The Ones We Leave Behind Novels & Stories

An actual plan, with chairs, for people he hadn’t met yet, so they’d know there was a place for them whenever they wanted it. He asked me this morning if it was okay to leave your space blank for now, because he didn’t want to put pressure on someone who didn’t know us yet. I think that’s the truth of what’s happening here. Nobody is trying to make you fit into anything. We just didn’t want you to keep thinking you’d been disposed of, when actually, you’d just been forgotten by people who didn’t know they’d forgotten you. And now we know. She sent it. This time, the reply came almost immediately.

"I love you." "I love you too but sometimes love is not enough. Loyalty is important too. Promise me you won't leave me, you'll always love me" "Ayana I..." His phone rang. It was his lawyer. "I have to take this, I'll be back. I love you" he kissed her lips and left her room. His lawyer called to inform about a meeting with Claire's lawyer about Auxton Oaks. Oliver said he would be present at the meeting. He hoped Claire would also be there. He went to meet the Chef when he was done with the call and got the food for Ayana.

and then I felt it. “It’s not consequence,” I said. “not balance. “not even the system.” The silence held because now that left only one thing. the thing we never accounted for. “It’s what we left behind,” I said. The words soft because now this was truth. the one we didn’t see. “When we chose the world over each other… “we didn’t erase that choice. “we preserved it.” The space cracked because now that meant this wasn’t loss. this was something that remained.

Inked with careful lettering. To the one I left behind. Another: forgive me. And another: i remember you. “They’re memorials,” I said softly. “To the lost versions. The ones we didn’t become.” The silence that followed was suffocating. Kye whispered, “We’re not the first ones to walk out of the Hollows.” “No,” Rowan said. “But we may be the last.” Mira looked at me, something unreadable in her eyes. “Freya. What do we do with this?”

He nodded agreeing and without so much as a look back, we left. We left the room. We left the house and we left him. Forever.

“If it weren’t for me, Peter might still be alive. None of you would have had to rebuild your lives across an ocean.” The timer turns red. Three minutes. “I thought the company would recover and I could replace what I took. I was wrong. I destroyed Peter and my own family.” Rosalie presses her palm to the glass. “Dad, it’s over.” “Take care of yourself, Rosie.” “You too.” Richard follows the officer toward the steel door, then looks back. Rosalie is smiling through tears, her palm against the glass. “Four more months,” she mouths. “Mom and I will bring you home.”

My older sister Mia was sweet and affectionate, while I was the “smart, independent” one who supposedly needed no one. For my high school graduation, my parents promised me a trip to Hawaii. I packed a month early and planned everything. But the night before we left, Mia decided to bring Luke, my childhood sweetheart. There wasn’t room for both of us, so Mom canceled my ticket. “Mia and Luke had a fight a few days ago. They need this trip to work things out.” My brother pushed my packed suitcase toward Mia. “Take hers. It has everything you need.” Luke had once been the only person who never used my independence as a reason to leave me behind. But after he met Mia, he began making excuses fo

“What are you going to do now?” I paused, contemplating the question carefully. I had not really thought about this. I could stay in town and try to find my feet again but how would I do that, knowing that I would bump into Jason or Lila one day? I couldn't bear to see them together, not now—not anytime soon. I needed somewhere to clear my head. A fresh start. A new life where they never existed. Where they can never hurt me again. “I’m going to leave this city. Start over somewhere far away. Somewhere they don’t know me.”

Because no matter what Xavier said or didn’t say, no matter what unspoken hung in the air between his words—at the end of the day, he was the one who left. And I was the one left behind, alone, wondering if I’d ever really had him at all.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

We left this world hand in hand, ready to embark on our next grand adventure, knowing that our love would forever be etched in the hearts of those we cherished most. For love, in all its forms, knows no bounds. And so, our story lives on, a testament to the power of connection, the beauty of chosen family, and the profound impact that a life well-lived can have on those who come after us.