A/N: You can decide who is talking. It would fit either Alex or Olivia.

Three Point Five

Almost 3 and a half minutes.

3 minutes 18 seconds.

198 seconds.

It doesn't seem like that long of a time. But if you have ever sat and watched a second hand make a full rotation on a clock, it seems like forever.

Like waiting for the end of a school day, when we were young.

Three rotations plus some, that is how long I watched.

The fastest runners in the world can run 100 meters in less than 10 seconds.

I can size up perps in 5 seconds.

It takes a jury under 20 seconds to read a verdict.

That is how long I waited.

I can say 'I love you' in about 2 seconds. Something I have never said to anyone not related to me by blood. But I want to say it you. Please let me be able to say it to you.

It takes about 3 minutes to make your toast; light with butter and strawberry jam.

That is how long I prayed.

I don't think I've ever prayed before. Not really anyway. It's hard to believe in, and converse with, high powers with the horribleness that we witness day in and day out.

A normal healthy heart will beat about 60 times a minute. I promise you mine is doing far more than that. It's picking up the slack.

Regret can last as little as a fraction of 1 second or an entire lifetime.

Please…

198 seconds.

That is how long your heart stopped beating.

That is how long you left me.