Tear Down These Walls
Read Tear Down These Walls Online
Authors: Sarah Carter
Tear Down
These Walls
By: Sarah Kay
Carter
Copyright
This book is a
work a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are
products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not
to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual
events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Tear Down These
Walls
©2015
by Sarah Kay Carter.
All rights
reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment
of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable
right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this
text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled,
reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and
retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or
mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented without the express written
permission of Sarah Kay Carter.
This book is dedicated to my mother
She always told me I could do
anything.
Plus, she happily took me to the book
store instead of the toy store when I asked, every time.
I love you mom
Thanks to my wonderful new friend and
editor
Devon Anderson.
It was great working and creating
with you.
Special thanks as always to
Anmar Nevarez
For the awesome cover design
Table of Contents
1
The rich aroma from the coffee shop envelops
Teagan. She sits at one of the wooden tables in the corner with her back
to the wall. A guy wearing a backwards baseball cap approaches her. “Hey
Teagan.”
Teagan looks up from her Macbook. “Hey, Isaac, what’s
up?”
“Working on a paper?” Isaac asks, shifting his backpack
on his shoulder.
She looks at her computer screen. “Sort of,” Teagan
mutters, not really wanting to talk to him. He doesn’t know her issue with guys
and she doesn’t want to continue to hurt his feelings, but she knows she will
inevitably do. She still feels his eyes on her.
“Are you going to sing Karaoke tonight?” He asks,
eyebrows shooting up.
Teagan turns back to him, realizing she needs to answer
him, if for anything but to make him go away. She narrows her eyes
speculatively. “Who’s all going?”
“I’m going with Emily, Victoria, Michael, and Blake, you
know, our little group.”
Pressing her lips together, Teagan says, “Umm, I think I
am going to stay in tonight.”
Isaac points to her computer screen. “Going to work on
your paper?”
Nodding, Teagan says, “Yeah.”
A nicely built African American guy comes walking up
looking at his cell phone. Without moving his gaze, he says, “Hey guys.”
“Hi Michael,” Teagan says, with a smile.
“You know, you haven’t come out in a while. You are 21
now; you should want to come out to the bars with us.” Isaac wiggles his
eyebrows at Teagan, as if Michael didn’t just enter the conversation.
“I do,” Teagan replies. “Just not tonight.” Why was he
being so persistent? She just wants to write.
“Come on Teagan,” Isaac whines, shoulders slumping.
“Just come out with us.”
Slightly annoyed, Teagan raises an eyebrow and looks up
at him. “Are you seriously whining?”
“No, I just want you to come hang out. I’ve missed you
the last few times.”
He smiles at her and Teagan knows that kind of smile.
She eyes up Isaac. He is tall with a nice solid build. Blonde hair, blue eyes,
good looking, but no matter how hard she tries, Teagan can’t see him as more
than a friend. “Isaac, I really want to stay in. I want to make some tea, put
on my music, and write. It’s relaxing.”
“Writing a paper is relaxing?” Isaac counters, furrowing
his eyebrows.
Teagan looks down at the fiction in front of her and
realizes that he doesn’t know it’s not a paper. “Writing in general is
relaxing to me.”
Suddenly, a short girl with a black bob comes bounding
over. “Teagan! Did Isaac ask you to come out tonight?”
“Hi Victoria, yes he did, but I am going to stay in,”
Teagan declares strongly, looking into her eyes. “I want to write tonight.”
Victoria smiles and Teagan realizes she isn’t going to back her up. What was
with every single person she encounters today dragging her into going out?
“She wants to work on a paper. Who works on a paper on a
gorgeous day like today, let alone on a
Friday night
? It’s warm, sunny,
not a cloud in the sky. Perfect night to go out on.” Isaac
exclaims. He looks between Teagan and Victoria. Teagan refuses to meet his
gaze. His eyes land on Victoria as he gives his head a nudge toward Teagan. It
is obvious he needs back up here; he knows Victoria usually gets her way.
“Yeah,” Victoria agrees, putting her hand on Teagan’s
arm. “I can get you all dolled up. It would be fun! We can pick up some cute
boys and get some numbers. Come on! When was the last time you talked to a
boy?”
Teagan laughs. “I talk to boys every day.”
“Yeah, okay, let me clarify that,” Victoria says,
rolling her eyes. “Boys that you are romantically interested in.”
“Hey, she’s surrounded by a bunch of great guys
already,” Isaac states, putting his hand on his chest. “She doesn’t need to
look outside our little posse tonight.” Teagan stifles a snort.
“She needs to meet a hot guy who will sweep her off of her
feet,” Victoria snips back. “You know tall, gorgeous, ripped abs.”
“Are you living vicariously through her or something?”
Isaac inquires with a smirk.
Victoria cocks her hip to the side. “Teagan is
beautiful. Long perfect brown hair, gorgeous blue eyes, and a killer
body. I know she can get better guys than me.”
“Oh stop,” Teagan laughs. “Boys are far more interested
in you than they are me.” She knows it’s because she doesn’t bother giving them
the time of day. Victoria, on the other hand, gives them all the time in the
world. Where Teagan knows she can use her eyes to send any guy packing,
Victoria attempts to use whatever she can to keep them coming back for more.
“That’s because I hit on
them
. You don’t
need to do that. Guys just drool over you,” Victoria playfully snaps back.
“Whatever,” Teagan snorts. “You’re crazy, girl.”
“Come on, if you come out with us, maybe we can get
Emily out of her shell.”
“Leave poor Emily alone,” Teagan sighs. “She has been
through hell.”
“I still think Franco should get his ass kicked,”
Victoria growls, punching her fist into her hand. “She is so shy to begin
with. He preyed on her. Why don’t you kick his ass, Isaac?”
Isaac puts his hands up. “I have never thrown a punch in
my life.”
Victoria cocks her hip and looks at Isaac. “What good is
it to have guy friends if they won’t come in on a white horse to rescue you?”
He laughs and shrugs, “I have no idea.”
“Really, I hope we never get into trouble. I think I
would be better at defending us, than you, Blake, or Michael.”
“Blake isn’t much bigger than you,” Teagan comments to
Victoria.
“Michael would also have to take his head out of a book,
or away from his phone, long enough to realize what’s going on,” Victoria
giggles. Michael still doesn’t move his gaze but grins.
“HEY NOW!” Isaac yells. “We would defend you guys.”
“Uh huh,” Victoria sarcastically laughs, bumping her hip
into his.
Furrowing his eyebrows, Isaac says, “Whatever Victoria.”
He turns to Teagan. “Are you coming out tonight?”
She knows that she has to pick her battles, and this is
not one worth the fight. Something tells her not to agree, but looking at her
friends, she knows they would drag her out anyway. Isaac had a point; she
hadn’t been out in a while. A little fun and some beverages wouldn’t hurt anything.
She exhales and says, “Will it make you guys happy?”
“Hell yeah!” Isaac cheers. He nods knowingly at
Victoria. She smiles back at him.
“Fine, I will come out,” Teagan says, rolling her eyes
with a smile.
“Excellent!” Isaac rubs his hands together. “I will
pick you guys up at your place at 8.”
“Okay,” Teagan laughs. “I should get home then.”
She starts to pack up her laptop but stops. She was in the middle of a section,
and she hated leaving cliffhangers in her own work.
“Ooohhh, I wanted a cup of coffee,” Victoria moans.
Scoffing, Teagan replies, “Get a cup of coffee.
We’re in a coffee shop.”
“I don’t want to drink it by myself,” Victoria
exasperatingly exhales.
“Fine, I will wait for you,” Teagan states sweetly, with
a smile. “I needed to finish up this part anyway.” She stares back at her
laptop; the blinking cursor calls to her to keep going with where she left off.
“Thanks! Be right back!” Victoria spins on her heel and
walks to the line that’s snaking around the small coffee shop.
“So, I’ll see you later,” Isaac says. He looks down at
her; she hates that he looks at her like that. She knows it isn’t going to
happen for him the way he wants it to. She has to hand it to him, though. He is
a persistent guy.
“Yup, 8 o’clock, I will be ready,” Teagan replies. Isaac
nods and walks away. Teagan releases a heavy sigh and then goes back to her
laptop, typing feverishly. The strong smell of coffee makes her want more.
A few minutes later, Victoria sits down across from her
at the table. “Which one are you working on right now?” She sets the white
ceramic mug down and starts to pour a great amount of sugar into it. She looks
over at Teagan, who does not take her eyes from the screen.
“Which book?” Teagan inquires. “The one about the
missing girl.”
“You should really try to get your books published,”
Victoria says, nudging her head to the computer. Teagan looks up at Victoria.
Blowing on the coffee, she closes her eyes at the first sip. Now Teagan really
feels the pull for a refill.
Teagan nods back, digging in her bag for her wallet.
“You know I want to.”
“But you won’t even let anyone read them! No one knows
you even write!” Victoria exclaims.
Looking back at her computer, Teagan says, “I’m a
private person.”
“Who writes in a coffee shop,” Victoria laughs.
“I’m in college. No one suspects me when I’m typing on
my computer.”
“When did you write your first book?”
“When I was a junior in high school,” Teagan answers,
smiling at the memory.
“Yes, the intense thriller starring Kellen Grayson,”
Victoria dramatically says, leaning in towards Teagan, wiggling her eyebrows.
“The tall mysterious man with a hidden past.”
Stopping what she is doing, Teagan stares at Victoria.
“Are you making fun of my character, my book, or both?”
“Oh no!” Victoria shouts. “Neither, dude, the book was
awesome, and Kellen was to die for. Who did you know that made you
picture Kellen Grayson?”
“You think I knew a guy like that?” Teagan laughs. “Dear
lord, I would be married by now. Fictional characters are exactly that:
fictional.”
“Yeah, but he’s Kellen Grayson. Black hair, dark eyes,
built like a body builder, heroic, hot. I say sign me up.” Victoria drains her
coffee.
Teagan giggles. “Yeah, he’s by far my favorite
character. Maybe that’s why I wrote him first. Dream guy. I don’t
know. But, yes, I can guarantee that Kellen Grayson does not exist.” But
if he did exist, she knows she’d be first in line to give him any time of day
he likes. Hell, she’d give him a whole week if he insists. THAT is the kind of
guy she is waiting for. Unfortunately, he only exists in her head and on the
pages of a book that no one but Victoria knows about.
“Bad ass bodyguard to the heiress,” Victoria sighs
wistfully, tilting her head. “He could guard me all he wants.”
“No doubt,” Teagan agrees, flagging down a passing
barista. She places a to-go order and looks back at Victoria. “That’s what I
want my readers to think: Man, I wish that guy was real.”
“One day you will meet your own Kellen Grayson,”
Victoria declares. “You just wait!”
“Uh huh,” Teagan scoffs. “Keep dreaming sister.” She
hits the save icon on her laptop. Closing the lid, she shoves it in her brown
messenger bag. She notices that Victoria’s eyes twinkle with a hint of
mischief.
“What do you want to wear tonight?” Victoria asks, leaning
closer to Teagan.
*
*
*
*
*
*
* *
“Are you sure this isn’t too much?” Teagan asks, looking
down at her outfit. “It’s only Karaoke.”
“Karaoke in a popular bar, in a city with many different
colleges,” Victoria counters. “No, it’s not too much.”
Teagan looks at her tight low-rise jeans, red heels, and
black lace, corseted top. “Okay,” she gulps. Though she knows she has nothing
to be insecure about, she doesn’t necessarily want to attract unwelcome
attention, either. Teagan knows that this top will be enough to score some free
drinks. That’s about all she can handle at this point.
“How about me?” Victoria asks, dressed in a dark green
mini skirt and halter top.
“Sexy as always,” Teagan replies. She has to keep
herself from rolling her eyes at her friend. Victoria always takes things to
the next level when it comes to getting attention, and she sees that tonight
will be no exception.
“You guys look so nice,” a small voice whispers.
“Emily, why don’t you let us pick you something out,”
Victoria urges. “You’re exactly my size.”
Emily shakes her long red hair and looks at the floor.
“No, I won’t look good in it.” Her light green eyes look up from under
her lashes. A flush of pink washes over her cheeks.
“Ridiculous! You’re a babe!” Teagan exclaims.
“Come on, what you are wearing is cute, but we could give you a little
upgrade.”
Continuing to shake her head, Emily says, “No, that’s
okay.” She flattens her ivory silk top over her chest. Sitting on the bed, she
pulls her knees up to her chest like she is trying to make herself smaller.
Teagan seethed silently for what had happened to poor Emily. She ached for her
friend, hoping the light in her eyes wasn’t extinguished forever.
“Alright, next time, we will get you dressed up like a
vixen,” Victoria states.
Abruptly, there is a knock on the apartment door. Teagan
goes over and opens it. “Well look who it is.”
Isaac smiles back at her. “Hey beautiful, you look
lovely tonight.” His button down shirt looks like he may have actually pressed
it before coming over.
“Thanks,” Teagan awkwardly mutters, looking away. “We’re
all set.”
“Yeah, let’s go sing our hearts out and laugh at
everyone else,” Victoria cheers, throwing her hands up.
As he points his fingers to the left over his shoulder,
Isaac says, “We’re going to meet Blake and Michael there.”
“Sounds good,” Teagan says. “Come on girls.”
Victoria and Emily walk out into the hallway, and Teagan follows them.
She locks the door and turns around. “All set.”
They take Isaac’s Red SUV to the bar. They have to park
down by the city park because there are so many college kids downtown. It’s
still warm out, so they have the windows down, causing a nice breeze. When
Isaac turns to the car off, he turns to Teagan. “I have something I need to
tell you.”