Children Shouldn't Live Like This – Chapter 5
Gavroche and Courfeyrac both jumped as the loud sound of a door being flung open echoed throughout the guesthouse, the latter nearly dropping the entire bowl of hot broth onto the boy sitting on the bed if it weren't for his quick reflexes. Swearing under his breath, but not loudly enough for Gavroche to hear, Courfeyrac set the bowl down onto the table and walked apprehensively towards the closed bedroom door.
Gavroche followed his footsteps with anxious eyes. His heart started to thump violently as he speculated the identity of the intruder, drawing the blanket up closer to his chin as he did. When his brain got round to the possibility that the intruder might be one of his father's henchmen hired to finish him off, or perhaps even his father himself, he whimpered and shuddered involuntarily, recalling the broken beer bottles and furniture that caused him insurmountable pain.
The bedroom door then flew open, nearing knocking over Courfeyrac, who was standing in front of it. Gavroche instinctively closed his eyes, not wanting to see his father's manic eyes or his empty beer bottles again. All he heard was heavy breathing, then a voice that sounded both alarmed and relieved at the same time.
"Gavroche…Gavroche!"
The voice sounded like his older sister's, but Gavroche was still suspended in disbelief. Before Gavroche could even open his eyes, he felt two careful arms thrown around his torso and a head on his shoulders, the arms gently squeezing him as the person tried to convey her affection without hurting him further. Gavroche then slowly opened his eyelids, only to see Eponine in front of him, hugging him as only an older sister could.
"Eponine!"
Gavroche couldn't move his right arm to return his sister's sentiment, but he settled with nuzzling his face onto Eponine's own and giving her a one-handed hug with his uninjured left arm. Courfeyrac stared at the scene in front of him in confusion, turning around as he heard footsteps and watching Marius enter the room, having finally caught up with the girl who had dashed up the stairs at lightning speed herself after he had explained to her what had conspired over the past three days. Courfeyrac pointed at the two in the embrace, and looked quizzically at Marius.
"Er…what's going on?"
Marius grinned back at him.
"Short story, they're siblings. Long story…I'll tell you later."
Eponine then withdrew from the embrace sharply and gave Gavroche a visual pat down with her eyes, her expression changing from relieved to appalled in a matter of seconds. Ignoring her brother's sheepish expression at being eyeballed by his sister and walking around to the other side of the bed to inspect his injuries further, Eponine's voice shook as she analyzed the damage.
"Mon Dieu…papa really did a number on you, Gavroche."
"It doesn't hurt that bad anymore, Eponine."
"Don't lie to me, Gav." Eponine crossed her arms and shook her head at Gavroche's attempt to look brave, chastising him. "You're in terrible shape, that night was the worse I've ever seen. There's no need for you to act so courageous all the time, Gavroche. You're allowed to show pain, no one will look down on you."
Gavroche remained silent as he stared downwards at the mattress. Fiddling gently with the blanket, he mumbled.
"I don't want to be weak."
Softening at Gavroche's words, Eponine sat down on the bed and placed her hands on the sides of Gavroche's face, cautiously turning him to face her directly. Staring deep into his eyes, she spoke with resolution.
"You aren't weak."
Gavroche then scoffed quietly, obviously convinced otherwise.
"I'm never good enough, Eponine. Je suis...incompétent. That's why papa and maman are always angry."
Courfeyrac raised an eyebrow at Gavroche's response. Apparently the young boy that he had rescued had an inferiority complex. He then felt Marius' hand on his shoulder, and saw Marius beckoning towards the living room of the guesthouse with his head. Nodding in response, he followed Marius out of the room, shutting the door behind him.
"Just to give them some privacy."
"Understood."
"Look, Courfeyrac," Marius held up his hands. "I know what's happening now might seem a little confusing, but-"
"It's fine, Marius." Courfeyrac decided that since Eponine had probably informed Marius of the situation, there was not much point in hiding what he had heard. "I know what's going on. Little Gavroche got into trouble with his parents, got beaten up, and thrown out of the house."
"Wait…what?! How did…" Courfeyrac stared back at Marius, amused, as his usually dapper friend spluttered in disbelief. "How did you know that? Do you have some strange ability to hear through walls that I don't know about?"
"What? No, I…actually, let's say I do." Courfeyrac smirked mischievously as Marius folded his arms, evidently not amused. "I used my abilities to spy on you two when you were talking. Be warned, I think the government is suspicious, so I would appreciate it if…ow!"
Marius, frustrated, gave Courfeyrac a hard smack on his arm, to which the latter responded by pouting childishly.
"That was uncalled for."
"No, trust me. It was totally called for. Now, how did you know about Gavroche's situation before I told you anything?"
Courfeyrac then proceeded to describe his and Grantaire's experience looking after Gavroche when he had been unconscious, and the unsettling revelation that his nightmare had disclosed to them. Marius placed his hands in his jacket pockets and leant against a wall as he listened to Courfeyrac's tale quietly. When he was finished, Marius looked Courfeyrac in the eye and gave a sigh.
"Well, shit."
"You said it."
"Well, at least we know two things now. One," Marius ticked off his first revelation with his index finger. "Gavroche isn't just some street urchin, he has a sister, who thankfully I'm pretty good friends with."
"A little more than that, she hopes." Courfeyrac coughed out his next sentence, which caused Marius to look up, distracted from his thoughts.
"Sorry?"
"Nothing, go on."
Courfeyrac shook his head inwardly. It was glaringly obvious to the other students that the girl who did odd jobs for supplementing her family's income was madly in love with Marius. The subject of her dreams, unfortunately, was the only student completely oblivious to any of her affections.
"Two," Marius ticked off with another finger. "We know who did…that to him."
At Marius' comment, Courfeyrac's expression darkened considerably.
"Monsieur Thenardier."
"Précisément, Courfeyrac. He is infamous as a cheat and a sneak around these parts, but I would've never made him out to be abusive to his own child. What do you think, should we do anything?"
Coufeyrac exhaled heavily as he sat down onto one of the few chairs present in the room. What Grantaire had talked to him about was still fresh in his memory, but they had never reached this subject's territory in their conversation. Would Grantaire's idea of letting Gavroche make the necessary decisions still apply in this case?
"I have no clue, Marius. Perhaps we should discuss the matter with Enjolras, Joly and Grantaire when they get back."
Accepting his proposition, Marius nodded his head and settled into the chair next to him. There was an air of unease as they waited for the siblings silently.
Gavroche sat on the bed, unable to move freely by himself, watching appalled as his sister sank into a seat and buried her face in her hands, seemingly overwhelmed with emotion. Gavroche hardly ever saw his sister cry, she was a constant pillar of strength and determination to him, and it stunned him so see her so upset.
"Don't cry, Eponine!"
Eponine looked up at the sound of her brother's plea and chuckled quietly to herself, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand and staring affectionately at the brother that she, just minutes ago, had been convinced would never return to her side. It seemed nothing short of a miracle by God's grace that he was staring back at her. Not completely well, but still very much alive.
Gavroche started to feel uncomfortable at Eponine's persistent staring and subdued facial expression.
"Eponine…you're freaking me out. Never mind your brother, are you feeling okay?"
Eponine's expression switched instantly from subdued to affronted. Bending over the bed, she gave her little brother a gentle cuff on the head, not enough to properly hurt him but enough to allow her to reassert her dominance. Gavroche winced at the familiar playful gesture that he had received many times on Eponine's part.
"Ow…that hurt, Eponine!"
Mustering up his best puppy dog face, Gavroche stared at his sister with large watery eyes and a pout that would melt the hearts of any female, only for Eponine to smirk amusedly at him.
"You know that doesn't work on me, Gavroche. I'm already wise to your tricks, as useful as they might be for other purposes."
"Damn."
"Don't swear, it's unbecoming of a child."
"Sorry…maman."
"Why you little…"
Instead of cuffing him on the head again, Eponine decided to go for her favorite punishment for her mischievous little brother. Dropping her arms to his sides, and taking pleasure in the fact that he was restrained and in no position to resist, Eponine extended her fingers and started wiggling them over his abdomen, sending Gavroche in merry peals of laughter.
"No…no! HAHAHA STOP, EPONIHAHAHAHA!"
With no intention of stopping, Eponine grinned as she took in her brother's youthful energy that she was always so enthusiastic to see unleashed. It yielded to her a pleasure that completely satisfied her.
In the midst of the tickling, Gavroche suddenly felt a sharp pain radiating from his torso, one that caused him to suddenly flinch and attempt to recoil from Eponine's hands with more gusto than before, gasping for air as he did so. Sensing that she might have accidentally hurt him, Eponine immediately withdrew her hands and placed them on Gavroche's shoulders.
"Mon Dieu…did I hurt you?"
Blinking back tears, Gavroche shook his head as best as he could.
"No, Eponine. I just overstrained myself."
Cursing herself inwardly for taking fun too far out of hand, Eponine apologized to Gavroche and gently picked him up, placing him in a more comfortable position on the bed. Spotting the bowl of broth on the table that she assumed Courfeyrac had given to Gavroche before she had barged into the room, she decidedly took up that mantle, feeding him with small spoonfuls of the broth, which admittedly smelt more delicious than anything she could have ever cooked. Gavroche, by now positively famished after days without food, responded to the incoming spoonfuls of broth with vigor, behaving himself as he swallowed every spoonful without fuss. As he ate, Eponine found herself filling up the silence with talking of her own.
"I'm so glad you're okay, Gavroche. Don't worry about the guys, they can definitely be trusted. I'm actually relieved that they managed to look after you; I don't think you'll find more trustworthy people in all of Paris. Marius told me you just woke up, so I'm not sure if you know all of them yet-"
"Marius?" Gavroche paused as he tried to recall the name. "Haven't you told me about him before?"
"Yeah, he's the student who's always at the café. He brought me up here just now."
Gavroche then snickered.
"He's the one you love, right?"
"I don't…shush! Not so loud!" Eponine hastily looked at the closed door. "Yes, yes, he's the guy I told you about. Now drop it!"
Gavroche's grin now matched a Cheshire cat's.
"Okay Eponine."
Trying to force down the blood that had rushed to her face via mental control alone, Eponine brushed past the moment and continued speaking.
"I don't know what we're going to do, Gavroche. Do you want to come back?"
Gavroche swallowed the lump in his throat and looked down at the bandages gracing his torso.
"I don't know, Eponine. Papa and maman don't want me in the house anymore. I miss you and Azelma, but I…I don't want to be beaten by papa anymore."
The innocence in Gavroche's voice upon saying those words broke Eponine's heart. Suddenly feeling very affectionate towards her mistreated baby brother, Eponine placed the bowl back onto the table and embraced him yet again, this time with even more care than before.
"Don't worry, Gavroche." Eponine spoke softly into Gavroche's ear as she ran her fingers through his hair. "We'll decide what to do after you're better. Okay?"
"Okay, sis."
"Good."
Ruffling his hair affectionately and pecking him lightly on the cheek, Eponine stood up and walked towards the bags of groceries that had been left near the door by Marius. Bending over to pick them up, Eponine turned and looked at her little brother.
"I need to deliver these things to Monsieur Laffont, or else he'll chew me out for being late. Will you be okay with the guys looking after you?"
"I'll be okay, Eponine, since they're your friends. Will you come back to see me?"
There was great anxiousness in Gavroche's tone as he asked the question.
"Of course I will, mon frère."
The smile that appeared on Gavroche's face could have brightened all the streets of Paris.
Author's Note – Let me just say this, I hate writing long dialogues as I find them so difficult to juggle alongside my desire for detail. Every minute action a character makes, I feel the need to address it, which makes writing dialogues hell. It's inevitable, unfortunately, which explains my slightly cumbersome interaction between the two siblings for this chapter. Hopefully I still managed to pull it off effectively, so reviews and suggestions on that area specifically would be very greatly appreciated.
And I realize I've gone two chapters without a cliffhanger! I understand that most of you probably don't like cliffies, but I do. Incorporate them in your writing sporadically, it's a great way to increase tension and get readers to come back. I think. Ah, oh well.
Review please.