Running

Chapter 2

Two

Two Weeks Earlier

         Eponine busied herself in the kitchen making breakfast to keep her mind off of what the day might hold. Just as she was placing the last of it on the table, her husband appeared from the bedroom, tying his tie.

         “Good morning, dear,” he greeted.

         “Good morning,” Eponine replied.

         She flinched when he leaned closer to her, but he simply kissed her cheek. They sat down together at the table, but Eponine just watched as he began to eat.

         “This is delicious,” he noticed her staring, “Well, don’t let yours get cold.”

         Eponine pondered why he was in a good mood, but she couldn’t come up with a reason. As she bit into her bacon, she thought that maybe the day wouldn’t be that bad.

*****

         Eponine involuntarily jumped when she heard her husband’s car door shut outside, letting her know he was home from work. A tremor immediately started in her hands as she wondered what he would be like now. She couldn’t fool herself into thinking that his good mood from the morning had lasted to the evening. She glanced out of the front window to see him chatting with the next-door-neighbor, Mr. Fowler. He seemed to be smiling, so she hoped today would be a rare day, one that led to no new bruises. The oven beeped, letting her know that her dish was done baking, so she couldn’t watch the conversation any longer. A few minutes later, she heard the front door open, then shut and his heavy footsteps make their way toward the kitchen.

         Without turning to face him, Eponine said, “Hello, how was work?”

         “Same as always,” he answered in return.

         “Well, I made your favorite casserole for dinner, and I just took some beans off the front burner so be careful if you come over here. I don’t want you to get burned.”

         After a beat of silence, he asked, “Have you had a conversation with Mr. Fowler lately?”

         Eponine’s heart lurched. He didn’t like when she talked to the neighbors because he believed that they didn’t need to know his business. However, Eponine had been bored and while she was tending the garden, she had chatted with Mr. Fowler.

         “No, I haven’t,” she lied.

         She still wasn’t facing him, taking her time to cut the casserole into pieces. She didn’t want to see the look on his face.

         “That’s funny because he stopped me in the driveway and wished me luck on the big case at the firm that I’m working on right now. How would he have known about that?”

         She could hear the anger in his voice.

         “I don’t know. It’s been in the papers, hasn’t it?”

         Suddenly, his hand wrapped around her arm in a crushing grip, and he spun her to face him, shaking her.

         “Don’t lie to me!” he screamed.

         Eponine shrunk under his fury and the horrific look in his eyes. She backed away but he stepped closer, trapping her in.

         “I thought I told you that our idiot neighbors didn’t need to know our business! I’ve told you a million times, yet you never learn, Eponine!”

         He continued to back her toward the stove, never stopping his rant. Eponine’s heal caught the bottom of the oven, and she stumbled. She put her hands back to catch herself, only to have one of them land directly on the hot burner. She screamed and snatched her hand away as a blinding pain shot through her palm. Tears sprang to her eyes, and the ordeal silenced her husband for a moment. Then his eyes hardened and he looked down at her coldly.

         “Maybe you’ve learned your lesson now?” he said condescendingly.

         The comment stung and before she realized what she was doing, she reared back and slapped him hard on the cheek with her unburned hand. When the fury returned to his eyes, the realization of what she’d done caused her to become nearly hysterical.

         “I am so sorry! Please, I didn’t mean it!” she pleaded.

         He wasn’t listening. He grabbed a fistful of her hair, making her yelp, and began dragging her to their bedroom. Eponine was sure this was it. This was the day, the exact moment that he would kill her. She was going to die. She struggled against his hold, although it did nothing but cause her more pain. She screamed and kicked and pleaded but it didn’t stop him. He launched her into the bedroom and she fell to her knees. Eponine flung her arms over her head in a poor attempt to protect herself and began to sob.

         “Please don’t, Marius,” Eponine cried.

         Marius did anyway.