Forever and Always

Chapter 9: Going Home

        Eponine trotted home, her braid undone and her brown cap shielding her eyes from the sun. Her emotions were frustratingly mixed. On one hand, she was angry with herself for staying at Marius' place for so long. She was Eponine Thenardier. She was supposed to be tough and independent. Surely Marius now thought her weak and needy. On the other hand, she had never felt so much joy in her entire life. Spending a few days with Marius had been like spending an eternity in heaven. Eponine wondered why her emotions had to be so complicated.

        Eponine finally arrived at her house. She could not bring herself to knock on the door. What if her father's anger had not cooled down sufficiently? She stood there for a moment, her heart pounding. I am not afraid of him, she told herself. Just as she was about to grab the handle of the door, the door flew open and hit her in the face.

        "Ouch!" she yelped, rubbing her forehead.

        Her little sister Azelma stood at the doorway. "Eponine! I am so sorry. I didn't see you there!" She lept forward and wrapped her long, lanky arms around Eponine's neck. "I've missed you so much! How are you?"

        "Fine," Eponine said, returning her sister's embrace. The two girls finally broke apart. Eponine's heart dropped when she saw Azelma's face. There was a large purple bruise over her right eye. "Zelma, did Father do that?"

        "It's nothing," Azelma said with a shrug. "He got angry because I told him he should be nicer to you."

        "Zelma, how many times do I have to tell you not to anger him like that?" Eponine said, examining her sister's eye. "I should have been here," she said, cursing herself. "I could have taken that blow for you."

        "Stop worrying about me," Azelma told her. "I'm perfectly fine. But let's talk about you! Where did you get that dress? It is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen," she said in awe.

        "A friend gave it to me," Eponine replied vaguely. "You can borrow it some time if you like."

        "A friend, eh?" Azelma said with a knowing smile. "Was it THE friend?"

        Eponine smiled and nodded. Azelma was the only person who knew of Eponine's love for Marius. "I stayed at his house the past few days."

        Azelma squealed with delight. "You did? That's amazing! Was he a gentleman? Was his house nice? Why didn't you stay longer?"

        "I don't want him to think I'm too needy!"

        "Well, he must like you a whole lot to give you a dress like that," Azelma said.

        "Maybe," Eponine replied, allowing herself to feel a little hopeful.

        "Come on in," Azelma said, ushering her into the house. "Father is not here yet."

        Eponine stepped into their shabby excuse for a home. She looked around their kitchen/dining room. The table looked like it was about to collapse, and one of the chairs was missing a leg. A large brown rat scurried across the floor. Eponine sighed. After enjoying the comforts of the Pontmercy household, it was difficult to come home to this filth.

        Eponine's mother strutted into the room. She was a short, plump woman with wild black hair, pale skin, and a mole on her upper lip. When she saw Eponine, she raised an eyebrow.

        "Where'd you get that?" she asked, eyeing Eponine's new dress greedily.

        "Some charitable bourgeois gave it to me," said Eponine, unwilling to tell her mother where she had really gotten the dress. Her parents disapproved of the time she spent hanging around school boys like Marius. She could not imagine how they would react if she told them she had spent an entire week living in a school boy's house.