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.”

turning a slight

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

faced. One disaster isn’t going to

me tonight.”

a long moment, his brown eyes filled with

shadows on his face, making him look older,

starts, choosing his words carefully. “It’s not about your determination or

to step back and take care of

of the hospital, the beeping of machines and hushed

of nostalgia. It reminds

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

all mussed together.

is what keeps me going. When

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

myself? To my staff?”

just that… when I saw that fire, when I saw you

the hell

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

know. And I’m grateful for your concern, truly. But

is to understand.”

absorbing my words. The m

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

condition.”

raise an

going back to that restaurant, I’m staying by

tugs at my

us,

in the distance,

parked nearby, and he holds the door open for me, ever the

asks, one

I reply with

to the restaurant is filled with comfortable silence,

cityscape outside the window blurs into

street corner holding a

comes into view, I feel

a testament to my

front, his gaze

I reply with

move with purpose, the kitchen hums with

through the air. I can

tension in his shoulders.

relief flooding his

promised, didn’t I?” I reply with a

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

up, you

when you find something that really matters

his head in wonder. “You never cease