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.”

I appreciate that, but I don’t need help,” I interject, zipping up my

been mushroom hunting since I was a kid. I’ll be

penetrating, like he’s looking right through

truffles around here,

snap, “but I need to do something,

shifts, his voice turning stern, his posture more rigid.

you.”

flash of Alpha energy in his eyes, a silent,

with lately.

way.

hear myself

a split second, I see something there, a glint of

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

leaving me alone in my office, staring at the empty

I just agree

…

beneath my boots, each step m ffled by a

earth.

the forest in surreal grays and blues. I feel like

if something

a respectful distance, his footsteps softly echoing my own.

eyes scanning the ground for any signs of

point to a cluster near

to take a closer look.

to reveal the reddish-brown caps.

yes, they are edible.”

while, discovering various fungi sca ttered throughout the

vivid colors, others more muted

I identify them, and the tension that’s been clinging

slowly begins to lift.

that time we went mushroom hunting while

prolonged silence. “You had to

of nostalgia sweeping over me. “You were so excited, you

You would have sauteed it right up and ended up

in the laughter, and for a brief moment, the

air, and nothing else. But

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

But then, something happens.

distant shout cuts through the

echoing between the

pulling me behind