To the outside world, Cara and Greg Stears have it all—a loving marriage, great friends, and rewarding careers. Behind closed doors, both wrestle with the aftermath of a devastating loss.
Cara seeks to distract herself by embarking on a new career.
Greg feels the plans they’ve been working towards are going up in smoke.
Instead of admitting his fears to Cara, Greg confides in his coworker, Ansley. What starts as a one-time transgression erupts into a dangerous obsession that could cost him everything.
Forced to make agonizingly difficult decisions, can Cara and Greg recover from the ultimate betrayal? Or will the dream they once shared be the same thing that rips them apart?
*All Falls Down is a full-length novel based on the award-winning short story, Lies That Bind, released last year.
Pre-order and have your ebook delivered directly to your device on July 9, 2021.
Available on Amazon.
*Paperback available after release date
Preview:
CARA
Cara bolted upright in bed, gasping for air. Tears slid down her cheeks as she massaged the back of her neck. “You’re awake. You’re safe. Just a nightmare,” she murmured to herself until her breathing returned to normal. It felt too real to be a nightmare though, and the tears wouldn’t stop flowing. She could still feel the sensation of something squeezing her neck and clawing at her thigh, while she lay paralyzed, completely aware, but unable to defend herself or even scream for help. It was the fourth time that month, and it got worse every time.
“Oh, it’s the hag riding you,” her mother said light-heartedly, when Cara told her about it last week.
“The what?” Cara asked incredulously.
“That’s just what the old folks used to say,” her mother clarified. “But it’s sleep paralysis. You never heard of it?”
“No, never.”
“Must be all that stress. Look it up. It’s scary, but harmless.”
It certainly didn’t feel harmless to Cara. Especially not at 2 o’clock in the morning when the floorboards creaked and moonlight crept in through the partially closed drapes, turning random items into ominous shadows.
Cara tossed and turned for a couple of minutes before she turned on the tv and flipped through late-night infomercials and reruns. Sometimes she found something boring enough to lull her back to sleep, but I Dream of Jeannie wasn’t cutting it tonight. She couldn’t shake the aftereffects of the nightmare. Even worse, her thoughts kept turning to Greg. Just being next to him would have helped her get back to sleep. But if he were there, she probably wouldn’t be stressed out enough to have sleep paralysis in the first place. Cara headed to the shower, abandoning the idea of rest altogether.
She stared at her reflection until steam clouded the mirror. Her skin was dry and blotchy, and her hair was limp and brittle on the ends. The bags under her eyes seemed to be taking up a permanent residence. She could hear her mother’s voice, and winced at the imagined reprimand, “You don’t ever let a man have you looking like this. What’s wrong with you?” But Greg wasn’t just any man. At least that’s what she would have said up until a few weeks ago when everything fell apart.
Last month started off great. With a new job lined up, April was full of promise and new beginnings. It would have been full of final papers and exams had Cara not dropped out of her graduate program at the end of last year. She knew it was the best decision for her, but it was a sore spot in her marriage, and surprisingly with her parents as well.
By the look on their faces when she announced her plans last Thanksgiving, one would have thought the whole family’s future was riding on her getting a master’s degree.
“What do you mean you’re not going back?” her father, Martin, asked. He put his fork down, giving Cara his full attention.
“She’s just going through something right now, she doesn’t mean it,” Cara’s mother chimed in before she could answer.
“I’m not going through anything, Mom.”
“It must be something. You’ve only got a year left.”
“Let her speak for herself, Vivian. I want to hear what she has to say.” Martin turned back to Cara. “Well, what do you mean?”
“Exactly what it sounds like. I’m not going back. Well, I’m going to finish this semester, but I’m done after winter break,” Cara declared.
“That doesn’t make any sense. This is what you always wanted.”
“I knew she shouldn’t have taken that break after college. She should have gone straight through. We should have made sure of it,” Cara’s mother spoke up again before she could answer. “Are you sure there isn’t anything else going on?” she asked in a quieter voice.
“There is nothing else. I just don’t want to be a therapist anymore.”
“But you’ve always—”
“I’m 27. I decided to become a therapist when I was 15. Things change. I’ve changed.” Cara couldn’t believe how hard everyone was taking it. “It’s not that big of a deal, guys.”
“What do you think about it, Greg?” Martin turned to Cara’s husband, who had been quietly eating throughout the whole conversation.
“I’ve tried to talk her out of it. The most I could get her to do was finish the semester and put the rest of her classes on hold instead of dropping out in the middle,” Greg answered.
“Way to have my back.” Cara rolled her eyes. She didn’t know what was up with him. He was usually so supportive, but he was adamantly against this. And he let it be known at every opportunity since she told him at the start of the school semester.
“You know how I feel about this. That’s why I stayed quiet.”
“Well, you should have kept that to yourself too,” Cara retorted.
“He asked me a question, and I answered it.”
“What are you going to do instead?” Martin interrupted them before an argument could start.
“Reality tv.” Greg smirked.
“No, that’s not exactly—” Cara tried to explain, but her mother cut her off instantly.
“What? Reality television! Like the Real Housewives?” Vivian exclaimed. “You’re giving up your career to be a housewife?”
“So much for staying quiet.” Cara shot daggers at her husband with her eyes.
“Hey, this isn’t on me.” Greg threw his hands up and left the dinner table.
Cara sat dumbfounded as he walked away. He knew what he was doing when he made that comment, and she couldn’t understand why they weren’t on the same team anymore. Her parents’ concerned voices faded into the background. There was no use in trying to explain anything to them then. They were too hyped up after hearing “reality tv,” to hear the truth.
Cara did want to go into the entertainment business, but she wanted to work behind the scenes. She had dreams of writing for a sitcom or becoming an executive producer. Barrington was quickly becoming a hotspot for the film industry, but she had no idea how to break into the business. The city was bursting at the seams with new reality shows, and she mentioned to Greg that she might try to get a production assistant job on one of those shows. There were so many to choose from and it seemed like they were coming up with a new one every week. Apparently, all he heard was that she wanted to get on a reality show. Or he threw it out there just to spite her.
The rest of the year had gone on pretty much the same. Her parents took turns calling her, trying to change her mind. Her father’s calls all started and ended the same way—subtle hints at his disapproval, and finally a lecture. “As a Black man from a poor family, I didn’t have the option of going to college. And here you are turning down your nose at a graduate degree.”
“I’m not turning down my nose at anything.”
“You’re walking away from it. I would have loved to get a master’s degree. If I had your opportunities, I would get a doctorate.”
“So, I should rack up thousands of dollars in student loans for degrees I don’t want because you didn’t get a chance to get one?”
“That’s not what I’m saying.”
“It kind of is.”
Her mother’s calls were even worse. “Honey, I know we’ve talked about this already, but I think it’s because of the miscarriages.” Vivian would whisper the last word as if it were a curse.
Cara hated when she did that. It wasn’t enough that she suffered three miscarriages back-to-back, now she had to be reminded of them whenever she did something her mother didn’t agree with or didn’t understand. It was her mother’s go-to explanation for Cara being in a bad mood, not calling her enough, changing her diet, and now apparently, choosing a different career. It was infuriating.
It wasn’t until Greg came home to find her crying after one of those conversations that he returned to his former, loving self. There was no real discussion between the two of them. It was like he flipped a switch, and the grouchy, mean guy that had been stomping through the house for weeks was gone. She was too relieved to question it.
Her parents finally backed off once she landed a job at the end of March. She was starting off as a production assistant like she assumed she would have to. It wasn’t a glamorous role, but it would get her foot in the door and she would learn more by being on set than she ever could from reading about it online. Everything was turning out in her favor.
So, by the time April rolled around, Cara was on cloud nine. The evening before her first day, she was in the kitchen preparing dinner when she heard the garage door coming up. Greg was home. She glanced at the clock on the stove and noticed that he was a little late. She couldn’t help but grin as she waited for her husband to come through the door. No doubt he would come bursting in with some crazy story about work. She didn’t believe half of them. He was a senior accountant—how wild could things really be in the office? But Greg loved to make her laugh, so he had something new for her almost every night.
Cara smiled as she quickly took in his muscular physique before turning back to the stove. He was never obsessive about working out, but he always kept himself in shape and looking good. His toffee-colored skin stretched tight over his strong arms and chiseled face. He was strikingly handsome, and he’d only gotten more attractive every year since they met in college.
“Hey Babe,” she greeted him. “I know this looks like a lot,” she said, as she gestured towards the food. “But it’s for the rest of the week. So, don’t go eating it all tonight,” she teased him. “Did I tell you my schedule is all over the place? I have to be at different places at different times for the next two days, then they don’t have me scheduled again until next week. But I’m kind of on call too.” When Greg didn’t respond, she turned to find him staring at her. He hadn’t moved from the door.
“What’s wrong?” She dried her hands on the kitchen towel and walked over to him. He remained still. She stopped about three feet away from him and waited. She didn’t know what she was waiting for, but it was something, and it wasn’t good.
“There’s someone…a woman,” he said, and stopped. Cara would never forget how her entire body trembled after she heard those words, or the metallic taste that coated her tongue and stopped her from speaking. Questions raced through her head, but she couldn’t force any of them out of her mouth. She wasn’t entirely sure that she was breathing.
“What are you talking about? What woman?” she finally asked, but she already knew where this was going. Her voice was barely above a whisper. “What are you trying to say, Greg?” she continued, while he stared at the floor. “Look at me!” she snapped, after a moment. He lifted his eyes to meet hers and she asked again, “What are you talking about? What woman?”
As they stood silently, staring at each other, she searched his eyes for some hint of an explanation, but they were cold and blank. After what seemed like an eternity, he said, “I never meant to hurt you.” He reached for her hand, but she pulled away. “I never meant for this to happen…”
A motorcycle tore through the neighborhood and finally snapped Cara back to the present. The shower had run cold by that point, but she got in anyway. She was too numb for it to matter.
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