The Weight of the World (week 14)
He flinched slightly when she hugged him and jerked at the voice in his ear, but his grin only widened. “Yes. We did it. I did it.” He looked up at the ceiling and cried, as loud as he could, “Look, love! I made it! I kept my promise! I did it for you!” He laughed wildly, feeling the pain in his head intensify.
But for a moment, the adrenaline haze cleared a bit and he remembered. “Take it, Cosette. Give it to them. First, before everyone else. You deserve it.” I
In that next second, he felt a burning hatred for those other people, the ones who had done nothing. Who had attacked him and killed his friends. And even more for Enjolras and Grantaire, even for Gavroche and Combeferre and Eponine and Marius and even his own Musichetta for never having to feel this pain, of knowing that you were going to lose your mind but not when.
And then it occurred to him that he might have already.
He looked at Cosette, feeling as if he were slamming back to the ground from a great height. His body hurt all over and he was hot, burning hot. He wrapped his arms tighter around her. “Oh god I’m so scared Cosette please help me…”
The sound of his cries made her ears hurt and her head spin. But she let him shout anyways, since she could imagine herself doing the same.
When he told her to take the cure, she shook her head. “I’ll take it when we get out of here. We’re almond tour of time.” Cosette’s words were hurried. She rushed over to the machine and grabbed what she could before taking a deep breath. Joly was scared.
But there wasn’t anything she could do about it. The girl paused and met his eyes, offering a gentle smile. “Hey. It’ll be fine. I promise.”
that was a lie. She didn’t know if it would be fine, so there was no point in promising.
“We just need to get out of here… And then we can figure out what to do next.” Beckoning the others to follow, Cosette headed towards the door.
The moment he had sat down, it was as if his senses had witched off. Any remaining adrenaline had left him in a sudden rush and the shock had settled in. He wasn’t aware if the others said anything. The only thing he could vaguely be aware of was Jehan’s presence, his shoulder pressing lightly against him as the only point of contact.
It was as he saw Cosette’s motioning that his mind started to focus again. He unsteadily looked up, squinting to make his eyes focus as well and take in the surroundings. It looked like what ever they needed to do was done.
The cure was complete.
Turning, he gently moved to grip Jehan’s arm, the blood dry now so not leaving a print on his shirt. “Jehan… It’s time to go… Just take my hand okay? Hold tight, we’ll be okay… I’ll protect you” He whispered softly, hoping to get his friend moving enough to help get him out of there with Cosette and Joly. What happened had done a number on them both. He only hoped it was something that could eventually be fixed.
Jehan feels empty. He's not paying attention he can pay attention. He's in a blurr of everything. The only thing in his mind is that man. His head rolling away. The memory of the first girl. Screaming.
He feels there pain and he feels nothing. He doesn't feel Feuilly shift. He can barely hear his words. Somehow he's able to respond to the hand on his arm.
He understands, just a little what Feuilly is saying. He grabs his hand and nods.
"Okay.… you'll protect me." He repeats. Spitting the words back because no others come to him. Maybe a part of him knows it true. But he just holds onto Feuillys hand. For now he's unsure of everything else.
