The first week of work had been an interesting one, that’s for sure. Let’s just say that Pam Beesly was relieved that Friday’s work day was over. First off, there was the incredibly irritating boss that was not in the least bit funny, even though he thought he was gut-busting hilarious. Her co-workers were all dull and she felt as if she were the only sane one there. All of them seemed as if they had never experienced a single exciting moment in their life. Now, she was driving home to visit her family for the weekend and she was beyond happy to be out of Scranton.
She pulled her car into the driveway of her neighbors house; she was planning on surprising her family. She walked down to the familiar house that held so many memories. Her parents told her that they were out at dinner with her sister when she called so she wasn’t expecting them to be home. When she stepped into the house, her thoughts reversed. The welcoming smell greeted her and filled her mind with pleasant reminiscences. The television was showing a football game but nobody was there to watch it. The sudden sound of a door closing startled her so she called out, “Dad? Are you home?” There was no response. She walked out of the living room and upstairs to her sister’s room. She saw her lying on her bed with her eyes closed.
“Margot, wake up, I’m home,” she said. Her sister didn’t reply so she shook her and then turned her over to her side. She gasped and her heart stopped. Her sister’s neck had a deep, bloody gash into it and red was dripping down to her shirt. Margot wasn’t breathing. Tears instantly sprang to Pam’s eyes and she had no clue what was going on. That’s when she heard a scream.
“She’s not home, I swear!” she heard her mother desperately cry aloud. Pam had no clue who she was talking to or what was happening. Why was her sister killed and who murdered her? She jerked her head to the doorway and saw her mother with a hand around her neck. Instinctively, Pam crawled under the bed as fast as she could without calling attention to herself. She was shaking and crying now and was now beginning to panic. She now saw a man with long hair push her beloved mother into the room.
“Where is she?” he demanded. “She’s at work!” her mother pleaded. Pam knew she was talking about her. The rest of the scene was a blur. She had to throw her hand over her mouth to prevent herself from letting the noises from her sobs escape. The only thing she could remember was the mysterious man swearing to find do whatever it takes to find her while her mother stood up for her daughter. “Why is this man so desperate to find me?”, she wondered. The next thing that happened changed her life forever.
The man drew a knife and pushed her mother to the ground. He held her neck forcefully and raised the knife up high. As hard as Pam tried, she couldn’t close her eyes. She watched with fear as the man stabbed the knife into her mother’s soft flesh. Blood poured out and for a moment, time seemed to stop. She knew there was no saving her mother. She wanted more than anything to crawl out from her hiding space and to punch the murderer in the face but there was no possible way she could do that when this man was so obviously powerful. He walked out of the room and called out to her. Of course, Pam didn’t respond. He threatened that he would find her and kill her. After what seemed like an eternity, she heard the door close and a car drive away. Then, there was a knock on the door. After a few minutes, she figured the killer was gone. She frantically got out from under the bed, dashed down the stairs where she saw her father laying dead and bloody as well. She threw open the door in a horror hoping that the knock on the door was somebody there to save her, but nobody was in sight.
“Help! Help me, somebody! Please!” she screamed, frantically, into the night.
*****
“Pam?”
Her eyes jolted open and she noticed she was shaking and covered with sweat.
“Pam, are you okay?”
She slowly sat up and turned to look at the man next to her; the man that in the past few months she had grown to love and care for. She nodded her head and curled her arms around her chest. His arms snaked around her and he pulled her close. She immediately sank into his embrace.
“What happened?” he asked as he ran a hand up and down her back.
“It was the same one as always. It’s a replay of that night a few years ago; the night where I saw my family killed.”
“Oh, Pam.” He pulled her closer and kissed her forehead.
“They’ve been more frequent lately and it’s getting harder and harder to handle,” she replied as a tear escaped from her eye and ran down her cheek.
“Hey, its okay, I’m here. If there were any way that I could go back in time and prevent that night from happening I would. But since I can’t, I’m here to comfort you and no matter what happens, I’ll always be here.”
“I’m just… Scared.”
“Of what?”
“I don’t know… I just think that maybe I’m getting this nightmare more often for a reason. He promised he would come back and kill me no matter what it took and I just have this feeling he is going to try again.”
“No, I won’t let that happen. He’s in jail, anyway, and you’re safe here with me. I promise.”
“But I can just sense it, Jim. And I don’t want him to go after you, too. You’re the only thing I have left and I never want to lose you. I can’t lose you.”
“That won’t happen. I’ll make sure everything will be okay, not matter what it takes.” He placed a gentle kiss onto her lips and the fright within her escaped. All that was left was a feeling of warmth.
“I love you so much,” she whispered.
“I love you too.”
The next day at work, Pam needed extra cups of coffee; her head was pounding like it always did when she didn’t get enough sleep. Her muscles felt tense, and her eyes kept closing on her. After her nightmare (well, more of a scary dream that was a flashback to a few years ago), she kept waking up, shaking and frightened. Jim would wake up too and would comfort her each time. She looked over at his desk and saw how sleepy he seemed as well. She felt horrible knowing that she was the reason for it. She laid her head down on her desk and closed her eyes which instantly sent a feeling of relaxation throughout her. She figured she would only close her eyes and not allow herself to go to sleep, but it felt so nice…
“Sleeping on the job, Beesly?”
Her head instantly jerked up and the sudden surge of light made her head hurt. She blinked her eyes a few times and then looked up at Jim who was leaning on her desk and chewing on a jellybean.
“I didn’t notice I was asleep.”
“Yeah, you were sleeping like a baby. I thought I would come over and wake you up before you started snoring.”
“I do not snore!”
“Ok, fine. You just make these cute little noises. Oh, and sometimes you sleep-talk.”
“What?! I refuse to believe that!”
“Come on, Pam, would I ever lie to you?” She raised her eyebrows to that. Jim shrugged and said, “Ok, well I’m being honest! And it’s really adorable.” he said.
“Well, at least I don’t mis-button my shirt.”
“You’re lying,” Jim said, carefully avoiding looking down.
“Come on, Jim, would I ever lie to you?” she mimicked. He gave her a teasing glare and looked down at his shirt, noticing that it was in fact mis-buttoned.
“I’ll fix that later. But first, did you get the e-vite Michael sent out?” Pam was puzzled by Jim’s apparent enthusiasm at an email from their boss.
“I haven’t checked my e-mail yet today.”
“Oh, well you have to see this,” he said as he made his way around the desk so he was leaning behind Pam. He reached his arm around her, grabbed the mouse, and opened up the invitation. It read:
The 10th annual Dundie Awards!
When – 2moro; November 12, 2008
Where - Radisson Lackawanna Station Hotel
Who – The whole Dunder Mifflin Cmpny
RSVP – Michael Scott; Dunder Mifflin Scranton
Evrybdy dsrves an awrd, rite? Well, ths is yer chnce 2 get 1! Come on dwn 2 the wndrful Scranton , Pennsylvania and enjy a nite ful of awrds, dinnr, and drnks. I, Michael Gary Scott, will be hostng it. U will git to hve fun wtching me dnec and sng to sngs dedicated 2 The Dundies.
“I can hardly read his computer slang,” Pam said.
“I know. That is anything but professional. Then again, we are talking about Michael Scott.”
“That’s a good point. And they’re tomorrow? How is he going to have the awards made in time? I mean, he invited the whole company!”
“I bet he already has them all made and waiting in the trunk of his car.”
She giggled and responded, “That’s probably true.”
“I think we should RSVP.”
“I second that.”
“Well, I think I should probably get back to my desk. I can feel Dwight’s glaring eyes burning on me.”
“Okay, but are you up for lunch at Cuginos?”
“Absolutely I am.”
*****
Once people were finally filing out of the office for the day, Jim walked up to Pam’s desk again as she was shutting down her computer.
“What do you say we go and catch a movie?” he asked.
“I say it sounds like a great idea.”
“You know, I’ve kind of been dying to see The Strangers…”
“Are you serious? You know how much I hate scary movies!”
“But it’s so cute when you get scared and grab onto me!”
“That’s not bad, but it’s the teasing I get from you afterwards that sucks.”
“If I promise I won’t tease you this time, will you agree to see it with me?”
“I’m not sure if you’re liable to keep your promise, but I’ll go anyway just because I will do anything to please my boyfriend,” she said with a teasing tone.
“That’s what she said.”
“Oh, no. Who are you and what did you do with Jim Halpert?”
“What can I say? Being around Michael Scott almost every day has kind of gotten to me.”
“It’s a good thing I love you so much.”
*****
At the movies, Jim and Pam shared popcorn and a Coke but of course, the popcorn was half gone by the time the previews ended. She ate her popcorn one by one which of course, resulted in teasing from Jim. He told her that normal Americans ate popcorn by the handful. Once they finished their Coke, he lifted up the armrest and pulled her close to her. As things began to get scary, she would bury her face into his arm and squeeze her arm shut asking him to tell her when things calmed down. Once it was over and the credits were rolling, they stood up and made there way out to the car. The cold November air bit at their faces as a light snow began to fall. They were almost home when Pam’s cell phone rang. Jim watched as her cheery face fell and a worried look crept onto her face. She set down the phone with a shaking hand and she stared in her lap.
“Is everything okay?” he asked as he reached for her hand. She shook her head and tears welled up in her eyes. “Pam, what’s going on?” She squeezed his hand harder and after a moment of silence replied with a tear threatening voice, “The killer… the one from the night a few years ago… he somehow escaped from prison and nobody knows where he is. He promised he would go after me and now that he is free from jail, I think he’s going to try.”
Jim pulled into a parking lot at a grocery store and turned off the engine. He pulled her into a hug as she started crying.
“I’m not going to let anything happen to you, I promise. And I keep my promises.”
“But I don’t want anything to happen to you. If you die—”
“Don’t say that,” he interrupted. “I’m always going to be right here with you and I don’t want you to ever think otherwise.”
“Okay,” she choked out before her cries turned to sobs. He hugged her closer and rubbed her back as she began to shake. He couldn’t help but feel worried, himself.