Éponine woke up with an empty feeling on her chest. I had been a three days since Marcus told he had seen the most beautiful woman and fallen instantly for her, he had tried calling her but all she did was sit on the middle of her bed. She felt something missing, but not any pain nor more tears would come. Marius came, more than once, to check on her but she wouldn't let him in. Why did he come if he did not care for her? Not really. Otherwise he would accept her, and just her. Love her.
She then felt shock, as if a bucket of ice water had fallen on her. The wallets!
Éponine hadn't given them to her father because she was too distracted with Marius, he was going to kill her! She picked them in a rush from under her bed, putted them on a bag and ran to her father's inn.
People stared as she ran and gave her strange looks but she could not care less, every second it passed the worse it would be for her.
Gavroche sat on the "reception" when she got there. He gave her a funny look when he saw her crazy eyes.
"Where's papa?" she asked with urgency.
"Fine thank you and you Éponine? No, there isn't much to tell, how about you?" Gavroche said teasing her but when he saw her urgency he said their father was upstairs on his office.
Éponine ran to his office and knocked gently on the door, when he told her to come in she did and sat on the chair across from him.
"Éponine, good to see you still care enough for this family to finally come" said her father with a sour tone. "I recall I asked you for something several days ago" Éponine opened her mouth to answer but then was cut off. "Where were you?! It is a task you have done many times, yet you come until now, how stupid can you be?" he shouted at her.
She wouldn't tell him about Marius and couldn't tell him she had the wallets all this time, that would make things worse.
"Father", she started. "Please forgive me. I was waiting until I could catch something worth your time. I got here" she said gesturing the bag, "many filled with cash and most are made of leather, we could sell them, father".
Mr Thénardier watched his daughter struggle with her words, she was trying to please him but she deserved some kind of punishment for her tardiness.
"Éponine, you are forgiven" he said, she was the smartest of her sisters after all. "Yet, you will not receive any kind of reward nor any of the money I get from these wallets will be yours. You are dismissed".
Her face fell. With what will she eat this week? Tomorrow? "Father ple-"
"Be gone, Éponine" she tried to tell him it wasn't fair but he yelled at her to go, he no longer wanted to see her.
"Oh, and girl" said his father while she was walking out the door. "I will no longer need your services for a month or more, you are of no use being this impertinent".
She then left to go find Marius.
"Cosette! Her name is Cosette!" sang Marius as he entered his friend's apartment. Enjolras did not even bother to scold Marius, he was busy enough taking care of a hangover Grantaire.
The night before she had come yet again to Enjolras but this time completely drunk, she told him on her intoxicated condition that she loved him very much and to please make her the promise to never leave her. He did not made such promise, he knew he cared for the girl and thought she was very pretty with her black hair and blue eyes combination; but he did not love her, he was sure of it. He could barely stand her these days. Why was he with her? Routine?
With Marius chanting about his passion for a girl he barely knew and Grantaire was lying on the sofa complaining of a headache, Enjolras snapped.
"Shut the hell up!" he yelled. Marius stopped and Grantaire sat up concerned.
"Love, what's wrong?" she asked.
"I need air. No, to be honest I need a break from the two of you" he said and was about to leave when there was a knock on the door. "Good, more people" he said sarcastically.
All his anger was gone when he answered the door. There was a girl otside his door crying her eyes out, she had dark hair now plastered to her wet face and eyes the color of milk chocolate. She could barely speak through her sobs but he managed to make out Marius's name. He called for him and ushered the girl inside. But he saw his girlfriend lying on the sofa and Marius embracing the sobbing girl and his calm was gone. Without another word he left.
How did this happen? There under her bed, Éponine had found a wallet she had forgotten. It seemed to be expensive, she turned it and indeed it was. There on the front was on elegant letters the words HUGO BOSS. Oh a designer wallet! Éponine opened it and to her joy it had an abundant amount of cash, she then started to throw away credit cards and old receives. She stopped when she saw the ID form the owner.
It has him, Marius's friend. She couldn't say she had met him but she had seen him that afternoon, he was the one to answer the door. She felt bad, a sour taste came upon her mouth.
Shame on you.
She would have never stolen from him if she knew who he was. Who was him anyway? Enjolras. An important name in Paris; the name of one of the wealthiest families. She would have been thrilled by this but Marius was his friend and she had stolen from him.
What will she do? She couldn't simply go to his apartment and be all "Hey, I don't know you but I found this wallet and it seems to be yours. By the way, look all the cash is in it".
She felt miserable, terrible.
Oh Éponie, what have you done?