Tear Down These Walls (49 page)

“Well, that’s good,” he sighs. “I will call someone. I don’t have the
tools here to open it.”

“Thanks,” Teagan whispers. She sits down on the floor, scooting closer to
the fire.

Kellen gestures. “Can I sit next to you?”

“It’s your house,” Teagan mumbles.

“I’m asking what you want,” Kellen replies.

She pulls the blanket around her tighter. “Yeah, go ahead.”

Sitting down, Kellen stares at her. Teagan matches his gaze, and they sit
there looking at each other. “So, if it’s my house, and you have no pants on,
you have to listen to me.”

Teagan frowns. “Don’t start.”

“No, damn it, I haven’t been able to talk to you. You’re going to listen
to me for one minute,” Kellen states strongly. Teagan glares at him and then
turns her head. “Listen, I don’t know what she said to you, but I didn’t sleep
with her.”

“You were at her house,” Teagan counters. “She told me.”

“Yes,” Kellen answers.

“Then I don’t believe you.”

With an exasperated huff, Kellen says, “Teagan, it’s impossible to sleep
with someone who wasn’t even there.”

“What do you mean by that?” Teagan asks sharply.

“She wasn’t there!” He exclaims.

Teagan shakes her head confused.

“This is what happened,” Kellen sighs. “That stupid bitch is a horrible
mother. It was her night to have Kya. I called to talk about taking Kya the
next day. Celine informed me that she was really sick. I asked what was wrong.
She said Kya had a raging fever and would barely stay awake. I asked what she
was doing for her. With a rather blasé attitude, she said that the babysitter
was going to keep an eye on her. I was shocked. I told her that she couldn’t
leave our sick daughter with someone else. Celine made it known that she had
plans, and Kya would be fine. I told her that was ridiculous, so, I went over
there to take care of her. Kya was too sick to move. Later that night, Celine
called and said she wasn’t coming home. So, I spent the night. The next morning
Kya was better, so I brought her back here.”

“You didn’t sleep with her?” Teagan whispers.

“No,” Kellen replies. “I told you. I haven’t had sex in over two years.”

“But she said…..she said you were trying to work things out, and she was
moving back in here,” Teagan says softly.

Kellen bursts out laughing, “Oh my god, I wouldn’t let her move back in
here for anything. I give her enough money to live somewhere else so I don’t
have to see her.”

“You aren’t trying to work things out?”

“No!” Kellen exclaims. “I couldn’t stand to be with her when we were
together. I would never put myself in that situation again.”

“But…..” Teagan starts. “You hid that you were married.”

“Not entirely,” Kellen sighs. “I was going to tell you after we got back
from Michigan, when you met Kya. I was going back and forth. I wasn’t sure if I
should tell you about Kya first, or Celine, or both at the same time. You did
so great with Kya, I was going to tell you about Celine, but I didn’t want to
lay both bombs on you at the same time. It had been a wonderful two days. I was
more concentrated on you. Celine wasn’t even on my mind. I only thought about
it when I dropped Kya off. I was going to tell you that night.”

“So….you don’t want to be with her?” Teagan inquires softly.

“No baby,” Kellen replies, his voice like velvet. “I want to be with
you.” Teagan can only stare at him. “Teagan, I would never purposefully hide
something from you or hurt you.  I have missed you so much.”

She hesitantly says, “You missed me?”

“Desperately,” Kellen whispers. “Teagan.” He takes a deep breath in, “I
would never hurt you because….. I love you.”

“What!?” She gasps.

“I’m in love with you,” Kellen states. “I would never, ever want to hurt
you.”

Teagan drops the blanket and gets up on her knees. “Say it
again.”         

“I love you, and I would never hurt you,” Kellen declares again. “Please,
forgive me for not telling you the truth right away.”

Falling forward, Teagan grabs him and kisses him. Kellen stiffens in
shock and then pulls her onto his lap, frantically kissing her back. They
passionately embrace each other.  Finally, Teagan pulls away. “I love you,
too.”

“That makes me the happiest man on this planet,” Kellen sighs blissfully.
Teagan reaches down and pulls off his shirt. “What are you doing?”

“Make love to me,” Teagan whispers, yanking off the sweatshirt.

“Are you sure?” Kellen breathes out.

Teagan grabs him and says, “Shut up, yes.” She kisses him hard, and he
matches her intensity. 

Kellen finally pulls away. “We should get on the bed.”

“Why?” Teagan breathes out.

“Rug burn,” Kellen chuckles. “Trust me, you don’t want that your first
time.”

She crawls off of his lap and grabs his hand. Kellen stands up. Teagan
pulls him by his pants towards the bed and then begins to unbutton them.
Fumbling, she slowly takes off his pants and underwear and he steps out of
them. Teagan grabs one sock and yanks it off and then the other. He laughs and
she giggles. Standing up, Teagan looks at him. “I’m nervous.”

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Kellen asks, brushing his fingertips
down her face.

Turning her face into his hand, Teagan kisses it. “I’m positive.” In one
swift movement, Kellen picks her up.  He lays her gently on the bed.
Teagan takes a deep breath as he crawls on top of her. “Be gentle,” she
whispers.

“We are going to do this slowly,” Kellen replies. He kisses her right
under her ear.  “Really slowly.” Teagan turns towards Kellen and kisses
him deeply. Kellen runs his hand up her leg, gripping her hip. Teagan pushes
herself against him. Tracing his fingers along her skin, Kellen runs them
around and then in between her legs.

With a gasp, Teagan says, “I thought you were going to have sex with me.”

Playfully biting her, Kellen murmurs, “You have to warm up the engine
first.”

“Mmmm,” Teagan hums. Throwing back her head, she sighs happily.

A long while later, Teagan is lying on Kellen’s chest, completely weak
with satisfaction. He is rubbing her back gently. “You okay?” He asks.

“Yes,” she contently sighs. “That was….incredible.”         

“I am glad you enjoyed yourself,” Kellen states, kissing her on the head.
“I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

“Please, let’s always talk things out,” Kellen pleads. “I don’t think I
could go without you again.”

Teagan turns her face to him. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?” Kellen inquires, putting her hair behind her ear.

“Doubting you,” Teagan answers. “I didn’t even give you a chance to
explain yourself.”

He smiles and says, “You had every right to be upset, especially with
everything you have gone through. I should have told you right away. I should
have told you before I brought up Kya. They kind of go hand in hand.”

“Can I ask a question?”

“Of course,” Kellen replies.

“Why aren’t you divorced….if it’s been two years?” Teagan inquires.

“She won’t give me one,” Kellen exhales, looking up at the ceiling.
“Celine keeps threatening to take Kya away from me.”

Shaking her head, Teagan states, “You’re her father. You have just as
many as rights as she does.”

“Kya bruises really easily,” Kellen murmurs. “Celine has taken pictures
and said she will say that I caused them if I divorce her.”

“WHAT!?” Teagan exclaims.

Kellen closes his eyes. “I got into trouble in high school, lots of
fights. I’m an ex MMA fighter. She says it will be easy to believe.”

“So, why won’t she give you a divorce? I mean, she has nothing to gain
staying with you, if you won’t be with her.”

“This is the thing. I made Celine sign a prenuptial agreement. It stated
if she cheated on me, she wouldn’t get anything.”

“She says you were the one who cheated,” Teagan says softly.

He rolls his eyes dramatically. “That’s classic. Celine cheated on me so
much, it was insane. I
finally
had her followed and took pictures of two
different guys. She knows I have her. If we divorce, she gets nothing, no
alimony, nothing, just child support.”

“So…..she refuses to give you a divorce,” Teagan states.

“Yup,” Kellen sighs. “I don’t know what to do. The best part is she
doesn’t even want Kya. She does it because it gets her more money.”

“How do you know that?” Teagan asks, her voice tinged with shock.

Kellen chuckles. “She didn’t want Kya, never
has.”          

“What?” Teagan breathes out.

“That’s why we are married,” Kellen states. “She was a one night stand, just
like every other girl at that point. I used protection, but you know, that’s
not a hundred percent. She got pregnant. I manned up. I said I would take care
of the baby, support it and everything. She wanted more. Celine wanted to be
part of the lifestyle I had. I told her I wasn’t interested.”

“How did you end up getting married?”

“She found out Kya had Down Syndrome. Celine said she was going to get an
abortion. I begged her not to.”

Teagan smiles. “That’s commendable.”

Smirking, Kellen declares, “One of my best friends has a brother with
Down Syndrome. He hung out with us all the time. He was the shit, and I loved
him. So, I could never imagine aborting a baby, for any reason.” Teagan grins
and kisses him. Kellen kisses her back and then sighs. “The only way she
wouldn’t abort the pregnancy was if I married her. So, we did before Kya was
born, but I had the last laugh. I quit fighting. Man, she was
pissed
!”
Teagan laughs with him. “Anyway, we were married for three and half years
before I finally had enough. You know, actually thinking about it, it has to
have been close to three years since I had sex. We rarely did anyway. It was
emotionless. I didn’t have many options.”

“We need to figure something out,” Teagan states. “I have seen you with
Kya. I can be a witness. You’re an incredible father.”

“I have a lot of witnesses,” Kellen murmurs. “But she has those damn
pictures.”

“Have you ever taken Kya to the doctor and asked why she bruises so
easily?” Teagan asks.

Kellen looks at her and furrows his eyebrows. “Actually, no. We keep a
close eye on health concerns, or I should say, I do, but no.”

“What if there is a reason,” Teagan chirps. “Then the pictures don’t
really matter.”         

“That’s kind of a good idea,” Kellen replies.

“Kind of?” Teagan scoffs. “It’s a
fabulous
idea.”

“Oh, you think so,” Kellen laughs.

“Yes,” Teagan giggles. Kellen starts to tickle her, and Teagan screams,
“STOP! OH MY GOD! STOP!” He rolls her over and braces himself over her.

Giving her a big grin, Kellen says, “You’re very mouthy.”

“Yes, yes, I am,” Teagan replies mischievously. He bends down to kiss
her, and she reciprocates. After a few minutes, Teagan pulls away. “We should
figure out what to do with my car.”

“Oh yeah,” Kellen exhales. “Hold on.” He flops down on the bed next to
her. Reaching over he grabs the phone. Kellen dials a number and smiles at
Teagan. She can’t help but smile back. “Hey Ian, it’s Kellen. Can you do me a
favor? Teagan locked her keys in her car and has a flat. Can you go take care
of that? I will reward you greatly,” he chuckles. “Yeah, hold on. Where is your
car?”

“On Maple, like seven blocks north of here,” Teagan replies.

He looks up and starts whispering to himself. “Okay, it’s on Maple and
Victory Lane.  It’s a light blue Honda Accent. No, just bring me the keys
when you are done, oh and her cell phone and purse.”

“My backpack,” Teagan whispers.

Kellen shakes his head  “Just call when you are on your way over.
Thanks.” He hangs up the phone.

“Hey, I need my backpack,” Teagan laughs.

“Hold on,” Kellen interrupts. He dials another number. “Kyle, you are
going to be one happy man. I’m leaving you in charge until Monday. Yes, you’re
more than capable. I’ll be reachable by phone, but otherwise consider me off.
Yup, everything is set up; you just need to make sure it goes smoothly. Okay,
thanks.  What? Ummmm, no,” Kellen stops and looks at Teagan. “I’m just
going to be busy.” Kellen scowls. “Dude, don’t pull attitude with me. 
Teagan can find out.” He pauses, “It’s her, you dipshit! Oh yeah, idiot.” He laughs.
“Yes, we are back together.” Teagan rolls over and nuzzles up next to Kellen.
“So yeah, you are in charge but I have to go. Yup, bye.” He hangs up the phone.
“So, the next two days are yours,” Kellen states.

“What about this weekend?” Teagan asks.

“I have Kya,” Kellen retorts, shrugging his shoulders.

“No, that’s great,” Teagan assures him. “Let’s take her to the aquarium.
I bet we will have a blast.”

Kellen smiles broadly. “Really?”

“Yeah,” Teagan replies.

“She has asked about you a lot,” Kellen states. “She really likes you.”

“Good, then we will have a weekend together. I will pack a bag and stay
over.”

He grins and says, “That sounds perfect.”

“What are we going to do about Celine?” Teagan asks. “She just came into
your house last time. I would rather not deal with her by myself.”

“I changed the locks,” Kellen states. “And the code for the alarm. 
And
I did tell her I did that. She was pissed, but oh well, it’s not her house
anymore.”

Frowning, Teagan says, “So, all the stuff in the house is from her, the
decorating?”

Kellen scoffs, “No, my sister decorated. I got rid of most of the shit
she left behind.  Trust me, she took nearly everything, but I didn’t care.
I have the money to get new stuff.”

“How much do you give her a month?” Teagan asks. “If that’s any of my
business.”

“About $4,000,” Kellen states. “Her car is paid off, so it’s rent for her
apartment.  Really, it’s just to keep her happy. I take care of all of
Kya’s medical bills and clothes, things she needs.”