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I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from provoking him further by laughing.
It doesn’t take him long to figure out his misstep.
I’ve never seen someone go from pale to purple so quickly.
He slams his hand down hard on my workstation, hitting my piping bag. I don’t know if it was on purpose or just the result of blind rage, but the bag bursts and splatters icing everywhere.
Even he doesn’t escape the fallout. It’s on his eyebrows, his cheek, and there might even be some up his nose, but I’m not invested enough to confirm.
“You clean this up and get back to work,” he shouts, storming away.
Usually, after Henri flies off the handle, he’s a saint for a few days. I often find myself relieved when he starts screaming and swearing at me.
Don’t get me wrong, it terrifies me to the point of panic, and in those moments, I’m desperate to do whatever I can to appease him and make it stop.
When he’s blown himself out, though, I get a few days of peace, quiet, and even the rare flash of a smile. That’s where the relief comes from. It’s kind of like a guaranteed rainbow after a thunderstorm.
Compared to Kyle, Henri is practically easy to de-escalate.
Besides, my piping work had been a little crooked. He’d been right to point that out. I just wish he didn’t have to yell to do it.
This time, though, there’s been no rainbow in sight. There’s been no temporary peace for me to recover and get my bearings. It’s just been a never-ending hurricane of tantrums and cruelty.
How am I going to make it through this?
If I get accepted to Age Gap Academy, the verbal abuse and interference from Henri will only escalate.
The only silver lining to that situation is any abuse from Henri will have an end date. When the program finishes, I can start looking for a new position. If I’m lucky, I might even make some contacts during my enrollment session and have a job waiting for me when I’m done.
I can make it through anything as long as there’s an end date.
If I get rejected—which is far more likely—he’ll never let me hear the end of it.
Even though I put my whole heart into creating that application portfolio and gave it everything I had, I knew applying was a massive long shot.
I know they’re not going to want me.
The worst part about it all is that I’ll be trapped at Brookside Manor for at least four more years—if not longer, depending on when the birthday cutoff is for kindergarten.
There would be no escape from Henri until then.
I suppose I could take my parents up on their offer and move in.
There’s no way I could afford AGA from the proceeds of selling my condo, even if they’d be willing to accept me as a regular student, but there are other places I could enroll in to get formal culinary training.
But if you do that and he comes back, you’ll be a sitting duck. How many times did you sneak him into your bedroom as a teenager? He knows exactly how to get into the house.
I shake my head, forcing the thought away.
Don’t borrow trouble from tomorrow, Avery. Today has plenty.
The only thing I can be sure of is that no matter what happens with my application, Henri will find new and creative ways to punish me for it.
That’s what’s been keeping me up at night these past few weeks.
Before Henri found out about it, the inevitable rejection would have been bearable. I would have been able to deal with my heartbreak and disappointment privately.
I won’t be able to do that now that he’s found out.
