The end of the day came too quickly. Pam knew spending the night at Jim’s house was anything but a good idea. She was worried how Roy would react.

She asked Jim if it was okay to leave a little earlier. She didn’t want Roy to see her leaving with Jim. So, 10 minutes before five o’ clock, she shut down her computer and put on her coat. She made her way down to Jim’s small car and waited for him to come down, remaining vigilant for any signs of the man that left her feeling bruised, inside and out.

She finally saw Jim’s tall figure walking towards his car. Why can’t he walk any faster, she thought.

“Wow, Beesly, I thought if I was playing chauffer you’d be waiting in the back seat,” he said and unlocked his car. She giggled, sat down in the car seat and closed the door, anxious to get away from the office.

Desperate to get her mind off of Roy, she asked, “Mind if I turn on the radio?”

“Go ahead!”

She flipped through the channels and finally settled on a song she had never heard of, but had a good beat. For the remainder of the car ride, she stared out of the window and thought about what the night would result in.

At last, the car turned into the driveway and they walked inside.

“Where’s Mark?”

“He’s out of town visiting his parents.”

Pam nodded her head. Since their conversation in the break room earlier that day, they hadn’t said much. It was awkward. She wanted to take away the tension. She wanted to have a good time tonight because she had a feeling tomorrow might be bad.

“Let’s play Scatagories,” she blurted, not knowing where the idea came from.

Jim looked at her and raised his eyebrows.

*****

The next thing she knew, they were sprawled across his living room floor drinking grape sodas playing Scatagories, the game that involved a letter and a list. Pam was lying on her stomach with her legs dangling in the air and Jim was sitting Indian Style.

“Really, Jim, a hippopotamus is not an item that can be refrigerated!”

“Aw, why not?”

“First off, it wouldn’t even fit in a refrigerator!”

“Well, Miss. Know-it-all, Harry Connick Jr. isn’t an item sold in a catalog.”

“Suck it, Halpert.”

The sound of the doorbell ran through the house.

“Pizza!” they exclaimed in unison. Jumping up from their positions on the floor, they ran and opened the door. The mood had greatly lightened and things felt partially normal again. Occasionally, a picture would flash in Pam’s mind of the night before, but she would do her best to shake it out and think of something else.

With their pizza in hand, they made their way back to the living room and opened the pizza. They ordered pepperoni which was their favorite.

Pam counted how many points she got on the last round.

“Jim, how many points did you get last time?”

“14.”

“Well, I got 20. Ha! I beat you again!”

He rolled his eyes and she couldn’t help but laugh.

“Do you just have to rub it in my face?”

“Absolutely!”

“Just shut-up and roll the dice.”

She did as he asked still laughing. “The letter is C.” She reached over to start the timer and began to fill out List 11.

When the timer finally dinged, they both jumped.

“Holy God, that scares me every time!” Pam exclaimed.

Jim chuckled. “Okay, number one, breakfast food. What did you put?”

“Captain Crunch.”

“Nice.”

“And I get two points for it.” Pam had a sure look on her face while Jim looked shocked.

“What? Why?”

“Captain and Crunch both start with a C!”

“I don’t think that is an official rule.”

“It is now.”

“Fine.”

“What did you put?”

He shook his head and refused to tell her.

“Come on! It can’t be that stupid!”

“I put charcoal.”

Pam immediately broke out in a fit of giggles.

“Okay, seriously, it’s not that funny!”

“Could you really not think of anything?”

“It’s not my fault that not many breakfast foods start with the letter C!”

She finally calmed down and they finished sharing their lists. They played the game over and over until Pam let out a yawn.

“Are you tired?”

She nodded her head but didn’t want to go to sleep. She was having a great time and she knew that calling it a night and going to bed would make the morning come too fast. The sooner the morning arrived, the sooner she would have to face Roy .

Jim stood and stretched his arms up in the air. Pam saw a glimpse of his stomach and had to look away because she could barely stifle her smile. Yes, she was still engaged, but since the night before and Roy had his blow-out, she was finally starting to be open to her feelings for Jim.

“What time is it?” she asked.

Jim glanced at the clock and replied, “It’s 2 a.m.”

Jim offered to take Mark’s room, but she refused and let him have his own.

“I have some clothes that you can borrow to sleep in. I don’t want you sleeping in your work clothes,” he said.

She followed him into his bedroom and he pulled out a long pair of sweatpants and a big, dark blue t-shirt.

“Thank you,” she said and took the clothes from his hands.

“Good-night, Jim.”

“Night, Pam.”

When they were in their separate rooms, Pam took off her cardigan and button down shirt and pulled on Jim’s shirt. She giggled at how the sleeves went so far down her arms and inhaled the scent of the shirt that smelled so like him. Then, she lay down on her bed and stared at the ceiling. She longed to be lying next to Jim; she felt lonely without someone beside her.

Her eyes finally started to drift shut. Soon, she was in a deep sleep.

*****

Pam woke up with a start and was breathing heavily. She had the nightmare again. She looked around Mark’s room forgetting where she was for a moment. Then, it dawned on her. She was at Jim’s house.

Just to be reassured that he was safe, she quietly got out of bed and crept to his bedroom door. Luckily, his door was slightly opened. She peeked inside and what she saw made her smile. He was sound asleep in his bed with the covers completely wrapped around him. His feet were sticking out and he was breathing steadily. She wondered what he was dreaming about. He looked so peaceful and she wanted nothing more than to kiss his forehead and pull the covers up over his exposed feet.

When she finally made her way back to Mark’s room, she looked at the clock and saw that it was 4 a.m. She had been asleep for almost two hours. She lay back down and pulled the comforter up over her chest and rolled on her side. It took her a long time until she was asleep again. She slept until the sunlight swept through the windows. The sound of rain hitting against her window woke her up. The thought of her having to go home in a few hours made her heart sink into the pit of her stomach. She stood up out of bed and stepped out of the bedroom. Her body still felt fragile and sore all over from the night before.

She was in the kitchen cooking eggs when Jim came downstairs. His hair was sticking up and his shirt was wrinkled. She smiled at him and said, “Good morning, glory!”

He sat down. “It smells good, what are you making?”

“Scrambled eggs.”

She rolled up her sleeves and set the plate down on the table. When she was pulling her arm away, Jim grabbed it.

“Pam! What this?” he asked, motioning to the wound middle on her arm.

She was busted. She completely forgot about the injury Roy had given her.

“I—um—”

“It was Roy, wasn’t it?” his voice had a sound of anger to it.

“Um—No—”

“Pam.”

By the tone of his voice, she knew that he knew the truth. She couldn’t lie any more. She took a deep breath and quietly replied:

“Yes.”

Jim stood up out of his chair and she could see how angry he was now. She felt tears threatening to fall.

“Did this happen the night you called me?”

She nodded her head.

“What the hell? Pam, you are in danger! I bet he gave you that cut on your neck too! He’s abusing you!”

“He was drunk, Jim!”

“Why are you using that as an excuse? You can’t go back there. I’m calling the police right now.” He reached for the phone but Pam stood up and grabbed his arm.

“Jim, don’t.” She looked at him with pleading eyes. When he turned to face her, she saw worry in his eyes and a tear leaving a wet trail down his cheek.

He pulled his hand back and sighed. “Okay.”

They stared at each other for a moment when Pam said in an almost whisper.

“I think I’m going home.” She made her way to the front door, opened it, and stepped outside.

“Pam.”

She turned and found herself facing him once more.

“Are you sure you want to go back?”

She nodded her head.

“Don’t you need a ride?”

“No, I can walk. Thanks, though.”

“But it’s an hour walk and it’s raining outside.”

“No—I think it’s just best if I—” Tears were forming in her eyes. She had to force out the next sentence. “I think it’s best if we aren’t friends anymore.”

That’s when the tears began to fall from both of their eyes.

“Why?” he whispered. She pretended she didn’t hear his statement.

“Bye, Jim,” she choked out.

“Bye, Pam,” he said in a near whisper.

She closed the door and lingered on his doorstep for a little. It’s for the best, she had to keep telling herself. Even though she was beginning to let in her feelings for Jim and finally noticed how much she wanted to be more than just a friend, she knew she didn’t have a way out of the relationship she had with Roy. She had to forget about Jim.

She also knew she didn’t want to go back to the apartment she shared with Roy. She felt her heart sink with each step she took because she knew in her heart she was making the wrong decision. She knew was nearing danger.