Page 11 of Escape

But that’s what I’d grown accustomed to. If this relationship had been what I’d thought it was from the start, it would have thrilled me to be able to wake in the morning and make breakfast for my guy before he went to work. Because I would have wanted him to have the same that he was giving me. I’d want him to feel loved and respected.

The way things were between us now, the way they had been for the last two years or so, I despised making him breakfast. It was simply expected of me, and not once did Kurt ever show that he appreciated the things I did for him.

For a brief period at the beginning of the relationship, things were wonderful. The transition to where things were now had been slow, gradual. If anything, I was disappointed with myself for not recognizing precisely where I was headed before we’d reached this point. If I had, maybe I would have gotten out. I would have walked away.

Now, it was too late.

“Did you pack up my lunch?” Kurt asked through a mouth full of food.

“It’s waiting by your keys on the table near the front door,” I answered.

He grunted. “Good. I don’t have time to waste this morning. What time are you going to work today?”

Continuing to stand with my hips leaned against the counter, I replied, “My shift starts at nine.”

“When does it end?”

“Three.”

Kurt shoveled more of his food into his mouth. I wanted nothing more than to walk away, to be in any other room than the one he was in, but that’s not how it worked in this house. If I left before he was ready for it, I’d only cause myself more trouble. So, even if I hated looking at him and listening to his voice, I had no choice but to stay where I was.

This was what my life had become. I was stuck in this mess until I could figure out a way to get out safely.

The only bright side was that Kurt refused to be late for work, and he had to leave the house forty-five minutes before I did today. That window would give me the time to decompress from my morning with him. Despite how brief our interaction might have been, I always found myself on edge whenever I was around Kurt. I didn’t even sleep well at night any longer. In fact, I found I woke up most mornings with my jaw aching from clenching it so hard and my back feeling like it had developed several more knots overnight.

“So, dinner will be ready when I get home, then,” he stated. There was no need for Kurt to ask that as a question, because he already knew I wouldn’t dare dream of not making sure his food was ready for him.

It was sad, really.

No matter how hard I’d tried, no matter how much I’d hoped and prayed for something different, this was what my life had become.

I was living—technically, I was merely surviving—with a man who’d fooled me at the start into believing I’d finally gotten the life I’d always dreamed of having. I knew now just how foolish I was to trust that something better even existed. Maybe it did for others; for me, there was no such thing as a happy ending.

“Of course, it will,” I confirmed.

“It better be. Don’t forget what I said about this new job of yours. If it starts to conflict with my schedule or your ability to do the things that need to be done here, it’s going to have to go,” he warned me.

It took everything I had in me not to react the way I wanted to, but that was another thing I’d learned the hard way. If I dared to speak in a way Kurt found to be disrespectful, he wouldn’t hesitate to put me in my place. So, I swallowed down the anger I felt and relaxed my face, so I wouldn’t even narrow my eyes at him.

Although I hated it, my voice sounded small and yielding when I returned, “I understand, Kurt.”

And I did.

This wasn’t easy. I had no choice but to do what he expected, what he wanted. If I dared to go against his wishes, I’d earn myself a punishment I’d already been on the receiving end of far too many times.

No.

No, I couldn’t allow that to happen any longer. I was desperate. I needed to get out. And if there was any chance, any shred of hope of that happening, I needed money.

Sadly, I hadn’t formed many connections along the way. Family didn’t exist for me, so I was already missing that support system. And the two friendships that I’d had at my last job—the job I’d foolishly left when I hadn’t realized how badly I was being manipulated—hadn’t remained after I’d left the job. They’d reached out to me on a handful of occasions, but Kurt would always find a way to convince me to spend my time with him instead of with them.

Of course, none of his controlling ways really came to light until after we’d moved in together and I accepted his proposal. Those were the worst decisions I could have made. Because once we were living together and I left that job, I became solely dependent on him. I couldn’t even continue going to school to finish up the schooling I needed for the career I’d been hoping to have. Given that I’d grown up being abused, maybe I should have recognized what was happening to me sooner than I did. It was too late to turn back now.

For now, I was merely grateful Kurt had started having some money troubles. In what I had looked at as a blessing in disguise, multiple things had gone wrong at one time. Within a two-week span, Kurt’s truck broke down, and our rent had gone up. He had been saving some money for the truck repair, but he ultimately considered doing the work himself. He injured himself, needed stitches, and now had the unexpected medical debt to add to the list. And finally, the worst of it happened just a few weeks ago. Kurt wound up with a huge tax bill he couldn’t afford to pay. Since he hadn’t dug himself out of the hole he was already in, the tax bill sent him over the edge.

It hadn’t been pretty. He’d blamed everything on me, of course.

But having had enough of the position I was living in, knowing I needed to look at every possible thing that happened as a means to save myself, I decided to take advantage of the opportunity the situation presented.