tracey said, "can we get takeout? I'm hungry."
"Hold that thought...JIMMY!" Amanda shouted at the top of her lungs. Jimmy padded down the stairs as fast as he could and slumped straight down on the opposite end of the sofa, with Tracey joining him in a more gentle manner.
"Wassup?" Jimmy asked.
"We have something we need to tell you both." Michael said quietly.
"You're actually gonna give me some money?"
"I can buy the new COD game?"
"You're getting a divorce?"
"God no, don't be ridiculous," Michael said, "go on Amanda, you tell 'em."
Amanda gave him a side eye before finally turning to the kids, "I'm pregnant."
"You're what?" They both said at the same time, having the exact same reaction as Michael when he found out.
"Oh kids," She chuckled, "you are more like your father than you'll ever know."
A while later, Michael had gone out to the store to find food that would satisfy Amanda's cravings when there was a knock at the door. Amanda huffed as she stood up, stroking her ever so small bump whilst she walked to the door.
Who she didn't expect when she opened it, was Trevor.
"Trevor," she said with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, "come in."
He brushed past her without a word, heading straight for the couch. Amanda followed and sat down carefully, like she was scared to break herself, unlike Trevor who just slumped down and kicked his feet up.
"I didn't hate you just because of Ryan's death." He said quietly.
The sadness in his voice broke Amanda's heart.
"Then why?" She asked, staring at the floor.
"Because I wanted what I knew I couldn't have." He answered before raising his head to look at her.
"It didn't matter to me, Trevor, you know that."
"It mattered to me. You're my best friends wife and even liking you felt like I was betraying him, so I pushed you away. Ryan's death was just an excuse."
Amanda nodded slowly, fighting the tears back that welled up in her eyes. Trevor stood up and ruffled Amanda's hair, which Amanda took as an 'I'm sorry for being a prick to you for 20 years', and left without another word.
Not even 2 minutes later, Michael came in.
"Hey," he said as he handed her a bar of chocolate, "you okay?"
Amanda hummed and set the chocolate bar on the floor, and much to Michael's surprise she practically threw herself at him. She tackled him so that he was laying on the sofa and laid her head on his chest, listening to the sound of his heart beat and letting out a sigh of content.
"Are you sure you're okay?" He laughed, stroking Amanda's hair.
"Yeah, just wanted to cuddle you." She mumbled.
If both of them knew what was to come, they might've cuddled on that sofa without a care in the world for a bit longer.