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Sweet Hope Tillie Cole 13410K 2023-08-31

Lexi wrapped her arm around Austin like he needed the support and she asked, "You used to look at the stars with Axel, baby? Like you do with aze away from the sculpture "Yeah… Axe used to take us to the top of the trailer when my papa would come home drunk and hit my mamma" Austin’s face scrunched up like he couldn’t bear to remember those times, but he added, "He would make me look up at the stars and tell him the constellations… he would distract me so I didn’t hearan arm around his shoulder, he pointed to the baby "That’s you, Lev At night, Axel would take you from Mamma so when Papa came home piss drunk, he wouldn’t hurt you Axel would keep you in our rooht long in his arot real bad, he’d take us both on the roof and we’d look at the stars…"

Levi’s gray eyes were huge as he leaned forward to inspect the baby in Axel’s arms "He… he looked after me? Protected me when I was a baby?" Levi asked innocently I watched as tears began dropping down their faces

"I… I don’t knohy I forgot all that?" Austin said numbly He looked at Levi, then his wife, "He practically raised Levi until papa left… andin their faces, I led them to Axel’s newest piece As I walked in front of Levi, I heard a painful whimper escape his mouth

I stood in front of the sculpture and looked tohis hand down his face "Shit," I caught hi the text board

"Ha at the statue

"That’s ony on his face as he relieved that er"

Austin was drinking in the piece with disbelieving eyes "What does Haruffly

"Sin," Molly said from behind us and everyone turned to face her She blushed as she realized she’d said it out loud "It’s Aristotelian philosophy Ittheis how it’s normally interpreted today"

"Sin…" Levi said

I heard Cass whistle low in her throat "That’s soht there," she said quietly I wanted to look to her, but I couldn’t takedown his handso o frohters, to prison… to this? How is it possible?"

Glancing away froaze, I debated howthat secrets and lies had been the source of so , I cas when he was in prison"