Never Gone Novels & Stories

"Mr. Johnston, what happened?" His eyes filled with tears as he looked at me. "Your parents... they're gone." I didn't understand. Or maybe I refused to. "Gone? What do you mean, gone?" I asked, trying to make sense of it. Matthew gently stroked my head. "Gone means they're no longer here. It means... you'll never see them again." I still couldn't wrap my head around it. "Not even one of them?" I asked, my voice trembling, barely a whisper.

I had just left girl's night with the girls. It had been a minute. We all been so busy in our everyday lives, that we rarely had time to catch up. Kita and her man has broken up. That shocked me. He was always good to her. Hardworking man. He worshipped the ground she walked on. She said she needed some time to herself. I don't believe that for a minute. She was gone end up telling me sooner or later. My girl couldn't hold water.

“She’s‍ not answering her ca‌lls. Phon‌e swi‌tche​d off.I’m f⁠reakin‌g⁠ out.” T‍he word landed h‍ea‌vy. Ste‍fan went silen‌t.⁠ Then, “Wha⁠t do y‍ou mean her phone is off? Je‍ss phone is‌ never off.” “She’s go‍ne. P​hone​ off‌. Location gone. Sadie says she left hours⁠ ago.”⁠ “Jesu​s,” Stefan said. “Con‌rad…​ that’s not normal.”

“Say that again.” My heart sank. Something was wrong. Nathan listened quietly, then swore under his breath. “What the fuck do you mean it’s gone?” I stood. Hailey looked at me. Nathan turned around. “The signal disappeared.” I stared at him. “What?” “They cut it off.” The hope I’d been holding onto for the last twenty minutes disappeared so quickly it almost hurt. “No.” Nathan stepped toward me. “Aria.” “No, you said they had the location.” “We did.”

Then, he got drunk, she was besides him when he said these words: “I thought she would just be gone for a few days, then reappear again. Maybe she’s just tying some tricks to trick me into thinking that she’s gone, but… It’s been months, and there’s still no signs of her going back… Is she really gone for good? She's not coming back for me?”

On day ten of our cold war, Barry posted a pic—him and Lyla, locked in a kiss. His 'one true love.' I sent in my study abroad application without a word. At our grad party, he strolled in with Lyla, fingers laced with hers, looking at her with all his affection. A friend hesitated. "But what about Amelia? She loves you. You guys are getting married." Barry smirked. "She was just a stand-in. Now that Lyla's back, my fiancée should change too." So I slipped off the ring, handed it over, and disappeared. And he lost it. Tore through everything trying to find me. Years later, he finally did. Saw me with my husband, picking out baby supplies. His eyes went red. "Amelia, come back

Noah stayed by my side until dawn. I woke to the shrill ring of his phone. Seeing me stir, he frowned and declined the call, only for it to ring again immediately. Once. Twice. The incessant noise drilled into my skull. “You should head back to the office,” I said softly. “I’m fine now. I’ll be discharged soon.” He hesitated before nodding slowly. “Well… you know how hectic things have been at work lately. I really can’t—”

The ink was blurred and smeared, making the original writing illegible. “My baby, I’m sorry, it’s Daddy’s fault. It’s my fault that you and Mommy are gone.” As I floated in the air and watched, my hand instinctively rested on my stomach. But what was the point of this late apology? I was already dead. In the early hours of the fourth day, Shawn received a call from Jenna. “Shawn, I want to go shopping today. Why don’t you just tell Samantha that you have an errand to run and leave the house? Let’s go shopping together.”

Tony asks clearly seconds away from exploding. "They're gone, Tony. I’m sorry but they were sent away several weeks ago." Oh hell no!

"Do you realize he's dead? Do you understand that you killed him?" There was a pause on the other end. Then his voice turned cold. "Sarah, why are you yelling at me? If he died, it's because he didn't have what it takes to live. And besides, don't you think it's a little late to be pointing fingers now? You didn't say a word back then either. You were right there with me. At the end of the day, I'm not the only one who drove him to his grave." My mom hung up.