Page 31 of Escape

I forced myself to pay attention to the television, because I was too close to the end. I just couldn’t risk ruining this opportunity to get out and be safe. Fortunately, I was successful in doing that, and before I knew it, Kurt turned off the television, stood, and said, “Time to head up.”

I gave him a nod. “I’m just going to grab a glass of water. My throat’s been bothering me today. Would you like me to bring you a drink?”

“No, but will you take this beer bottle and toss it for me?” he countered.

Taking the bottle, I replied, “Sure.”

With that, I walked out to the kitchen as Kurt climbed the stairs. As soon as I tossed his bottle and got myself the glass of water, giving him the time to get upstairs, I grabbed my phone from my purse and sent a text to Huck.

Josie

Heading to bed now. All is good.

Once the message had been delivered, I deleted the conversation and dropped my phone back into my purse. Then I climbed the stairs and went to bed, feeling grateful that it was going to be the last time I slept beside a man who could do to me what Kurt had done over the last couple of years.

When I woke up this morning, nothing had been out of the ordinary, other than the fact I was going through my usual routine with butterflies in my belly. There were just a few hours left until freedom. I couldn’t believe I was this close.

While Kurt continued to sleep until his alarm went off—I always woke before he did—I descended the stairs, made my way to the kitchen, and went about packing Kurt’s lunch for work. Then I moved on to preparing breakfast.

Before I knew it, he had entered the kitchen, and the two of us were sitting down to eat together. Unsurprisingly, he had the same conversation for me as always.

“Is my lunch ready?”

“It’s already by the door,” I assured him.

“And you’re not working today?” he asked.

I shook my head. “I tried to pick up an extra shift today, but since they gave me one yesterday, they had to give one to one of the other servers.”

“Did you pick up any additional shifts for next week?” he pressed after a few beats of silence.

I finished chewing my eggs and swallowed them. Then I took a sip of my drink and said, “I was able to get two extras for next week.”

He nodded his approval. “That’s good. That’s really good, Josie.”

“Yeah, I think so, too. It’s just a matter of time before we get all caught up on everything we’ve been hit with lately,” I reasoned.

“You’re really helping me out a lot here. Maybe after we get through this mess, we’ll plan something special. Maybe you should start thinking about some place you’d like to take a trip. It’s been a long time since we’ve had a vacation. It might be nice to do that.”

Kurt’s pleasant demeanor this morning wasn’t strange. He started the conversation in his typical way, but the way he seemed to hold an edge of respect and admiration for me getting those additional shifts didn’t shock me. That he was suggesting a vacation was even less odd.

This was the typical type of behavior I’d grown to expect from him after we had an incident like we did a few days ago. I never quite understood it, even if I was grateful for it. There was a sense of reassurance in the days that followed an altercation. I didn’t know if it stemmed from him feeling the need to smooth things over—likely the reason I’d stuck around in the beginning—or if he simply got out his rage and felt better. Whatever it was, I always looked forward to the reprieve.

In the end, we would never take the trip, and that didn’t have anything to do with me intending to leave. It was just that Kurt always said things like this, and he never followed through, because something else always came up, or he’d get mad and take his fists to me again in a couple of weeks.

“That sounds like a great idea. Maybe I’ll try to come up with a few places today, since I have the day off,” I suggested.

Kurt popped the last bite of toast in his mouth, chewed, and swallowed. As he lifted his coffee mug to his mouth, he said, “Sounds good. We can talk about it when I get home. You know what? Why don’t I pick up dinner for us on the way back? We’ll reward ourselves for working hard. What do you think?”

Just keep playing along, I thought.

I smiled at him as he set his empty mug down and stood. “That sounds great, Kurt. Thank you for doing that. It’ll be a nice small reward before we go for the big one with a trip, right?”

He let out a laugh. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Moving toward me, he bent at the waist, kissed my cheek, and said, “Breakfast was great. I’m going to head up and use the bathroom.”

“Okay,” I said softly, hating that he’d done that.

Even if I preferred when he was being nice to me over the alternative, this level of tenderness from him always made me feel uncomfortable.