A few weeks had gone by and Brandon still didn't know where Sapphire was or what had happened to her, all he knew for sure was she was gone and for some strange reason, nobody even seemed to remember her except him. His friend Josh doesn't remember buying him the gem covered penis statue which had also disappeared. He seemed to be cursed with being the only person to remember her.
He felt horrible which he also felt bad for as it made him feel selfish. He knew he did the right thing but he was hoping deep down she would still be here with him, he hoped that his good deed would pay off in the end. He couldn't even walk past the diner as it hurt too much for him to remember taking her for breakfast. He missed her terribly, not just because of the amazing sex but just having her around. Her presence brightened up the room and his life and now he just felt like the light was out.
He had gone back to work and that just made things even harder. Today he could barely focus on his job but he got it done none the less before finally heading home. He didn't bother stopping to get supper as he didn't have much of an appetite since Sapphire left.
The elevator door opened and he walked down the hallway towards his apartment when he heard a commotion. He saw a woman come walking out from the apartment across from his. She looked like a businesswoman but she had bright red hair in a ponytail and huge sunglasses on. She looked very professional even though her skirt was much shorter than any business woman's should be. She smiled at him as she walked by heading to the elevator.
Brandon stopped for a moment as she seemed very familiar but he wasn't sure why. She had a folder that said LEE real estate which he didn't recognize. The door across from his was still open which he thought was odd because that place had been vacant for a while now but he heard a voice.
"Dammit!" A woman's voice said as he looked around the corner seeing someone holding a large heavy box looking like she was about to drop it.
"Woah, let me help you with that," he said putting his hand on the bottom as it looked like it was about to burst open.
"Oh, thank you," she said even though neither one of them could see each other face as he took the box and placed it on the counter.
"It was my..." he stopped when he looked at her shocked by what he saw.
He was shocked because it was Sapphire's face but she looked different. Her hair was more auburn than blonde and wasn't as flowy as it was before, it was straight now. She was wearing blue Jean's and a long sleeve sweater with the sleeves rolled up. He suddenly wasn't sure anymore if it was just someone who looked just like her or if he was just missing her so much that he was just seeing things.
As he began to think maybe his mind was just playing tricks on him he said: "pleasure, sorry I thought you were someone I know."
"No worries, my name is Sara," she said shaking his hand.
"Nice to meet you, and um, welcome to the neighborhood."
"Thanks, I didn't get your name?'
"I'm sorry, It's Brandon, I live across the hall." He said still shaking her hand.
"Oh good, so I will see you a lot probably?"
"I hope so," he said as she gave him an awkward smile before she laughed a little. "Wow, sorry I'm being weird, been a rough few weeks."
"It's fine, I have a good sense about people and I can tell you're a good guy, maybe a little weird but good none the less."
"Uh, thanks?"
"In fact do you know any good pizza places around, I am starving!"
"I do actually, how about I go grab a few and then I can help you bring up the rest of your stuff?"
"Oh thank you so much, there isn't much more but I'd love the help," she said with a smile.
"No worries, I'll order the pizza, what kind do you like?" He asked before pulling out his phone.
"Whatever you want, I'm easy," she said with a smile again that made him stop in his tracks.
It had to be her, the smile was just intoxicating just like Sapphires but he was trying to play it cool and relax. There was a chance that it wasn't her but he had to know for sure.
"Okay, I'll um, I'll order the pizza then," he said as he began dialing.
"Hey, Brandon?" She asked as he turned to her.
"Yeah?"
"Why don't you order the pizza?" she said jokingly mocking him for repeating himself before she laughed and walked down the hall.
----
Hours had gone by and they were sitting at her kitchen counter enjoying the last few slices of pizza and laughing out loud after bringing up the last if the boxes. Sara talked about where she was from and her parents which all seemed strange to Brandon. He was starting to think this wasn't Sapphire at all and just someone who looked similar as she had a whole history behind her.
"Thank you for all your help today Brandon," she said to him.
"It was no trouble, I'm happy to help."
"Now, what is your story?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean when we met you had this look of loss and confusion on your face, what happened?"
"Oh, it's nothing."
"Oh come on, I've been blabbing on about my life for hours, tell me," she said with an interesting look on her face.
"Well, okay, it started when I was dumped by my longtime girlfriend Tammy."
"Sorry to hear that."
"Well, she was kind of a bitch so..."
Sara laughed a little at his statement. "Okay, so then who was this other woman?"
"Sapphire was a woman I met... soon after," he said finding it hard to talk about.
"I see, Sapphire is a beautiful name, was she like a rebound?"
"At first yeah I guess she was, but it became so much more, I felt a connection with her, a deep one, like more than I ever had with anyone before."
"So what happened?"
Brandon sat there quiet for a moment before finally saying: "you ever heard the expression that if you love someone, set them free?"
"I have."
"Well, I did, hoping maybe she'd come back to me, but she didn't."
"Well, maybe she just hasn't yet?"
"Maybe," he said almost finding it hard to look at her to the point he wanted to leave as the memories started to hurt. "Well um, maybe I should get going."
"Oh, uh, okay, well thank you for everything," she said getting up and walking him to the door.
Brandon wasn't sure if this was her or not anymore but he realized he needed to come to terms with it. Even if this was her she obviously didn't remember him and maybe she never would, which even though was bittersweet may be the best he gets out of life. Maybe he could move on and start over with Sara as she was if it worked out.
He opened up the door and turned towards her as she had a confused look on her face as she stared at him for a moment. "What is it?" He asked.
"I... I'm not sure," she said as if she was very confused all of a sudden. "It's like I know you."
"What do you mean, we just met a few hours ago?"
"No, more than that, It's like..." she said just standing there looking at him. "I really want to..."
"Want to what?"