Work Text:
"You.. asked to speak with me, sir?"
"Ah, Melissa! Come on in."
Melissa closed the office door behind her, walking to her boss's desk and sitting in a chair that was there already. When Ted had mentioned that Mr. Ken Davidson wanted to have a word with her, she immediately felt the anxiety creep through.
Everyone in the office knew him to be a fairly laid back man, not caring what happens as long as everyone gets what they need done, that they simply don't smoke, and that they're on time. And while normally, she would be perfectly fine with having a small chat, this time she really didn't like the look of it.
"Just know you aren't in trouble. I just have some concerns that I felt needed to be addressed." Mr. Davidson was leaning back in his chair, a frown on his face. Melissa nodded, gingerly pushing her thick glasses up her nose.
"I understand."
"Good. Now, could you explain why you were late today?"
'Fuck. What am I supposed to say? Oh sorry I was late this morning, I was too busy coughing up water lilies because I suffer from a crazy love disease.' Melissa kept her thoughts to herself, clearing her throat a bit. She could feel the horrid petals creeping up her throat, a horrible tension in her neck, tightness in her chest. She stumbled over her words, trying to think of some kind of excuse.
"W-well.. I had a bit of an emergency. My uhm.." Think, Melissa, think! "My cat was throwing up this morning, so I was cleaning that up b-before leaving."
Mr. Davidson raised an eyebrow at her, taking a sip from his coffee mug. "Okay... Now tell me why you weren't here yesterday?"
More petals. It was getting difficult to breathe now.
"I uhm.. I woke up feeling sick, so I stayed home."
"And the week before?"
Melissa was running out of options. "I was uhm.." she coughed a bit. More petals were clogging her throat, it was hard to speak normally. "Having a- m-mental health day." She wheezed, squirming in her seat.
"What about Monday?"
Fuck, she couldn't breathe. Those horrid petals were blocking her airways. "S-same as before. Just- just a mental health day-"
Mr. Davidson sat up. "Melissa, are you okay? You're wheezing.."
She nodded. "M'fine. Just- hrk! Just some chest pain!"
"Kid, you don't look good. Are you sure it's-"
Melissa stood up, covering her mouth with her hand. Her boss stood up as well, rushing to her side of the desk. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't speak, she couldn't even swallow. It hurt. It hurt so much. Tears formed as she squeezed her eyes shut, struggling to get the flowers out of her body. Mr. Davidson was hitting her back, not sure what exactly was going on, or what was wrong. Melissa kept coughing, her body heaving, vision blurring.
After another moment, the petals shot out of her mouth, settling onto the floor. They were glistening with blood and saliva, all scattered across the floor. Mr. Davidson stared at the pile of bloody petals, turning his attention back to a trembling, sobbing Melissa. She was holding her hand over her mouth again, staring at the petals in horror.
"I-I'm so sorry! I would've said something, but I didn't think you'd believe me! I know I should have said something and you always tell us to talk to you but I didn't want anybody to worry about it and-"
"How long?"
"... What?" Melissa looked up from the petals.
"How long?" Mr. Davidson repeated, "How long has this been going on for?"
Melissa wiped the mascara running down her face. "You... You know about the sickness?"
He nodded, looking back down at the petals. "A friend of mine suffered the same horrors that you're going through now." He explained, bending down to pick up a petal off the floor. "It almost claimed his life.."
The two remained silent, other than Melissa's uneven breathing, and the commotion of the other workers outside the little office.
"Two weeks." Melissa said suddenly, clearing her throat. "It's been two weeks.. Maybe three... I don't really know, I-I haven't kept track." she explained, staring at the floor, her mind somewhere else. The 52 year old hummed, his hand never moving from her back.
"Is this why you're falling behind?"
She nodded, removing her glasses from her face to wipe her eyes, breathing heavily. "It's so hard, trying to get anything done, when all I can hear is-" Melissa coughed again, another few petals escaping her mouth. "I can't even think about her without these fucking petals coming out my throat! She's all I hear, her voice rings in my ear, and it hurts! It hurts so much!" She started crying again, letting the petals fall to her lap.
Mr. Davidson was quick to try and comfort her, rubbing her back gently. "Hey, it's going to be alright kid.. you'll pull through, I know you will." He wrapped an arm around her, letting her lean into his shoulder. "You're a hard worker, Melissa. You're stronger than you think, I hope you know that."
She nodded, wiping her eyes before putting her glasses back on. He continued to comfort her, the two of them cleaning up the petals, and tossing them into the little trash bin beside the desk. "Why don't you head home for today? We'll work on a schedule that works for you."
"Mr. Davidson, you don't have to do that."
"I insist. Anything that could help." Mr. Davidson smiled, helping her towards the door. Before opening it, he paused. "If you don't mind me asking... Who is it for?"
Melissa went quiet, turning to look out the window. Mr. Davidson followed her gaze, looking past the blinds and out to the rest of the office. He could see Ted and Bill arguing over something, Paul was trying to calm them both down, and Charlotte...
... Oh.
Oh.
"I'm... I'm so sorry."
Melissa sighed, opening the door to go collect her things. She put on a fake smile, straightening her posture and fixing her hair a bit. "It's fine. Thank you." And with that, she left the office, quickly grabbing her purse and a few other items before walking to the elevator. Mr. Davidson watched the others stop their conversation, asking if she was okay, but she brushed past them, not saying anything else.
Their eyes met for a moment, just before the elevator doors closed.