My fingers crushed the flimsy paper plate.
It wasn’t only what he said.
It was that he said it in front of relatives and neighbors drifting through the yard, pretending not to hear while still listening.
He wanted an audience.

I set the plate down slowly and kept my voice even.
“You’ve been taking half my paycheck for years. I’ve been paying the bills.”
He gave that theatrical shrug he used when he wanted my reality to sound like whining.
“So? That’s life. If you don’t like it, find somewhere else.”

Grant laughed under his breath.
“Good luck with that.”
The yard smelled like grilled meat and something worse—being used, out loud.
I took one step closer, letting the orange flicker from the grill light his smirk.

“Fine,” I said, low and sharp. “You want me gone? You’ll get your wish.”
He waved the tongs like I was a fly.
“Yeah? And where are you going to go? You’ve got no savings.”
I didn’t correct him. I just memorized the confidence in his voice.The rest of the night blurred into forced smiles and whispers that followed me like smoke.
But inside my head, something was already locking into place.
He didn’t know what I’d been doing quietly for months.
He didn’t know I already had keys in my pocket.