Chasing His Kickass Luna Back by Jane Above Story

#Chapter 43: True Passion
Abby

The antiseptic smell of the hospital surrounds me, a cold, clinical scent that seems to hang in the air. I

glance down at my arm, now wrapped in white gauze, the skin beneath it red and angry. The pain

pulses with every heartbeat, but it’s a dull, manageable ache for now.

“Abby, you should be heading home to rest,” the doctor’s firm voice breaks through my thoughts. He’s

an older man, silver hair and a gentle, fatherly demeanor. “That burn needs time to heal, and you need

time to recover.”

“I understand, doctor,” I reply, doing my best to sound appreciative. “Thank you.”

Karl waits just outside the small cubicle, flipping through a magazine. The fluorescent lights highlight

the worry lines on his forehead. He looks up as I emerge, magazine forgotten.

“All set?”

I nod, reaching for my jacket with my uninjured arm. Karl moves quickly to help, his fingers brushing

against mine. The touch is unintentional, but it sends a rush of warmth through me.

“Thanks,” I murmur, avoiding his gaze.

He just nods, his expression serious. “I’ll drive you home.”

But as I step into the corridor, the weight of unfinished business pulls at me. “Not home. Back to the

restaurant.”

He stops in his tracks, eyebrows shooting up in surprise. “Are you serious, Abby? After what you’ve just

been through?”

“The night isn’t over,” I reply firmly, pain making my voice sharper than intended. “The restaurant needs

me.”

Karl shakes his head, clearly struggling to comprehend my determination. “Let’s sit for a moment,” he

suggests, guiding me towards a set of chairs in the waiting area. It’s relatively quiet here, a few people

sca ttered about, absorbed in their own world of worry and waiting.

He waits for me to get settled before taking the seat next to me. “Abby, talk to me. Why do you feel the

need to go back there tonight? It’s just one night.”

I turn to face him, biting my lip. “You weren’t there when I opened up the restaurant.”

looks away, his face turning a slight shade of red. “No. I

restaurant is my heart, Karl,” I murmur, my voice

faced. One disaster isn’t going to keep me

me tonight.”

studies me for a long moment, his brown eyes filled

shadows on his

carefully. “It’s not about your determination or passion. No

sometimes, you need to step back and take care of

hum of the hospital, the beeping of machines and hushed conversations,

feel a pang of nostalgia. It reminds me of the times when life

when our paths were neatly wound around one another. Now, it feels like a tangle, like

all mussed together.

is what keeps me going. When I face challenges,

that pulls me through. If I back down now, even for a night, what message am

myself? To my staff?”

through his hair. “It’s just that… when I saw that

scared the hell out of

a pang through my chest. Without thinking, I reach out, placing

I’m grateful for your concern, truly. But the best way you can

is to understand.”

words. The m

us. Finally, he looks up, a determined glint in his eyes. “Fine, but

condition.”

an

If you’re going back to that restaurant, I’m staying

tugs at my

the hospital, the night air greets us, a

lights glittering in the distance, the gentle hum of

the door open for me, ever the gentleman.

he asks,

I reply with newfound

drive back to the restaurant is filled with comfortable

cityscape outside the window blurs into a cascade of

street corner

the familiar outline of my restaurant comes into view, I feel

a testament to

gaze

reply

move with purpose,

wafts through the air. I can see Jake orchestrating the

tension in his shoulders.

enter, relief flooding his features.

I

watches the exchange, an amused smile on his lips. “You

given up,

you find something that really

shakes his head in wonder. “You never cease