Scarred (Damaged Souls) Read Free Page B

she’s describing me. I guess me and the house could both use a little tender love and care.
    The women gingerly walked up the rickety front steps of the porch to the front door. With hands trembling with excitement, Lexi slid the key in the lock and turned it. She heard the satisfying click of the lock and grinned. She hadn’t had a whole lot to smile about in the last nineteen years after her mother’s death and not much even before then, so she wasn’t used to smiling, but now she couldn’t help herself. The small grin eventually spread from ear to ear as she pushed open the door.
    The front door opened to a fairly large living room and a staircase to the left. The living room extended to a partial wall and on the other side was the dining room. Next to that was a nice sized kitchen. Luckily for Lexi, the last owner had left behind a few pieces of furniture that she could use until she purchased her own. She didn’t want to bring in new furniture until the place was done. So the small scuffed and stained dining room table and chairs and the worn couch and scratched coffee table in the living room would work perfectly for now.
    “The last owner used t o rent the house, but the renters must have left in a hurry, because they left a few pieces of furniture behind. But that could be a good thing for you if you don’t mind used furniture.” Dom suggested.
    “Oh, I don’t mind at all. I was just thinking that it’s perfect because I don’t have to buy anything new now until I’m done with the renovations. I’d hate to buy something new and get it all dusty.” Lexi said sensibly.
    “Perfect. Now let me show you around.” Dom said leading the way into the house.
    The kitchen was dated, with old cabinetry and appliances. But the water ran, the refrigerator worked except for the freezer, and only a few of the burners on the stove worked. So it would be only fresh food and cooking a few things at a time, but Lexi could work with that.
    The kitchen led to a hallway that either went into the dining and living rooms in the front of the house or a full bathroom, bedroom and possible office towards the back of the house that led to the screened in porch. Heading upstairs a hallway ran along the right that had three doors. At the top of the stairs behind the first door was a fairly nice sized bathroom with an old claw-footed tub that Lexi almost passed out over. She was definitely keeping that, she would just design the bathroom around it. In the middle of the hall was a medium sized bedroom with a little bed and table. And at the opposite end of the hall was the door to the master bedroom.
    It was an L-shaped room, the door opening onto an area that could be used as a sitting area looking out a dome shaped picture window. And around the corner was an old full-sized rod-iron bed and old chest of drawers.
    The possibilities for the upstairs were endless and Lexi couldn’t wait to get started, making this house into the perfect home for her. She ignored all the faded peeling paint and hideous wallpaper, rusted pipes and moldy bathroom tiles, damaged wood flooring and the yellow water spots on the ceiling. She imagined everything pristine and new and her soul filled with a sort of hope for the future that she’d never felt her entire life.
    “I love it.” She said whispering softly, for fear that it would all disappear like a dream if she said it too loudly.
    “That’s great! I was so worried that all of the work that needs to be done would make you regret buying it.” Dom sighed in relief.
    “Oh no, you did great Dom!” Lexi reassured the realtor. “I’m so excited to get started on making it my own. Which was the whole point in picking a fixer upper.”
    “Okay, good. So I brought a list of contractors who specialize in renovations. I hope you don’t mind, but I called them for you and set up meetings for Monday and Tuesday. I figured you’d be too tired to want to make those calls today and they won’t be