3. Fracture

For a while, his dull mind had floated in unconsciousness - but then images danced again before his eyes. Lara. And her harsh, hurtful words, and that laughter which had destroyed him.

Waiting? For what?

"Waiting? For what?" She had said, staring at him. Damn, everything was easy for her. Too easy.

"This can't be done like this. Drop the bomb without anything more." He'd replied, still half dressed.

Kurtis had just left Anna in Croft Manor with her grandmother - that weird old lady who peered at him behind curtains - and then met Lara in a London hotel, for she had no desire to cross paths with her mother.

Not that he cared at all. They had been in much worse places. As soon as he'd opened the suite door, he'd immediately lifted her in his arms and carried her to bed while she laughed.

That happiness had lasted half an hour. Then, everything went to hell.

Sitting in a lotus position, with the sheets still tangled around her waist and her long, brown hair falling between her breasts, Lara watched him dress abruptly after she'd brought up the damned subject up again – with that glance of hers, halfway between disbelief and impatience. "Waiting will only worsen things." Lara brushed a damp lock of hair off her face. "The sooner she knows, the better."

Kurtis didn't answer. He slipped into his pants and began to fasten the belt.

She knew better than to provoke him when he insisted on silence. She shouldn't have provoked him - but she did it anyway. "What are you afraid of?"

Lara watched him stand still, his broad back, still pearly with sweat, suddenly stiff. He didn't turn around. "What do you think I'm afraid of?" He answered, her voice seemingly calm, but with a point of tension she knew well.

"You tell me." Lara kicked the sheet away. "I didn't expect this from you. Well, actually, I did."

She jumped up and began to dress too. Out of the corner of the eye she saw Kurtis turning toward her and staring at her - that intimidating glance that could not actually intimidate her, but still make her shiver.

She shouldn't have fought back. But she did anyway.

"You shouldn't project your fears on Anna." Lara said as she slid into her jeans. "You'll spoil her."

"I haven't projected anything on her." Kurtis muttered. "Except for that damn… thing."

Lara let out a long sigh and rolled her eyes. "Stop being so dramatic. It's no big deal."

"What?" He was looking at her with a strange expression, confused and angry at the same time.

She should have stopped - but she didn't. "You're making a mountain out of a molehill. Yes, Anna has inherited the Gift, so what? If not for that damn thing, as you call it, she would now be dead."

"Oh yeah, thanks, that's true. I didn't notice." Kurtis snorted. "Guess that solves all my problems."

Lara glared at him. Then she began to fasten her bra. "Leave the sarcasm to me."

"As you wish, M'lady."

She felt a bitter aftertaste in her mouth upon hearing that nickname.

"If you don't tell her, I will."

"Don't."

"Why not?"

"My daughter, my legacy."

"Fair enough. Some responsibility at last." Lara slipped her top over her head.

He was half dressed, sitting up in bed, just wearing his pants. His gaze had changed from angry to hurt – or maybe bewildered? "What the hell did you just say?" He whispered, dragging the words.

"I know how this ends." She brushed her hair away from her face and began to brush it furiously. "You really want her to find out the same way you found out? I haven't raised her all these years to be completely fearless so that now so much secrecy can mark her."

"What do you know about that, anyway?" Kurtis's jaw tightened.

Huh-oh, Lara thought. She'd realized too late. "I know what happened. Your mother told me. Years ago, when... " She waved her hand, absentmindedly, "when she healed me of that bullet wound."

Kurtis shrugged, an ironic and irritated gesture. "Great. What else have you told each other behind my back? My first pimple? My first time getting drunk? My first girlfriend?"

Lara raised her eyebrows, wry. "I thought we don't talk about our previous partners."

"Forget it." Kurtis turned, caught his T-shirt off the floor and slid it over his torso.

But she didn't stop. She went on while braiding her hair: "I know this bothers you..."

"Lara..."

"... but there's nothing to fear. Our enemies are dead, and the gates of the Vortex are closed..."

"There are demons still around the world, okay?" Kurtis spread his arms at his sides, and suddenly he looked like a crucified man. "And in case you didn't notice, Anna has just become a magnet for them. They may take a while to find her, but they will come."

Lara let go of the braid half-done, approached him and took his hands. They were cold, despite the still-charged atmosphere of the room. "Well then, we'll send them back to hell!" She shrugged. "But don't hide this from her, it will be worse!"

Kurtis let out an exasperated sigh. "You still don't get it, do you?" He let go Lara's hands and began to open and close his own hands, staring helplessly at them. "I've lost the fucking powers! I have nothing to defend her with. I have nothing to teach her with. She's the last one now... and she's alone."

"She has you. She has me."

"The first strong demon I cross paths with will kill me. Now I'm like a child to them, Lara. And then there will be no one standing between them and the both of you."

Lara let out an exasperated sigh and got up. "Let them come! I've fought them before, and I'll do it again. Without your bloody Gift! Let them come if they dare."

"You don't know what you're saying. You've no clue."

"What?"

I'm the one who saw you shattered on that altar, the only one who survived. It was me, damn it, the only one left. The one who saw you gutted, raped, murdered. And her, with you. Just me. The one who brought you back.

"Whatever." He only said, and got up heavily from the bed.

"You're a coward."

Sunlight burned him, hurting his eyes, but he didn't bother to move. The sky, too blue, torn, hurtful. His dry mouth. His lips were beginning to crack.

Kurtis lifted the bottle he'd found the day before after checking the basement. It didn't look like it was in good shape, but what did it matter? Not the worst thing he'd ever had.

He took a long sip.

Coward.

For an instant, the word floated in the air, between them two.

Then Kurtis turned slowly toward her. "I am what?"

"A coward." She repeated ruthlessly, those sensual, coral lips, which he'd devoured minutes before, which he'd devoured for years. "The Demon Hunter, who fights all demons except his own."

Kurtis breathed in and out deeply, as he felt the blood rise to his head amidst hot, painful, throbbing waves. "Enough, Lara."

"Why? Did I touch a nerve?"

His ears began to ring. "I'm a coward, yeah." He mumbled, spitting word for word. "I'm the coward who sacrificed himself for you and served you my long-desired revenge on a silver platter. I'm the coward who fought and bled for you when the last Nephilim wanted to use you for his disgusting breeding project. I'm the coward who delivered himself into the hands of his enemies in exchange for your freedom. I'm the coward who offered to die in your place, who gave his powers to bring you back. I'm the coward who came to rescue you from those Sri Lankan killers. I'm exactly that kind of coward." His breathing had become agitated and his eyes glazed.

Lara paled. "You know that's not what I meant." She protested.

"And what did you mean, M'lady?" His voice was bitter. "Will you ever take anything seriously?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I don't blame you for dragging Anna into a war zone. You couldn't possibly know. But then you left her lying on the ground to run after that bastard and get caught by the guerrillas. I had to leave Anna dying in a filthy hospital to go back for you and get you outta there. And even then, you acted like it was all a game."

Lara raised her eyebrows. "Well, it's not like you seemed very upset about the idea. As far as I know, it was good for you I was so into the game."

Kurtis tried to remove the image from his mind of their two bodies, mud-and-bloodied, entwined rhythmically on the jungle ground. "Why are you doing this?" He shrugged desperately. "During all these years, this has worked because of my patience and letting go of everything you did."

"Everything I did?" She panted indignantly.

"Do you ever listen to me? What am I to you? The guy you screw from time to time?"

Lara rolled her eyes and turned away from him. "Enough. We'll talk again when you're not moody."

She felt his grip on her arms as he turned her around as if she was a top, to face him. Lara squirmed, annoyed. "Let me go."

"Why do you act like this is no big deal?"

"It's not a big deal. It's just you, seeing demons everywhere. Who's unable to overcome the past."

Kurtis released her. "You don't give a shit about what I think, do you? If I don't tell her, you will. Fuck what I want."

"What you want is to lock Anna in a crystal cage so she doesn't break." Lara snorted contemptuously. "And if I let you, you'd do the same with me."

He raised his hands helplessly. "Sorry for caring about you."

Lara let out a sigh of exasperation. "I've told you a thousand times. I can take care of myself... and Anna will, too. You don't need to be always after us. I don't need you."

I don't need you.

One sip.

I don't need you.

Two sips.

I don't need you.

Three sips.

He stared at her in silence for a few seconds. There was only the sound of his agitated breathing. "Alright." He murmured. "You've never needed me. I could disappear right now through that door," he raised his hand to point it out, "never to return, and you'd give no fucks about it."

"Don't exaggerate."

"What am I to you?" He repeated, his teeth clenched. "How much do you care?"

"I'm done with this." Lara said, and pulled away from him.

He grabbed her by the arm again and pulled her toward him. Then she felt the touch of his lips on her ear: "If I asked you, would you marry me?"

Lara froze for a moment, stunned. Then she turned to him. "Are you proposing in the middle of an argument? Now that's original. Congratulations, you're the first one to do so." And then she laughed.

She shouldn't have laughed.

But she did anyway.

Now that's original. You're the first one to do so.

The gang of suitors. The way they looked at her. Her smile, condescending. That mass of puppets that crowded to court her.

Only the boldest dared to propose. Most just wanted to sleep with her. And some would be content with laying a finger on her for a while, even if it was in the middle of a dance.

Jealousy. Anger. It was wrong, he knew it. She was free. Besides, she had been his ever since they met. As much as he was hers.

Even so, she enjoyed that game. That bittersweet torture. He not being allowed to stand next to her. He wasn't rich. He wasn't high-born. He wasn't famous.

Not that he wanted to be. He wanted nothing of that society, of that fortune, of that manor. He just wanted her. And he had had her.

After all they had been through to finally be together.

Fourteen years. Fourteen years of happiness.

Fourteen years to discover that the role of the unknown father, the hidden, anonymous lover, wasn't enough.

Are you proposing?

She had laughed at him.

Lara didn't see his reaction coming. Suddenly, Kurtis' hurt face turned into a mask of fury. Before she could react, he grabbed her by the arms and slammed her against the wall. It happened too fast to even think about defending herself.

The blow hit her in the back and she gasped, breathless. Her head bounced against the wall and she collapsed on the floor, seated, dragging a lamp, the bedside table and all its contents down with her. She took a few seconds to catch her breath, more dazed by surprise than by the blow.

"You, you..." She panted. "How dare you..."

Kurtis stood in the middle of the room, staring at her, suddenly blank. Then he looked down at his hands.

Then he turned and, without looking at her, left the room.

That was the last time they had seen each other.

Coward.

I don't need you.

Her contemptuous laughter. Her hurt, disbelieving glance.

How dare you.

He brought the bottle back to his lips.