I'll Cover You

Chapter 15

The cool evening air had seemed to heat up rather quickly as Grantaire's words left his lips. Cosette had to take a step back from both of them as her mind slowly began to shatter piece by piece. No, this could not be true. That was physically impossible. She looked back up at Grantaire and Marius before looking back down again. The man looked as though he lived at the bar. He must have been confused. Maybe he was thinking of another girl. Cosette stuttered out, "Th-that... Th-th-that is not true... Th-the-there is no possible way that could be true..."

Grantaire let his words slide out slowly, trying not to make the moment any more tense than it was, "No Cosette... It's true... We did..."

Cosette was growing angered. Not really at Grantaire, just at the situation and herself. Still, she continued to deny it. She retorted, "No, it can't be. That's impossible... I surely would remember something like that."

Marius took Cosette, and pulled her closer to him. This couldn't be true. Grantaire had multiple women come into his bed. Surely, he had to be mistaking Cosette for another girl. Maybe he and Cosette had met before, but there was no way that they... Marius didn't even want to put the picture in his mind. He spoke to Grantaire, "You must be mistaken Grantaire. Maybe you are thinking of someone else."

Grantaire shook his head at Marius, "I never forget a face," he the directed his gaze towards Cosette, "especially a beautiful face such as yours."

Cosette looked down. Usually words such as these would make any girl swoon with delight. However, in the situation at hand, it made Cosette rather uncomfortable. Grantaire moved a bit closer to her, "It's a shame that you're with Pontmercy. I was kind of hoping that we could continue the fun we were having."

Cosette shifted away from both Marius and Grantaire uncomfortably. She looked up towards Marius, who looked as if he were ready to choke Grantaire with his bare hands. While Grantaire had a look that was mixed with a bit of confusion and sadness. Her look shifted from both Marius and Grantaire as her surroundings suddenly became suffocating. Her mind was a dog, spinning around in circles to grasp its tail within its jaws. How could she have been so stupid as to let this happen to herself? Cosette needed to break away from all of this. She turned away from both men, and dashed off in the other direction.

Marius yelled after her, "Cosette, wait!" Cosette did not stop, but instead continued to run away. Marius put a hand to his forehead, "Oh my God." He glared at Grantaire, who had moved into a state of shock, and then dashed in the direction Cosette had gone. He couldn't lose her. Not now.

It had not been long until Marius had caught up to Cosette. He grabbed her by the wrist in order to turn her around. Cosette's eyes were a stinging red, and her pale face was streaked with tears. She trembled out of her quivering lips, "Marius... What are you doing here?"

Marius pulled Cosette close, and stroked her her hair gently. He spoke softly, "I wanted to be here for you."

Cosette cried inconsolably, "I'm such an idiot Marius! How could I have been so stupid?! I had to be so drunk and careless that I lost something that I can never get back! And to someone I don't even know!" Cosette continued to ball uncontrollably into Marius's shoulder while he did his best to console her.

Marius whispered words of comfort into Cosette's ear. While doing so, Cosette's mind wandered profusely. One thought continually crossed her mind. How much better Marius could do to her. After a while, Cosette pulled away from Marius. Marius asked her, "Is everything alright Cosette?"

"Marius," Cosette spoke softly, "You have the opportunity to have everything in your life be perfect... Why choose a grain of sand when you can have a pearl? Why pick a blade of grass in a field of flowers? Out of all the things in the world, why be here with me?"

Marius stared at her, "Cosette, what are you talking about? I love you."

"But why though? Marius, I'm nothing. I'm an insignificant nothing who messed up everything in her life, and will undoubtedly mess up even more."

"Cosette, don't say that."

Cosette took in a deep breath, trying to hold back her tears, "Marius... Just... Just go."

Marius's eyes began run with tears. His heart seemed to be hit with an earthquake as it trembled and shook in his chest. He tried to change her mind, "Cosette..."

Cosette cut him off, "Just get out of here Marius! Go!"

Marius couldn't believe this was happening. However, he did not want to disrespect her wishes. After a few minutes, Marius turned to leave. Before he left, he uttered one more thing to Cosette, "I just want you to know that I am still here for you Cosette... No matter what."

As he walked away, Cosette collapsed. What had she done?