The Girl He Left Behind Novel – Chapter 1 Evan Sterling had been missing two months when I saw him on the street. He was with his friends, wearing that same arrogant expression. “Evan, this whole ‘disappearing’ act of yours—even we barely get to see you anymore.” “Can’t help it.” Evan shrugged lazily. “Iris is too clingy, too controlling. She needed a lesson.” “Whose idea was the disappearing act, anyway?” “Mine!” The girl beside Evan raised her chin proudly. “You really think his brain could come up with something that genius? He needed me for that.” “All right, all right, you’re the best.” Evan said, with a doting smile.
I recognized her. Celeste Drake—the only girl in Evan’s inner circle. “But isn’t this a bit much? Won’t Iris get suspicious?” “I’ve got Caspian covering for me. She won’t suspect a thing.” Everyone nodded knowingly. “Ah, that explains it. With Caspian backing the story, who would doubt it?” “Gotta give it to Caspian, man’s reliable.” Celeste scoffed. “It’s because Iris is stupid.” I waited for Evan to defend me. Instead, he murmured softly: “Exactly. She’s nowhere near as clever or pretty as you.” The others immediately started teasing them, as if this were an old routine. “Dude, why don’t you two just date already? Why bother looking for a girlfriend elsewhere?” “I don’t poach from my own pond,” Evan said. “Screw you, as if I’d want you either,” Celeste shot back.
They bantered with mock disgust, but under the table, their legs brushed against each other in a rhythmic, intimate rhythm. Toward the end, someone asked: “You can’t stay ‘missing’ forever. Evan, when are you planning to go back?” “Waiting,” Evan said, oozing confidence. “I’ll go back when Iris is desperate enough.” Chapter 2 I was supposed to go to the police station to file a missing person report today. Now, I changed my mind. Instead, I bought myself some snacks and treated myself to a luxurious spa. By the time I got home, it was dark. The lights were off, and I thought Caspian had left. I had just stepped out of my shoes when arms slid around me from behind. I stiffened. “Have you been drinking?” Caspian didn’t answer directly. “What did you do today? You didn’t pick up my calls.” “Sorry, I didn’t check my phone.” “Any leads on Evan?” “Sigh, nothing.” My tone was full of regret.
Caspian tightened his arms around me, his breath warm against my neck. “It’s my fault. If I hadn’t insisted on taking him mountain climbing, he wouldn’t have gone missing.” He sounded truly repentant. —If his warm tongue hadn’t been grazing my earlobe. Caspian Rhodes was Evan’s best friend. After Evan vanished, they played good cop/bad cop. Caspian played the part of the “repentant one.” But Evan probably had no idea how uniquely his best friend repented.