Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Jim jumped when the phone rang in spite of himself, and stepped back outside as he answered.
“Pam?” He held his breath until he heard her voice.
“I got in touch with Alex, Jim. He’s going to come and get me, like you said, and go back to the dorm.”
Jim said a silent prayer of thanks. “Great. You’re still in the market there?”
“Yeah, I’ll stay here. I need to get off the phone in case he can’t find it, though.”
“Oh, right. Okay. Call me as soon as he gets there, please?”
“I will.”
“I love you.”
“Love you, too.” And with that, the phone went silent.
Jim went back in and parked himself right inside the door, but he couldn’t stand still. He shifted, he rubbed his hand through his hair, he bounced one leg against the floor. Half an hour ago he was irritated that it would be three days until Pam came home. Now he would be delighted if he could just know she was in a cab with Art Boy in New York City. Things changed fast, didn't they?
Ryan stood up and walked out toward Jim. “Jim, what’s going on, man?” Ryan asked, and took a big pull on his beer.
“Oh, it’s uh, Pam. She thought somebody was following her, “ he blurted out, immediately regretting being so forthcoming with Ryan.
“Wow, that’s not good. New York can be a scary place. I saw a lot of weird stuff happen there.” Ryan acknowledged. “Too bad you aren’t there to take care of her.”
“Yeah, “ was all Jim could manage through gritted teeth.
“If she thinks she has a stalker or something she should report it. Maybe they can trace calls and stuff.”
“This is a one time thing.” Pam, Pam, please call.
“Oh, well, that’s good. Pam’s a nice girl, I’d hate to think of her being in some kind of real danger,” Ryan let his words fall slowly, “ there by herself, in the city, being followed or getting weird phone calls and things.”
Jim was seriously thinking about taking a swing at the smarmy little bastard when the phone rang. He jumped, mumbled, “Gotta go, “ to Ryan, and headed out the door.
“Pam?”
“Yeah, it’s me. I’m in the cab with Alex, we’re headed to Pratt. Everything’s okay.”
Jim was embarrassed that his knees felt weak and he propped himself against the exterior brick wall of Poor Richard’s. “Great. That was weird, Pam. Call me when you get to your room?”
“Yeah, I will.” She paused. “Hey, thanks, you really helped.”
“No, Alex really helped.” He, on the other hand, had stood around feeling pretty damn useless.
“Jim?” she said, exasperated now.
“Call me when you get there, please?”
“Okay.”
He set his phone on vibrate, snapped it shut, and slipped it into his pocket. Jim walked back into the bar and went to settle his tab with Roger, who was tending bar tonight. He had to get home so he could decompensate in private, he thought grimly.
While he waited for Roger to run the card, Jim looked around the room. Kelly was roasting him with her glare. Crap, he had told her to shut up, hadn’t he? After he signed the bill, he walked over to her. Ryan was standing near her and turned toward them to listen.
“Hey, Kelly, I’m really sorry. I got a call from Pam (she was terrified) and I couldn’t hear, and it was kind of urgent. (I was scared shitless.) I apologize, I was rude.
“It’s okay, Ryan told me she might have a stalker. Just like a real celebrity. Did she get scary phone calls?”
“What phone calls?”
“Ryan said stalkers always call their victims.”
Jim shot a look at Ryan. “No Kelly, she hasn’t gotten any phone calls. This was a one time thing, and she’s safe now.”
“Well, that’s good. “ Kelly looked at Ryan. “I was kind of hoping she’d want to stay in New York a little longer.”
Jim sighed and shook his head. “Nope, she’s coming home Saturday.” If I can keep myself from going to get her tonight.
Jim raised his voice, “Night gang, I have to head out. See you in the morning.” Most of them hadn’t even noticed he’d been gone. He glowered at Ryan without speaking before he turned to walk out to a smattering of thanks:
“’Night Jim, thanks for the beer.” “Tomorrow, man.” “You’ll be sorry you don’t have a autosweeper when you get home to that dirty floor, Jim.”
Her call came just as he was parking his car at his apartment.
“Hey.”
“Pam?” He tried not to sound too anxious.
“I’m back in my room at Pratt. Everything’s fine. I’ll get money tomorrow and pay Alex back. It was $28. It didn’t take him long to get to the market, he wasn’t far away.”
“Guess I owe him a big thank you,” Jim said as he unlocked his apartment door and walked in. He headed straight to the cabinet for a bottle of scotch.
“Oh Jim, he means well. He’s nice.”
“I know, I know. And I do owe him.” Jim dumped his bag and coat on the chair and poured himself a generous drink while he held the phone to his ear with his shoulder. He took a deep gulp from the glass and continued. “So, I’ll state the obvious. Please don’t go anywhere alone anymore.”
“I won’t. I didn’t mean to tonight.”
“Wow, “ he said as he sat on the couch, taking stock. He felt the liquor burn on the way down as he tried to calm himself. “How weird was that, anyway?”
“Really weird.” Pam stopped, but Jim could tell she wanted to go on.
“What?”
“Jim.” She let another moment of silence go by before she continued. “I’ve been getting these. . .these calls at night.”
“What calls?” he sat up, suddenly alert again.
“I don’t know. Just calls. Sort of 'heavy breathing' type calls. She said hesitantly. “They never talk. They just call and hang up a few seconds after I answer.”
“How long has this been happening?”
“A couple of weeks. Not too many times, maybe six or seven."
“Pam,” he said way too loudly.”Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Jim, “ she said, on the verge of tears again. “Don’t yell at me. I’m sorry, I didn’t think much about it. It was sort of pranky, probably some kids. I didn’t want to worry you. I’m always with people here anyway.”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he said, forcing himself to calm down. “I’m just upset. I just want you to be safe.”
“I know, “ she said in a calmer tone. “I didn’t make much of it. I’m coming home Saturday, after all.”
“Did you get the number?” he asked.
“No, it’s always on my room line. And I have to answer that because it might be one of the residents. There’s no caller ID.”
“Pam, I think you should report this in the morning.”
“Ummm”
“Yes.”
“They’re gonna think I’m nuts.”
“No, there are laws against phone harassment. They can trace the calls,” he assured her, his conversation with Ryan fresh in his mind. Now that he thought about it, why had Ryan even mentioned phone calls?
“I’ll be home by the time they get that done.”
“Just the same, I think you ought to report it.”
“Okay, okay.”
“Pam, I can’t wait until Saturday," he allowed himself to say.
“Me neither. Hey, it’s after nine. I’ve got to go, I’ll be up all night finishing this project if I don’t. And don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere else tonight.”
He managed a smile in spite of everything. “Good.” Should he tell her how badly she’d scared him tonight, probably not. Instead he said, “I wish I could hug you, it would make me feel better.”
“Me, too. Saturday?”
“Definitely. So you’re going to report this in the morning?” he said for emphasis.
“Yes, I’ll call you, but it will probably be about noon. I have to get this project turned in.”
“Okay. I love you.”
“I love you, too. Thanks, Jim. I don’t know what I would have done without you. You helped.”
“Not much.” He mumbled. “Alex helped.”
“What?” she asked.
“Nothing. Get working on that project Pam.”
“Talk to you tomorrow.”
“Bye.”
Jim walked to the kitchen and poured himself a double. He ran a hand over his face and exhaled deeply. Jesus, what a night. He took a big swallow and wondered how he was going to get to sleep.
Author's Chapter Notes:
The story gets a little more complicated.
Chapter End Notes:
I hope to have the rest done in a couple of days. Thanks for reading.
