#Chapter 42: Through the Flames
Abby

Just as I’m leaning forward to make sense of the strange spark in the back of the oven, something

ignites.

I jump back with a yelp just as the heat nearly consumes me.

My heart races as the orange flames dance menacingly from the oven, cutting off the symphony of our

dinner rush with its threatening roar. The scent of burnt food mingles with a more acrid, electrical smell.

An electrical fire.

Panic courses through me.

“Fire! Fire in the oven!” I shout, reaching for the nearby fire extinguisher.

My fingers barely grasp the cool metal before I feel the searing heat engulf my arm. A sharp pain

lances through me, and I draw back with a sharp hiss, dropping the fire extinguisher.

My arm pulses with intense pain, the skin red and already blistering.

“Abby!” Karl’s voice cuts through the chaos, and before I know it, he’s beside me, effortlessly wielding

the extinguisher to smother the flames. Within moments, the roaring fire is reduced to a smoky whisper,

but the damage is done.

I cradle my burnt arm, biting back the tears that threaten to spill. The pain is overwhelming. My vision

blurs, and my legs feel weak. The world tilts.

“Abby, look at me,” Karl urges, his voice lined with concern. His deep brown eyes are inches away, full

of worry.

“I… I’m okay,” I manage, although the quiver in my voice betrays me. The pain isn’t subsiding, and a

nauseating mix of fear and shock swirls within me.

“You’re not okay,” he insists. “We need to get you to the hospital. Now.”

The bustling sounds of the restaurant seem distant. Whispers and murmurs of concern ripple around

us, but all I can focus on is Karl’s steady voice.

“No, the restaurant…” I begin, my thoughts fragmented. The reality of the situation hasn’t fully sunk in.

things here.

me up, his arms cradling me close. The scent

the aromas of the kitchen, is oddly comforting. My head

air is a sharp contrast to the heat

but shiver.

he places me gently on the passenger seat, buckling me in. “Just hang in

We’ll be there soon.”

my burnt arm. The pain is unbearable, but having Karl beside me is

strange balm. novelbin

feel his fingers intertwining with mine. It’s a simple gesture,

vulnerability, it means everything.

okay,” he murmurs, shooting me a quick glance before

you, Karl,” I manage, my voice barely above a whisper. “I don’t know

you weren’t there.”

circles on my skin. “You don’t have

did

I know that’s not true. In my pain-induced state,

has been nothing but one thing after another. Like

I’m just delirious from the pain of the burn on my

grip tightens, and I feel the reassuring rhythm of his pulse against

the car,

it?” I

illuminating the concern etched on his features. “It’s

The doctors will take

The hum of the engine, combined with

outside becomes a hazy, unfocused

a constant, grounding me. Even in

help but appreciate the intimacy of the moment.

fostered a connection

over at me from time to time,

emotion that’s

the car comes to a halt. The glaring lights of

gravity of the situation hits me

the car, the pain intensifies, but I grit my teeth, trying to put on

whispers, guiding

are a

and doctors move about with practiced precision,

and concern.

the din. “She needs help. She’s burnt her

led to a bed, the clinical environment around me a whirlwind of

out the

as shaken up as I am,

their treatment, I clutch his hand,

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