Chasing His Kickass Luna Back by Jane Above Story

#Chapter 62: Too Much To Ask
The door to Abby’s office swings shut behind me, and my mind races as I walk back into the kitchen.

First, she asks me to make nice with Chloe, and now this? Apprenticing under John, of all people? A

guy I can’t even stand to be in the same room with?

“Karl, grab the veal from the fridge. Now.” John’s voice snaps me back to reality, jarring and grating as

ever.

I grab the veal and set it on the counter, taking a moment to steel myself. I’m doing this for Abby, I

remind myself. As if sensing my inner turmoil, Abby glances over at me from across the kitchen.

Our eyes meet for just a second, but it’s enough. I nod subtly. I can do this.

The dinner rush starts, and the kitchen turns into a whirlwind of flying knives and sizzling pans. John

wastes no time in laying into me.

“Come on, Karl, chop those onions faster! We don’t have all day!”

My knuckles whiten around the knife handle, but I force a smile. “Sure, John, whatever you say.”

Dinner service rushes on like a torrential river, and I’m just trying to keep my head above water. Each

critique from John feels like another weight pulling me down, but I keep reminding myself why I’m here,

who I’m here for.

The clock ticks past nine, and the last orders are finally up. John looks at me, a satisfied smirk

spreading across his face. “Not a complete disaster, I suppose.”

My jaw clenches, my fists curl, but I refuse to let the torrent out. Abby’s eyes catch mine again, her

gaze searching. I look away. I can’t let her see how much this is getting to me.

And that’s when it happens. One small, insignificant straw that breaks the proverbial camel’s back.

“Karl, you idiot! These steaks are overcooked! Do you even know what medium-rare looks like?” John

the words out, his

inside me snaps. All the pent-up frustration, the hours of biting my tongue, the

all comes rushing to the surface

That’s it.

off, my hands shaking with barely contained fury. I shoot one last

was standing before, only to realize that she’s gone.

met with nothing

breath, I throw my apron down onto the counter. “Cook

I growl, more to myself than anyone else,

my chest heaving.

a cigarette and light it, drawing the smoke deep into my lungs as if

gaping void inside

lean against the brick wall, my mind reeling. What the hell am I doing?

her. For

frustration of it all, I

another drag, exhaling slowly as I stare up at the sliver of night sky visible

stark reminder of how confined I feel, boxed in by my own

yet, as much as I want to break free, to tell John to shove it, to tell Abby that this is

it galls me to

prove that I’m not

cold, unforgiving wall of the alley, still

resonates from within, not

shares my consciousness.

my breath, trying to soothe the restless animal

ss, Karl,” my wolf’s voice echoes in my head, clear as day.

on purpose. You just have to

know,” I reply silently, a conversation taking place entirely within the

do this, to prove I can be part of her world. But I f ucking

do. It’ll just be for a while longer,

it, though?” I ask. “It feels like she’ll never be

asking myself ever since I walked out of Abby’s office earlier today.

be the bigger man and tolerate John for Abby’s sake. But where does it end?

really trying,

if reading my

her

worming its way into my mind despite

mistakes? What if I’m forever labeled the screw-up, the

who broke her heart?