by Twyla Turner
Open Wounds
A Damaged Souls Novel
By Twyla Turner
©Copyright Twyla Turner
Cover Illustration: Suzy Almblade
www.suzyalmblade.com
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblances to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
This book is dedicated to my readers that have diligently voiced their need for this sequel. You all know who you are, and I thank you for setting a fire under my butt.
Table of Contents:
Preface
Chapter 1- I’m O.K.
Chapter 2- Everybody Hurts
Chapter 3- Home
Chapter 4- Creep
Chapter 5- Eye of the Tiger
Chapter 6- Royals
Chapter 7- The Way You Look Tonight
Chapter 8- Criminal
Chapter 9- Every Breath You Take
Chapter 10- Wake Me Up
Chapter 11- You Make My Dreams
Chapter 12- Feeling Good
Chapter 13- Glitter in the Air
Chapter 14- Seven Devils
Chapter 15- 911
Acknowledgements
About Author
Other books by Twyla Turner
Connect with Author
Preface
Dear reader,
This novel deals with intense themes and situations that most of us pray to never have to go through. And while editing Scarred- book 1 of this series, I was listening to music, and rereading a particularly emotional scene and a sad instrumental started playing. The combination had me in tears. So an idea was born. Having seen something similar before, where an author put footnotes for certain scenes and attached a song title, I decided to name each chapter after a song that had a corresponding feeling to it. Keep in mind that the whole chapter may not go with the song or not every word of the song goes with the scene, but you’ll get the idea.
I’ve always felt that sometimes my life should come with theme music or a playlist. So if you’d like, purchase these songs at your favorite online retailer and set your playlists to these songs or check them out on YouTube or check out my Spotify playlist for Open Wounds (find link in Connect with Author) and enjoy!
Listen to them before, after or during. It’s just another added level to the reading experience. Disclaimer: I do not own or have rights to these songs, they solely belong to the copyright holders.
Also, I have felt, since I started Lexi and Sloan’s story that the house was just as much of a character as they are. So I took special care, when choosing how I wanted the house to look inside and out. But sometimes an author’s vision can get lost in translation, so I started a Lexi’s House Pinterest board. To see what Lexi’s house looks like in the end, check out the Pinterest link, also located on the Connect with Author page.
Happy Reading,
Twyla Turner
Chapter 1
I’m O.K.
“You fucking cunt!” He slammed his fist into her face and she crumpled to the floor in a heap. “You think you can fucking leave me and take my daughter with you?!” He screamed over her.
“Joe, what are you talking about?” She cried, holding a hand to her bleeding face.
“I’m talking about these, Mel!” He bellowed, holding up papers in her face. “A map of Georgia and a bus itinerary. You think you can run off and I won’t find you and drag your ass back here by your fucking hair?! I’d rather see you dead, before I let you walk away from me. You’re mine, do you hear me?!” Joe yelled in her face as he pulled a gun from the waist band of his jeans, holding it at point blank range of her chest.
“Joe, please!” Mel shook in fear.
“Daddy, no!” Lexi cried, trying to pull at his arm holding the gun.
Joe backhanded his daughter, making her fall back on the floor, cracking the back of her head on the tile. He then turned the barrel of the gun on Lexi. Her eyes widened with fear.
“You’re a piece of shit, Joe. My daughter deserves better than to be abused by her worthless, good-for-nothing father!” Mel screamed at him, as fear for her daughter caused her to lash out at him. She was desperate to turn his attention back to her.
Rage turned his vision red and without thought he turned and aimed the gun at his wife’s chest and pulled the trigger. Lexi screamed as her mother fell back, unmoving. Scrambling on hands and knees, she crawled over to her mom. Mel looked up at her daughter and with a weak hand, clasped Lexi’s smaller one.
“I…I love…you.” She coughed out weakly. “Never…forget that.” She said before one last ragged breath escaped through her dry lips, her eyes going blank.
Eyes filled with tears, Lexi looked up at her father. He pointed the gun at her with a shaking hand.
“Why, daddy?” Lexi cried out, not caring if he killed her or not, she was so submerged in her grief.
Joe’s eyes finally cleared of his blinding rage to see the scene in front of him. His wife lay dead on the floor and his daughter hovered over her protectively, looking at him with pure hatred. Sorrow, guilt and fear put the gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger.
Blood sprayed Lexi’s face as she sat in shock.
~~~
Lexi’s bloodcurdling scream jarred Sloan awake. He looked over at her frantically and saw that she was still asleep in the throes of an intense nightmare.
“Why…why, daddy, why?!” Lexi cried over and over again, breaking Sloan’s heart.
“Lexi, please wake up. Lexi! It’s just a dream. Wake up princess.” Sloan tried to gently shake her awake.
Lexi’s eyes flew open. The moment she realized where she was and saw Sloan’s handsome scarred face looking down at her anxiously, a sob escaped her throat. She quickly covered her eyes, as tears streamed down her face and her body was rocked with continuous gut-wrenching sobs.
Sloan immediately wrapped her in his strong arms, cooing to her, trying to calm her down.
“Aw baby, it was just a dream. Please don’t cry. It’ll be okay”, Sloan soothed as Lexi’s sorrowful keening ripped his heart in two.
“It…it wa…was like…I was..th…there all…over…again!” Lexi choked out through her tears.
“Your parents?” Sloan asked, rubbing a hand up and down her soft naked back.
“Y…yes.” She sobbed.
“Do you wanna talk about it?” Sloan coaxed, not sure if he really wanted to know the tragic story, but curiosity and the need to help her get it off her chest outweighed his desire to stay in the dark.
Lexi remained quiet for several minutes. Only the sounds of sniffles and the occasional hiccup came from the place where her face was buried in his neck, as she tried to get her emotions under control. Sloan lifted her chin up with an index finger and looked down at her with so much love in his silvery-blue eyes, that her heart stuttered and she found the strength to finally speak.
“I was eleven, and my mom and I were planning to run off here to Savannah. But my dad found our map of Georgia and a bus itinerary. He confronted her about it, and started to hit her and in his fury, he pulled a gun on her.” Lexi swallowed down the lump in her throat, seeing that day with vivid clarity, just like her nightmare.
“I pulled on his arm trying to stop him and he hit me and turned the gun on me. My mom yelled at him and called him names to get his attention back on her. And it worked apparently, because in his rage, he turned the gun back to her and pulled the trigger, shooting her in the chest.” Silent tears rolled down Lexi’s round cheeks and Sloan caught them with his rough calloused thumbs as he cl
asped her face gently.
“When I crawled over to her and asked him why, he nearly shot me too. But something in his face changed and he suddenly put the gun in his mouth and blew his brains out. Needless to say, it was the worst day of my life.” Lexi finished blowing out a shaky breath.
“Jesus! Lexi I don’t even know what to say. ‘I’m sorry’ just doesn’t seem like enough.” Sloan said swallowing the lump that had grown in his own throat from absorbing her pain. “But I know one thing, you are the bravest person that I’ve ever met. And trust me I’ve come across many brave people fighting in a war. But we all chose to fight for our country, knowing that there was a risk. You were born into a difficult situation, and in my opinion, you came out of it a caring and compassionate person.” Sloan praised her in admiration.
“I don’t know about that. Maybe I didn’t have a choice during that part of my life, but I continually chose to date abusive assholes later on. That was my fault. That was my choice. And I didn’t handle any of it very well for a long time. I have the scars to prove it.” Lexi said sadly, looking down at her scarred thighs.
“But you’re not now. And that’s more than a lot can say. It was your coping mechanism. Many probably would have tried to end their life or tried to make other’s lives just as miserable. But instead you’ve been giving and loving. And you turned your rage and sorrow into something beautiful…your artwork, which you’ll soon be sharing with the world.” Sloan said sweetly before leaning into her and kissing her gently on the lips.
Sloan tried to pull back, feeling that she was more than likely in no mood to make love, but Lexi had other plans. She couldn’t think of a better way to take her mind off of the horrible dream. So wrapping her arms around his neck, Lexi pulled him back to her lips, attacking his mouth in desperation.
An image of her father pointing the gun at her mother, flashed through Lexi’s mind. And she flinched in response. Trying to hold on to the feeling of Sloan’s firm lips on hers, she deepened the kiss, stroking her tongue against his.
Then another vision of her mom lying dead on the floor swept passed her closed eyes. Lexi squeezed her eyelids shut and threaded her fingers through Sloan’s thick dark hair, holding on tightly to the back of his head.
And as if on repeat, Lexi kept seeing her father put the gun in his mouth and pulling the trigger. As several different emotions coursed through her, her body started to shake uncontrollably.
“No, Alexis. Not like this.” Sloan said softly, pulling away from her.
“Come on. Help me forget.” Lexi moaned against his lips, pulling him back to her.
“That’s the problem. I don’t want making love to me to become your coping mechanism. That’s what your painting is for. Plus, I don’t want you to associate sex with me, with your pain, which would only end up confusing you.” Sloan reasoned, before kissing her gently on the tip of her nose.
“Ugh! What are you? A Life Coach now? Or maybe a therapist?” Lexi grumbled, flopping back on the bed and crossing her arm over her ample breasts.
“So now you think I’m a therapist? I thought I was a chef? Or a cock model?” Sloan winked at her when she looked at him with a reluctant smile.
Seeing the small smile, Sloan knew that he had successfully gotten her mind off of the nightmare. He slid out of the bed and grabbed his sweatpants off the floor where he had shed them the previous night and quickly pulled them on, ignoring his full erection. Later, Marine.
“Besides, I have a lot of work to get done today, if I want to have your brand new master suite ready by the end of this weekend. And be sure to remember to keep your cute butt down here. No sneaking any peeks.” Sloan finished giving Lexi a warning look.
“I’m not going upstairs.” Lexi said with hands held up in surrender. “Jeez, relax Marine.”
After much debating, Lexi hadn’t been able to decide on what her favorite bedroom set was or how she wanted to decorate the bedroom. So Sloan solved her dilemma by deciding to make it a surprise. He would make the final decision on the bedroom set and other decorations for her dream bedroom. His only stipulation was that she had to stay from upstairs. Plus, it didn’t hurt to keep her away from the hungry eyes of the workers that secretly and continually traveled up and down her luscious curves.
Sloan knew that he didn’t have much to offer her. So this was the one thing he could do for her, to design her dream oasis. And it had been a labor of love for him. Every decision from what pieces of furniture and where they’d be placed, to what pictures or artwork and where they’d be hung, down to what vase or knick-knack and where they’d be sat; was all thought of with Lexi in mind. And he couldn’t wait to show her the finished product.
It was Friday, nearly a week since the infamous double date that Lexi had went on. Sloan had been working diligently, practically around the clock to get the upstairs done; and with the help of the workers, it was nearly ready.
“I’ll be back in a sec. Gonna jump in the shower really quick.” Sloan said, bending over to give Lexi a quick kiss on the lips.
Lexi flopped back on the bed staring up at the ceiling of the downstairs bedroom. She had no idea what even triggered the horrible flashback. She hadn’t heard anything from Eric since she had snapped on him, when he had called her the week before. And despite his huffing and puffing, earlier in the week Lexi had taken Sloan to a cellphone store to get him a phone and change her number while they were at it. She hoped that the nightmare wasn’t some kind of premonition, of terrible things to come.
As she tried to keep her mind off of the horrible dream, she thought about the painting that she was finishing up today. She had done several throughout the week, having nothing else to do since she was banned from the renovation of her master bed and bath. Some of the paintings were for herself, but many were to rebuild her portfolio. She had made the decision to sell her artwork, and when she felt that she had a decent collection, she’d then work on getting an art exhibition together. She was even more determined now, since Dom and Sloan kept insisting that she should have a show and she was enjoying the therapeutic process of creating something beautiful.
A little while later, Sloan walked back into the bedroom wrapped in nothing but a towel and a smile, completely distracting Lexi from her woolgathering. She turned towards him, propping her head up on her hand as she laid there staring. His dark wet hair laid against his neck and strong jaw, and his skin gleamed with droplets of water that traced a path down his scarred chiseled back to the towel draped around his hips.
Lexi swallowed hard at the delicious sight before her. She had never been so sexually attuned to a man in all her life. She had never craved sex before. She usually avoided it like the plague, but the past week had been eye-opening. She was sure that she’d never had so much sex in her whole life, than she’d had this past week; and she initiated at least half of it. Go figure. Me! A sex addict. She thought to herself.
“Lexi…” Sloan said in warning, as he grabbed jeans and a t-shirt out of the chest of drawers. “You keep looking at me like that and I’ll end up starting late and we’ll give the workers that’ll be showing up any minute, an earful. Hell, they already have a hard enough time keeping their eyes off of you.” Sloan grumbled.
“First off, how did you know I was staring? Do you have eyes in the back of your head? Second, I can be quiet. And third, they are not looking at me!” Lexi huffed, as Sloan turned to study her thoughtfully. He leaned against the drawers and placed his hands on the drawers, gripping the edge, staring at her before responding. Lexi watched droplets of water fall from his hair onto his chest, then travel down the rise and fall of each of his abs, then disappear into the towel. She swallowed hard at the sight. Oh to be that drop of water.
“Well…first, I could feel those gorgeous greens burning a hole in the back of my head. Second, no you can’t. And third, hell yes they are! You just don’t notice because you don’t believe you’re as beautiful as you really are. So you try to shrink inside yourself, thinking
no one will notice you.” Sloan listed off as he slowly walked towards her. “Which is ridiculous, I might add, because you’re anything but easy to ignore.”
Sloan stopped next to the bed and reached out a hand to brush the soft dark cloud of her voluminous curly afro from her face. “First, the eye is drawn to this soft mane of hair that frames your beautiful face. Their gaze stops, mesmerized by sparkling secretive green eyes. But then something pulls their attention down further to the most gorgeous ripe full lips they’ve ever seen, all wrapped up nicely in a perfect bow shape.” Sloan’s fingertips traced her face as his silvery blue gaze traveled to each feature he mentioned.
“But wait, their eyes travel down further still, unable to resist sneaking a glance at the luscious twin peaks hidden behind whatever frilly blouse or tank top you’ve decided to wear for the day.” Sloan’s fingers slipped beneath the sheet covering Lexi’s lush breasts and he started to inch it down as he continued. “That’s when their mouths starts to water, imagining tasting dark chocolate tipped nipples.” His hand stopped to caress the very tips he described as Lexi found it harder and harder to breathe under the spell of his words and the touch of his fingertips. “But they can’t stop there, because there is so much more to see. So then their gaze travels down the dramatic curve of your waist to the seductive expanse of ample hips. Then fingers and palms start to itch at the urge to hold on to them for the wild ride to come.” Sloan’s fingers traced a path down one wide hip, pulling the sheet down further, exposing her naked form beneath.
Sliding his hand around to clutch her backside, he continued his expert seduction. “Oh, but what’s this? You just so happen to turn around and hungry eyes zero in on the most glorious ass a man could ask for. Now the eyes want to weep over the vision of these sumptuous globes rippling under the force of a powerful thrust.” Sloan bit his bottom lip for emphasis. “Now just a little further to go and there are these thick thighs, so soft and pliant, protecting something so secretive, so inviting…a treasure right at their apex. That’s when the cock stands up and pays attention, wanting nothing more than to sink into its recesses and discover all its secrets.” Sloan finished as he eased a long finger into Lexi’s tight heat that was drenched with her arousal.