Whatever It Takes

“Thank you for calling” Arianna said into her phone, as she pushed back from the desk and went over to the filling cabinet holding a stack of paper. “I’ll connect your call right now. Have a nice day,” she finished as she hung up and began to rummage through files.

She finished organizing the paper and sat back down at her desk, boredom overtaking her once again. Her part-time job as a secretary at a local law firm was a blessing and curse all at the same time. It was a great way for her to get one foot in the door since she wanted to become a lawyer. Also it paid great and gave her really flexible hours since she only served as a replacement for the full-time secretary. Only problem; it was boring as hell.

She glanced down at her computer screen and sighed when she saw the date. It was Saturday February 12th, exactly two days from Valentine’s Day, and she had gotten nothing for Jordan yet. It was also exactly 2 weeks since her last conversation with Patrick.

Patrick. Her stomach and head were overthrown by a whirlwind of emotions at the thought of him. For a solid week following their last conversation, he had bombarded her with calls, voicemails, text messages and e-mails. All of which she ignored and deleted without ever reading or hearing them. Nothing he could say or do would make up for what had happened.

She spent 2 days following that conversation huddled up in bed crying. Was she being dramatic? Probably. Did she care? No. Regardless of what happened between them she always thought they cared for one another. But if that’s what he really thought of her…

His words stung her more than she could ever have imagined. No one had ever had so much power or impact on her. After moping in bed, she decided it was time to pick herself up and face the world. That and the fact that Marissa almost broke down her door and dragged her out of bed.

He was a thing of the past, no longer a part of her future. And she was fine with that. Actually she was more than fine. She was great. At least, that’s what she tried to tell herself.

So when his calls and messages came pouring in, she knew she needed to ignore them. There was nothing left between them as far as she was concerned. But she had to admit, he was very persistent with his 5 phone calls a day and constant text messages. She almost gave in and picked up the phone, just to tell him to stop. Yet the messages and calls stopped abruptly a week later, and Arianna knew that it was over.

She snapped out of her trance as she heard her cell phone ring. She looked at the caller display and saw Marissa’s smiling face. “Yes Rissa,” she answered, as she logged onto her e-mail and sorted through her new messages.

“Is that any way to answer your best friend?” Marissa demanded, as Arianna heard a loud car horn blare in the background. “Are you driving and talking on the phone?” Arianna asked, ignoring Marissa’s comment.

“Of course I am!” Marissa said loudly, as she cursed at the car beside her. “You know I’m a great multitask- hold on” Marissa said quickly as Arianna heard a loud bang.

“Ok back. Sorry cops were beside me,” Marissa said a few seconds later. “What can I do for you Marissa?” Arianna asked as she laughed lightly at her friend’s antics. Marissa was the most dangerous driver in the world and somehow she thought she was amazing. No one had the heart to tell her otherwise.

“I know you finish work soon so I’m coming to pick you up and we’re going shopping” Marissa stated, clearly not giving Arianna a choice. “Actually that sounds great, I need to go buy Jordan a Valentine’s Day gift,” Arianna told her as she leaned back in her chair.

“Ok, sounds good” Marissa said flatly, a sudden change in her voice. Arianna sighed, and shook her head. Lately Marissa acted weird every time Arianna mentioned Jordan’s name. She confronted her friend and asked why she didn’t like him, but Marissa would only say she had a vibe about him. Of course Marissa and Jordan were good friends and she loved him like a brother. But she just didn’t like him with Arianna, which was something that confused Arianna a lot.

“See you soon Rissa” Arianna said as she hung up her phone and put it back on the table face down. She shook her head at her friend’s logic. Why was she so against Jordan and her together? Arianna knew that Marissa thought her and Patrick went better together. But after telling her what he said and did, Marissa jumped off that bandwagon and threatened to kill him if she ever saw him.

Her phone began to buzz again and she sighed as she reached over and picked it up. “You cannot be mad because I didn’t give you a chance to say bye” Arianna laughed into the phone, as she played solitaire online.

“Uh no I’m not actually” a deep male voice said from the other side, causing Arianna to jump. She glanced quickly at her caller idea and cursed herself. Obviously the one time she didn’t look at who was calling would be the time that Patrick would call.

“What do you want?” she asked him coldly, her head telling her to hang up but her heart telling her to listen. “Ari, please give me a chance to apologize,” Patrick begged, his voice cracking ever so slightly.

“No Patrick, you don’t get a chance to apologize. Not after what you said…” Arianna replied, her heart racing with every word exchanged.

“Ari, you have no idea how horrible I feel” Patrick breathed to her, his sorrow clearly visible with every word he said. “I hate myself for it. I would never ever want to hurt you. I don’t know why I’m so dumb and why I say things” he began, the words quickly leaving his mouth in a hurry.

“Pat, I’m done with this. I’m done with you” Arianna cut him off, praying her eyes would remain dry. “You keep hurting me and we’re not even in a relationship. We never were,” she continued, the words stinging her as she said them.

“I got your messages and I got your calls. I’ve heard your apology and now I want you to leave me alone. Please” she begged him, as an unexpected tear slid down her cheek.

She didn’t give him a chance to respond as she shut her phone in one quick motion and put it on silent. She slid it in her purse and sat silently in her chair. Her hand flew to her face to push away the tears that had mysteriously fallen. No matter how hard she tried, he would always be able to have an effect over her.

***

Marissa cursed the traffic that had formed on the highway. It was now 20 minutes that she was stuck in uncontrollable traffic and her patience was running low. Was it possible that no one in this city knew how to drive?

She heard her phone ring and reached over to grab it out of her purse. She glanced down at the caller id and did a double take. What was he doing calling her?

She debated if she should answer. A piece of her had a good feeling why he was calling; Arianna. That piece of her told her to ignore the call and pretend it wasn’t happening. But the other side of her was curious; what could he possible want? What if it wasn’t about Arianna?
Without a second thought she clicked answer and brought the phone to her ear with a shaky hand. “Hello?” she said, as she felt her nerves grow.

“Nothing much just stuck in traffic. You?” she asked back politely, holding back the side of her that wanted to demand why he was calling her.

“Ah I see,” she responded, “so…not to be rude or anything but what can I do for you?” she finally asked. She listened intently as he spoke, nodding her head occasionally although he couldn’t see her. She suddenly sat up straighter as she listened to what he said, all her focus now on the conversation at hand.

“I don’t know…I couldn’t” she began, as he begged her to listen more. “I…I just don’t think it’s my place. Why should I help you anyways? To be honest I don’t think you deserve her” she blurted out before she could stop herself.

Her eyes widened as he replied to her, her hands sliding off the wheel and into her lap. What could she say to what he had just confessed to her? There was nothing in her power she could do anymore.

“Fine” she sighed, as she shook her head, “I’ll help you”.

Looks like Marissa had just become cupid’s apprentice.