Chasing His Kickass Luna Back by Jane Above Story

Chapter 0160
Abby

The weight of failure feels almost physical, like there’s something sharp and heavy literally lodged in

my chest.

I stare at the computer screen displaying “Truffles Unavailable” in blunt, red letters. I’ve sent countless

emails to suppliers, spent hours scouring online marketplaces, and I’ve even visited local storefronts to

browse their selection, all to no avail.

A part of me wants to give up on the recipe altogether, to throw in the towel and declare the universe

the winner in this sa distic game it’s been playing with me. I could hope that this recipe won’t be chosen,

or at the very least, that I can read enough about it online to get a good idea as to how to make it.

But another part—perhaps the stubborn or perhaps the hopeful part—won’t let me settle for that. What

if this recipe is chosen for the competition? What if the online recipes just don’t do it justice? I need to

be prepared, and this could be my last shot at turning things around.

I close the laptop with a sigh, my eyes drifting to a framed picture of me and Chloe on a past

mushroom hunting trip. It’s not truffles, but maybe, just maybe, I could find something close, something

that’ll at least help me practice the textures and flavors.

…

“Going somewhere?” The voice slices through my thoughts, and I turn around to see Karl standing at

the doorway, his eyes lingering on my hiking boots and backpack. It’s early in the morning, too early for

anyone but me to be here. And yet there’s Karl, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, as my grandmother used

to say.

“That’s none of your business,” I shoot back, my voice carrying a sharper edge than I intended. But

really, the last thing I need right now is more complications, more entanglement with him.

He steps into the room, the door falling shut behind him. “Abby, don’t be like this. I told you that I want

to help.”

need help,” I interject, zipping up my backpack with more

“I’ve been mushroom hunting since I was

moment, his eyes penetrating, like he’s looking

truffles around here, you

I snap, “but I need to do something, okay? I need to practice and

his demeanor shifts, his voice turning stern, his posture

you.”

in

been dealing with lately.

way.

I hear myself say. “You can

mine, and for a split second, I see something there,

he says, his voice softening. “I’ll get

then he’s gone, leaving me alone in my office, staring at the empty space

just

…

step m ffled by

earth.

air, casting the forest in surreal grays and blues. I feel like

dream. Or maybe a nightmare, if something

keeps a respectful distance, his footsteps softly echoing my

eyes scanning the ground for any signs of

I point to a cluster near a huge

approaches, leaning down to take a closer look. “Are

to reveal the reddish-brown caps. “Definitely

yes, they are edible.”

while, discovering various fungi sca ttered throughout the

vivid colors, others more muted but no

find turns into a mini biology lesson as I identify them, and the tension that’s been clinging

slowly begins to lift.

remember that time we went mushroom hunting while we were still

had to stop me from picking

nostalgia sweeping over me. “You were so excited,

You would have sauteed it right up

for a brief moment, the forest becomes a sanctuary, a place where

the cool morning air, and nothing else. But then guilt seeps

not like this, not when I just lost my two best friends because of

But then, something happens.

a distant shout cuts through the mist, followed by the disconcerting

echoing between

arm and pulling me behind a large oak. His