Pam’s eyes slowly drifted open. The first thing she felt was a sharp pain go through her left arm and she saw a purple bruise with a long, deep cut running through it. She saw bruises all over her body. She looked around and noticed she was in the bathroom. Then, images of the night before ran through her mind, causing her to shudder. She suddenly remembered how Roy saw her talking on the phone with Jim. He turned… violent.

She checked her watch and saw that it was 6:00. Roy would be getting ready for a shower soon. She didn’t want to face him; she was scared of how he would act or if he would hurt her again. She painfully stood up and winced when she felt the sore spots all over her body. The most pain was on her left arm where the ugly bruise was. She looked at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were swollen and bloodshot from crying. There were dark circles under her eyes and a small cut on her neck.

Quietly, she opened the bathroom door and crept to the bedroom she and Roy shared. She put her ear to the door and heard snoring. Good, she though, he is still asleep. She eased the door open and tiptoed to the closet and grabbed her work clothes. When she was safely out of the room, she let out a sigh of relief and made her way back to the bathroom. She wanted to get ready and dash to work before Roy even saw her.

When she made it to the car unnoticed, she closed her eyes and leaned her head against the window. There was absolutely no way she could be in a relationship with Roy any longer, especially after the events of last night. This time, she wasn’t making excuses.

Then again, if Roy became so abusive over a mere phone call, how would he react if she said they were breaking up?

She started the engine and backed out. Turning the wheel hurt her injured arm immensely.

It was only 6:15, which was way too early to go to work. She considered driving by her mom’s to tell her about Roy but knew that was not a good idea. She then remembered how she didn’t have breakfast, so she drove to the nearest Dunkin’ Donuts. She spent her remaining time drinking a cup of hot chocolate and reading the local paper.

When she arrived at Dunder Mifflin, she stepped out of the car and felt a few snowflakes fall on her face. Memories of playing in the snow as a child flashed through her brain. Then anything seemed possible. Now, she feels as if she’s trapped and broken. She made her way up the elevator and to her desk.

When she saw Jim, her heart skipped a beat. He looked exhausted, as if he didn’t get one wink of sleep last night. When she was booting up her computer, he walked up and rested his arms on the desk.

“Hey.”

“Good morning, Beesly.”

His smile made her feel as if she really was something special. She wondered how he could do that, even when she was experiencing the worst.

“So about last night—”

“Yeah, what was that about? It sounded like something was bothering you. Then the line went out.”

Pam looked down not knowing what to say. As much as she wanted to, she couldn’t tell him how Roy physically hurt her. She remembered his warning and was scared he would hurt Jim if she told him.

“Pam—is everything alright?”

She looked up and met his eyes and felt her heart warm. She saw how concerned he was. She knew he was worried.

“Roy and I just got into an argument—I’m really sorry I called you so late.”

Jim hesitated before speaking. She could tell he didn’t believe her. Finally he looked down and said softly, “Hey, it’s no problem. Just remember, if you ever need anything, I’m here for you.” With that being said, he tapped his fingers on her desk and walked back to his. She ached to tell him that she wasn’t okay and that she was too scared to go home.

***

Jim knew Pam was lying. He heard Roy’s anger through the phone. He wondered if Roy had hit her. But he knew Pam would need time to tell him… At least he hoped that was the case.

Roy walked in not to much later. He seemed embarrassed. Pam led him out of the office and Jim hadn’t heard from her since.

A few hours passed until it was time for their lunch break. She still hadn’t returned. He went into the break room and sat down with his ham and cheese sandwich and grape soda. Then, Pam finally walked in and she seemed to be on the verge of tears. She sat across from him and took a deep, quivering breath.

“Pam? Are you okay?”

As soon as the question was asked she burst into sobs. He quickly pulled his chair next to hers and rubbed his hand up and down her back in an attempt to soothe her.

“Let’s go to the stairwell—we have a better chance of privacy there.” Pam nodded her head and they stood up, making their way through the office. When they were in the stairs, Jim spoke up.

“Really, Pam, what’s wrong?” She took another deep breath and took a few seconds to respond.

“It’s Roy. He’s—” She couldn’t finish her sentence, so she tried again. “Last night—”

That’s when his eyes drifted to the cut on her neck. It nearly made him stop breathing. “Pam,” he said in a near whisper. “Did he hurt you?”

She closed her eyes and was silent. When she spoke, she was practically inaudible. “Yes.”

Jim stood up in a fury. “Pam! You can’t just ignore this and pretend like nothing is wrong!”

She looked up at him, frightened. “Jim, it was nothing really! He was drinking and became angry for no reason. I’m sure he couldn’t help it.” She looked at her hands and immediately felt bad for lying. He wasn’t drunk at all.

Not wanting to upset Pam anymore, Jim sat back down and she turned to look at him. “I don’t think I can go home tonight.”

As soon as she spoke those words she regretted it. What was he supposed say to that?

“That’s an easy thing to fix. You can simply stay with me.”

“Are you sure? I mean, I don’t want to cause you and Mark a problem—”

“Pam, really, it’s no big deal.”

She smiled for the first time since her nightmare. “Thank you.” They went into a tight hug. At first, emotions such as desire and lust swept through him. Then, he began to worry. What had he gotten himself into? She was engaged and spending the night with her best friend who he just happened to be in love with. She hadn’t even told him what happened when she left the office with him a few hours earlier. And he knew she was lying about him being drunk because she probably wouldn’t be scared to go home. He knew he intentionally hurt her.

He began to worry about what the night would possibly bring.