One Day Apart

The humid air invaded the room as the woman peeled off the sheets from her sticky skin.

I wonder if he's awake already, she thought. By now she'd be responding to a sweet good morning text. She rolled around, feeling for her phone.

No notifications.

She put the phone down and closed her eyes. This is what she asked for, after all.

After a few moments trying to cool herself, she leapt up and hurried to the shower. It was just too hot. She spent a long time under the cool water, hoping to get to the end of the day soon. When she stepped out, she heard raindrops furiously tapping on the windows.

I hope the rain doesn't hit him too hard over there.

She went about her morning in comfortable silence. Scrambled eggs and toast for breakfast. No coffee. The bitter taste just didn't appeal to her.

How he could drink his coffee black, I'll never know.

It was almost noon. She had a long day ahead of her. She needed to keep busy so she started with her room. It was fairly tidy but dust loved to settle in there every couple of days.

His room was always a mess. I hope he uses this time to finally clean it.

For the next several hours, she cleaned, read a book, played a game, binged a few episodes, and watched a movie. At the end credits, she instinctively checked her phone.

No notifications.

That's fine. This is how it has to be, she thought.

She shut off the TV and sat there, with only the sunset peeking through thick curtains to serve as lighting. She stayed there, unmoving, until the sun went down.

I wonder how his day went. I wonder...if he misses me. Maybe...this wasn't the right choice. I think...

No.

She rose in the darkness and headed to the liquor cabinet. The sun was gone but it was still too early to sleep. She had nothing more to do, so she grabbed different bottles and made her own odd concoctions. One, two—four shots later, she was swaying to and fro. She laughed to herself at inside jokes that made no sense.

He's missing out on all this! We could be having fun right now!

She searched up sad love songs and played them at max volume, singing along until, finally, she couldn't hold back her tears. She talked with the songs, as if the lyrics were words from a friend, telling her to move on, that he's not worth it, that she's a queen, that there's a blank space to write his name. She agreed over and over as she conversed with the music. But she was just talking with herself. She had no one.

I miss him. I made a mistake.

She stumbled to her bed, her mind overwhelmed with conflicting thoughts. She just wanted this day to be over.

"Goodnight," she said to no one. She hugged her pillow tight and sobbed quietly, knowing she'd have to do this all over again tomorrow. If a single day could be so painful, she didn't want to face another.

Finally, the alcohol was in full effect. Her eyes puffy and heavy. She felt numb and tired. She liked this feeling. She liked it so much she wished maybe it would be better if this day didn't end.

For one day, she wanted to feel nothing.