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It's been 20 minutes now since Nellie kicked me out of my own office, which was unfairly stolen from me.
Robert isn't helping me or doing anything to help me, giving me the fault, as if I couldn't have missed even a day with a simple fever.
My nerves are getting worse, but I have to control them. I can't make the same mistake I made years ago, or those anger management classes were completely useless... I think while I sip my tea during my break...
When I finish, I go back into the desk room and notice that Ben's desk is empty; he usually never takes breaks during this hour, which worries me.
"Have you guys seen Ben? Why is his desk empty?" I ask out loud, trying to get someone's attention. "He said he needed a break, so I gave him one." Dwight says in his usual indifferent, alert tone,
"And did you happen to see where he went?" I ask him, but instead it's his other deskmate, Pam, who answers.
"Oh, yes, I saw him heading towards the exit. He seemed a little upset..." "Upset?" This word was so rare to be heard about him...
"Thanks, Pam," I say to her, then head towards the exit door and down the stairs leading to the building's exit, still no one in sight...
I find myself in the parking lot, and instinctively check to see if he's in his car. And that's where I find him... he seems genuinely worried, and I notice he's still fiddling with his engagement ring, the one I gave him when I proposed in Florida...
I approach the car a..., a simple, nice car and tap on the passenger window. "Hey, is there any room?" I ask a little hesitantly. When I hear the car lock unlock, I know I have a clear path, so I open the car door and get in.
"Is there something wrong?"I ask very quickly, trying to understand what was bothering him so much... I put my hand on his arm, trying to reassure him, "You know you can talk to me, Ben... just as you helped me, I'll help you too!"
He stopped looking at his hand... "I'm sorry, I'm sorry Andy, it's all my fault," he says to me in a tone I'd only heard from that terrible call from Florida, it hurts even more to hear it in real life.
"What do you mean, Ben, what's to blame?" I don't even have time to think before he immediately says, "This whole situation, Andy. You getting kicked out of your own office, no one trying to help you even though they've barely known her for two days, Robert not helping you... all this because you decided to help me."
I was speechless... was this really what was worrying him? "Ben, it's not your fault and everything's fine, you can stay calm"
I was lying a little to myself,
"that's not true. It's not true, Andy, nothing's going well, especially for you. It's already a miracle my desk was still there, that it hadn't already been taken."
I don't even have time to respond before he continues his speech, "You're risking to be demoted or even lose your job, and all this because of me, because I'm an idiot who's afraid of his own parents, and it took someone to take a two-day trip to Florida to make me see reason and give me the courage to leave."
He's looking at me, his eyes shining with tears.
"I don't deserve you Andy, I don't deserve you at all."
I try not to make him feel too bad. "Technically, I'm the idiot... what was I thinking, leaving without telling anyone, trying to make everything feel like it was some kind of fairy tale..."
I take his hand. "But I did it, and I decided to do it because I want to be with you, Bennett, because I love you."
"And it'll take a long time for me to get tired of you, maybe when we're both old, but this isn't that time."
He's looking at me with a slightly strange expression, he still seems sad but not as worried as before.
"Andy, I hate you. I hate you for making me feel so good when I'm with you." He says before giving me a big smile.
We share a little kiss before getting out of the car, both ready to face the day together. Hoping nothing bad will happen…