And I expected bad.
The smell alone is enough to make most people turn around and walk right back out, but Lexy doesn’t even flinch. She moves through it like she’s done it a hundred times before.
Because she has.
I glance around, taking in the mess, the emptiness hidden under all the clutter, and something low and sharp settles in my chest.
She grew up in this.
Raised her little brother in it. Held everything together while her mother checked out.
That’s not weakness.
That’s someone who fought through hell and didn’t fold.
I don’t feel pity. Not even close.
I feel something heavier. Something that cracks a part of my soul and refuses to move.
I look at Lexy as she sets some aspirin and water next to her sleeping mother. “Night, Mama.” She kisses her forehead and turns on the small heater. Then she walks past me into another small room and comes back out with a small bag.
“My dad’s pictures.” She shrugs, not meeting my eyes. “I didn’t get to take them the last time I…” She doesn’t finish, and she doesn’t have to. I remember how she arrived at the bar. Bruised, lost, and hungry.
She shouldn’t be here. Not in this place. Not in this life.
And for the first time since she walked into my bar, I stop thinking about how to keep my distance.
And start thinking about how to get her the hell out of this life for good.
???
Alexis
“Is it okay if we ride back to Lander for the junk food?” he asks as we get back into his truck, and I gape at him.
“You don’t have to. You already did too much, and my mother… I’m so sorry.”
“You’re not your mother, and losing a husband like that must have been hard.” He searches my face. He’s not asking me about her or the trailer I lived in, and for that I am grateful.
“You lived through the worst and are building your life up again. That’s not something to be ashamed of. That is something to be proud of.” He looks away after a moment. “Anyway, I already told you, this is blue day, so tell me, is junk food burgers and fries or more like pizza?”
I stare at him, no words forming.
“Chinese? Popcorn? Chips? Oooh, tacos?” He smiles, and I start laughing.
“You know what? You choose, but on one condition.” I smile. “You let me treat you, to thank you for giving me my blue day and helping with my mom.”
I wait for his answer as he looks conflicted.
“How about I pay for dinner and you can pay for dessert?” he sighs.
I shake my head. “I pay for dinner, and you pay for dessert.”
He nods. “Okay, but next time, if we ever need to order takeout, it’s on me, okay?”
I nod, and he starts the truck.
We end up getting pizza from a town over and bringing it back to the apartment because the snow is picking up and the roads aren’t safe.
