Dalton begged you not to sacrifice your late nights and late mornings for his sake. It wasn’t your fault that he got moved to the early morning shift at his job, that he had to wake up before the sun would even rise. However, you didn’t want him to spend the mornings alone, nor did you want to miss your chance to say ‘goodbye’ and ‘I love you’ as he left.

And so, at the early hour of 4:30am, you’re already heading downstairs to find Dalton seated at the table, sipping from a steaming coffee mug. He looks up at you, a frown tugging at his lips.

“Babe, go back to bed,” he says, sounding a little pleading since he knows how stubborn you can be. “I told you not to wake up this early for my sake. You love sleeping in.”