The paper salesman

"Don't go"

I sniffed as I walked into the office.

"Morning, Y/N." Pam smiled.

"Hey." I spoke, giving her a small smile as I went to my desk and put my bag and coat down.

"Morning, Y/N." Jim smiled gently at me.

"Hey." I gulped as I looked down. Jim's smile dipped slightly.

"Is everything okay?" he asked. I looked at him.

"Yeah, um, Seth and I had a fight last night." I nodded.

"Oh. I'm sorry, that sucks." He gulped.

"Yeah. It does." I scoffed and nodded.

"Well, um, if you need me, I'm here. I'll always be here for you." He admitted, looking into my eyes. I gave him a small smile.

"Thanks, Jim. I really appreciate that." I spoke.

"No problem." He replied, returning my smile before getting back to work.

I sat at my desk, pulling my left cardigan sleeve down.

"Y/N, do you have the sales report?" Jim asked.

"Yeah." I spoke, taking the sheet and reaching across my desk to Jim. His eyes widened as he saw the bruise on my left wrist.

"Oh my god, what the hell is that?" he scoffed, gently taking my wrist. My eyes widened.

"Oh, um, it's nothing." I gulped, pulling my wrist away. He looked at me.

"Y/N, that is something, something that you didn't have yesterday and somehow now have, after a fight with Seth." He spoke, his eyes narrowed.

"It's nothing, Jim." I choked before standing up and rushing into the kitchen.

"Y/N, wait!" Jim called after me. I ignored him as I shut the kitchen door.

Jim's P.O.V

"Y/N, wait!" Jim called after Y/N as she rushed into the kitchen and shut the door. Jim sighed as he got up and went to the reception.

"Pam, can I ask you something?" He asked as he leaned over the desk.

"Sure." She nodded.

"Do you know any of Seth's ex-girlfriends?" he asked.

"A few, why?" she asked. Jim sighed and looked at her.

"Do any of them say that he was violent?" he asked. Pam looked at him.

"Why are you asking, Jim?" she scoffed. He sighed.

"Y/N had a fight with Seth last night. This morning, she has a bruise on her wrist, that wasn't there yesterday." He shook his head. Her eyes widened.

"You think that he did that to her?" she gulped.

"I mean, I'm hoping not, but she didn't have it yesterday and when I asked about it, she just said that it was nothing. Why wouldn't she just tell me, unless it was something bad?" he asked. Pam sighed.

"Ask her again. You guys are close, she'll tell you if you sit her down and ask." She nodded. Jim sighed and returned the nod before heading to the kitchen.

Y/N's P.O.V

I sat in the kitchen, staring into my now cold mug of coffee. My eyes remained glued to the table as I heard the door open. I gulped as Jim sat down opposite me.

"Y/N, we're best friends. You know that you can tell me anything and that I won't tell anyone unless you want me to." He spoke, trying to catch my gaze. I gulped and nodded.

"I need you to tell me how you got that bruise." He spoke softly before gently taking my hands. I sniffed and looked up, making Jim's eyes fill with sadness as he saw the tears in my eyes.

"Oh, Y/N." he sighed. I looked at him.

"We, um, we had a fight. It's so stupid, I can't even remember what it was about. But, we fought, and I turned to leave, but he stopped me by grabbing my wrist." I admitted. Jim's eyes widened.

"I told him that he was hurting me, but he just said that he didn't care. Eventually, I got my wrist out of his hand and grabbed my bag before leaving." I nodded. Jim clenched his jaw and shook his head.

"I swear to god, if I ever see that asshole again, I will hurt him." He nodded.

"Jim, please don't." I gulped. He looked at me.

"Y/N, you're my best friend and that asswipe hurt you. I'm not letting him hurt you like that." He shook his head.

"But if you do that, he'll know that I told you." I choked. Jim's face dropped again and he sighed.

"I'm so sorry, Y/N. I'm so, so sorry." He spoke, gently giving my hands a reassuring squeeze. I returned it and nodded as my cellphone started to ring. I looked at it and sighed.

"It's him, isn't it?" Jim mumbled. I looked at him and nodded.

"I need to take this. I need to talk to him about what happened." I spoke. Jim's eyes wavered.

"Yeah, of course. He's just...just an ass. He won't show his face here because he knows that I'd hurt him, so he takes the easy way out and calls you instead." He scoffed, shaking his head. I sighed and gave him a small smile as I stood up and pressed "accept call" before putting the phone to my ear and leaving the room.

I gulped as I walked back into the office and sat down at my desk. Jim looked at me.

"How, um, how did the call go?" he mumbled. I looked at him.

"Um, it went. I'm good, I'm okay." I nodded. He looked at me.

"You broke up with him?" Jim asked hopefully. My eyes widened slightly.

"No, I didn't break up with him." I scoffed. Jim's eyes widened.

"You didn't break up with him? What?" he scoffed.

"Jim, we love each other, there's no reason to break up." I shook my head.

"He hurt you, on purpose, Y/N. I'm sorry, but you don't hurt someone that you love." He spoke, looking at me with sad eyes. I sighed and looked down.

"I'm still with him. That's how it is. Why do you care so much, anyway?" I gulped. His eyes wavered.

"Because...because you're my best friend, and I don't want to see you hurt." He admitted. I sighed and nodded.

"Well, that means a lot, Jim. But I'm okay, I promise." I nodded. He sighed and returned it before looking back down.

"Alright, I'm going to head home." I spoke as I stood up and put my stuff into my bag.

"See you tomorrow." Jim replied as he looked at me. I gave him a small smile before starting to walk away.

"Wait." My eyes widened slightly as Jim gently took my hand, making me turn around and look at him. He sighed.

"Don't go home to him." He shook his head. I gulped.

"I'm begging you, Y/N. Don't go." He choked. I bit my lip as tears pricked my eyes. I gently let go of his hand but leaned down and cupped Jim's cheek before kissing the other cheek. Jim looked at me as I stood back up.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Jim." I spoke, a tear leaving my eye as I walked out, leaving Jim looking at me with broken eyes.