Chapter 11 – Halloween Art

"Fuck, fuck, fuck" Eponine cursed, clutching at her scalp.

Why did she mention art school? Fuck. Had this conversation ended well the last time she'd brought it up?

No. Grantaire had ended up in the hospital with alcohol poisoning. Glancing at Gavroche she let her coat and purse fall from her hands. He couldn't be left alone. Well, neither of them could…but splitting herself in two was not an option.

Where are you?

Pushing Gavroche's hair off of his forehead, Eponine frowned at her phone and tapped out another text.

I am sorry.

With her little brother settled on the toddler mattress in their room, she quietly shut the door.

A couple weeks worth of messes twisted the guilty knife in her side, but Eponine sank to the floor in front of the couch. Scrolling through her contacts, she swallowed her pride and fired off a text to Joly.

Tapping the enter key, Eponine waited for the laptop to wake up. Flicking off the lamp, the screen blinked to life. This fine piece of hand-me-down electronics had been their first luxury purchase. He'd surprised her in July during a particularly awful heat wave.

Succinct vibrations in her lap tugged Eponine's attention to her phone.

"Hello?" She answered eagerly, hoping Grantaire's rough voice would greet her.

"What happened?" Joly demanded.

Standing Eponine pressed a hand to her head. "I messed up Joly. I really fucked it up."

"Baby, take a breath. Where is Grantaire?"

"He's gone. Art school came up. I-I don't know where he went."

Joly drew a sharp breath. "How long ago?" He demanded.

"Almost an hour now." Eponine closed her eyes and heard shuffling and Joly's hurried explanations to his lovers through the phone.

"Give me 10 minutes, do you want decaf or regular?"

"Regular please." She sighed. "Grantaire brought home leftovers from work. See you soon."

Quickly she donned one of Grantaire's ratty jumpers and wrangled her hair in to a messy bun. In familiar haste, she straightened up the living common room and kitchen. This consisted of shoving their shit in to the bedrooms and under the sofa, but who had the time or supplies for actual cleaning? Eponine certainly didn't. She'd just extracted the last cheese curl from the worn sofa before Joly's signature knock registered.

"Coming!" She called automatically, mentally kicking herself once she remembered who was sleeping only a few yards away.

Pulling the door open Joly's solemn face, pink with cold smiled tensely. "Hey, I brought hot cocoa for Gav too. Here." He offered.

"Thanks love." Popping the lid, she inhaled deeply. "Coffee is the nectar of the Gods."

"Enjolras would agree with you." Moving to the couch, Joly removed his knapsack and dug around for a laptop and dog-eared notebook.

"Should we start with the usual suspects?" Eponine asked, extracting a pen from her bun.

Nodding Joly ripped out a sheet of paper and slid it across the table. "I'll start with Bahorel, Feuilly and some of the other Amis. Do you want to call the old hangouts?"

"Alright." Downing as much of the searing liquid as she could, Eponine squared her shoulders and began to dial familiar numbers.

"Who the fuck is calling you?" Grantaire growled, biting Enjolras' neck.

"Doesn't matter." He answered, relieving Grantaire of his shirt.

Enjolras wove their fingers together and pushed Grantaire against the futon.

"Sure about that?" Grantaire arched his back as Enjolras pressed his body to his.

"None of the Amis are going to contact me tonight. I'm supposed to be studying remember?" Enjolras whispered, silencing his boyfriend with a kiss.

"No luck?" Joly asked, draining the last of his tea from the take-away cup.

Lifting her head from her hands, Eponine squinted at him. "What gave it away?"

"Caffeine gives you the same frustrated, frazzled, hyper energy that Enjolras gets after too much coffee." He shrugged.

Nodding, she scooted closer to Joly and drew her knees to her chest. "What should we do now?"

"Wait a couple hours and see if he to contacts anyone?" He asked.

Eponine was the real boss. Any decisions regarding her boys went though her. Their three-person family was more efficient and closer than most nuclear families Joly knew.

"Alright." She agrees after a long look at the door to Gavroche's bedroom. "It's all my fault."

"What happened 'Ponine? It's not like you two to fight."

Pulling her arms around her middle Eponine set her chin between her knees. "Maybe I was in mama tiger mode from dealing with Gavroche. From the moment the take-away food was opened, he was on edge. I shouldn't have pushed him. Then he got a text from someone…probably Enjolras. I kept talking, asking if he regretted not taking the scholarships and running off in to a new life."

"Oh Ep…" Joly sighed.

"He's always taken care of me…of us. All I want to do is make sure he is all right. Grantaire always scrapes by. He's sacrificed himself time an time again to keep me safe."

Admiration brightened her face and Joly offered a small smile. "One day, he's going to look around this hovel and realize he could have a life. A real one, with a good guy like Enjolras and be a famous artist selling his work before he dies. Not like that Van Goh." She laughed and a few tears collected in her eyes.

"He'll leave and be great. I know he can be great." Biting her lip, Eponine glanced at the couch. "If he drinks again. It's all my fault." She choked out, crying in earnest now.

"Shh." Joly reached for her, taking care to approach slowly. "If, if Grantaire relapses…you are not at fault. I promise."

He felt her stiffen against his chest.

"Don't lie to me Joly." She murmured.

Kissing her head, he rested his chin on her braided crown. "Never. Remember? I'll never lie to you."

Joly felt her breathing even and body gradually relax cell by cell. He waited patiently, holding her loosely until she asked if they could lie down. With one hand on his chest, Eponine closed her eyes. Focusing on the quiet, Joly willed Grantaire to be okay. Eponine's concern radiated like heat from her body, and he found himself remembering the first time he'd been tempted to lie to his friends.

Halloween – 2011

"For the love of…" Joly muttered, selecting a highlighter. "Haven't you heard of quiet hours?" He asked, shaking a fist at the ceiling.

The even vibrations of a stereo answered him, and Joly pinched the bridge of his nose.

Muffled screams and worried voices permeated the cheap door. The volume increased in the hallway until he stood and heard thunderous frantic knocking.

Cautiously he cracked the door open and found himself face to face with Grantaire. His eyes were wild and had dried blood streaked across his cheek.

Gasping Joly stepped aside and pulled his ami in to the standard dorm room.

"W-what?" He managed, watching Grantaire hug the thin girl tighter to his chest.

"Grantaire." He said gently, moving towards him.

He jerked backwards, bumping in to a dresser. His ami flinched and spun around with fists clenched, ready to fight.

"Hey, R, it's me. Take it easy, yeah?" Joly calmly assured, his pre-med training kicking in. "Let's put her down alright? Nice and easy. That's it." He encouraged, bending to the floor in sync with Grantaire.

"Please save her." He croaked, rocking back and forth on bent knees. "Should've….my fault…." Great sobs shook him and the young lady in his arms moaned at the jarring movement.

Flicking his eyes to the woman, Joly gently helped Grantaire lower her to the floor and release her body.

"What happened?" He asked in shock. His fingers moved over her swollen face, littered with bruises and blood. A jagged cut decorated her scalp and matted her hair. The familiar face grimaced in pain at Joly's touch and he quickly withdrew his hand.

"E-Eponine." He whispered disbelievingly. Glancing at Grantaire, Joly received a grim nod.

"Oh God, no, no." The student wrung his hands, pacing the width of the room.

"Please…please help her. Joly, I don't know w-what to do. It's never been like this before." He managed before dissolving in to silent sobs.

"Grantaire, It's alright. Just, just help me get her shirt off?" In another circumstance, they would have laughed, the virgin bookworm unsure of how to approach the opposite sex.

Tonight, Grantaire set his jaw and undid the buttons with shaky fingers. Joly probed her ribs, counting breaks as he went along. Every touch sent Eponine writhing in an effort to escape him. Which in turn sent waves of what he was sure to be unbearable agony throughout her broken body.

"Please, Grantaire I need to know what happened. Every time I try to examine her….I think it's making her injuries worse." Joly's voice broke, and he drew a shaky breath.

Grantaire caught his friend's gaze. "Azelma. She protected her biological sister, from being sold tonight."

Joly offered him a damp washcloth and he began to dab at the dried blood caked on her face and chest.

"Wouldn't you know that bastard…" Bitterness dripped from his tongue. "He punished her. All of the Patron-Minette. All five of them, new runner included, maybe her father too I don't know, they they took turns with her. For hours. I don't know how long she stayed conscious."

His fingers hovered over the lump on her forehead. "Hopefully this knocked her out. How fucked up is that?" He stared at Joly.

Joly made a noise at the back of his throat and placed his hand over Grantaire's. Words failed him and couldn't begin to address the damage tonight caused.

Quietly, the boys scraped torn clothing and coagulated blood from Eponine's body. There were more wounds than Joly cared to count. Luckily his first-aid kit was military grade, and contained enough supplies to treat half of Paris.

"Shit." Joly muttered, holding a butterfly bandage in his teeth. "Grantaire I think we need take her to a hospital. She's bleeding so much. E-everywhere."

Grantaire shook his head vehemently. "No. I p-promised. No way." His voice rose and he pressed a towel soaked with Eponine's blood to a wound on her thigh.

"Oh!" She groaned, twisting away from both boys.

"Hey, hey. 'Ponine." Grantaire loomed over his friend. "Eponine. 's alright. We're safe. It's over."

"Mmm. Hm." She garbled, her mouth full of swollen tissue.

"Honey. Please look at me. It's alright. Joly is here. I'm here."

Blinking the eye that wasn't quite swollen shut, Eponine rolled as much of her head as she could to the side and vomited. Her body convulsing in pain with each heave of her stomach.

"Shit. Grantaire, sit her up!"

"No. That'll hurt her!" He argued.

"If she aspirates, she won't hurt anymore." The student snarled. Slipping a hand under her neck, Joly motioned for Grantaire to support her back and they lifted her upright.

He forced himself to be deaf to her cries and focused on care instead. First aid was all he could offer her. With every bandage and strip of gauze, he imagined his love healing her wounds. He hoped that the anti bacterial cream and rubbing alcohol would keep infections at bay, and allow her peace of mind.

"No-hmuh-nouh." Eponine clutched at Grantaire's jacket, her bruised eyes widening as much as they cold.

"What?" Joly asked, leaning forward.

"One more time 'Ponine, try again." Grantaire asked, tilting his ear towards her.

"No. No lies. No lies." Desperate for him to understand, she tugged at the fabric before

falling limp in exhaustion. She stared at her saviors and leaned against Grantaire with her lip trembling.

Giving a curt nod to Joly, Grantaire propped her upright.

"Alright. Eponine, I think most of your ribs are cracked, broken or bruised. You could probably use stitches in your scalp, but I'm trying to stop the bleeding as much as I can with what I have around." He gestured at the wrappers and bandages that littered the floor.

"Can you tell me what else hurts?" The student probed gently.

Wincing she turned her head from side to side and pointed to the entire left side of her face. A molted purple pattern had began to bloom and swell. Carefully Joly manipulated the tender skin and guessed that her jaw wasn't broken only severely bruised.

Time passed slowly, as Eponine remembered her body and drew attention to the broken pieces with shaking hands and garbled words.

"Blood." She said faintly, pointing to the dark stain spreading through her skirt.

Joly's heart sank and he swallowed the urge to run away. Rape? Bossuet's broken fingers he could splint, Musichetta's burns from work he could treat, migraines that plagued Enjolras were manageable. Assault. Beatings within an inch of life were not in his area of expertise.

Glancing at Eponine, he noted her pale sweaty skin, glassy eyes added to her steady blood loss.

"Eponine? I need you to stay awake." He half-shouted, rubbing her sternum with a fist.

Grantaire glared at him and tugged her shirt down. "She needs to rest. This always happens,"

"No. She will bleed out, I need to put pressure on the wound and we need to get to the hospital immediately." Joly directed, his heart hammering at this sudden burst of assertiveness.

Pale, Grantaire nodded at his ami's declaration. He knew that Joly would never risk emergency care if they didn't require it.

"We need a ride." Joly mumbled as he wrapped an elastic bandage around Eponine's pelvis securing the temporary bandage he's fashioned out of a small towel. "Call Courfeyrac."

Grantaire must have hesitated, and before he knew it Joly slapped the phone in his hand, leaving a bloody handprint on his palm. "Now."

Transferring her to Joly's arms, Grantaire led them out of the dorm and stood in the middle of the parking lot, waiting for Courfeyrac.

"What's 'appening?" Whispered Eponine from within the cocoon of a cheap comforter.

Joly could feel her bones shivering and shifted her weight so he could hold her closer.

"Courfeyrac is picking us up and we are going to hospital. You need stitches 'Ponine, medicine and probably casts. I-I-I can't fix it this time."

Fear dominated her features. "No lies?"

"No lies." Joly confirmed.

With her head against his chest, Eponine closed her uninjured eye and sighed. "Take care of 'Taire. 'M fine."

Lights blinded him and an engine roared. Grantaire ripped open the back door and ushered Joly behind the driver's seat. Once tucked in Grantaire held Eponine and hummed soothing melodies. Joly absently rubbed her knee through the tacky fabric and attempted to work out how long it would take Courfeyrac to navigate holiday traffic. A sea of orange and purple blurred by as their friend sped through intersections.

"Joly! Either she's had an accident…or…ah." Grantaire gave a strangled cry and let the borrowed blanket fall away from her legs.

The glow of Joly's phone revealed darkened fabric that he tentatively touched. His fingers came away sticky and to his horror, stained red.

"Hmm, babe?" Enjolras felt around the bed fingering sheets still warm from Grantaire's missing form.

Blinking he saw light from the bathroom door that stood ajar. He smiled and stretched out. Satisfied would be an understatement he mused. Although he'd been pissed that Grantaire ignored his mass text that demanded no interruptions, he certainly did not feel the same now. Enjolras yawned happily and scratched his head.

"Hey." Enjolras greeted, rolling on to his side and propping his head up with a hand.

Grantaire's face darkened at the word, and stood with his phone in his hands.

"What's going on?" He asked, sitting up.

Grantaire merely shook his head and scrolled through messages, his face unreadable.

Confused, Enjolras closed his hands around his phone and tore his eyes away from Grantaire to unlock it.

Fuck. 37 texts. 18 calls. They varied in urgency and spanned the last few hours. All of them had to do with Grantaire. Apparently he'd gone missing.

He swallowed thickly and felt his body burn with adrenaline. "R. What's going on?" Enjolras asked again.

"Nothing. It's nothing." Grantaire snapped. He backed away from the bed and donned his discarded pair of jeans.

"Come here. Where are you going?" Enjolras scooted across the mattress until his feet found the wooden floor.

Tugging on a loop of his boyfriend's jeans, Enjolras pressed their lips together and asked him to stay. When they broke apart, Grantaire remained still and Enjolras held his breath waiting for his next move.

"No." The two-lettered word hit Enjolras like a punch to a kidney. He staggered backwards when Grantaire pushed him away. As if in a trance, he watched Grantaire gather his keys and coat. His hand shook as he slammed the door shut behind him. Enjolras' phone vibrated again, and he opened a new text from Joly full of panic and an explanation.

Selecting the familiar number, Enjolras waited for his ami to pick up.

"R's gone. Start at the beginning." He demanded.

Grantaire walked in the shadows of the street lamps. He left his coat open, welcoming the frozen wind that numbed and stimulated his senses simultaneously.

The place on 57th would be open, but he could get his money's worth at the establishment off of 2nd and Main St.

His throat itched for the familiar burning sensation, but his stomach rebelled at the guilt of relapsing.

Eponine's face flashed across his memory. She'd stuck to his side when he'd decided to detox last year. Even when he couldn't make it to the bathroom, or when he'd taken a knife to the mattress because the withdrawal induced hallucinations convinced him that spiders were hiding there.

Dammit. He was so weak. God, he needed them both. His nails curled against the glass window of the shop and he reached for the door.