Chapter 8:
The sky was black and the night was still. They crept down the street as the wind whipped against them. Trees were nearly bent backwards with the force of the air and Eponine's face was raw with the lashes of the whip that was her hair. 5 people made up the team, Eponine watched as they crept towards their target, a tall townhouse in a posh street. The classic red brick and crawling ivy represented the wealth that the men around her desired. Montparnasse was stood next to her as they looked across at the house. Her father was walking casually towards the front door and the men flanking him frantically swept the front windows, watching for any kind of movement.
"Right 'Ponine, it's your time to shine." Parnasse whispered to her. She couldn't move. A sickly feeling had burst throughout her stomach but that wasn't what was cementing her feet to the ground. It was the feeling of intense excitement. An almighty rush. The kind of feeling she hated to enjoy. She heard Montparnasse sigh before he shoved her into the street. She stumbled a little but quickly regained her footing. And then she was walking quickly, silently, up to the front door.
"You know what to do." Her father told her and she nodded. She could only see his eyes which glinted in the moonlight. Her father was a fully nocturnal being. He thrived in the dark. In the light, his shortcomings were clear; he wasn't handsome, he couldn't afford new clothes. But in the dark, he could look like a king with the mask pulled over his head.
The red door was lined with thin windows which served as their entrance tonight. Taking the ice pick out of her jacket she lined it up to the window. Then, she swiftly smashed the ice pick up against the glass reducing the pane to thin pieces on the floor. She stayed still for a moment, if anyone had been in the house they would have heard that. When no reaction was gained she slipped her hand into the empty frame. It was such a tight space that she was forced to press one side of her arm up against the jagged glass that still clung to their place. Once her entire forearm was inside, she felt for the door handle and turned it quickly. The door opened and her family set to work.
True to their word, that was all Eponine had been required to do. So now she stood in the alley between the house and its neighbour. Her heart was thumping as she tried hard to stand still. But she wanted to run, or scream, or laugh or do something. She took deep breaths and tried to focus, she had to keep lookout.
It had been four years since she had done this. Okay, she may have picked the occasional pocket when she was on the street but it had been years since she had done this kind of a job. She remembered the first time she had been used. The fear she had felt then was still as strong now as it had always been. But she had enjoyed it too. The first time she had seen her father smile was on their first job together. She had been used to distract a couple while her father stole their wallets, jewellery and other valuables they had on them. The couple had been bent over her as she cried, whispering kind words of comfort when she had seen her Dad appear over their shoulder. His smile burned into her memory.
"Eponine?" She whipped around at the sound of her whispered name.
Standing at the top of the alleyway was Enjolras. His hair was messy and he was topless, wearing only pyjama bottoms that were an embarrassing shade of orange.
"Eponine, what are you doing here?" He asked, walking quickly towards her.
"I…" She faltered. What to do? Scream? Run? If she screamed the boys would find him and would do who knows what to silence him. She had to protect him. "Go back inside." She said.
"What?" He replied.
"Go inside. Pretend you didn't see me." He just looked at her. "Please?"
"Not until you tell me why you're here!" He demanded.
"I can't tell you." She whispered, beginning to panic. He was making too much noise, he was going to be found. "You have to go."
"Eponine, you're scaring me."
"Good." She replied as she put a hand to his chest to push him away. "Go."
"Why won't you talk to me?" He whispered urgently. She shook her head, her eyebrows furrowed as she began to push him back towards the street.
"Why are you here?" She whined.
"Because I live here!" He answered. She stopped. She must have whispered something because suddenly Enjolras was holding her up. "Eponine, what's wrong?"
"Please go." She mumbled. Her heart was in her throat. He lived here? Suddenly the shame of what she was doing hit her like a train. She was breathless. Her two worlds were suddenly twisted and mangled together and she didn't know what to do. She didn't want him, or any of the boys, to see what she was doing. To see what she was.
They were stood on the street now. Enjolras was staring at the girl in front of him. He was holding her arms as tears filled her eyes. Why was she here? He had no clue. He looked around at the street surrounding them. The wind was sweeping newspapers and loose rubbish across the street but other than that there was no movement. And then he saw the broken window.
Then he noticed the object protruding from his friend's jacket.
"What the fuck have you done?" He asked, his voice low and cutting.
She suddenly looked at him. "You can't say anything." She whispered. "You have to go. They'll find you and…"
He cut her off. "Who will find me? Your friends? Your new boyfriend?" She couldn't look at him. "Jesus 'Ponine I can't believe this." He dropped his hands from her arms and put distance between them. "I can't believe the girl who preached about the importance of helping the community is a petty criminal." He was being too loud. He knew it was a dangerous situation but he didn't care. "You're no better than any of them." He spat and she almost flinched.
"It's the last time!" She replied, trying desperately to cling onto the person she had tried to be. The person who could go to the fancy school, who could be friends with the likes of him.
"Who told you that?" He asked. "That scumbag of yours? Or perhaps your father?" Her eyes flicked onto him and he nodded. "Oh yeah, we all know about him. Do you really think that we wouldn't find out? My father's a lawyer for god's sake! Joly's father works within the police! We knew who you were and we didn't care!"
She was ice cold. His words rung through her ears we knew who you were.
"This isn't something that you can brush aside. It isn't suddenly okay because it's your last job! This is a family!" He was practically shouting now.
"Oh yeah, like they'd even notice if one of their fifty tv's went missing!" Eponine retorted. Despite her tears she became tired of being seen as lower than others. They 'knew who she was' did they? Well good! She was proud that she didn't have everything handed to her! It was clear now that this whole time they had been treating her as a charity case to make them feel better. Look at the kindly posh boys who were able to look past the girl's low income and befriend her!
"Fuck the fact that you're stealing superficial things from them!" Enjolras retorted. "Think about what you're really doing! These people aren't going to feel safe in their own homes anymore! And I'm sure you know how that feels."
The force of his words almost knocked her off her feet. In their row, they had gotten so close to each other, shouting into the others face. Now Eponine stumbled back. His eyes were blazing just as they had done in the back rooms of the Musain. His chest was heaving as he breathed harshly. It was as if he were the sun, it hurt to look at him.
"You have to go." She said.
"Yeah." He replied simply. His anger had depleted. She had stumbled into some light and he finally saw how gaunt she looked. Her right sleeve was dripping with blood that came from god knows where. She looked so small. Her eyes darted behind them and he realised that it wouldn't just be him that would get hurt if they were caught. As he turned to walk away he wondered if he would ever see her again.
He had gone and Eponine didn't know what to do. She no longer felt the wind as she leant against the brick wall. Her arm throbbed and she could hear the blood hit the floor as it dripped from her sleeve. She couldn't care. His words swirled around her brain, hurting her with their truth. All this time she had been able to justify her actions with the thought that these people are rich; what's a few pounds to them? She had believed that the effects of her actions would be able to be fixed in hours. A new TV could be brought, new locks installed. She had never thought about the real effects. She now saw the woman she had stolen a watch from, now holed up in her house as she was scared to walk the streets on her own anymore. The countless families who now flinched whenever they heard an unusual sound at the door. She had lived so much of her life thinking that it was us against them that she had forgotten that everyone is human. She thought about how she would feel if Grantaire or Marius was mugged in the street.
When Montparnasse finally came to get her she was sat on the ground, tears falling unnoticed. He pulled her up and she cried out in pain. "Shut up!" He whispered before he herded her to the nearby car.
The back of the car was incredibly dirty, empty packets of crisps filling the foot-wells and the gross smell of old food wafted around them. She was sat by the window and stared out of it. Her father was smiling, another successful job completed. They drove back to the house in silence. Eponine trudged into her room as the men unloaded the car and Mrs Thenardier gasped in delight at what they had brought back.
Her room was cold and damp and all she wanted to do was sleep. Fatigue now plagued her, every move felt like she was wading through tar. She fell into her bed and prayed that sleep would come quickly. And then the door opened.
"He better keep his mouth shut." Eponine froze at Montparnasse's words. She saw his outline move toward her. "If he says one word, they'll be hell to pay."
"I don't know what you're talking about." She said. His fist slammed into the wall next to her and she flinched.
"Bullshit!" He shouted. "You can tell you're rich prick that I'll be coming for him. And you know I don't play nice." He said as he gripped her injured arm. His breath was tinged with alcohol as he kissed her slowly. Then suddenly he cocked his head and smiled. "You know what? I think a demonstration might be better."
Enjolras lay awake in his room. He stared at the white ceiling in complete turmoil. If one of his parents had walked into his room they may have thought that he was sleeping. He was completely still, his hands clasped on top of his stomach and his breathing was slow. But his eyes would not close. When they did, all he saw was her face. So pale, so etched with fear and confusion. He didn't regret what he said, it was all true, but he couldn't shake the feeling that he should have been trying to help her. It wasn't her fault that she was born into a family where crime was commonplace. He took some time to think about what he might have done if he was in that family. What he might do if he had nothing to eat and saw a loaf of bread carelessly flung into a shopping bag. It was easy to say that his morals would hold out, but he wasn't sure. He had never been forced to look death in the face as frequently as he assumed Eponine had.
It was true that he and Grantaire had known about Eponine's father. What he hadn't relayed to her was how he acquired the information. After their first meeting where Eponine had shown up the two boys had been called into Patterson's office. It was a strange experience and one that Enjolras still thought about.
Patterson had sat in front of them with a grave expression on his face. "Now boys," he had begun. "There is something I need to discuss with you but it is of a sensitive nature. What I say to you now must not be repeated to any of your fellow peers." Enjolras had nodded, still wary of what was going to happen. Normally if they were called into this office it was to shut down their club, the club that Patterson had long thought was unnecessary. But this seemed different. "It has come to my attention that Eponine Thenardier has recently become a member of your group." They nodded again. "Now this was due to my instruction that she should try to ingratiate herself within the school community. But she comes with baggage."
"Baggage?" Grantaire repeated, the look in his eyes showed that he clearly thought this was insane.
"Yes," Patterson said, annoyed at the interruption. "She is one of our brightest students, a scholarship student as well and let's just say that she comes from a, well, a colourful family shall we say?"
"Can you elaborate on that sir?" Enjolras asked.
"Her father is Alastair Thenardier, a known criminal who is currently incarcerated." The headmaster stated simply. "This leads us to suggest that you do not get too involved with this girl, we do not want your reputations ruined by association."
And that had been it. They had been dismissed before Enjolras could argue against his Headmaster's sentiments. Of course they had never acted on this advice, the two boys quickly becoming enchanted by her refreshing point of view. Enjolras almost laughed, it had been exciting to meet someone who had struggled like they had not. He had found her interesting, had been almost jealous of her. And now they weren't laughing. The day he had seen her bruises he realised what her life had been like. All of a sudden it wasn't thrilling, it was frightening.
If the truth was told the reason he had been so angry to see her was that he was disappointed. Disappointed that she wasn't as strong as he liked to think she was. He had hoped that she could fight against her family, her father. But that was wrong. Because her strength didn't diminish with the events of tonight. It just meant that she was human. So completely flawed and yet still fighting. He just hoped that she would speak to him again when he next saw her.