Better Together

Chapter 49: Disheveled

Clarke's POV

I was panicking. I mean, rightfully so, but panic is never good for success. It's the day of my gallery. Usually, galleries don't have me this flustered, but this one will determine my success as an artist which is something I desperately want, no, need. It's getting closer and closer to the end of my junior year, and with this new development, I could fly through Senior year. 

"Love, breathe," Lexa said from in front of me. She's been holding my hands the whole time, an she'll never understand how grateful I am for her.

"This could make or break me," I mutter as if the realization just hit me.

"That's why you need to breathe sweety," she says with a hint of playfulness in her voice. I huffed, but followed her directions and managed to calm my breathing. "Just be you. You're naturally lovable," she smirked. 

"Maybe to you," I mumbled. 

"Hey! You are," she said seriously whole grabbing my chin. Her grip was light, but there was a sincerity in it that made me melt. 

"Thank you," I smiled. 

"You got this. You'll do great," she beamed. 

"I hope so," I grumbled. 

"I'm proud of you," she whispered dangerously close to me. 

I swallowed thickly before beaming at her. No one's really ever said they're proud of me since my dad. It felt nice. With that, I walked into the room the gallery was being held in and awaited the arrival of the rest of the guests. 

As people began showing up, I got increasingly more nervous. My work was the center point of the gallery. Meaning none of it was on display yet, but it was still unsettling knowing all these people would see my work. 

Lexa gave my hand a reassuring squeeze, and I flashed her a grateful smile. We mostly wandered around, looking at other people's art until Dante's voice boomed from the front of the room. 

"Thank you to everyone who has come today. I know our last gallery was a while ago, but it does take time to find great artists who have work to show. I'm sure you all know who the star of the art show is today, so I'll spare you the details," he explained. He also went into further detail about the other artists showing their work as well as how people would be able to buy certain works. "Now, enjoy these beautiful pieces!" he exclaimed and suddenly, the sheets were thrown off the works. 

My heart stopped beating for a moment, but it instantly restarted when I saw a large group of people going to my main piece. This one was very near and dear to my heart, and I often found myself looking at it during hard times. It was similar to one of my other works with a house preparing for a storm. However, in this one, rather than preparing for a storm, it focused on the calm after the storm. In fact, the two pieces kind of went together. Like Yin and Yang, light and dark, push and pull. 

I've always felt this piece was one of my best ones, but I never previously showed it. It always felt very personal because I made it when my father died, and since then, I've always looked on it when I needed to pull strength from something. This time I decided I would show it because one, it was my best piece, and two, it felt very symbolic of my current situation in life. 

The past few years of my life have been literal hell, but I'm finally making my way out of the dark tunnel. So, that's exactly how I explained the piece to people who asked about it. Most people seemed captivated by the art, or maybe the way I spoke about it, and I had to make it extremely clear -many times- that it was not for sale. 

As for the rest of my pieces, all of them were being sold. None of them were held close to my heart, and I needed the money given my current situation. I'm trying to save money to move out of Lexa's parent's house for college. I don't want a dorm, so I'm saving for an apartment.