Deceiving Passion

Chapter 13: Eponine's Exit

I should have pulled away.

The second his lips attached to mine I should have quickly escaped, and made a wild dash towards the door. I should have exited the apartment, and then proceeded to head back home to where my fiance was more than likely expecting me. It could have been that simple. We could simply pass everything off as an accident, and we could on with our lives. Marius and I would have been happily married, and Cosette and Enjolras would have followed suit. It could have been as simple as that.

However, it wasn't that simple. Because instead of pulling away, I did the exact opposite. Once his lips attached to mine, something inside of me urged me to grant them access acceptingly. My hands found their way into his blonde mop, and dug in coarsely. I don't know what had urged me to do such a thing. I loved Marius more than anything on this Earth. At least... I thought I did. He had been acting fairly distant from me for quite some time. Maybe this was my silent way of saying that I wasn't quite happy with...

I quickly pushed that thought out of my head as I pulled away from Enjolras. That couldn't be true. Marius was the only man for me. Besides, Enjolras was in love with Cosette. That was the way it was. That was the way I thought it always would be. That was the way I thought I wanted it to be. I thought that that was the way for me to live the perfect life. I'd live in the perfect home, have the perfect friends, and end the day alongside my perfect husband. Everything before Marius had been horrible. That meant life with him forever had to be.

Enjolras looked at me with wide eyes, "O-oh my God Eponine... I-I'm so sorry... I didn-"

"You know what," I said, "Let's just drop it. Okay? It happened. It's done. We can move passed it."

"So... We're not going to even discuss it?"

I took in a deep breath, "No... because there is nothing to discuss."

"I think there is..." he replied, "You kind of kissed me?"

"You kissed me first."

"But you kissed me back!" He retorted. There was a moment of silence between us. It was an awkward one. I knew he was right. I just didn't want to accept it. He let out a huff of air, "I'm not saying that it has to have meant something. I'm just saying that We should just both accept that it happened."

"I am."

"Then why are you trying to avoid it?"

"Because I'm engaged," I shot back, "And you're about to be engaged!"

"Everyone gets a case of cold feet Ep," Enjolras replied, "I'm not going to say anything about this. To Marius or Cosette. If you'd like, I won't even mention it to you." He looked me straight in the eyes, "Just remember, everyone has their doubts."

Soon after that, I stormed out. I didn't want to speak with him about the subject any further. "Everyone has their doubts." How could he say that? And so easily? Maybe he was having his doubts about proposing to Cosette, but I most certainly was not having doubts about my own marriage! Marius didn't either, as far as I knew...

Of course he didn't! He was the one who proposed to me. If he had his doubts, he wouldn't have done it... Right?