Scarred (Damaged Souls) Read Free Page A

grass and weeds. The gutters hung drunkenly from the roof and the few shutters that were left on the windows looked like they’d fall at the slightest breeze. And the color was a sad faded gray with white peeling trim. Lexi couldn’t have been happier. All that mattered was that it was hers. And she had enough vision to see the potential the quaint two-story cottage had.
    Lexi got out of her car and walked up to the house to get a closer look. There was an adorable front porch that looked in desperate need of repairing, but Lexi could see herself sitting on a porch swing drinking iced-sun-tea. Lexi walked around the back to see what her backyard would look like. There was another porch on the back of the house, but this one was enclosed with broken screened windows, a place for relaxing or having a get-together, catching the warm breeze while avoiding the mosquito bites.
    The backyard itself was huge and had a collapsing gazebo in the middle that Lexi instantly wanted to restore. And her breath drew in on small gasp when she looked beyond the gazebo to see a picturesque river and a massive weeping willow, whose thin wispy branches touched the ground, creating a private little sanctuary next to the river. Lexi nearly danced in delight over the captivating view.
    The low hum of a car engine pulled Lexi from her daydreaming of a finished beautiful home. Walking back to the front, Lexi saw her realtor Dominique Preston, getting out of her fancy luxury car that she had pulled behind the Mustang .
    Dominique was a tall beautiful statuesque light-skinned black woman. She was sharply dressed in a knee-length professional coral sleeveless dress, in a material that Lexi could only dream of. The realtor’s strawberry blonde highlighted hair was cut in a super sassy asymmetrical pixie cut. All in all, to Lexi the realtor looked like she’d just stepped off the runaway at New York fashion week.
    Lexi ’s style was much more Bohemian in comparison. Long flowing skirts or dresses, wispy feminine blouses, scarves, hoop earrings and bulky jewelry were Lexi’s staples. At least now they were.
    Eric had made her dress like a hoochie. He always wanted to show off her huge boobs, wide hips and big ass. He also made her get extensions, hating her curly Afro. She loved the way extensions looked on other women, but they just didn’t work for her. And now that Eric was out of her life, she symbolically burned the slutty clothing and took down the fake hair, restoring her Afro to its former glory. Her artistic nature was finally able to emerge and blossom.
    “Hello. It’s nice to meet you Miss Preston.” Lexi said walking up to the woman and shaking her hand.
    “Hi, Alexis. Ple ase, call me Dom.” The realtor said in a cultured southern accent.
    “Thanks Dom . And I go by Lexi.” She offered back.
    “I see you’ve been taking a look around the place. What do you think so far?” Dom asked.
    “It’s lovely. The outside is more than I could’ve hoped for. It has so much potential. And I think that backyard is going to be my favorite spot.” Lexi beamed.
    “Fantastic! ” Dom smiled happily.
    “What is the name of the river that runs along the back of the house?” Lexi asked curiously.
    “That’s the Hope River, at least at this section of the river.” Dom informed her.
    Well that’s promising. I need all the hope I can get.
    “ So are you ready to take a look inside? The place needs a lot of work, but it’ll be worth it in the end.” Dom cautioned before handing Lexi the keys to her new home.
    “Oh, I’m not too worried about the work. But it is livable, right?” Lexi asked.
    “Oh, definitely. The plumbing and electricity works. The roof has some damage with a few leaks but nothing too major. Though there isn’t any central air conditioning, so it might get a little hot in there. But that’s about it. The essentials work fine. It just doesn’t look all that pretty at the moment.” Dom assured her.
    Hmm… sounds like