Marliza Soulmate AU

Chapter 9

"What," Maria said furiously, "is that?" Eliza shot up as Maria shaking pointed at the red splotch on her arm.

"I can explain!" Eliza called as Maria grabbed the keys, rushing to the door.

"Just, tell me when you get back. I'll be at the apartment."

"Wait!" But Maria had already slammed the door on her face.

Eliza stood in front of the apartment door, tracing the lines of the wood beneath her finger. The light flickered above her head, and Eliza could feel the nerves building up in her stomach. She could still imagine Maria's face, a mix of betrayal, anger, and countless other forms of pain, scrawled in messy, tangled lines. Surely Maria could tel that they were soulmates, right?

She slowly raised her hand to the door, quietly knocking twice. She got no response. She knocked again, this time a little harder.

"Who is it?" Maria called through the door.

"It's me," Eliza said. She could hear footsteps from within the apartment, and waited for Maria to open the door while rocking on her heels. Slowly the doorknob turned, and Maria's head poked out. Tear stains ran down her cheeks, and the mascara she had put on earlier formed spindly lines on her cheeks.

"I guess you have to come in."

"Yeah." Maria sat back down on the couch, refusing to make eye contact with Eliza until she sat down across from her. "I know this looks bad, Maria, and it is. But I promise that I meant well."

"How? You either knew I wasn't your soulmate this entire time, or you just didn't think to tell me. Neither of those could possibly mean well, Eliza."

"I know, okay? I'm sorry. But, please let me explain."

"Fine, explain. Though I don't think there's much to say."

"When I first met you, Maria, I had just mutually left my fiancé at the alter. I was at a bar, and you were mysteriously alluring. A conversation was struck up, and you were witty and funny. You seemed so perfect, but I wouldn't admit it. Sure, I flirted shamelessly with you, but I tried to kill the butterflies flying around in my stomach. And I did pretty well, especially when I had to pull my sister away from a regrettable night, if you know what I mean. And I thought I'd never see you again.

"But that night I saw it for the first time, the soulmark. I hoped, deep down that it was you, but I thought I'd never see you again, so I suppressed that little bud of love until it slowly died. But the seeds still remained. Every now and than I'd think about you, and secretly hope that you still remembered me. But two years went by, and I started dating again. Nothing special. I'd given up on finding my soulmate again.

"And than I walked into the subway that fateful day, and I sat by you. As we talked, I realized that you were the one for me. Maybe not my soulmate, but the person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. But you were my soulmate. I knew that as soon as I saw the soulmark on your arm, the red spot that told me that I was right. You were meant for me.

"But you didn't know that. I promise, I thought about telling you. I knew that not telling you would backfire on me. But something inside me sisd that maybeyoh didn't like me the same way. I don't know what compelled me to do it, but I thought the best idea was to try to get you to love me without thinking we were soulmates. And maybe I succeeded, if only for a little bit. Because I hold it as a fact that the entire concept of soulmates is ridiculous. I can still love you without destiny telling me to. And if you can love me without it, that's all that matter. I'm sorry, Maria, I'm so, so sorry. But please, just tell me that you can forgive me."

"I think I can. I just need some time, Eliza. This is a lot to take in."

"Of course."

"It's just, you've had such a perfect, cookie-cutter life. I know you don't think so, but you have it easy. I know, it's so cliché to give a speech right now. It's like we're in a crappy work of fiction, confessing our entire lives in one sitting. But that's how it's going to be.

"When I first met you, I was dating this guy named James. He had seemed nice at first. He was funny, and sweet, and smart. He was the perfect package, everyone told me. Sure, he was a little creepy sometimes, but that was how boyfriends were supposed to be. And I believed them. We weren't soulmates, but we were okay with that.

"Eventually we moved in together. And that's when it got really bad. He hitting me, lashing out at every possible chance he could get. He'd make me go to bars, flirt with people and charm them into cheating on their partners. Then he'd blackmail them, taking more money than the people could pay. I'd cry myself to sleep each night for four years.

"And than I met your sister. We were friends, and she was one of the best people I had ever met. I still believe she's one of the best people on this planet. As soon as she found out about James, she did everything in her power to put him in jail, where he'll now rot until he dies. If it wasn't for Peggy, I'd still probably be stuck with him. I know that sounds stupid, but that was just the most basic explanation of what happened, but I think you should know that."

"I'm so sorry, Maria," Eliza said. "I'm so sorry that you had to go through that alone."

"Well, the past is in the past," she said nervously.

"If you ever need me to do anything for you, I promise I will."

"It's fine. And Eliza, you're not quite forgiven yet. I think I need a break for a few days at least. I'm going to be staying with Peggy, I just need some time to process."

"Okay, Maria. Goodbye."

"Goodbye Eliza."