The world came back into focus. She cracked her eyes open, expecting to see the dusty ceiling of the attic, but instead she found a sheet of red velvet canopied over her. For a brief second, she wondered if she was dead.
“You’re awake!” The voice was painfully familiar.
Marius.
“Where am I?” she asked. Her head felt as if it were piled with bricks. She tried to sit up, but Marius gently laid his hand on her shoulder, forcing her to stay down.
“You’re hurt,” he said. “And the doctor that Cosette’s father had here said that you have pneumonia, too. Just lay down. We’re at Cosette’s house. I didn’t know where else to go. None of the public doctors were letting people in, and there was a chance that the police might have come there, looking for survivors.”
“Who else – is anyone else alive? Gavroche?”
“Grantaire and Enjolras are here.” He frowned. “I don’t know about Gavroche. You’d have to ask Enjolras. He would know. He saw it all.”
“How did they – how are they alive? I thought… it sounded like they killed everyone.”
“Grantaire was passed out the entire time. They didn’t see him as a threat. Enjolras was pushed away and managed to run.” Tears glistened in Marius’ eyes. “Everyone else is dead or missing.”
“Gavroche,” she whispered, trying to sit up as memory returned to her. His hand was firm on her shoulder again. “My brother. I need to find him!”
“We’ll get him,” he said softly, firmly. She could tell that he wasn’t listening to her, not seriously. “We’ll find him. He’s been alone for years, hasn’t he? We’ll find him soon, and he’ll be okay.”
She nodded, his voice soothing. “I just… I need to find him. What if he’s dead?”
“He’s not dead,” Marius said. “He’s the smartest kid I ever met, and – and I tried to get him out of the way. I just – I told him to run. I don’t know if he listened, but… maybe he did. He’s probably just lost, Éponine. Paris is a big place –”
“He knows every street of this town,” she argued.
“Maybe he’s just laying low for a little while. Grantaire is worried about him too. He and Enjolras went out looking for him. Maybe when they come back he’ll be here. You never know.”
She trembled and let out a long breath. “But he’s so young… he’s practically helpless, especially if he’s hurt. And if the soldiers find him… they have to be everywhere!”
“Éponine, those men didn’t even recognize Enjolras. There’s not a chance that they’d recognize Gavroche.”
She nodded, even though she couldn’t entirely shake the feeling in the pit of her stomach. “I know. I know.”
“I’ve got to go,” he said, smiling softly. “You should try to get some more sleep. The doctor recommended that you rest as much as possible.”
She nodded as he left, then pulled the blankets up to her chin and turned to the side. She couldn’t shake the feeling that Gavroche was dead or wounded. She had spent ten years not even knowing that she had a brother, up until the inn burned and they were thrown out onto the streets and her mother spotted him one day. Ever since then, she had tried to shadow him as best she could, taking care of him without letting him know that she was there.
