The Years Between Us Novels & Stories

A silent gesture of solidarity. We step back together, standing in quiet reverence. Five years. It’s been five long, tumultuous years since Ethan left us. Since my life was torn apart, my freedom stolen, and my daughter taken away. And yet, somehow, the pieces are slowly falling back into place. It feels surreal—like waking from a nightmare and finding yourself in a world that’s not as broken as you feared.

I said and she chuckled. “True.. I guess we should travel alone when we reach our 14th year anniversary.” She said and I looked at her disbelief. “You’re mean.” “What?” “I have to wait 7 years?” I asked and she laughed. “5 years?” “You’re funny.” “4 years?” “No.” “Fine! 8 years.” “Why go up instead of going down?!” I scoffed and she laughed. “Fine, in 2 years.” “In a year.” I protested.

She said: "The gap between you." I looked at her. "What about it?" I said. She looked at the space between us. "It's full," she said. "You can't see it." She paused. "But it's full." She paused. "Twenty years of mornings." She paused. "In the gap." She paused. "All of it there." She paused. "The substrate of you." I looked at Adrian. He looked at me. At the eleven year old who had drawn the invisible substrate of two people's twenty years.

"I'll personally ensure everything goes smoothly." Leo paused at the doorway and glanced back one last time. Lucas met his gaze. For the first time in years, the office didn't feel empty. And for the first time since the accident Lucas allowed himself to entertain the possibility that healing might finally be within reach.

Because maybe this is the actual tragedy of us. Not that we don’t love each other enough. That we love each other so much neither of us knows how to survive it.

Show‑off. We talk about nothing and everything, movies, music, the weird guy at the gas station who tried to sell him a ferret once. I laugh so hard I snort, and he looks at me like it’s the best sound he’s ever heard. For a moment, I forget about tomorrow. About Nationals. About everything. It’s just us.

"Tell her what happened before someone else gets hurt!" Great's expression hardened. "This isn't the place." "Then where is the place, Great? You've been saying that for two years!" Two years. The words hung in the air. I turned toward Great. "How long have you known about me?" He didn't answer. "Great, look at me." Slowly, he lifted his eyes. "How long?" His silence felt like a confession. I released his hand. "All this time," I whispered. "You knew there was something connecting me to Daniel, and you let me walk around like an idiot?"

“May it be boring. Peaceful. Domestic. Everything year one wasn’t.” “To year two. And to year one. For giving us this. Us. Emma. Everything.” We toast. Sparkling cider and whiskey. Anniversary celebration. One year. From strangers to soulmates. From broken to whole. From alone to family.

A single weekend had somehow made the distance between us feel longer than it had before. "Did you sleep well?" he asked quietly. "Not really." His smile disappeared. "Why? Are you okay?" "Because I kept thinking about everything." He leaned against the shelf. "Everything meaning?" "Us. The secret. Our parents. What happens if somebody finds out." Lucas lowered his voice. "Hey. Look at me." I did. "We don't have to solve our entire future today, Keitu." "Easy for you to say." "Is it?" I hesitated.

On Julian Sterling’s birthday, Zara Xavier secretly traveled six hours to his city to surprise him. She knew he had been eyeing a limited-edition watch, one of only a few in the world, so she arranged to meet a college student in person to buy it. When the girl arrived, Zara was surprised to see that she was pregnant. She was still in college, but her belly was already quite large. She was well into her third trimester. “Hi, I’m Zoey Ramsey. You’re the one who wanted the watch, right?” Zoey pulled the watch out of its original box and handed it to Zara as if it were no big deal. Zara happily took it. “Yes, this is the one. My husband really likes it. Ms. Ramsey, how much are you asking