Eponine slammed her bedroom door behind her and grabbed the wooden chair. She wedged it beneath the handle, just as her father tried to open it.
"Eponine!" he shouted. "How dare you lock me out!"
She put her hands over her ears, breathing hard and trying not to whimper. Her father rattled the door.
"You little bitch!" Eponine squeezed her eyes shut. "You can't disrespect me like this!" She would never respond—she would never give him that satisfaction. She opened her eyes, and grabbed the edge of her bed frame. With a grunt, she pulled and shoved until it sat in front of her bedroom door. All the while, her father was shouting at her, but she wasn't listening to the words anymore. She only caught a few phrases here and there—name calling, threats, swearing…she pushed the chair away and shoved the bed against the door with her knees. It hit with a solid thump, and Eponine sighed with relief.
She backed into the far corner of her small room, fumbling in her pocket for her cellphone. It was a simple phone that she had received last year from The Friends of the ABC. She squinted at the buttons for a few seconds—the numbers were blurry. Finally she punched speed dial number 3, and put the phone to her ear. She plugged her other ear with her fingers, trying to block out her father's shouts.
"Hello, you've reached Marius Pontmercy. Unfortunately I missed your call, but if you leave your name and number I'll—"
"No, no," Eponine whispered desperately. She ended the call, and pressed 4 instead. "Please pick up…" She flinched as her father launched into a particularly long and nasty string of threats.
"Hello?"
"Cosette," she whispered.
"Eponine? Are you alright?"
"I'm fine—"
"I'll kill you, Eponine!" Thenardier shouted. Eponine pressed her hand over her mouth, suppressing a sob.
"Was that your father? Eponine? Eponine!"
"Cosette…"
"I'm calling the police right now."
"Wait, Cosette, please don't hang up!" Eponine whispered hoarsely. "Please don't leave me. Cosette?"
"I'm here. I'll call them from the house phone…you'll be alright, 'Ponine."
"Will you sing to me?"
"I—yes, of course I will…just hang on for a few seconds."
Eponine listened as Cosette gave the police her address, trying to concentrate on her friend's words rather than her father's threats. Then she heard the faint beep as Cosette hung up on the landline.
"Are you still there?"
"Yeah…"
"What do you want me to sing?"
"Something…something Disney, I don't know."
"I can do that."
And she did, and Eponine curled up in the corner of her bedroom, listening to Cosette sing "Part of Your World" until a police officer restrained her father and Inspector Javert knocked on her door, asking her to move her barricade.