Before He Cheats
Eponine paced angrily up and down her bedroom, a half-empty bottle of red wine in her left hand. She walked the full length of her bedroom, and then turned around, taking another drink of wine as she did so. It was the fourth bottle she'd had that night, and she was drunk. She had been drinking and pacing for a good hour now, and she was debating on whether or not she was going to go out or stay home. Finally, though, she made her decision. She grabbed her hat, jamming it down onto her head, as well as her old, metal baseball bat that was leaning against the wall beside her bed. Then she left her room, and then her father's inn. She walked the dark, quiet, empty streets of Paris, her baseball bat in her left hand and the bottle of wine in her right hand. She walked with a purpose, as though she had a set destination in mind. And she did. For all of her life, Eponine had been in love with a young College student named Marius Pontmercy. They were best friends, and she loved him dearly, but he only loved her back as a friend… He was totally oblivious to her feelings, even if they were obvious to everyone else… And, on top of that, Marius was already in love with someone else… Her name was Cosette, and she was beautiful and perfect. She was sweet and charming with long, golden hair, rosy cheeks, and bright blue eyes. She was beautiful, but so was Eponine. Just not in the same way. But Marius hardly ever noticed her… Eponine hated Cosette. She had only seen her once, and she had never officially met her, but she still hated her. In Eponine's eyes, Cosette had taken Marius from her. And she hated her for it. It was that simple. Cosette's farther didn't know about Marius – at least not yet – and so the two would meet every night in the garden at Cosette's house to talk and be together. And Eponine knew that that was where Marius was right now… The thought made her livid and broke her heart. She had just finished the bottle of wine when she reached her destination: the huge apartment building where Marius's flat was. She entered the quiet, still building and went up the four flights of stairs to Marius's flat, which was on the third floor. The door to Marius's flat was unlocked – as it always was – and so Eponine just opened the door and went inside. The one room flat was dark and empty, just like Eponine knew it would be. The flat was so neat and tidy, just the way Marius liked it… She sat the baseball bat down on Marius's bed, and then smashed the wine bottle against the bed frame, shattering it into dozens of tiny pieces… Eponine picked up one of the bigger pieces, one that had several really sharp edges… There was one wall – the wall behind his bed – that Marius had left uncovered by photographs and pamphlets. She knelt down on the bed next to the bat, and took the piece of glass in her left hand. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then sliced open the palm of her right hand… Pain seared through her hand, but Eponine refused to cry out. When her blood started flowing, she raised herself up on her knees and painted her name on the wall above Marius's bed… in her own blood… Once she was done, she dropped the blood-stained piece of glass on the floor beside the bed, tore off a strip of the bottom of her shirt, and then wrapped up her hand to stop the bleeding. She tied the strip of cloth firmly around her right hand, picked up the baseball bat, and started to wreck what little belongings that Marius had… And as she wrecked the flat, she sang, pouring out all of her sadness, bitterness, anger, and jealousy… "Right now he's probably slow-dancing with a bleached-blonde tramp and she's probably getting frisky. Right now he's probably buying her some fruity little drink cause she can't shoot whiskey. Right now he's probably up behind her with a pool stick showing her how to shoot a combo. Oh and he don't know that I dug my key into the side of his pretty little souped-up four-wheel drive! Carved my name into his leather seats! I took a Louisville slugger to both headlights! Slashed a whole in all four tires! Maybe next time he'll think before he cheats!" Eponine continued to destroy Marius's flat. She tore down all the posters and pamphlets. She broke the clock and a vase that were sitting on his bedside table. She tore up and scattered the assortment of papers that were on his desk. She found the handkerchief that Cosette had given Marius not long after they met… Pure, unadulterated hate flared up within Eponine as she looked at the handkerchief, which was embroidered with Cosette's initials. Eyes flashing with fury, Eponine dug through the desk drawer until she found a box of matches… She struck one and held it to the handkerchief until it caught fire… She let it burn as she held part of it between her index finger and thumb. When the flames had devoured most of the handkerchief, and there was a small pile of ashes at her feet, she blew out the flame and let what little that was left of the handkerchief join the pile of ashes at her feet… Her thoughts turned to Marius and Cosette, and what the couple was probably doing at that very moment… Cuddling… Talking… Holding hands… Maybe even dancing… Thinking about Cosette with her Marius made Eponine's blood boil, as she continued her assault on the flat, and continued with her song. "Right now she's probably up singing some white-trash version of Shania Karaoke. Right now she's probably saying, 'I'm drunk!', and he's thinking that he's gonna get lucky. Right now he's probably dabbing on three dollars' worth of that bathroom Polo. Oh and he don't know that I dug my key in to the side of his pretty little souped-up four-wheel drive! Carved my name into his leather seats! I took a Louisville slugger to both headlights! Slashed a hole in all four tires! Maybe next time he'll think before he cheats!" Eponine finally threw the bat aside as she surveyed what she'd done. The whole flat was in ruins, just like Eponine had intended for it to be. And she had left her mark, in blood, so Marius would know exactly who had done it… Flinging her arms out wide and throwing her head back, Eponine triumphantly belted out the last part of the song, feeling adrenaline pumping through her veins. "I might have saved a little trouble for the next girl! Cause the next time that he cheats, oh you know it won't be on me! No, not on me! Cause I dug my key into the side of his pretty little souped-up four-wheel drive! Carved my name into his leather seats! I took a Louisville slugger to both headlights! Slashed a hole in all four tires! Maybe next time he'll think before he cheats! Oh maybe next time he'll think before he cheats! Oh, before he cheats! Oh…" When the last note had faded away in the empty flat, Eponine surveyed the damage she'd done one last time. She was satisfied. She was also fairly sure that Marius would know how upset she was that he always ignored her and was oblivious to her feelings. Picking up her baseball bat and smiling to herself, Eponine left the flat, half wishing that she could stay around to see Marius's face when he came home.