If I Stay Series Novels & Stories

he says again, more controlled now. Kai doesn’t answer immediately. The pause is brief, but it’s wrong. It stretches too long, pulls the air thin. Fifty pairs of eyes dart between the two men. No one breathes too loudly, and no one moves. Then, Kai finally speaks. “She stays.” His voice isn’t loud, but it doesn’t have to be. Jackson turns sharply, disbelief evident on his face. “Kai—” “I said she stays.” Kai’s eyes don’t leave Ivy this time. “And you will step back."

"I think I should come back." "Stay."

I did not return to headquarters. So, when Nolan gave up going home for the holidays and showed up with bags of ingredients, hoping to spend it with me, he waited until the food spoiled. I never came. All he received was a message. I had left for another city, one no one knew, to join an exchange program. In my second month away, the day before April Fools' Day, I got a call from an unknown number. "Whitney… do you really not want to see me that much? You left without even saying goodbye. Do you know I waited for you for seven days?

##Chapter 27: Cassidy Book One: Stay Meet me downstairs ASAP with your hockey bag. I stare at the phone in my hand before typing out a response. Are you serious? Just do it. Bossy much? The eye roll emoji pops up on the screen. Fine. I'll be down in 5.

"Getting away. Getting free. But it's not. The hardest part is learning to stay." Sarah nodded, her gaze on the horizon. "The staying is the practice. The daily choosing. I didn't know that before. I thought the storm was the enemy. But the real enemy is the part of you that says you can't stay, that it won't last, that you don't deserve it." Maya stopped, turning to face the sea. "What do you say to it now?" Sarah was silent for a long time. Then she said, "I say, 'I'm staying anyway.' I say, 'I'll risk it.' I say, 'The roof will leak, but I'll patch it.'"

By the third time through, her smile stretched so wide it hurt, cheek muscles burning, lips parted in disbelief and a kind of reckless joy that threatened to spill over into laughter or sobs or both. Instinct took over. She fumbled for the side button and took a screenshot, the digital shutter click oddly ceremonial, as though capturing a rare, wild animal in its brief moment of stillness. She took another, just to be safe, as if proof could ever be redundant. Each image was a talisman, a shield against the possibility of waking up to find it all erased by a glitch or a dream. Her first instinct, immediate as a reflex, was to call her father—to hear his voice and hand the reality of all this

“She’s doing well and thankfully, her health’s getting a lot better but she still needs to rest a lot more and…” “ “Hey, Melly!”, Leila yelled. “Hi, Lei. How did you…”. “Oh, it’s a three way call. Erin added me in. So, o just wanted to invite you and Erin over to my place for dinner to see that new hot guy that recently moved into my neighborhood. And also, there’s this movie I’ve bee hearing so much about but I think it’s quite scary and u definitely don’t want to watch it alone”. Melanie shook her head. “I don’t think I can make it over tonight, Lei. I’m taking on the night shift until Marlow manages to hire someone else that doesn’t leave within a week. I think you might have to get terri

"Thanks for everything, Bianca. I didn't expect that you'd stay by me in the end. Honestly, you're the person I've let down the most in this life." "Don't say that." Bianca lowered her voice. "I love you. That's why I'm willing to do anything for you." "But you and Logan…" Theo hesitated, guilt in his tone. "Logan loves you so much. If you leave him, you'll regret it." Bianca bit her lip, pulled her hands away from Theo's shoulders, and walked to the window. Her voice turned heavy. "Logan's good to me, but I've been tired of him for a long time. A marriage without love means nothing. The only reason I stayed was the money. With money, we can treat your illness. It wasn't until you came back

Ronnie's POV I felt like I was being kept in a box. Four walls keeping me in and slowly closing in on me. It's been over a month since my release from hospital but here I am still locked up in the house. The doctor said I can go out and all but my dad should still keep an eye on me. He even allowed me to start school next week, Yay! I guess, but for some reason I'm not happy and I don't know why. Who am I kidding? Of course, I know why.

“The end?” “The end of them having power over you,” I clarified. Something in his expression shifted at that. Something real. He looked back up at the ceiling, like he was turning the idea over in his mind. “The end…” he repeated quietly. “Yes,” I said. “And the beginning of you finally being free of all of it.” Another long pause. Then, finally. “You'll Stay,” he said. I squeezed his hand gently. “I am here to stay. I’m not going anywhere.”