A/N: Title (and lines at the end) come from "One of These Mornings" by Moby / Patti LaBelle.


September 27, 2010Grace Hendricks

She remembered falling asleep in tears, but as she awoke, surrounded by tissues and rumpled sheets, she couldn't remember why. Then she turned over, her arm falling across the empty bed, and it all came rushing back.

Tears filled her eyes as a sense of crushing loss overwhelmed her. Had it really only been twenty-four hours since he was waking up beside her?

Twenty-four hours... it felt like an eternity ago, and yet it felt like just a few seconds had passed. One day... a mere day was all it had taken for her life to be turned upside down.

She didn't want to get up, but her body acted of its own accord, dragging her out of bed and into the living room. And then her eyes fell on the picture by the window, and her willpower dissolved entirely.

She cradled the picture in her arms, sobbing. "Oh, Harold," she whispered. "How can I go on without you?"


December 6, 2010Jessica Arndt

She woke up beneath the outstretched arm of another man. For a moment, her mind took her to a hotel room in Mexico. Then she opened her eyes and reality took over – reality that smelled like stale sweat and cheap alcohol.

Her heart sank, just like it had every morning since she'd broken down and called that number she swore she'd never call again. How long had it been? He had promised to be there in twenty-four hours, but then he never showed up. Days passed, then weeks. Nothing.

Every day, she watched for him. He had asked her to wait for him – finally, after so many years. And she waited – was waiting still, even though she knew now that he wasn't coming. He had been right all along; in the end, she was all alone.

She slipped out from under her snoring husband, wincing in pain from the bruises on her shoulders, and headed for the shower. "Oh, John," she whispered. "How much longer do I have to wait for you?"


One of these mornings

It won't be very long

They will look for me

But I'll be gone...