Chapter 2 #4
As soon as they sat down, she turned around.
“Who’s looking after Briar?” she whispered.
“She’s at Abel and Lilith’s house playing with Tate,” he said.
Mariah’s face flushed as her eyes narrowed angrily. “I thought Delores was going to watch her,” she hissed.
He glared. “Delores moved to St. Louis yesterday. She sent me a text after Rocky picked you up. As you can see, anyone I might have asked to watch her is sitting in this room. Be grateful the Bandy family offered, or you’d be sitting here by yourself, because I would have stayed home with Briar rather than drag her into this. ”
“Oh my God,” Mariah muttered, thinking of her daughter in the house with those people. It never occurred to her that social services would consider Mariah the unfit mother—not Lilith Bandy.
They stood as the judge walked in and sat down, then resumed their seats as silence descended, and the business of her hearing began.
Having to stand to hear the litany of charges against her read aloud was slightly horrifying, so she tuned them out by staring at a crack in the ceiling above the judge’s head.
Rocky Morris wasn’t sure how this was going to play out.
There hadn’t been any bargaining for a lesser sentence other than asking for leniency since the incident was a first offense.
The judge had the case file containing all of the witness statements and the background of the enmity Mariah Lowe had for Lilith Bandy and her child, and the woman had pled guilty to the assault.
The judge asked Mariah to stand and then asked if she had anything to say for herself.
Mariah had already been warned to keep quiet about the boy and knew Roger was likely glaring at her as she stood. She opened her mouth, but the words wouldn’t come. Between fear of the unknown and the shame she was feeling, she started crying.
Rocky handed her a wad of tissues. Her hands were trembling as she took them and wiped her face. Then she took a deep breath.
“I’m just so sorry. It was never my intention to harm her. We had a difference of opinion, and I reacted before I thought.”
The judge frowned. “According to the information in your file, you’ve had a difference of opinion with Mrs. Lowe for some months.
She wound up with stitches in her head, a serious concussion, and a large contusion on her face where you hit her.
You assaulted an unarmed woman just because you were having a difference of opinion?
No, ma’am. That’s not how decency works.
I understand your husband has already accepted responsibility for paying all of Mrs. Lowe’s medical bills regarding her injuries.
So, your husband is paying the financial costs.
Mrs. Bandy is paying a painful price for your inability to control your emotions.
And it is only fair that you, too, suffer the consequences of what you’ve done.
I find you guilty of assault and battery and evading the law.
” Mariah moaned, as the judge continued.
“You will serve your one-year sentence on parole. You will not leave the confines of this county without notifying your parole officer, and you are not allowed to leave the state for the duration of your parole. At no time during the ensuing year are you to have contact with any member of the Bandy family. A restraining order has been issued against you. You will not initiate contact or have contact with Lilith Bandy for the ensuing year of your sentence. That does not restrict any other members of your family from the Bandy family. Only you. If you violate any part of your parole, or the restraining order, you will go straight to jail to finish your sentence. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Your Honor. I understand,” Mariah said.
“You are dismissed, and I will not look kindly on any reappearances. Don’t let me see you in here again.”
He pounded his gavel to punctuate the order. They stood as the judge exited the courtroom, leaving Mariah and Rocky to make their way through the mob of people crowding around her, wanting to know how she felt.
She looked around for Roger, but he was already gone, leaving her lawyer the job of taking her home.
A short while later, she entered the empty house, quickly closing the door behind her.
Parole.
She was on parole. What a horrifying situation she’d gotten herself into. But in true Mariah fashion, by the time she got to her bedroom to change clothes, she was in a panic.
Roger was furious with her. Her actions had cost them a lot of money.
She’d broken his trust and hurt her daughter in ways she’d never intended.
However, what was done was done. Eventually, some other scandal would happen, and she’d become old news.
But for now, she intended to go about her business as if nothing had ever happened.
They might talk about her behind her back, but she’d already shown the community what she was capable of. In fact, the more she thought about it, the more powerful she felt. It suited the entitled bully she was.