AN: Dude does anyone know what the hell is going on with the writing for season 4? Ugh just Maria's whole character development irritated me. It was as if the writers were like "Oh Maria lost her baby so let's make her evil" I just felt as though they needed a new Vee and forgot that underneath Maria's anger is essentially a depressed woman who lost her child. I just wanted a scene in which she just breaks down. Anyways I hope you enjoy and as always read and review
Prison gives you too much time to think. On the outside it's easy to distract yourself with work and bills and typical life stuff but when those things are stripped from you and you're surrounded by nothing more than your thoughts, it's quite easy to face the things that you've been trying to forget.
Maria Ruiz made sure that that the bathroom was empty before locking one of the stalls behind her. It was damn near impossible to find privacy in Litchfield nowadays (how anyone could have smoke a cigarette or have sex was beyond her) but luck was on her side for once. Her days were getting better in regards to dealing with the fact that Yadriel took her daughter away, however the pain that she had tried to bury under her newly founded drug smuggling/panty ring would always find its way back to her every now and then.
She hated that Yadriel gave her hope. That he had cried his eyes out at the thought of her moving to Virginia. He was the first man that had ever treated her like a queen (apart from her father when she was younger that is) and was so ecstatic when he found out that she was pregnant. After she arrived in Litchfield they had both made a vow that for the sake of their daughter they'd quit the drug game and find legitimate jobs.
Deep down she could see where he was coming from, it wasn't healthy in the long run for Pepa to be exposed so much to a prison. Despite her anger towards him she could still see that Yadriel was a good father who only wanted what was best for their child. It still didn't ease the pain inside of her though.
She kicked the door in frustration which caused an unexpected yelp from the other side. Surprised Maria quickly wiped her tear stained face before exiting to find Maritza washing her hands.
"What the fuck are you doing in here?" She growled causing the younger girl to scoff playfully
"Well the last time I checked I have a bladder and sometimes that bladder gets full, hence why I am here"
Maria narrowed her eyes at her annoyed before splashing cold water on her face trying to reduce some of the puffiness around her eyes.
"Are you okay, you look like you've been crying" Maritza asked tentatively
"I'm fine I'm just coming down with a cold. These new bitches probably brought all kinds of diseases with them"
Maritza smiled sympathetically before placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Those don't look like cold symptoms to me, look it's alright to cry over Pepa. I have days like that over Juliana too. You'll see her again"
Maria gave her a dark look before snatching her arm away.
"Oh really Maritza, because let's not forget you called your baby an it and passed her off to Blanca after she wet her diaper on Mother's Day so don't you dare talk to me about missing my daughter"
Maritza winced a bit before taking a deep breath in order to calm down. Tears were brimming at her eyes however she knew she needed to keep it together. It was important to remain calm and play her cards right in this situation.
"Look I'm sorry about your daughter okay, but that's not really what I wanted to talk to you about"
Maria scoffed a bit and rolled her eyes
"Oh yeah because I'm in the mood for more bad news, well spit it out, what's going on?"
"I'm telling Caputo that I'm quitting the van job. You're going to have to find someone else to smuggle the drugs"
Maria's eyes darkened and she leaned against the wall with her arms crossed
"That would be a very stupid thing to do Maritza; it'd be a lot of money that you'd be throwing away"
"Look Maria I only have a year left on my sentence. If I go down for this I could get a lot more time, the money isn't worth it anymore, not only that but some of the guards are making me feel uncomfortable" Maritza looked down nervously at her hands.
"The guards are making us all feel uncomfortable, you think I like being groped by them besides you're a pretty girl; you should be used to comments about your looks"
Maritza's stomach lurched at the thought of going back into that van with Humps smiling at her and just itching for a chance for them to be alone.
"Well you're not trapped in a van with them anyways it's not just about my looks listen, I only have a year on my sentence and I'm not going to get more time because of some fucking drugs"
Maria stepped closer to the girl making her heart beat faster. She grabbed the collar of her shirt and pulled her closer.
"You don't have much of a choice mami, you're the driver and you're making the drop it's that simple and if you snitch on me or quit then my girls and I will guarantee you'll regret it"
She could see the pure terror in Maritza's eyes. Although the younger girl had a smart mouth on her, Maria could see that she wasn't a fighter. The Mexican girls while growing up would give her hell for her heritage so she learned very quickly how to fight and how to spot a fighter.
A small cough coming from one of the far stalls and both of their heads snapped in that direction to find Gloria leaning against the door. Maria instantly let go of Maritza who quickly straightened herself up.
"Mari, Flaca's looking for you she wants to show you her new liquid liner"
Maritza breathed a sigh of relief before quickly scampering out the door.
There was a new source of tension in the air. Although Maria had garnered a certain amount of power for herself there was still the small instinct inside of her to respect Gloria because she was older.
"So you're threatening family now, is that it? Over some fucking dope and used underwear" Gloria growled
"I wasn't really going to do anything to her. I was just trying to scare her, that's all"
Gloria scoffed before moving closer towards Maria
"Really so you don't think that one of your little gang members won't overhear your little conversation and try something with Maritza to impress you?"
Maria looked down at the floor ashamed. She hadn't taken into the account that someone could've been overhearing their conversation. Although Maritza had Flaca, Gloria and Aleida in her corner they couldn't watch her 24/7.
"You've gone too far with this shit, Maria. I mean if you get caught bringing in drugs there's no telling how much more time they'll give you"
Tears were falling down her face. It was as if a dam had broken inside of her and all fears of appearing weak were gone.
"What have I got to fucking lose, Gloria? I mean you've only got two years left. I've got five more thanks to that blonde bitch. Yadriel won't return my calls and I get the feeling that when I get out he's going to want full custody of Pepa. I mean what's the fucking point?"
Gloria pulled her into a hug and she began sobbing heavily in her shoulder.
"It's going to be okay Maria, I promise. You're going to get out of this hellhole and you're going to be with Pepa again"
"Yeah well promises don't mean shit nowadays" she murmured before wiping her face and heading towards the door. She had done enough crying for now and witnessed enough people feeling sorry for her. The day was still young and she needed to distribute the heroin to the new junkies that had arrived. It would definitely give her a welcomed distraction. Her father had been right about one thing, she was a queen and it was time for Litchfield to realize that.
AN: So I hope you enjoyed fun fact about me I hate writing endings so much. I'm planning on turning this into a multi chapter fic however with different characters instead of just writing about one specific character. So yeah either Maritza or Black Cindy will be my next project. Not to get off topic but I feel as though a lot of Flaritza shippers (myself included) tend to ignore Maritza's flaws and try to turn her into this wonderful mother not to say she can't be a good mother but she has some growing up to do and my next fic is going to address that. Also it really irks me that no one stood up to Maria and Gloria of all people would bow down to her. So anyways please review and let me know what you think.