Eric was found guilty, but the punishment for beating her senseless was too light in Lexi’s opinion. He was sentenced to one year in jail, one year of community service at a women’s shelter with an order to stay at least 500 feet away from Lexi once he was released. The easy punishment was due to it being his first offense and having such a squeaky clean life prior and having a better lawyer than she did.
The stress and worry of what he had done to her, the frighteningly short sentence and the restraining order they knew he wouldn’t f ollow, caused her aunt to have a massive heart attack, passing away only a few hours later, leaving Lexi completely alone and with a small fortune.
Her aunt had been a genius at investments and had saved nearly every penny she had made by living a modest life. So Lexi had no idea of the fortune Betty had amassed. In her will, she had left it all to Lexi, stating that she was like a daughter to her and that if she was still with “the abusive asshole”, to use the money as a way to get far away from him and to follow her dreams.
So after burying her aunt, getting her affairs in order and saying goodbye to Bianca, Lexi set off on a trip around the country in her aunt’s prized pretty blue nineteen sixty-six Mustang convertible, that Betty would only drive on Sundays during the summer. And in the first several months of her trip, Lexi felt free and a little more confident than she ever had. But the moment the day came for Eric to be released from jail, paranoia had set in and she couldn’t stop looking over her shoulder.
Once she knew he was out , she’d only stay in one spot for a week or two, but never longer than that, afraid that he might find her. But now it had been nearly a year since he was released and she hadn’t seen nor heard from him, so she felt that it should be relatively safe to come to the place she wanted to stay for good. Savannah.
Lexi and her mother had talked about Savannah many times. Her mother had always had a dream of moving there, after visiting when she was a little girl. And so they had planned to runaway there to escape her abusive father. But her father killed her mother and then himself before they could gather up the courage to leave.
So in honor of her mother, Lexi chose Savannah as the place she would finally stay for good. She had already purchased a fixer upper home, though she had enough money to buy a couple of brand new homes or at least finished ones, but she wanted something that she could make her own. Plus, she didn’t want to blow through her aunt’s money frivolously. She just hoped that it was at least livable, since she hadn’t seen it yet.
It was a beautiful late Friday morning in May and as she drove through the city, Lexi’s mouth hung open in awe. There were riverboats lined up along the Savannah River, old townhomes that had a Victorian feel to them. Horse drawn carriages clopped along the streets and she passed by trolleys filled with tourists. And the streets, parks and long driveways to huge plantation houses, were lined with huge trees that had gigantic reaching limbs, upon them Spanish moss hung from the branches creating a pale green canopy.
It was everything she had ever hoped for so far. The city was quaint but exciting, with many things to do, from fancy upscale restaurants to cozy cafes or nightclubs for dancing, jazzy lounges for relaxing and neighborhood bars for socializing. But mainly Lexi just wanted to work on her new home and enjoy the quiet. She just needed the world to be silent for a little while.
And her neighborhood looked to promise just that, as she turned down her new street. Her realtor that she had only communicated with via phone, fax and email was meeting her at the house at noon t o give her the keys to her new home and talk to her about local construction companies that could help her with the renovations.
Lexi pulled up to the house fifteen minutes early. The yard was over grown with tall
The stress and worry of what he had done to her, the frighteningly short sentence and the restraining order they knew he wouldn’t f ollow, caused her aunt to have a massive heart attack, passing away only a few hours later, leaving Lexi completely alone and with a small fortune.
Her aunt had been a genius at investments and had saved nearly every penny she had made by living a modest life. So Lexi had no idea of the fortune Betty had amassed. In her will, she had left it all to Lexi, stating that she was like a daughter to her and that if she was still with “the abusive asshole”, to use the money as a way to get far away from him and to follow her dreams.
So after burying her aunt, getting her affairs in order and saying goodbye to Bianca, Lexi set off on a trip around the country in her aunt’s prized pretty blue nineteen sixty-six Mustang convertible, that Betty would only drive on Sundays during the summer. And in the first several months of her trip, Lexi felt free and a little more confident than she ever had. But the moment the day came for Eric to be released from jail, paranoia had set in and she couldn’t stop looking over her shoulder.
Once she knew he was out , she’d only stay in one spot for a week or two, but never longer than that, afraid that he might find her. But now it had been nearly a year since he was released and she hadn’t seen nor heard from him, so she felt that it should be relatively safe to come to the place she wanted to stay for good. Savannah.
Lexi and her mother had talked about Savannah many times. Her mother had always had a dream of moving there, after visiting when she was a little girl. And so they had planned to runaway there to escape her abusive father. But her father killed her mother and then himself before they could gather up the courage to leave.
So in honor of her mother, Lexi chose Savannah as the place she would finally stay for good. She had already purchased a fixer upper home, though she had enough money to buy a couple of brand new homes or at least finished ones, but she wanted something that she could make her own. Plus, she didn’t want to blow through her aunt’s money frivolously. She just hoped that it was at least livable, since she hadn’t seen it yet.
It was a beautiful late Friday morning in May and as she drove through the city, Lexi’s mouth hung open in awe. There were riverboats lined up along the Savannah River, old townhomes that had a Victorian feel to them. Horse drawn carriages clopped along the streets and she passed by trolleys filled with tourists. And the streets, parks and long driveways to huge plantation houses, were lined with huge trees that had gigantic reaching limbs, upon them Spanish moss hung from the branches creating a pale green canopy.
It was everything she had ever hoped for so far. The city was quaint but exciting, with many things to do, from fancy upscale restaurants to cozy cafes or nightclubs for dancing, jazzy lounges for relaxing and neighborhood bars for socializing. But mainly Lexi just wanted to work on her new home and enjoy the quiet. She just needed the world to be silent for a little while.
And her neighborhood looked to promise just that, as she turned down her new street. Her realtor that she had only communicated with via phone, fax and email was meeting her at the house at noon t o give her the keys to her new home and talk to her about local construction companies that could help her with the renovations.
Lexi pulled up to the house fifteen minutes early. The yard was over grown with tall
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