Vindicated Read Online Free

“You mean it’s best for you. It’s always about what you want.” With a heavy sigh, he tugged his baseball cap lower on his forehead until the brim shielded his eyes from her. “I won’t let him go without a fight.”
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

 
     
    Chapter 4
     
     
     
    With two bags of laundry in her arms, Karly cursed the "Out of Service" sign taped to the elevator doors in the apartment lobby. The freaking thing had it in for her. Sometimes it worked. Sometimes it didn't. Of course, it chose to act up when she had an armload of clothes, and her feet ached after working the bar until close at The Thirsty Scotsman. An exasperated groan slipped from her lips. She wrestled a better grip on the laundry bags and steeled herself to climb the dizzying flights of steps to her apartment.
    A one-bedroom on the city's lower east side was the best she could afford on her minimal income. After six months, she no longer noticed the trash on the stairs, the graffiti scrawled over the walls, or the putrid stench of apartment 3B, where the shut-in lived. Someday she would live in a real house. Someday she would be able to sleep at night without hearing the shouts of drunken neighbors, occasional gunshots, or the constant slam of the door from the crack dealer’s apartment above hers. Someday...
    As she rummaged through her purse for the elusive door key, her cell phone rang. A glance at the screen showed the caller to be Ally.
    "You have uncanny timing," Karly said. She hugged the phone between her chin and shoulder, balancing the laundry on her knee while struggling to put the key into the lock. "Do you have some kind of radar or something?"
    "What's wrong?" Ally's voice instantly held a note of concern.
    "Well, it might be easier to go over what's right." She gave a small kick to the bottom of the door. It popped open with a squeal of rusty hinges.
    "I'm listening," Ally said.
    Despair filled her chest. She choked it back, unwilling to fall apart, grateful for a kind ear to listen. Ally would understand. They’d been college roommates, and since that time, Ally always had her back, though they didn’t see each other much anymore. Ally graduated and moved in with her boyfriend, Jack. Their hands were full managing Jack’s bars, Felony and Jameson’s Pub. Karly spent all her time working and going to class. It didn’t leave much time for socializing, but they still managed to keep in contact.
    "I'm tired of working my ass off and never getting ahead." Karly let the laundry bags thud to the floor with a thud, toed off her shoes, and fell into the tattered armchair across from the tiny TV.
    "You worked another double, didn't you?" Ally's disapproval traveled through the phone line. Karly bit her lip and said nothing. "I don't know why you stay at the Scotsman. The pay is bad, the hours are shit, and you're always tired. And don’t get me started on the motel. You deserve better than cleaning toilets."
    "Yeah, well…" Karly's voice trailed off. It was a good thing she was too tired to be emotional. She didn't want Ally to know how bad things really were. Ally had enough problems of her own. She hastened to change the subject. “I ran into Randy. He’s in one of my classes. We sat together.”
    “Really? Give me details. I bet that was awkward, huh?” Ally’s tone brightened with interest.
    “Very. He asked me why I never called him. He said he asked you for my number.” She bit her lower lip before continuing. “Is that true?”
    “What?” Ally paused as if thinking. Karly heard the rustling of papers in the background and had a mental image of Ally behind the dented metal desk in Felony’s office. “Your number? Maybe. Yeah. He did. I totally forgot. I’m so sorry.”
    Karly’s heart skipped a beat. “When was that?”
    “I don’t know. I can’t remember. I think it was right before Jack and I went through that rough patch. Things were kind of blurry around then, and I guess I forgot. I really am