Shout

Chapter Eight - An Actual Angel

Alexander led me into the garage, our hands still interlaced. My heart thumped rapidly in my chest but I rationalized it as from being in a desolated area in the middle of nowhere. Alexander slowly let my fingers fall to hoist open the garage door. It creaked loudly but what it displayed inside was truly mesmerizing.

The garage was littered with wood carvings of all different sizes. An elderly man with many wrinkles looking morose with tears running down his face, a young boy crouched with the weight of different people sitting on his back, a man's back walking away, slouching with a cane. All equally beautiful and intricately carved. The entire room was flooded with half completed projects and random vases, benches, or chairs. The largest carving however, was of a young woman with angel wings, looking down and smiling slightly. Her hair was splayed delicately all around her and she was wearing a long dress that touched the floor, swirled all around her. She looked angelic. I was in awe of the portrait before me.

"Alexander," I trailed slowly in shock of what was around me. "This is incredible." He stood a few feet away from me, watching at my reaction cautiously.

"I've been working on some pieces for a few years. The majority is complete crap but some hold meaning to me." He explained gazing at me.

"Is that your sister?" I asked gesturing to the angel above me.

He nodded. "I didn't actually want to do that one," he admitted. "Victoria, my sister, asked me to carve anything I thought of her. Something to remember her by, I suppose."

"It's beautiful," I whispered reaching my fingers out to caress the intricate carvings he had clearly labored for hours over.

"I finished it right before she passed away," he said softly. "She was happy with it at least."

"That's amazing, Alexander. This is all amazing." I looked at all the pieces that surrounded me. "Why did you bring me here?" I asked curiously.

He shrugged, "I'm not sure. No one else knows about this place, not even Nathan," he admitted.

He sat down on one of his benches and gestured to the spot next to him. I sat down tentatively. "I feel comfortable around you."

"I feel the same thing about you, weirdly. I am in an abandoned garage with you, after all," I smiled at him. "I can't believe how talented you are."

"My talents are far reaching. Did you know I also qualify as a therapist?" He asked nudging me gently against my side with his arm.

I rolled my eyes at him.

"How's that going for you anyway?" He asked me.

"Considering the fact that I can't tell my own mother that I broke up with my ex-boyfriend because she was so invested in the relationship, I'd say not well."

"Just remember to use language that-" he began.

"-acknowledges your feelings. Thank you, doctor." Sarcasm heavy in my tone. "Why do you care anyway?"

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"I mean, you've barely just met me and here you are researching ways to help me put my foot down. What difference is it to you?" I genuinely wanted to know the answer. We hadn't known each other for long but he'd been more invested in my well-being than anyone else in my life outside of Avery.

"Honestly? You kind of remind me of my sister. Is that a weird thing to say?" He scratched the back of his head awkwardly as I laughed. "She was kind to the core, but that meant she always put other people ahead of her. Other people's needs above her own."

"While I'd love to accept that compliment, I don't think that's me. I don't do it out of kindness. It's just because I'm too much of a chicken to do anything about it." I sighed. At least Victoria had good character. I just had no spine.