One

ONE

Josie

"Is my breakfast ready?"

I gritted my teeth as I curled my fingers around the edge of the plate.

Life didn't get any better.

In all the years that had passed since I'd promised myself things would eventually change for the better, I hadn't gotten much more than the illusion of a better life.

That had happened about three years ago when I met my boyfriend, Kurt. I thought it had been my moment. I believed he was the man with whom I was going to find something better.

I was wrong.

In my defense, I hadn't just drawn that conclusion for no reason. Kurt made it impossible for me to believe anything other than the best about him and the relationship we had.

In the beginning, it had been so good between us. Great, even. He was better than I had imagined whenever I dared to dream of that better life I had hoped to have. To top it off, he didn't seem to have that wandering eye that my previous boyfriend had.

Kurt had been interested, attentive. So, it was no surprise it didn't take me long to give our relationship everything I had. In my mind, if this was it, if this was the real deal, I didn't want to hold myself back from pouring all I had to give in to it.

And that had been my mistake.

Forcing a smile onto my face even as my stomach clenched with the revulsion I felt, I turned around with the plate in my hand and answered, "Your breakfast is right here."

Kurt was seated at the table I'd already set for him. His cup of piping hot coffee was already there, along with a napkin, utensils, butter, and syrup. As I set the plate down in front of him, he barely looked up to acknowledge me. There wasn't even a word or nod of thanks.

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.

I offered to go to work to help him pay for all the unexpected expenses. The last thing I wanted to do was give him anything I worked hard to make, but I believed it was my only hope.

At first, Kurt wasn't on board. He didn't want me working, and I was convinced that was because he knew it had the potential to lead me toward freedom. He wasn't wrong, but I didn't tell him that.

Instead, I promised him he had nothing to worry about, that we were in this fight together. I insisted it was my duty to help him with this, because he'd been taking care of me on his own for so long. This was how I could show my gratitude.

He bought it.

And fortunately, there was a relatively new diner called Betty's in town that was hiring.

So, I got a job.

But Kurt wanted every dollar I made. I had no choice but to give him the majority of it if I was going to stand a chance at saving myself. Every shift I worked, though, I kept a portion of my tips and hid them.

Now that there had been six weeks' worth of income from my job, Kurt's mood seemed to have shifted. He wasn't nearly as stressed as he'd been.

Kurt finally finished his breakfast, getting up from the table and leaving his empty plate and mug sitting there for me to clean up. As much as I wanted to tell him to clean up after himself, I didn't. Not only would he not react well to it, but the more compliant I was, the sooner he'd be out the front door and on his way to work. The way I saw it, the less time I had to spend in his presence, the better.

It wasn't even a full five minutes after he'd stood from the table when Kurt finally left for work. I cleaned up the dishes, got myself ready for work, and left.

Since his truck, which was just barely hanging on, was the only vehicle we had between the two of us—mine had gotten sold when I left my last job—I had to walk to work. There was the option for me to take the bus, which would have significantly reduced my walk time, but for now, since it was the end of June and the start of summer, I decided to walk the entire way there. It wasn't an unreasonably far distance in this weather, so any money I could save by not taking the bus was worth the walk.

I made it to Betty's with ten minutes to spare before my shift. As I got myself ready in the back, putting my apron on and grabbing an order pad and a pen, Lori approached me. "Hey, Josie, how's it going?"

"I'm good. Did you open today?" I asked.

I hesitated to ask my coworkers any specific questions about themselves. I never wanted to extend that olive branch, because I didn't want to risk having them attempt to foster friendships that I'd never be able to maintain. Maybe once I got out from under Kurt, things could be different.

God, I hoped I'd be able to find a way. I just didn't know how I'd make it happen without serious consequences. There was no chance Kurt would just accept me walking away. If there was one thing I was certain of, Kurt would come after me, and he'd see to it that I suffered tremendously if I ever thought about leaving him. Since I couldn't be sure how far his rage would go, I thought it was best to protect the people I worked with by not allowing myself to get close to them. The last thing I'd want was for anyone else to be hurt by him.

Of course, I couldn't just ignore them. Instead, I kept all the conversations I could focused on work.

But that didn't mean they didn't make the attempt to turn it into something more, which is precisely what happened this morning.

"I did. It's been pretty busy, so as soon as you can get out there, it'll be a huge help," Lori replied.

"I'm ready to go," I told her.

"Great. Hey, by the way, I was talking to some of the other girls, and we're looking to do a little something fun for Jessica before the baby comes, since she's doing this on her own now that her baby's dad left her. We thought we'd get together one night and have a small celebration with her. Kerri suggested we take her out for a nice dinner at The Ridge, and we can all go in on a single big gift or just get smaller individual ones," she shared.

I would have loved nothing more than to do that. I wanted to be able to have a night out with some girlfriends. Granted, I hadn't known Lori, Jessica, Kerri, and the other two girls for long, but I wanted the friendship they were offering.

Unfortunately, I knew I wouldn't be able to go with them, but I didn't want to come right out and decline the invitation. "When are you planning to do it?"

"Well, since we don't want it to impact the rest of the staff here, Kerri thought it would be wise to plan it for some time in August. This way, we can all request that same night off in advance, and the guys can be on the schedule that evening."

If only I knew exactly how the next few weeks would play out. I desperately wanted to go, to forge some friendships, and to be there for a woman who was about to embark on a journey that had to be a mix of scary, difficult, and joyous.

But I couldn't be sure I'd be where I needed to be by then. I didn't know if I would have enough saved up to move out and get away from Kurt. "Oh, um, well, I know my fiancé has a coworker who's getting married in August, but I don't remember the date," I lied. "Can you let me know when you have a specific date figured out, and I can confirm if it'll work?"

"Of course. We could just wait for you to check on the date before setting anything in stone," Lori offered.

I tensed. If I did that, it'd be worse for me to cancel at the last minute. I didn't want to ruin their plans. "No. No, don't do that. I'm going to do my best to come, but if not, I'm happy to chip in for whatever gift everyone decides on. And if you all decide to just get your own thing, I'll get Jessica something on my own and give it to her here afterward."

Lori nodded her understanding. "Okay. I'll let Kerri know to set it up, and once it's all squared away, we'll make sure everyone knows the details."

"Sounds great."

She stopped at the double doors that would lead out into the dining room and inhaled and exhaled deeply. "It's been a zoo out there. Are you ready?"

"As I'll ever be," I muttered.

Lori and I pushed through the doors and got to work.

Within ten minutes, I was completely lost in what I was doing. I didn't think about Kurt, his anger, our fights, or the money I still didn't have that would help me out of this situation. I just focused on each of my tables, doing the best job I could, and relished being out of the house.

Granted, being a waitress wasn't my lifelong dream. I still had hope that even if I didn't get the happy ending I wanted when it came to romantic relationships, I was still going to fight to get the career I wanted.

So, as soon as I got myself clear of Kurt—whenever that managed to happen—I'd start saving my money again, and I'd go back to school and get the education I needed for the job I wanted to do. I'd become an obstetric sonographer.

Until that time came, I intended to do the best job I could as a waitress in hopes that it would lead me down the road I wanted to go much sooner than I had hoped.

Little did I know, today was going to be the day that my whole world got flipped upside down. And it happened about an hour after I'd started my shift.