Open When You Miss Me Letters Novels & Stories

There also was a business address in the corner, but my name was handwritten. The letter was a single page, and I opened up the trifold. My Dear Sweet Nate, I’m sorry. That’s probably how I could start off every letter for you. I kept so much from you, and I know you probably have had the roughest time out of everyone. You were always going to be the one hit the hardest by this change and I’m truly am sorry.

No stamp. Just three letters that made her skin prickle. Ava crouched to pick it up, her brows pinching together. Her mom never wrote notes. Ever. And her friends? If they had something to say, they texted, snapped, or spammed her with memes until she responded. Nobody her age owned envelopes, let alone used them. She turned it over in her hands. The flap wasn’t sealed. Which was almost worse, like the writer hadn’t even bothered to pretend this was private—like they wanted her to read it right away.

Dear Maya, I know you’re probably not going to read this letter and I understand if you don’t. I just want to check up on you and see how you’re doing. It’s been two months now and every day feels like too long without your presence. I really, really miss you, everything around me makes no sense with you. It’s almost like when you left you took my life along with you. But that’s okay because my life belongs to you.

Annie blinked, giving him an odd look as she didn't quite understand what was going on. "I'll go start up the car and make sure we have everything Jack told us to bring," he said to her, leaning forward to peck her cheek. He left the room, leaving her with the envelope. Annie, curious, sat down on the end of the bed and carefully opened the letter. Dear Annie, Perhaps this has been a long time coming. It's not the first letter I've wrote you and it surely will not be the last. I would write you a letter every single day just to remind you how much love I have for you. I look at you and still feel stunned, so lucky that I get to call you mine.

It was a letter—a letter from someone we thought was lost forever. Trembling with anticipation and anxiety, I tore open the envelope, my eyes scanning the words that danced across the page. It was a message from my long-lost mother, Olivia. The same mother who, years ago, had disappeared under mysterious circumstances, leaving behind a void that had haunted me ever since.

Once open, I pulled the letter out and began reading. 'Hey baby, I hope you're doing fine. I'm not really sure where to start but I'm sorry about the way things went at the Goldwells and about how everything has been in general. I miss you a lot so... Call me when you get this or... When you're no longer mad at me.' I tossed the letter on the bed and reached for my phone instead. By the second ring, a breathless voice picked up. "Hey baby." A smile graced my face.

I just stared at him. He opened his arms. I could see the edge of white bandages peeking out from his sleeve—soaked through. I walked into him, threw myself against his chest, forehead pressed to his sternum—listening to that heartbeat, one after another, steady as the first time he'd held me seven years ago. I looked up at him, tears and rain running down my face—impossible to tell apart. He looked back down, eyes crinkling. "I said one year. I'm four years late. Are you still waiting?"

She remembered the first letter. Her heart was beating so fast it seemed like it would escape her body. She searched frantically through the papers on the desk, searching for the first letter, desperate to find some sort of answer. She ripped open the letter, ignoring the seal, as soon as she laid hands on it. Dearest Edwina, I’ve always loved you, and I know you still love me too. Meet me at Languine’s on Main Street. We can be together again. Your love,

I stare at it, for what seems like an amazingly long time, both needing to open it and dreading to at the same time. There's noise in the hallway, letting me know everyone is up and at 'em, which means I should be too. "C'mon, D," I chide myself. "Open the fucking thing and get on with your life." Irritated, I hook a finger in the side and tear it along the edge, unfolding the paper with a gusto that almost rips it. I miss you. I need you. I love you. What? I have to read those words again, let them sink into my brain and grow roots, take hold and then make myself take a breath. She misses me? She loves me? She needs me?

I missed home—and I already missed Mira. But the second I pushed the door open, ready for something familiar, I stopped cold. Loree was on her knees at my doorstep. Messy. Crying. "What are you doing here?" I froze. The rush of coming home died fast, replaced by something heavy in my chest. She looked up. The light in her eyes was gone—just red veins and tears. "I'm back. I've got nothing left. You're all I have now. I know I messed up. I left you for someone who never deserved it. I really know I was wrong, Rowan. Please... give me another chance. Can you forgive me?"