Dawn Over the Seine

Chapter 5

A few minutes after Eponine finally caught her breath, she ventured out from the alley. Eponine scoped the area then quickly sprinted away from the spot. She ran towards the slums of Paris where Azelma was waiting for her back at their house. Eponine only ran into a handful of people as she headed home. A few curses followed her, but Eponine ignored them.

She had a long history of verbal and physical abuse, so she wasn't fazed by harsh comments. Well, at least not most comments. Some things that people had said to her in the past hurt more than the hits she received from her father. But Eponine shook her head to clear those thoughts from her head. Right now, she had to focus on getting home. She needed to get to Azelma.

After a few minutes of running, Eponine spotted the old two story building. The roof was slowly collapsing in, but they didn't have enough money to fix it. The paint had peeled off causing the house to be a dingy brown. There were homes worse than the Thenardiers, but Eponine hated the house more than anything. It was cramped in between two other houses, like all of the houses in the slums. But it wasn't just the appearance of where she lived that disgusted her, it was the inside, which she now had to go in.

Eponine let out a deep breath and walked towards the front door. Before she had the chance to open it, someone quickly opened the door, pulled Eponine inside, and then shut the door behind her. Eponine let out a yelp of pain as her father pulled her down to the ground. "Where have you been you little brat?!" he screeched. Eponine looked up at her father, only to receive a slap on her cheek.

Azelma ran towards her sister but Eponine waved her off. "'Zelma go to your room" she whispered. Azelma looked down.

"I'm sorry, 'Ponine." With that, the young girl ran upstairs. Thenardier kept his attention on his eldest daughter and slapped her again. Eponine dug her nails into her palm and tried not to scream at her father.

"Why didn't you come back here with your sister?" Thenardier snarled. Eponine kept her eyes lowered, knowing that if she made eye contact with the man before her, it would be taken as an act of rebellion and she would be greeted with another sting on the cheek.

"I-I was caught, Papa. B-by Ins-s-spector Javert."

"By Javert?!"

"Yes. M-Monty helped me get away.'' Thenardier let out a harsh laugh.

"That boy is always helping you. Are you his whore or something? Is that why he doesn't ask me to repay for saving your hide? You fucking him, Eponine?" Something inside of Eponine snapped at her father's words. She stood up and faced the man.

"Shut up," she whispered. Thenardier was somewhat shocked at his daughter standing up to him, but he quickly shook it off.

"You'll pay for that," he snarled. Thenardier started to throw punches at Eponine's stomach and her face. His fists began to turn red as Eponine's blood coated them. After a few minutes of this, Thenardier decided that the girl had had enough. He took a step away from here. "Look at me girl." Eponine slowly raised her eyes to her fathers. Her lip was split and her nose was gushing blood. Bruises were already beginning to form around her eyes and cheeks. As for internal injuries, Eponine knew that her ribs would be bruised, but she had ribs broken before so some bruising was nothing big.

Slowly, she stood up, using the front door for support. Her legs were shaking uncontrollably as were her hands. Thenardier was impressed with his work as he looked at the girls face. "You are free to go. I'm done with you." With that, Thenardier turned around and walked away from his daughter.

Eponine waited until she couldn't see him then opened the front door and walked out of the house. She ran as fast as her feet would carry her weak body. She didn't stop until she reached the bridge which she watched the sunset from. It was still light outside but there were barely any people walking past Eponine as she looked over the Seine. She had always wondered how fast it would take to fall into the dark waters. Some days, like today, Eponine thought of ending everything. The pain, the hate, her life.

As she stared down at the river, Eponine edged closer and closer to the edge of the bridge. Maybe she should end everything. She didn't have anything to live for, except Marius and Azelma. But they would be better off without her. Everyone would.

Eponine slowly climbed up onto the barrier of the bridge, steadying herself. She was going to do it this time. She had to. She never felt so ready to jump until now. Eponine knew that if she stepped off the barrier of the bridge, she would never be able to climb back up. This was her only chance.

Letting out a small breath, Eponine straightened her shirt and brushed off her jeans. "You had a good run, 'Ponine," she said to herself, quietly. With a small smile on her lips, Eponine leaned forward so gravity could take care of the rest. She could feel herself beginning to fall and her stomach did a small flip. This was the end of Eponine Thenardier.

But before she could completely fall off, someone grabbed her by the waist and pulled her back, causing Eponine to stumble off the barrier and into the person who had pulled her away from death.

The person let out a deep grunt as Eponine's body collided with their own. Eponine pulled away from the persons arms and faced them. But as soon as she looked upon their face, Eponine froze up. Why did he have to be the one to save her? Why him of all people? As Eponine looked into the man's eyes, she felt herself go dizzy. "You were supposed to let me fall," she whispered as she stumbled back on the ground. As her eyesight darkened and the world around her began to spin, Eponine never broke eye contact with the Inspector, whose eyes had grown even colder than usual.

Then, there was darkness.