I once again dabbed at the bruise. We'd had a fight. Kendrick had a meeting this morning, and while I was cooking breakfast, he was sitting in the dining room going over his documents.
With plates in hand, I made my way into the dining room when my foot got caught in the strap of his bag. The glass of orange juice was the first to go, spilling all over the documents on the table.
"You stupid bitch!" he'd yelled, picking up the glass and throwing it across the room. It hit the wall, smashing into a million pieces.
In terror, I dropped his breakfast over the remaining documents, and that was when he had backhanded me across the face, knocking me to the floor. He gathered his juice-soaked and food-covered documents, shoving them into the garbage. Leaving me on the floor, he took his bag and slammed the condo door.
I shook at the memory. I gathered my overly processed, dry hair and threw it up into a ponytail and walked into the kitchen. I needed to get out of this relationship. Aside from the constant verbal and physical abuse, I'd had an inkling that Kendrick was seeing someone else on his lengthy business trips.
Last year, I had begun to stash money in a hidden cookie jar and stored it in the back of one of the kitchen cupboards. Kendrick never lifted a finger in the kitchen. In fact, I was sure he had never even stepped into this one, so I knew the money was safe there.
I climbed onto a chair and pulled the jar down from the cupboard, pulling out a roll of bills. I reached into my pocket and quickly added the sixty dollars Kendrick had given me earlier in the week and replaced the lid.
I was surprised at the amount I'd been able to save. The way Kendrick tracked my spending, it was a wonder I could save at all. He gave me just enough money every month to buy my personal care items and our groceries. However, as the abuse got worse, I started looking for ways to cut. Instead of using premium lines of care products, I started buying cheaper products and refilling the bottles of the premium lines when Kendrick wasn't home so I didn't give it away that I had switched anything. I also started shopping for food that was on sale or clearance, enabling me to save even more. It would only be a matter of time before I could leave. I tucked the cookie jar back up into the cupboard and headed down to the lobby to get the mail.
I pulled open the little mailbox and pulled out a large stack of mail and went back upstairs. I sifted through the mail, all of it for Kendrick, but the last piece caught my eye. My name was on the manila envelope, the return address from Malone Family Law Firm, Kings Cove Harbor. I frowned as I turned the envelope over in my hands.
Once I was safely back in the condo, I took that envelope and opened it and read the letter inside. I'd barely made it past the first couple of sentences when tears quickly clouded my vision. My grandfather James McKay had passed away over four months ago. Growing up, I had been very close to my grandfather, and after a falling out with my mother, he had moved away. I wiped the tears from my eyes and did my best to concentrate on the letter.
"James McKay has bequeathed you ownership of his condominium located at 2501-425 Madison Avenue, along with all of his possessions. Please contact me to discuss transfer of property and all financial accounts."
I covered my mouth and squealed with excitement. I re-read the letter again before folding it up and placing it in my pocket. This was my ticket out of here. I couldn't help but feel my excitement build. I glanced at the clock that sat on my night table. It was Wednesday and almost ten. I had to meet Kate for our usual coffee date.
I walked by the window of our usual meeting place and saw Kate sitting at a table waiting for me.
"Morning!" I greeted as I approached the table.
"Morning," she said, looking up from her favorite gossip rag, “Rumor Has It.” "My god, what the hell happened to you?" she questioned, closing the magazine and reaching out to touch my cheek.
"Kendrick went on another one of his rampages this morning," I said, ducking out of the way of her touch.
"Oh, Jessica, I so wish you had taken my advice all those years ago. Regardless, you need to get out of there."
"Yes, I know. The good news is I think I may have found a way to be able to leave."
"Oh, yeah?"
"Yes! Thanks to this little gem that arrived this morning, I now have a place to go, a place Kendrick won't know about," I said, pulling the letter from my back pocket and handing it to Kate for her to read.
She opened it and read the letter twice, and then looked at me and smiled. "Amazing!"
"Yes, it's almost like a dream come true. The only thing is that I don't know how I will get there. I mean, you know the short leash Kendrick keeps me on. There is no way he will let me go willingly, and I can't exactly run. He’ll find me."
Kate sat there sipping on her coffee, looking off into the distance as I told her more about the place I had inherited. As I rambled on she finally met my eyes, a smile coming to her lips.
"What if I told you I would take you to New York?"
"Kate, I can't ask you to put yourself in harm's way."
"Harm's way? Girl, I am not afraid of Kendrick. Besides, doesn't he have a trip coming up?"
"Yes, don't remind me. Four or five weeks this time, and I know he’s shacking up with another woman," I bit out.
"So let him shack up. We’ll leave in the late-morning after Kendrick has left for the airport. He'll be gone for four weeks at least. By the time he gets home, we will be long gone. I have a photo shoot out there anyway."
"I don't know, Kate. What if I'm wrong about the other women and he ends up wanting me to go with him?"
"Fake the flu. He won't want you around when you're sick, that much I know."
I let out a laugh. "Yeah, you're right."
"All right, so it's settled. Write that letter, contact that lawyer, and let's go. It will be one big, tremendous adventure."
Later that afternoon, I sat in Kendrick's office, behind his oversized oak desk, with a piece of paper and pen in front of me. I took my time writing out the letter I intended to send to this Hunter Malone. I re-read the words I had written and then signed the papers he had sent. I took the sealed envelope and went into the kitchen to grab the cookie jar from the cupboard. I grabbed a few dollars from my savings and slid it back into the cupboard.
Kendrick would be home in forty minutes, and I needed to get this letter sent before he returned. I rushed down to the post office, paid for the registered letter, and then made my way back to our condo where I spent the next hour getting dinner ready. I wanted nothing out of place or for Kendrick to suspect anything at all.
We ate in silence. Kendrick had come home in an awful foul mood, and after we had eaten, he sat in the dining room going over his travel details. I was in the kitchen listening to him bark out orders over the phone while I cleaned everything up. I had just put the last of the dishes into the dishwasher when I felt his arms slide around my waist.