Going Up by A.E. Radley

Author:A.E. Radley [Radley, A.E.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Romance
Publisher: Heartsome Publishing
Published: 2019-06-01T23:00:00+00:00

New Beginnings

Carrie gestured to the number on the door. “Home, sweet home!”

The set of keys shook in Kate’s hand. She couldn’t believe she was about to open the door of her own apartment. It had only been a few days before when Carrie had called her and advised that she’d pulled a few strings and had managed to get her accommodation. She’d rushed over to the council offices on her lunch hour to meet with Carrie and work her way through the necessary paperwork.

Now, she held the keys in her trembling hand.

“It’s a lovely hallway,” Carrie joked. “Maybe we should have a look inside now?”

Kate chuckled. “This all feels so surreal. I’ve been waiting for this for so long, and now it’s here, I don’t quite believe it.”

“That’s the problem with dreams coming true. We’re too busy assuming the worst to actually enjoy them.”

Kate took a deep breath, put the key in the lock, and opened the door. She took a hesitant step inside and looked around. Never before had an empty, poorly decorated room ever looked so beautiful to her. The peeling paint and the scuffed doorframe just added to the charm and gave her a project to work on.

She walked into the kitchen and marvelled at a sink, a cooker, and even a microwave to call her own. These were all things she’d taken for granted in her previous homes, but not anymore. Now she would be truly grateful for everything she had.

Further exploration revealed a small living room, a bedroom, and a bathroom. Everything she needed. More than she needed.

She began to realise her cheeks were aching with a wide grin that she couldn’t control.

“Happy?” Carrie asked, smiling in return.

“Ecstatic,” Kate breathed. “But promise me no one is missing out because I have this place. There are so many people who have a greater need than me.”

“Kate, you are a high-risk person,” Carrie said firmly. “A single woman who only has a home in the evening—only if a small shelter continues to find funding to remain open and happens to have room for you. Your social worker should have placed you months ago.”

Kate felt her cheeks heat in a blush. “I might have not pushed as hard as I could have. I was okay on the streets. I mean, it wasn’t fun or anything. But when you see how some other people are living—”

“You’ve been lucky so far. If that shelter closed permanently, and they sometimes do, what would you have done?”

The thought had crossed Kate’s mind in the past. The shelter was a lifeline. A very unstable one.

“I’ve worked with homeless charities,” Carrie explained. “You’re a typical case of someone who ended up homeless and lost their self-esteem. You look around and think that everyone else’s needs come above yours. But that isn’t the case, Kate. You’re important, and you earned this. All I did was rattle some cages and get you what you should have been given a long time ago.”

Kate knew she’d not been pushy with the council during her weekly meetings.

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