Never Gone Novels & Stories

Meredith, we can start over. "But can Caleb come back to life?" Mom's voice stopped abruptly. She looked up at Dad blankly. After a while, like an old machine, she slowly lowered her head and stood. "...I'm sorry. "Truly, I'm sorry." She signed the divorce agreement and left Dad's home, limping as she went. Serena leaned against the doorframe and pretended to ask casually, "So... tomato pasta tonight?" I floated over to stare at her strangely. I clearly remembered they had not bought any tomatoes today.

A cold, mechanical voice suddenly rang out. [Do you want to leave this world?] "Yes." My mom held me tightly. In my dad's horrified stare, she jumped. He lunged forward like a madman, but his hands grabbed nothing but air. My mom's voice was ice cold. "David, goodbye forever." The next second, our bodies were wrapped in a soft glow and disappeared completely before his eyes.

Fortunately, this time, it was me who no longer wanted to wait. On the way home, Griffin asked me, "Gisselle, why didn't Kyson come back with you?" I smiled and casually replied, "He had a sudden assignment, so he went back." "How long will he be gone this time?" he asked. "I don't know." Maybe a month. Maybe forever.

“What’s going on?” I chew the inside of my cheek. I’ve been carrying this alone for days, and suddenly the words feel too big for my throat. “My best friend” I begin. “Nevaeh. She’s been gone. Like, really gone. No calls, no texts, nothing. It’s been almost two weeks now.” Eldric goes still. Just for a second. Then he leans forward, elbows on the table. “Gone how?”

Days turned into weeks, and weeks slowly turned into months. Ryder never heard from Kellan again. No calls. No messages. No word through mutual contacts. It was as if Kellan had vanished from his life completely. The silence hurt more than any argument ever could. At the same time, Eunice never stopped feeding Dinte Deluca information.

I called. Straight to voicemail. Again. Again. The third time, her phone was off. My heart was crashing inside my chest. I couldn’t breathe. I called Macey again. “Have you seen her?” I asked, voice raw. “No. Wait… What’s going on?” “She’s gone.” “What do you mean, ‘gone’?” “She left a note. Said she needed space. Now she’s ghosted. Her phone’s off.” “Shit,” she whispered. “I’ll try calling her too.”

“Say that again.” He was so confused, his voice wasn’t above an octave what qualified whispering. Evan rubbed his eyes with his wrists. “I said. Vanessa. is . Gone.” Noah was expecting anger but Evan said it with such excruciating deliberateness, he knew it was true. “Where?” Another stupid question but he had to process and keep talking. He was already heading to her living pad. “If I knew. I wouldn’t be here. I just found out.” Evan fell into step behind him.

And just like that, all my reasons for staying away were long gone Gone and burned to ash. Because there was no goddamn way I was letting her go now. Not ever.

"Gone where?" "That's exactly the point—she never found out. He completely vanished." She saw the disbelief in his eyes and shook her head. "It was only twenty-five years ago, but the world was very different then. There were no computers to help you track someone down, no F******k to check for updates, no cellphones to call or text. A man and his wife could simply disappear without a trace, and you might never see or hear from them again." Theodore's frown deepened as he processed this. "So he never saw you?"

I said softly, my smile fading into something more real. “There she goes again,” he muttered under his breath. “You’re gone.” I turned to face him. “Gone?” He nodded, a small grin playing on his lips. “Completely gone for him.” “I know,” I said and we both laughed. The sound felt new…like something we hadn’t had in a very long time. Then he sobered a little. “Speaking of gone…any news from Andre?”