Taking her hand, I brought it to my lips, pressing a kiss on her smooth skin. “Fine.”
A short drive later, we arrived at the gallery. My heart started slamming my chest as soon as we pulled up and Ally put the car in park.
The exhibition was in a couple of days’ time and I knew she’d finished the design. I didn’t know why, but I’d been too chicken to come here of late, seeing everything done, seeing the exhibition fully designed.
I guess it just made all this change in my life that bit more real. Like I was finally gonna be leaving my past behind. I was still afraid to believe this life I was now living was true; like it would all be pulled out from under me the minute I let myself just be content. I had my sculpting, I had Ally, and now, because of tonight, I had both of my brothers back in my life.
I couldn’t bear to lose it all again.
“Querido, will you come with me?” Ally urged softly. Taking a deep breath, I got out of the car and walked behind her to the staff entrance.
As we entered, the guard that was usually on duty waved at Ally, and as always, ducked his head from me. Ally looked back and playfully rolled her eyes making my lip hook into a grin. I fucking adored this woman.
As we approached the black curtains, I started as I looked up at the huge title hanging above the entrance, ‘Elpidio’. My stomach flipped with an unknown feeling as I saw my artist name drawn in a simple black script. Then I realized that the unknown feeling was excitement. I was fucking excited about the show.
Smelling Ally’s Jasmine scent, I glanced down to see her smiling up at me. But I could also see anxiety on her stunning face. She was nervous I wasn’t gonna like what lay on the other side of the curtains. That was impossible. She knew me better than I even knew myself. It would, no doubt, be perfect.
“You ready?” she asked.
“Ready,” I replied, and Ally drew the curtains apart to reveal the gallery, completely changed from the last time I’d seen it.
My feet began moving forward as my eyes drank in the space. It was… incredible… surreal… out and out fucking crazy that this was all for me.
My sculptures looked perfect at all the different heights. They were spread out so visitors would be able to see every part of them back and front.
“Well?” Ally asked anxiously.
Taking her hand in mine, I lifted it to my mouth and kissed along her warm skin. “Fuck, Ally,” was all I could think to say. Her responding smile almost knocked me on my ass.
“Can I guide you round? Can I take you on the journey?”
I frowned not understanding what she meant by 'the journey’. Ally, clearly seeing it on my face, began to lead me forward.
“I set the flow of the gallery out in a certain way, in themes. As you told me what each sculpture meant, and what inspired it, I put them in a certain order. I started with this piece first because it felt like the beginning to me.”
Ally brought us to the statue I made of us Carillo boys as kids. Austin and I were laid down, Austin pointing up at the sky, and in my arms, I held a baby—Levi. Beneath us was fire and faces screaming in pain… those faces belonged to my mamma, screaming from inside the trailer because of my papa as I tried to keep my brothers safe from his fists.
Ally pulled on my hand and next brought us to a marble stidda, a marble stidda the corners of which were choking a heart, it’s sharp edges drawing blood. “Next is how things began to go wrong, an innocent heart being punctured by this star.”
I didn’t say anything, couldn’t, as we next moved to three brothers stood in a circle, heads down, the eldest brother gripping the necks of the younger two, dragging them alongside him.
“Then comes the demise of the boys from the beginning, the eldest leading them astray.”
My heart pierced with shame as Ally said that, but she was only repeating my words back to me. Next we came to my newest sculpture, the boy crying bullets. Ally stood next to me and said, “We need a title for this one, Axel. Any thoughts?”
I nodded my head as I stared at the boy’s face, too terrified to shoot. Levi’s words from today circled my mind, about how he had nightmares believing he’d killed someone.
“Hamartia,” I said gruffly. Ally looked up at me in confusion. “It means to sin, to do wrong, to miss the mark. It’s an event that happens to main characters in a story which ruins their lives or sets them along a path that can only ever end badly.”
“Axel…” Ally whispered sadly.
I looked to Ally and said, “You know the inspiration behind it. I don’t need to explain it, right?”
Ally nodded at me in understanding. We walked round the rest of my sculptures, each one more gutting than the last.
“So we start with fear, then despair, then sin, guilt, and finally… this…” Ally trailed off. I didn’t need to look up to know we were at the angel.