It’s Only Temporary by Iona Rose

Connor

I’d been trying to get hold of Bianca all of the previous day and that morning. On the flight, a cold feeling of dread had settled in the pit of my stomach. What if something had happened to her? I wasn’t a person who behaved irrationally and I didn’t want to go down that road.

“Give my proposal some thought,” Samantha said as she entered her car. She had offered me a ride home but I’d lied and told her a friend was picking me up.

“I will,” I said just to be rid of her. I desperately wanted to be on my way.

She finally entered her car and I banged the door shut after her. I requested an Uber and it appeared in minutes. I’d given Bianca’s address and thankfully the traffic wasn’t so bad. I got there in twenty minutes flat. It was eleven in the morning and if she was home, she was busy at work in the studio.

I rang her buzzer but no one answered. The feeling of dread came back in full force. I got my apartment keys and found hers in the bunch. I let myself into the building and rode the elevator up. My mouth tasted of bile as a thousand thoughts raced through my brain.

I took a deep breath and inserted the key but before I could twist it, the door flew open. It took several seconds to tell that the person standing there was Eva, not Bianca. She didn’t look happy to see me. As a matter of fact, she reminded me of the time I came to pick up Bianca to go to Colorado with me.

“Hey Eva,” I said, attempting a smile.

She folded her arms across her chest. “What do you want?”

“What?” I said. What the fuck was going on? “I want to see Bianca. I’ve just got back from San Francisco and I’ve come here straight from the airport.”

“She doesn’t want to see you. Ever. In fact, her exact words were, ‘tell him to go to hell’.”

I shook my head. “I don’t get it. Why would she say that? Have I done something wrong?”

“Of course not Connor! You’re the perfect boyfriend, aren’t you? What are you worried about then?” Eva said, in a voice dripping with sarcasm. Then she changed her tone. “Just go, will you? Bianca is done with you and with men in general. She doesn’t want to be in a relationship with you. Please go. You’ve done enough damage. Please.”

It was her pleading tone that did it. I stepped back. “Fine, I’ll go.”

“Wait!” Eva said. “Give me the key.”

I twisted it from my key holder and gave it to her.

Eva being Eva banged the door shut with more force than necessary. I stood staring at the door before I roused myself and walked back to the elevator. What had happened back there?

Eva’s words rang in my mind. She doesn’t want to be in a relationship with you.

If that was the case, why couldn’t Bianca tell me herself? Why behave as if we were enemies. None of it made sense and no matter how hard I tried to reason it out, I simply didn’t know what was going on.

I grabbed an Uber to my apartment. As soon as I got in my apartment, my cell phone rang and my hope rose. Maybe it was Bianca with an explanation. I reached for my phone and glanced at the screen. My sister. I didn’t want to speak to anyone who wasn’t Bianca.

I answered. “Hey, what’s up?”

“Hi big bro! Just checking on you,” she said.

I paced my living room, impatience grabbing me by the throat. “I’m good thanks.”

“No you’re not,” Sarah said. “How’s Bianca?”

My impatience exploded. “You’re going to have to ask her that question since she won’t answer my calls or come to her door.” I could have punched myself for blurting out all that to Sarah.

“She’s not talking to you?”

“No and she won’t say why. Her sister said that she’s done with me and she doesn’t want to be in a relationship,” I snapped. It wasn’t Sarah’s fault and I felt bad for snapping at her.

“You’re not telling me the whole story. You must have done something Connor,” she said.

“I didn’t. How could I when I just got back today from a two day conference.”

“Conference? So you were out of town?”

“Yes,” I said.

“Who were you with?” she said.

“Samantha. My boss. The one I was telling you about.”

“The one who’s been hitting on you,” Sarah said.

“The very same.” There was something about my sister that made me tell her things even when I hadn’t planned to. I found myself telling her about the room situation.

“That must be it you idiot! She must have found out somehow,” Sarah said.

My blood went cold. “No, she couldn’t have. How would she have found out?”

“I don’t know but I can bet a year’s salary that she found out.”

I groaned. Sarah seemed so sure. The more I also thought about it, the more I started to believe it. Nothing else made any sense. We had been on good terms when I left. “You might be right.”

“You have to talk to her, explain why you made the stupid decision to sleep in the same hotel room as you boss. Men are so stupid!”

“Yeah, I get the point.” I had another problem. “She’s not going to let me into her apartment. And Eva asked me for the key back.”

“I love that woman. When I become a millionaire, remind me to hire her as my bodyguard.”

“Sarah!”

“Okay. Back on track. You can’t get into her apartment building? Then use your creativity! That’s what you do all day at work right?”