Page 114 of Shameless

Dad explains. “No. But they found plenty in Trevor’s bags. Maybe they were negotiating a deal, I don’t know.”

The end of their story is the most tragic part.

“Trevor came running from one of the stables, yelling at me. I—I never thought shooting someone was so messy. I was coveredin Eddie’s blood. Or at least, my clothes were. My hands were shaking and I couldn’t feel my own legs.”

Arianna completes the story. “Trevor was yelling threats. He said he’d call the cops. Isn’t it ironic? A drug dealer expecting help from the police? I took the shotgun from Tilly, I just wanted to make him stop yelling, before he attracted someone’s attention. That must have scared him because he started running away, toward the stables. I realized that there was no way Trevor would keep quiet about what he saw, so I?—”

Jules’s eyes are full of pain. “That’s why he got shot in the back. He was running from you.”

His mother nods. “Yeah. I’m not proud of what I did, but there and then I told myself that Trevor was a lowlife and the world would be better off without him. The one I really regret is Maura. She saw everything and she begged me. She swore she wouldn’t say anything. But there was no way that could be true. I don’t even remember shooting her, but I guess I chased her.”

Fuck.

“What about Rikki?” Crew asks. “Were you going to kill my brother?”

“Of course not!” Arianna gasps. “But he got there, he had probably been following Trevor. He freaked out when he saw his friend, he was trying to resuscitate him, I don’t know. We needed him away from there though, so I started chasing him too. I wanted to scare him, that was it. I would have never hurt him. You have to believe me, Crew. Your brother is like a son to me. So are you.”

I play with the piercing in my nose, sliding the ring back and forth. “But Rikki came back and that’s when Jules and I saw him. What about you, Dad?”

My father doesn’t have the courage to look at me.

“I was at the hunt, when Arianna and Tilly found me and explained what happened. I helped them hide their clothes. Then I went to Eddie’s bungalow to get his burner phone. I knew the cops would look at all our texts and calls and for once I was grateful that the piece of shit kept a secret phone. If the texts to Tilly and Arianna had been in his regular phone, we would have gotten caught. The cops can look at deleted messages too, but they wouldn’t have a reason to look at ours in depth if they didn’t find anything in Eddie’s.

“I was sure the police would search every bungalow, so I hid everything in my old gym bag and put the bag in the gym in the main house until it was time to go home. Then I kept it here, but the sheriff was looking into everyone in town more in depth to rule people out. I couldn’t risk a search.”

23.How To Get Away With Murder

Lula

There’s a moment of silence at the table, as we take in what we just learned.

“What are you going to do about this?” Dad asks.

“If you want to go to the police,” Arianna pleads. “I understand. But please, there’s no reason to destroy all of our lives over this. Tilly didn’t mean to kill Eddie. It was an accident. And all Tom did was help us cover it up. I’m the only one who killed two people in cold blood. If anyone deserves to pay for it, it’s me.”

She isn’t wrong.

But this is the woman who was more of a mother to me than my own. She’s the woman who made Jules and Stefan. The love of Dad’s life.

I know what she did is wrong and unforgivable, but my heart hurts at the idea of what will happen to her.

“No,” Tilly argues. “None of this would have happened if I hadn’t decided to bring a shotgun to my talk with Eddie. Arianna just reacted under duress. If anyone should pay, it’s me. Just please, promise me that you’ll take care of Crew and Rikki for me.”

Tears are streaming down Arianna’s face. “When I say that they’re like sons to me, I mean it. But I can’t let you take the fall for this, Tilly. You’re my sister. We might not be related by blood, but if anything good came from Eddie’s cheating is that he gave me you and your boys. You’re my best friend more than Tiffany ever was. We’re family and I protect my own.”

The love Tilly and Arianna have for each other is an inspiration, even under these tragic circumstances.

“I’m sorry,” Dad says. “But I can’t let either of you go to jail. I love Arianna too much and I know she would never let Tilly go down for this. I’m going to take responsibility for everything. I should have stopped you and confronted Eddie man to man. The sheriff won’t have a problem believing that a jealous husband would kill his wife’s ex. This is the best solution for everyone.”

Crew shakes his head in disbelief. “Are the three of you for real? The sheriff would say that you all broke the law.”

Jules agrees with him. “Crew is right.”

If the circumstances weren’t so dire, I would be happy that they seem to have truly buried the hatchet.

Stefan clears his throat, his voice hoarse as if he were trying not to cry. “I know what you all did is horrible. But do any of you have to go to jail? I don’t want to call the cops. I’m sorry about Maura but Eddie and Trevor got what was coming to them. If feeling this way makes me a monster, I don’t give a fuck.”

Jules backs his younger brother. “Yeah, I’m with Stef. Besides, if we call the cops, we can’t guarantee they’ll believe whatever story we decide to tell them. They’ll dig deeper and there’s a good chance we’ll all go down. The three of you for murder and us for not immediately turning you in. I love you, Mom and I know you aren’t a serial killer or anything. I have no doubt that you’re never gonna hurt anyone again. The same goes for you, Tilly. And we can’t risk Tom going to jail. Lula was released under his supervision. If he gets arrested, they might send her back to New York to live with Tiffany and Howard.”

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