Intimacy

Chapter Fifteen: Heartbreak

"You did what?" She asked, eyes snapping away from the sculpture of the Twins she had been working on for weeks. She carefully kept the Exact-o knife away from the surface so she didn't screw up all the hard work she had been doing. Normally, she didn't like anyone else to see her work until it was done, but this was Larry. She had been struggling with this particular piece and she had wanted his opinions on its progress. It was supposed to be a sculpture of the two of them as Street Fighter characters. She had a few last minute changes to finish before she could move onto the next step.

"I told Lau you are pregnant."

Oh Christ. "How is he?"

"Broken. He's asking for you, belle."

She sighed softly, but placed her tools down onto her desk. She would clean them later before the clay dried too much. "Let me change then I'll be downstairs."

This wasn't exactly a conversation that she wanted right now. She had hoped that he wouldn't have found out until everyone else in the family did, but she couldn't fault Lar for telling him. He was thrilled and wanted one of the only other people closest to him, besides her, to know. She bounded up the stairs and into their room where she washed her hands in the bathroom and changed quickly out of her clay stained clothes. She tugged on a pair of sweats and a tank top, but remained barefoot as she padded down the stairs and into the kitchen. Larry stood there with car keys in hand.

"I'll leave the two of you to talk in private, bebe. Do you want anything while I'm out?"

"Coffee?" She pleaded desperately.

He chuckled softly, moving close to her. He slid the palm of his hand over her abdomen, rubbing it in soothing circles. "Mmm, anything my bebe wants."

She quirked a brow, a thousand different erotic images flashing in her mind.

"That look alone, belle, tells me exactly what your thinking. Naughty girl." He gripped her chin lightly with his free hand and claimed her mouth sweetly with his. "We can play later." He promised, moving towards the doorway. Larry glance back at her over his shoulder and gave her a devious, seductive little smirk before slipping out through the door.

Amanda stood there for a moment after the door clicked shut softly behind him. She gave another soft sigh, closing her eyes briefly. It was time to face the music. She turned on her heel and made her way towards the living room. Laurent stood by the window, leaning against the frame, his tattooed forearm supported him against the wall. She stood there, simply at a loss for words.

"Lau?" She finally asked, moving further into the room. She reached up to touch his shoulder and felt him almost flinch at her touch. She moved her hand away from him, but he caught her wrist in a surprisingly gentle grip.

"I am sorry, belle, but I can't help but think that if things could have been different, would have been different, you would be carrying my child instead of Larry's. I held onto this shred of hope that maybe, just maybe I could win you over." He turned to her then, the rich brown eyes she had once fallen in love with shimmering with unshed tears. They were red-rimmed and puffy, letting her know that he had been crying for some time already. "My mistakes have cost me the greatest thing that could have ever happened in my life."

He looked so lost that she felt her heart breaking for him. She couldn't help it. He had always gotten to her on some subconscious level.

"I never gave you a chance. I've seen how happy you have made my brother and I have become a very bitter and jealous man, bebe. It's not that I'm not happy for the two of you, because I am. But I am also hurt, angry and jealous. If this was how you felt all this time for the way I had treated you, I am so very sorry, Amanda. I didn't realize how much torment and pain I was putting you through and now the tables have turned." Laurent smiled almost sadly. "I think that there will be a part of me that will always, and I mean always love you, cherie. I truly don't think anyone else I ever meet will compare to how you make me feel when I'm around you. You have seen past the exterior and straight into my soul."

"I-" She began, but was interrupted when his mouth was just suddenly on hers, claiming it in a kiss that was so heated with passion that she thought for a moment she was going up in flames. Had he lit her on fire and she didn't know it? His hands framed her face, both of his thumbs caressing over the curve of her jaw on each side. He was devouring her by the second. His tongue slid past her lips, sweeping over hers in a caress that had her groaning.

Abruptly, Laurent shoved himself away from her, turning to face away. He couldn't bring himself to look at her. If he saw her with kiss swollen lips, he was going to cave in and take her like he had wanted to since he had first met her. But he couldn't. He couldn't break what she had with Lar.

"I am so sorry, belle. I desperately want you and I can't have you. It kills apart of me and somewhere deep down, I feel that it kills apart of you too. I've already caused you enough pain. I refuse to do that any longer." He bravely glanced over his shoulder at her, his eyes taking in each feature of her face. He took stock of the way she looked in that moment, committing it to memory. "I do love you, Amanda. With every fiber of my being which is why this is goodbye. Being around you hurts too damn much and I only have myself to blame. I had thought I could remain around you, remain friends, but even that hurts. Maybe sometime in the future, but right now, I just can't."

"Wait, Lau-"

"I'm sorry, cherie." He said nothing further, moving swiftly and gracefully for the door before his strength of will crumbled. He had seen the look of utter shock in her face and it had nearly broken his resolve. If he looked at her, he would fall down that hole again. He would have caved in and swept her off her feet and brought her upstairs, consequences be damned. His hands shook as he closed the door behind him. They shook so violently that he had nearly dropped his phone. He closed his eyes briefly as he leaned back against the door. This was one of the hardest things he had ever done, but he wanted his brother happy. More importantly, he wanted her happy. How could he have done that when he was only making her miserable? He pushed himself off of the door just as inside the apartment, Amanda felt herself crumbling. Why did it feel as if he had just ripped the heart from her chest and left it to shatter on the floor?

She crumbled to her knees, holding a hand over her chest as she fought to breathe. Her vision grayed around the edges, blurring briefly before it began to turn black.

"Belle?" She heard Larry's voice calling to her, but it sounded so far away. "Amanda?!" His panic eclipsed everything else and she reached out with a trembling hand, her palm facing towards him.

"I'm...I'm alright."

"No, bebe, you're not. You're shivering and deathly pale. I'm taking you to the hospital." Without a word, he lifted her into his arms, rushing out of the apartment.