None of your Business – Chapter 9
Disclaimer: I don't own them, never will. This fic is for self satisfaction only.
Chapter Summary: Donna comments on her first week back at work.
Today was ok. I managed to get through the day without any accidents. I didn't put too much strain on my bad leg, and I was able to make a lot of progress in learning about my new job. The only problem was running into Josh early in the morning. That almost killed me. I tried to be nice, and to show him that I truly was glad to see him. He ignored me, and then I didn't see him the rest of the day. I still have a bad taste in my mouth from that encounter. It was weird working in the west wing without working with Josh. I guess I'll get used to it eventually.
I pop in a movie and try to keep my mind off Josh. The movie is romantic, and sad, and they don't end up together. This just makes me draw some parallels between this movie and my life and now I'm crying like an idiot again. I should not have rented Bridges of Madison County. Damn it! I should have rented Kill Bill again. Now I'm just sitting here, feeling sorry for myself and I can't get out of this funk.
Josh must really hate me. Why else would he treat me this way? And why do I always fall for guys who don't love me back? There must be something wrong with me. These are the thoughts that take over the mess that I call my mind throughout the night. I cry myself to sleep, then I have dreams of rejection, and wake up crying again, and so goes the cycle through the morning.
When I wake up, I try my best to cover my swollen face with make up, but I don't think it's doing much good. So I drive to work early, hoping no one important will see me walk in, and that within a few hours, the crying-induced swelling on my face will subside.
The moment I walk out of my car, position myself in my crutches and start towards the west wing, I see Josh. He's also coming into work early. I wonder if this is his normal working time now. I wonder if Lisa gives him a wake up call or whether he finally learned to set his alarm clock.
"Donna, what's wrong?" His word are those of concern, but his tone and his facial expression show me that he really doesn't care, and he's just going through motions.
"What's wrong with what?"
"Your face ... it's swollen." I guess he's onto me. Should I say 'I stayed up all night crying because you're a selfish bastard who doesn't love me back?' That's probably not a good way to go at 7:00 AM.
I sigh and let out something he's been telling people recently. "It's none of your business."
I move away and I notice he's not walking with me anymore. He's stopped and I haven't looked back to check what he is doing, but I'm guessing he is buying himself time so he doesn't have to walk with me all the way to the office.
As I make my way through the hallways, I wonder how things became this bad between us. Will we ever be friends again, and if so, should I want that?
The three days that followed went by with a few awkward, incommunicative encounters between Josh and me. He'd usually only address me when he needed something from the communications bullpen. A lot of the times he'd send Lisa. Other times, if I ran into him in the hallway (more like blocked his way with my crutches) he'd just walk past me without saying anything. I usually knew that he saw me, because his face would take on this sad expressionless form. He avoided eye contact at all times. This sort of treatment really hurts me. I don't think I can take much more of this. He's just making me angry. Now it's Friday, and I need to go out and drink myself into oblivion.
So I call CJ, who immediately accepts my offer to go out later. This will make me feel better.
TBC