Man who is rich and emotionally detached decides to give Lexi a safe place to live because he is impressed by how strong she is. Their strange bond grows, but only until that one day when he walks into his garage out of the blue and finds something bad there. After all, Lexi wants to keep something from us. Who is she?
I had a big house, nice cars, and a lot of cash—a lot more than I could ever spend in my life. On the other hand, there was an empty place inside that I couldn’t fill.
Unfortunately, I was never able to start a family because women were always interested in me just for the money I got from my parents. I couldn’t hide the feeling that I should have made a better choice when I was 61 years old.
Unconsciously, I reached out and touched the steering wheel to try to ease the weight that was pressing down on my chest. I saw a woman slouched over a trash can right then. She looked like she didn’t know where she was.
I thought about why I was even bothering to slow down the car as I did it. Wasn’t it true that we saw people like her everywhere? But there was something about the way she moved—the way her thin arms looked through the trash with a cruel determination—that made me feel something.
She looked both pretty and brave, but it looked like she was holding on to life by sheer willpower.
I had stopped this car before I started to notice how I was acting. I rolled down the window and watched her through it while the engine hummed. I felt safe in my car.
She looked up in shock. I thought about the chance of her running away for a split second because her eyes were getting bigger. She did not act this way, though. After making a small change to her position, she wiped her hands on her old white pants.
“Do you require assistance?” My voice sounded funny when I asked my question. I didn’t often talk to people I knew, and I didn’t bring up problems in my life very often either.
“you offering?” She sounded sharp and tired in her speech, which made me think she had heard all the empty promises before.
“I don’t know.” Before I could even begin to shape them, the words just came to me. I got out of the car. “I just saw you there and… well, it seemed right.”
As she crossed her chest, her eyes stayed on mine. She never took her eyes off of me. “Life is not right.” She laughed in a mean way. “And especially those who are unfaithful, including husband who are not good.” The other way around, it looks like you don’t know much about the subject.
Even though I knew she was right, I raised an eyebrow.
“maybe not.” I wasn’t sure what to do, so I sighed. “Do you have tonight somewhere to go?”
She paused, then looked away from me for a moment, then back at me. “No.”
The word moved like a cloud between us. It told me everything I needed to know.
“Observe: I have a garage.” But it looks more like a bed and breakfast. You might choose to stay where you are if you can get stable.
I was ready for her to laugh at me and tell me to go to hell. But after just a quick look at me, the hard lines of her exterior began to fray.
“I do not accept charity,” she said, and as she talked about her point of view, her voice got softer and quieter.
This made them say, “It’s not charity,” but I wasn’t sure what charity meant. “It is only temporary residence.” “No strings attached.”
“Everything is fine. “Only for one night,” she said. Also, Lexi.
The trip back to the house wasn’t very exciting. She looked out the window from the passenger seat while her arms were around her like a cover from the weather.
Following her to the guest house that had been turned into a garage when we got there. The area wasn’t fancy, but it was enough for one person to live in for their whole life.
I showed them the small space and said, “You are welcome to stay here.” The point of my hand was straight ahead. “Also there’s food in the refrigerator.”
They told her, “I understand and appreciate it.”
For the next few days, Lexi stayed in the garage, but we did meet up for meals every once in a while. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but there was something about her that really caught my attention.
It could have been the way she seemed to keep going even though things were hard, or it could have been the loneliness I saw in her eyes, which made me feel the same way. It could have just been that I wasn’t alone as much as I used to be.
She started telling him how she felt while they were eating dinner together across from each other.
Not loudly, I used to be an artist. “Once I was an artist.” I tried to be, though. I only planned a few shows for a small venue and kept it in good shape. Still, everything went wrong.
“What took place?” I asked because I was really interested.
Even though her laugh wasn’t real, she still managed to make it happen. “Life took place.” My husband left me for a younger woman, got pregnant with her, and then left me. He then kicked me out of the house. My whole life fell apart after that event.
I said, “I’m sorry,” but it was a lie.
She turned her head. “It’s past.”
But I could see that it wasn’t in any way. The terrible pain could still be felt just below the surface. Too well, I had already been through that.
As the days went by, I started to look forward to our calls.
Lexi’s sharp wit and sense of humor helped me get away from the sadness that filled my empty estate house. It looked like the empty space inside me was getting smaller over time.
Things didn’t change until one afternoon. I had to find the air pump quickly for one of my car’s tires. I went into the garage without knocking because I thought I could just grab the door and leave. On the other hand, what I saw made me calm down for a moment.
The floor was covered in different kinds of drawings. Having to do with me here.
Alternatively, it’s also possible for terrible versions of me to exist. In one piece of art, chains were around my neck, and in another, blood was coming out of my eyes. Both were made by the same artist. One of us was sitting in a coffin on the other side of the room.
I had a sudden attack of dizziness.You think this is how she sees me, right? When I thought about what I had done for her?
As I hurried to leave the room before she saw me, my heart was beating really fast.
I can’t get the pictures out of my mind from when we were having dinner that night. I had to look at those awful pictures of Lexi every time I looked at her.
It got so bad that I could no longer stand it.
“Lexi,” I whispered, and my voice shook a little. “What the hell are those pictures?”
The edge of her tool touched the plate. “What are you speaking of?”
Even though I really tried to stay quiet, I couldn’t help but say, “I saw them.” “The paintings depicting me.” There was more than just the coffin, the chains, and the blood. Is that right?
The color of her skin changed. “I didn’t mean for you to see those,” she said, her voice shaking.
I replied in a cold voice, “Yes, I did.” “Is that your take of me?” “Like a monster?”
That’s not really it, though. She always wiped her eyes and spoke in a jumbled way. It was just anger.You have a lot of stuff, but all of my stuff was stolen from me. I couldn’t stop it from happening, but I could stop it from beginning. It made me feel like I had to let it go.
“So you drew me like a villain?” I was very direct when I asked the question.
She nodded, even though her face showed that she felt bad. “I apologize.”
I stayed in my seat and let the space between us get bigger. In my heart, I wanted to forgive her. One of my goals was to understand. I still couldn’t do that.
“I think it’s time for you to leave,” I said, my voice shaking.
Lexi called her classmates together. “Wait, kindly.”
“No,” I quickly replied. “It has ended.” “you have to leave.”
The next morning, I helped her get her things together and then drove her to a nearby shelter, so I gave her a ride. I didn’t make a lot of noise, and neither did she. As she got out of the car, I gave her a gift of two hundred dollars.
Even though she wasn’t sure about it, she took the money with both hands shaking.
Even though a few weeks had passed, I still couldn’t quiet my grief. Besides the disturbing art, the terrible things that happened to us in the past also have an effect on us. I hadn’t seen anybody so close and friendly in a long time.
Then, on a certain day, a package showed up at my door. The object had a picture on it, but this piece of art stood out from the others that were on it. There was nothing ugly or silly about it. I didn’t know I had it, but a calm picture of me caught here. It was a very peaceful sight.
A letter with Lexi’s name and phone number was scrawled and hidden at the bottom of the package.
While I had my finger on the call button, my heart was beating faster than it had in years. I felt stupid for getting angry over a phone call, but there was a lot more at stake than I was willing to admit. I felt stupid for losing it during a phone call.
When I was angry, I forced myself to swallow and pressed the “Call” button before I could change my mind. The phone rang three times before she finally picked it up.
“Hello!” There was doubt in her words, as if she had a prophecy that only I could fulfill.
Someone sighed. “Lexi.” To be more specific, the person in question is me. The picture you gave me makes me happy, and it looks great.
“I am pleased.” If you would like it or not was something that was going through my mind. Somehow I felt like I owed something bigger and more important than those other pieces.
“Lexi, you owed me nothing.” Plus, I wasn’t fair to you either.
You had every reason to be angry. She had a more stable voice now than she had before. “The things I painted were things I needed to release from my mind; but, they were not really about you.” You were the only one here. First, I’d like to say sorry.
Lexi, you don’t have to say sorry. Seeing the picture made me start to forgive you right away.
Her breathing was hard and not working well. Did you?
When I said “I did,” I really meant it. Aside from my point of view, the feeling that I still didn’t understand something basic came from my fear of facing my loss. This changed the way I saw things. “And… well, I’ve been thinking… possibly we could start over.”
“What do you mean?”
“I suppose we could have a chat.” Maybe all through dinner, course by course? As agreed upon.
The phrase she used was “I would appreciate that.” “I’d really like that.”
We had meetings planned out for a few days ahead of time. Lexi told me that the money I gave her helped her get a job and buy new clothes. She planned to move into an apartment soon after getting paid for the first time.
I smiled big when I thought about having dinner with Lexi again.