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.”

a slight

heart, Karl,” I murmur, my voice soft. “It’s a culmination of every dream I’ve

going to keep me away.

me tonight.”

me for a long moment, his brown eyes filled

on his face, making him look older, more

“It’s not about your determination or

sometimes, you need to step back and take care of

the beeping of machines and

conversation. I feel a pang of nostalgia. It reminds

were neatly wound around one another. Now, it

all mussed together.

When I face challenges, when

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

myself? To my staff?”

running a hand through his hair. “It’s just that… when I saw that fire, when I

hell out of me,

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

I’m grateful for your concern, truly. But the

is to understand.”

a moment, absorbing my words. The m uffled sounds of footsteps

us. Finally, he looks up, a determined glint in

condition.”

an eyebrow.

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

at my lips.

the hospital, the night air greets us,

in the distance, the gentle hum of traffic a

car is parked nearby, and he holds the door open for me, ever the gentleman. “You sure

he asks,

I reply with

with comfortable silence, the

The cityscape outside the window blurs into

corner holding a

outline of my restaurant comes into view, I feel a mixture of anxiety and

bustling, a testament to

front, his gaze

reply with a

atmosphere is electric. Servers move with purpose,

the air. I

tension in his shoulders.

relief flooding his features.

promised, didn’t I?” I

watches the exchange, an amused smile on his lips. “You truly are something else, Abby.

given up, you

when you find something

his head in wonder. “You never cease to amaze