By The Time They Missed Me I Was Gone Novels & Stories

I've been secretly dating Liam Burnett, my brother Julian Elling's childhood friend, for five years. On my 23rd birthday, Julian suddenly tells me, "Liam rented out an entire restaurant. He's proposing to the woman he's been seeing for five years. Bring your boyfriend along. We're going to help him pull off the perfect proposal!" Liam promised me that once I turned 23, we'd finally stop hiding our relationship and he'd propose to me. So I get dressed up and head to the restaurant, convinced this is finally the night I've been waiting for. But when I arrive, Liam is already down on one knee in front of another woman, sliding a ring onto her finger. Everyone erupts in cheers and starts urg

My bones stopped aching. I had him . Then I pulled away and it all came back the heartbreak, the flights, the calls i never made, the silences i deserved, the shame in my chest that never left, not for a goddamn day. I missed you. the words cracked like glass in my throat. I meant them. I meant them. every night, every second, every fucking time i woke up sweating in a hotel room thinking i heard his voice, i missed him.Timone cleared his throat behind us and I turned, blinking, heart still jackhammering like it wanted to escape my ribs.

Frowning, I tried my best to salvage it while pondering the situation in my mind. Shouldn't she be happy that I was gone? She was finally able to be with Adrian publicly. Realizing that the handle was a lost cause, I wedged the phone between my ear and shoulder and carried the bucket in my arms. I didn't even know what Christina was saying anymore. I just gave a few distracted grunts in response. Suddenly, a harsh, grating bang came from the other end, like something had been knocked over. My ears rang from the loud noise, and I hissed in pain.

I cried out this time. “I need you guys. Living is so hard, I keep on making mistakes.” Time passed, though I couldn’t tell how long. I spoke softly, almost to myself, recounting memories, mistakes, things left unsaid. Each word carried a weight I hadn’t realized I had been holding inside. “I miss you,” I finally said, voice trembling. “More than I thought was possible. And it’s… it’s still so strange. So wrong, that you’re not here.” My fingers lingered on the stone, tracing the smooth surface one last time. I took a slow breath, the reality of their absence pressing in, yet there was also a small, stubborn spark inside me, something that whispered I had to keep going, even if every step fe

What happened to me? In an instant, Rowena pushed me out of her mind. She hurried over, carefully helping him sit up and gently feeding him the oatmeal. By the time she thought of me again, the hospital room was already empty. I had long since returned to my own room and begun packing my luggage. When the maid saw me, she sighed and shook her head, clearly hoping I would stay. As I packed, I said softly, "It's fine. Please tell Ms. Atkinson she doesn't owe me anything. I owe her far too much."

My appetite vanished instantly. “I don’t feel like eating,” I said. “Throw it away.” Sarah immediately looked displeased, but she held it in. She sat beside me and began to complain instead. “You have no idea how sad Tim was today. My parents went to see him and brought up the wedding. He panicked so badly he almost cried. Tim just got back to the country and doesn’t have much money. I was thinking of using the money you gave me for our wedding to help him with the wedding first.”

And I'm leaving tomorrow, what do you say When I'm gone When I'm gone You're gonna miss me when I'm gone You're gonna miss me by my hair You're gonna miss me everywhere, oh You're gonna miss me when I'm gone I got my ticket for the long way round The one with the prettiest of views It's got mountains It's got rivers It's got sights to give you shivers But it sure would be prettier with you When I'm gone When I'm gone You're gonna miss me when I'm gone You're gonna miss me by my walk You're gonna miss me by my talk, oh You're gonna miss me when I'm gone.” Just as the song finished, someone flicked the wall lamps on; the sudden bright light caused my eyes to squint at the glare and I turned to

Her siblings? Gone. Her parents? Gone. Even Timmy disappeared after misleading me toward the ports two weeks ago. Honestly if I ever see that man again I might actually strangle him. I sat down heavily in my chair before staring blankly at the wall for a moment. I missed her. God. I missed her so badly it physically hurt sometimes. The house felt empty without her. Too quiet. Too clean. Nobody threatening murder during breakfast. Nobody stealing my hoodies then denying it immediately.

At our dinner gathering, my best friend, Maya Miller, leaned in with a drunken smirk. "If you find out I'm sharing someone's husband, would you still be my friend?" Before I could answer, Maya kept going. "I didn't miss our lunch yesterday because I was sick," she whispered. "He installed a floor-length mirror, just to try something new with me." She took a sip of her wine. "And that retreat last month? Fake too. His wife just had a baby, so he took me to Aspen instead." I froze in total shock. Maya Miller suddenly burst out laughing. "Oh, come on! I’m totally joking. Look at your face!" I let out a breath and laughed it off. That evening, I drove to the office to drop off files for

After we'd had a fight, my childhood sweetheart, Adrian Hale, deliberately agreed to take a sophomore named Sienna Reed to Beach House Week on Cape Cod. He was certain I'd do what I always did: get jealous, start a fight, then swallow my pride and beg him to come home. But when he returned to Kingsley University with Sienna a week later, he found me unexpectedly easy to deal with. He gave Sienna my lead creator slot in the National Robotics Challenge. I didn't quit. I organized her test data and rewrote her presentation for her. He backed Sienna in the student council election and picked apart my work during the public debate. I didn't argue. I admitted I could have prepared better and calml