Page 116 of Broken Butterfly
I can see Elizabeth is pondering the request by the way she chews on the inside of her cheek. She exhales loudly. “Fine. Come in.”
Maria follows us nervously into the living room.
“Oh hell no. Get the fuck out.” Fallon rushes forward as Trevor stands up from the couch. Fallon is stopped in his tracks when Elizabeth plants herself in front of him.
My mom runs around the corner from the back hallway. “What is going on now?” She stops when she sees Maria and looks at me. Maria looks like she’s about to change her mind and bolt out of the house since she’s clearly outnumbered and surrounded by hateful glares.
“Maria said she needs to talk to me,” Elizabeth replies. She turns to Maria and bluntly states, “You have five minutes.”
Maria reaches a shaking hand to the back of a chair to steady herself. “I’m sorry.”
“I’ll bet you are, you freaking psycho,” Meredith says from the entryway.
“Let me finish,” Maria snaps then backs down immediately when she sees the fire raging in Meredith’s eyes. Brea, Jamie, and Jack walk down the stairs and stop when they see Maria. The room is now filled with family and friends. We stand united with Elizabeth in front of Maria.
Maria swallows thickly, scanning the faces of each person. Going back to Elizabeth, she swallows again and clears her throat. “I guess I’ll get right to the point.”
“That would be best,” Elizabeth tells her.
“Lizzie, I’m sorry for what I did. But I shouldn’t have to go to jail because of it.”
“Maria, you picked the wrong day to come plead your case. I’m tired and not in the mood.”
“We used to be friends. Please help me. I can’t go to jail. My life will be ruined. Your lawyer won’t even discuss a plea deal with mine. I could get a hundred twenty days in jail, Lizzie. I swear to you in front of these people that I will never come near you again. You will never hear from me, ever. I’mbeggingyou.Please, Lizzie.”
Elizabeth holds up her phone. “Just so you know, I’m recording every bit of this conversation. You’ve broken your restraining order, and your attempt to get me to drop the charges against you is illegal. Before I send this to my lawyer, do you have anything else you want to say to me?”
“Damn, kitten. I love it when your claws come out.” Fallon grins at Elizabeth and her lips twitch in response.
Elizabeth stares at a silent Maria for a quick beat, then turns around to go back upstairs when Maria doesn’t say anything.
“Marshall! It was Marshall,” Maria frantically blurts out and drops down into the chair, her hands over her face. “Marshall and I have been dating since senior year. Since the prom. After I saw you at the party, I was so angry.” She looks at me now. “All I ever wanted was for you to notice me. For you to want me like you wanted Lizzie. It wasn’t fair. So yeah, I posted the pictures.”
“What does Marshall have to do with it?” I ask her.
“He lost it after Lizzie beat him at the Fields. She humiliated him again in front of everyone and he couldn’t take it. He was the one that messed up her car. He was the one who pushed her in front of the car. But I had nothing to do that. I wasn’t even there! I was in Charlotte! I never knew he would take it that far. When he told me the next day, I broke up with him.”
Everyone in the room starts shouting, but it’s Fallon’s declaration that has us all abruptly shutting up.
“I’m going to kill that fucker!” Fallon shouts, and Trevor has to restrain him from lunging at Maria who jumps out of the chair and shrinks back in terror at his aggressive move.
“Maria, he pushed her in front of a moving car. She could have died!” I yell at her.
“I know! I know! I’m sorry. I didn’t think Marshall would do anything like that! I’ll agree to testify against him if I can get a plea deal. Whatever you need me to do. Please Lizzie! I can’t go to jail even for a day!”
“You are still such a conniving bitch.” Elizabeth turns on her. “You’re as guilty as he is. The only difference is that you’re willing to throw Marshall under the bus to save your own pathetic ass. How could you be so cruel? You knew what happened to Hailey, to my mom and dad, to me! They loved you and were good to you. I lost my family, Maria! I almost died! I was in a coma for months and had no memory of my life when I came out of it. None of that mattered to you. All you cared about was your own jealous spite. What the hell is wrong with you?”
Maria lowers her head and shakes it from side to side. “My life will be ruined,” is all she whispers, still not acknowledging the facts Elizabeth placed before her. Was Maria ever her friend? Did she care at all about Elizabeth? Does she even have a conscience? A soul?
“Your life is already ruined, and you have no one to blame but yourself,” Elizabeth retorts.
My dad moves from where he’s been silently watching from the kitchen. Unable to listen anymore, he yanks Maria up from the chair. “You’re not welcome in my home. Get the hell out.”
“I’ll call Mr. Worthington and tell him to make the deal. Your full confession and testimony against Marshall and I’ll agree to drop the chargesifMarshall is officially charged.”
Several shocked eyes raise up in confusion in the room. “Baby, don’t let her get away with it. She deserves everything that’s coming her way.”
“It’s Marshall we need to make sure gets taken down. Look at everything he’s done to our family. He hurt Julien, he started the fight at Fallon’s party that could have ruined your lives, he tried to run you off the track when you guys raced. He was the one who destroyed my car. He was the one who pushed me into the street. Marshall should spend the rest of his life behind bars. Her?” She points at Maria. “Yes, what she did was despicable, but if she can help us bring down Marshall, then I’m willing to pay the price by giving her leniency.”
