Pam sat at her desk, keeping her head down and pretending to be busy with something on her computer. She didn’t want to talk to anyone, her head was still reeling from the previous night. It had all gone to hell so quickly. She started out the night back with her ex-fiance, optimistic about their future for the first time in years and then…

Then the real Roy had shown up.

Not the Roy that had been trying to get her back for the past few months, not the Roy she fell in love with eight years ago, no. This was the version of Roy that she had grown to resent. The one she had kept things from out of fear of what his reaction would be.

She had thought she had the man she loved back, it was familiar and comforting in a time when everything else in her world was crumbling around her.

Then she went and told him about that damn kiss.

“I want us to make it, I wanna fresh start…”

“...I kissed Jim.”

“What?”

“Don’t yell…”

“Don’t YELL?!”

He had thrown his glass against the mirror behind the bar, shattering both of them in one go. She was already gathering her things when he turned back to her.

“This is over.”

But it hadn’t been. Roy wouldn’t let it be over yet.

She had gotten home to her apartment and slid to the floor. She sat there, shaking and crying, for God knows how long before a knocking on the door had brought her back to reality. She’d stood and looked through the peephole, only to see Roy standing there. He hadn’t been drunk, that much she could tell. Pam had figured he just wanted to apologize, try to win her back again, like he had done with all their previous fights in the past. She had meant what she said, she was done, but she figured she’d at least hear him out.

She’d opened the door, made eye contact with Roy, and all of a sudden she realized she was on the floor. Roy had pushed her inside, only to slam and lock the door behind himself. He had yelled and screamed at her but she couldn’t quite make out what he was saying. She’d realize later on that she had been in shock.

Roy had never been violent before. Ever. Yet here he was, standing in her apartment, beating her. She had managed to get up, and he just screamed at her louder.

He called her a whore and a bitch. Said she deserved to rot in hell and that he was glad Halpert had seen her for the slut she really was. He’d grabbed her by the arms, and she had immediately felt them bruising. He shook her as he yelled and called her every name in the book. Finally, she had screamed back at him.

“GET OUT ROY, GET THE HELL OU-” He hadn’t let her finish. He had back handed her across the face, and knocked her to the floor in the process. She was crying and she couldn’t quite catch her breath. She couldn’t really hear over the ringing in her ears but she knew he was still yelling.

He kicked her in the ribs. Hard.

Once. Twice. Three times before he finally screamed one last insult at her.

“YOU’RE A FUCKING WHORE, YOU DON’T EVEN DESERVE HIS LOVE, LET ALONE MINE.”

He had stormed out then, slamming the door behind him and leaving her laying on her kitchen floor gasping for breath. She hadn’t even been able to sob anymore, everything hurt.

She wasn’t sure how long she laid there, but finally the pain eased enough to the point that she felt she could get to her phone. She sat up and winced, every breath or slightest movement felt like someone was stabbing her. She needed a doctor, but no one could know about this.

Pam had never thought that she would find herself in a situation where she called an Uber to take her to the hospital, but that’s what she had done. The driver had given her a concerned look, and Pam had simply waved her off, saying she’d fell. She could tell the woman didn’t believe her.

So much for being more honest in her life.

The doctor had told her she’d broken three ribs in her “fall”. He had looked at her with such worry and she knew they wanted her to call the police. She just couldn’t. She couldn’t explain why, she just….couldn’t.

So the doctor had wrapped up her torso, told her to take it easy for the next month or so, and given her a prescription for some pain meds. He had looked mortified when she had asked if she could go back to work, but gave her a hesitant okay when he learned she was a receptionist.

So here she was, on a Friday afternoon sitting at her usual reception desk, tight wrappings around her ribs and pain meds in her purse. She had decided that she would only press charges if Roy continued to harass her. She doubted he would, he had truly seemed like he was satisfied with the way they ended things. She wished she could say the same.

Suddenly Pam heard a giggle, and reflexively looked up to see Karen putting her hand on Jim's shoulder. Pam honestly didn’t know what was more painful, the three broken ribs, or being forced to watch Jim and Karen flirt about their weekend plans.

In her opinion it was the latter.

“Hey Halpert!” Pam’s head shot up at the horrifyingly familiar voice. Roy was standing in front of her desk, glancing between her and Jim. She looked over and saw Jim flash his eyes over to her before speaking.

“Hey…”

There was silence as everyone tried to process the tension that had filled the room so suddenly. Then Roy moved towards Jim, and everything happened in a flash.

“Roy! ROY!” Pam screamed for her ex to stop this, he had hurt her enough, couldn’t he just leave Jim alone?

Angela screamed and Jim shoved Karen out of the way, seemingly preparing himself for a heavy fight.

Then it was just screaming and coughing and more pain.

Dwight stood proudly, holding his pepper spray out and speaking calmly despite the obvious panic that still filled the room.

“Pam, please call security.”

Twenty minutes later, Roy was being put in the back of a police cruiser, pink slip from Dunder Mifflin in his pocket. The police had questioned Pam first, before moving on to Jim. He was sat in the back of an ambulance (a precaution the company insisted on), Karen hanging all over him.The second the officer had said he was finished up with her, Pam ran full speed to the stairwell.

That was as far as she got before her panic attack settled in. Between that and her now extremely painful broken ribs, breathing was almost impossible. She thought she was going to pass out, clawing at her throat as it seemed to close up on her. She wanted to scream, get help, but no sound came out.

She was hyperventilating, she was going to pass out, and in the midst of her panic attack she didn’t notice the sound of the stairwell door opening.

Suddenly a pair of arms were around her, and soft voice was instructing her to breath.

In. And out. In. and out.

Angela was an odd person, and Pam wasn’t exactly sure if she’d call her a friend, but right now she sure was acting like one. Angela held Pam and calmly instructed her on when to breath in and out as she rode out the panic attack. When it was over, she didn’t let go, simply hugging Pam closer and letting her cry. When Pam was done, Angela didn’t say anything, she just guided her to the women’s bathroom and helped her clean her face a little bit.

“I can try to make a distraction so you can get to your car without anyone noticing if you would like.”

Pam thought she might cry again at the kind gesture. “That would be really helpful thank you.”

Angela just nodded as the two walked back out towards the parking lot. The two women were silent as they got into the elevator.

“I know I may not always agree with your choices, Pam, but no one deserves what Roy did to you. I’m sorry this happened. If you need a friend, I’m here for you.” That was all Angela said as she walked out of the elevator, leaving Pam stunned. There was no way Angela could’ve known. She’d worn long sleeves today to cover the hand-shaped bruises on her arms, and her wrappings were well hidden by her shirt. A million different thoughts raced through her mind as she waited to walk to her car.

Pam saw Angela walk to Dwight, and whisper something in his ear. He just nodded, and then proceeded to shout at the top of his lungs. Everyone looked towards him in confusion, and Pam took that as her opportunity to speed walk to her car. She was out of the parking lot by the time everything had calmed, and sent Angela a thank you text when she got home.

She took a quick look in the mirror by her front door and realized with a start how Angela had known what Roy had done to her.

With all her crying, the makeup she had put over the welp on her cheek had been washed off. There was a very distinct shape of a handprint on her cheek, red from the bursting of the capillaries beneath her skin.

All Pam could do was pray to God it would be gone by Monday.

Oh God Monday. That was going to be hell. Pam sighed as she walked to her kitchen, trying not to focus on the last time she had been in that room, the pain that was inflicted on her.

Instead she made herself some tea, got into her comfiest clothes, and settled in to watch Criminal Minds and Friends reruns all weekend.

Anything to take her mind off the obvious, angry mark on her face and the implications it held.