Jeffrey Dean Morgan Collection

The Landlord - Max

Natasha had only moved into her new apartment just last weekend and so far everything was going great. The landlord was really nice, although he seemed a little shy and awkward but he was very easy on the eyes. They hadn't talked much but he made her feel welcome and made sure she knew she could call on him anytime if she had any troubles. It felt good to get away from her old life, the messy breakup with her ex, and a start fresh. She was looking forward to her future again.

Natasha had just come in from running some errands when she heard a crash from inside Max's apartment that he shared with his grandfather. She wondered about knocking on the door to see if everything was ok but then she heard the old man yelling.
"You useless boy... get out! Just get out. I don't want to see your pathetic face!" The old man screamed.
'Wow... that's pretty harsh' she thought to herself. She couldn't imagine Max would have done anything to deserve such unkind words. He always struck her as being a kind and gentle man. Although she felt bad for Max she decided it was best not to interfere so she continued on to her apartment. Maybe she would find an excuse to talk to him later and make sure he was ok.

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August had been increasingly difficult lately. Refusing to eat and not taking his meds. Max tried to be patient with the old man but it wasn't easy. August hated him, he always had, that he made no secret about. But still he took care of him, sometimes he wasn't really sure why, it just seemed like the right thing to do. He rubbed his face where the old man had struck him, it stung a little and left a faint red mark. For a feeble old man he could still give a good backhand, something that Max had grown accustomed to over the years. He headed out to find some work to busy himself with, he needed to take his mind of things. As he neared the new tennant Natasha's apartment he slowed and considered knocking on her door. He wasn't quite sure why and had no idea what he would say. It would just be nice to have someone to talk to he thought to himself. He had taken a bit of a liking to his new tennant. She was beautiful and kind, and he loved that when she smiled it made him smile too. He knew he had a tendency to become a little bit obsessive at times. He tried not to come off as creepy, but the truth was August had him so isolated he didn't really know how to talk to people. He had never had a proper relationship and hardly any friends to speak of, the old man made sure of that. 'Why the hell would she want to talk to you. Your nothing. Your worthless' his grandfather's voice taunted him in his mind. Max let out a sigh and continued walking past her door.

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It had been a few weeks since Natasha had first heard the commotion from Max's apartment and still she hadn't managed to find time to talk to him beyond exchanging smiles and pleasantries in passing. In that time she had heard more yelling from the old man. It seemed he was constantly berating Max for something, but not once did she ever hear him yell back at his grandfather. He must have had the patience of a saint. The more she heard the more she began to detest the old man despite not having had met him. She wasn't sure she would ever want to. She felt like she might want to punch him if ever she got the chance. She hated the way he spoke to Max, always tearing him down. It's no wonder he seemed so shy.

Later that night as Natasha was running herself a bath, one of the pipes burst and water began spraying everywhere. Within seconds she was drenched and she had no idea what to do. In a panic she wrapped her towel around the pipe to minimise the damage before running to Max's door giving it a quick knock.

The door swung open and Max appeared. "Hi Natasha, everything okay?" He asked, taking in her drenched appearance with a look that seemed like a cross between confusion and amusement.

"Hi Max, I'm sorry to bother you so late. A pipe burst in my bathroom and there's water spraying everywhere"

"It's not a bother" he smiled softly. "I'll just go turn the water off and I'll be right in to fix it"