Lost:

Chapter 10:

Present Day:

Marius is walking towards the ABC Café when he hears footsteps running up behind him.
"Marius!" He hears Enjolras yell. He half turns before Enjolras has already caught up to him.

"Hey, what's up?" he asks Enjolras while reaching in his pocket for the key.

"Nothing, just decided to come with you this morning. I wanted to see if maybe…" Enjolras trails off. Marius knows exactly where he's going with this. He rolls his eyes and sighs.

"Eponine's not coming this morning. She hasn't been back here since Christmas a year and a half ago." Marius answers.

"I know, I just thought…I mean especially after she started therapy…maybe since this was her safe place-"

"I know," Marius cuts him off. He finds the key in his pocket and pulls it out, "but I don't think she wants to see anyone. Me especially." He says.

They walk up to the café when they see a woman standing at the door. She has a bag hanging off her shoulder and her arms crossed. Marius looks at Enjolras who is just as confused as he is.

"Hello, ma'am," Marius says as they approach her, "Can we help you?" he asks. She moves to the side so Marius can unlock the door.

"Are you Marius?" she asks. He turns from the door and narrows his eyes at her.

"How do you know my name?"

"My name is Dr. Abney. I'm the psychologist that's taking care of your friend, Eponine," she smiles and holds out her hand. He shakes it, still skeptical as to why she's here right now.

Enjolras pushes through Marius to get to Dr. Abney.

"Um, hi, Doctor. I'm Enjolras. I'm also a good friend of Eponine's," he says, sounding nervous to say the least. Dr. Abney smiles and shakes his hand. Marius pushes open the door and the three of them walk inside.

"So, Ep has talked about me?" Marius asks, closing the door behind him and following them up the stairs.

"Yes, yes she has. And that's why I'm here. Can I ask you a few questions?" she asks. Marius shows her the table that he usually sits at and pulls out her chair for her. She sits down, Marius next to her and Enjolras across.

"Okay, how long have you known Eponine?" she asks. Marius looks at Enjolras to start.

"I've known her for about 7 years or so. But I've only actually been friends with her for about 4. She was the coolest girl when I first met her. So sweet and so beautiful. She had the greatest personality, too." Enjolras says, thinking back to when Eponine was full of life. He sighs.

"Were you and Eponine ever together, Enjolras?" Dr. Abney asks. Enjolras looks down at his hands.

"No, never. She and I never had romantic feelings for each other."
"You both didn't, or she didn't?" Dr. Abney asks, looking at Enjolras. She is waiting for him to look up, which he does eventually. Enjolras starts getting agitated.

"This is not going to turn into a therapy session for me. This is about Eponine," he states, looking her dead in the eye. Dr. Abney nods and turns to Marius.

"Alright, Marius, same question. How long have you known Eponine?"

"My entire life. I can't remember a time when I wasn't friends with Eponine, actually," he says. He laughs a little. "She and I used to go on little play dates together. And when we were supposed to be in bed, well, her parents would go out and party all night and I lived with my grandpa, so we'd sneak into her backyard. She had this tree house that was always our hideout. We would hang out there until we heard her parents' car pull into the driveway. We were together all day every day. It never got annoying and it was never hard being around her. We did that until about three years ago, when we discovered this place. We invited all of our friends here to hang out and that's what we do every day. Or, we used to. Nobody really comes here anymore." He says, looking down. He's obviously upset about this. Dr. Abney looks up at him.

"Is that because of Eponine?" she asks. He nods.

"It was about a year ago that she started changing. You know, she lost a lot of weight and she was barely talking to any of us. I found some…some tools in a pencil case in her bag." He says, looking at Enjolras. Enjolras buries his head in his hands.

"What was in the pencil case?" Dr. Abney asks, leaning into the table.

"Razors and scissors. I think she was cutting herself. I found scars on her arm one time, but I didn't think anything of it. I was a little concerned at first, but I knew it could've been anything. I should've said something to her. Now, she won't even talk to me. She doesn't look at me anymore. I've tried reaching out to her. I feel like I lost a part of me, you know. She's like a sister to me." he says.

"It's like she's not there anymore, huh?" Dr. Abney says.

Marius sighs and looks Dr. Abney in the eyes.

"I've always been afraid that she is going to commit suicide; that she's not going to be here anymore. But, honestly? It's like she's already dead."