Author's Note
My first piece after some years. Bates Motel is an incredibly well made show and my deciding to write a piece based on it is a mark of that.
Don't own any characters from Bates Motel.
The road is wet from the rain that fell earlier. The smell of the cleansing downpour still hung in the air. Sheriff Alex Romero slowly comes driving up the road. The noise of the tyres against the gravel makes him wince as he would rather not be seen. He parks his car in the darkness under a huge tree and surveys the house in the distance.
It is a house he knows well. He's been there many times over the course of his life.
But as he sits here in the shadows it seems as if he's seeing a totally new house. It's different. He knows it - but he can't pin down what it is. He's sure, though, that it's got 100% to do with her.
Her.
That weirdo that was too close to her son. Inappropriately so, some people would say. They just moved here and turned everything upside down. They mixed everything and everyone up and seemed determined to push their roots in further .
Romero was not pleased with himself. Strangely he felt like the rug had been pulled out from under him. And he didn't like it. Normally he was the one that intimidated people. He was the one that reduced people to blithering messes who spilled confessions and half arsed alibis with one look from him.
That was Romero's superpower. A gift if you wanted to call it that. With his quiet intimidating gaze and big daddy reputation he could get anyone to do whatever he wanted.
And now this woman.
Norma Bates.
She simply waltzed in here, scooped up Keith's business and carried on as if she'd lived here forever. It bothered him. He couldn't tell you why, but it got down beneath his skin and wrenched at something in his gut. That's not how it works in this town.
Romero was a man who took pride in being able to deal with change easily. Holding on to the past was for weak people. People who couldn't deal with whatever life threw at them. It's why he joined the force. Romero thought he could deal with anything and quietly relished the life he had. The life being sheriff afforded him.
He focused his gaze now on the house. It's in complete darkness but for one light in the upper left side. That was Norma's room. He cringed at himself for knowing that.
Her silhouette is clearly visible behind the thin curtains. Walking back and forth. Not in anxiety, though. Slower. She's reading. She's already changed for bed. He could see her robe hanging off her shoulders. Romero sets his jaw and shakes his head.
Why did he come here?
The answer came to him almost immediately.
To see her.
Why,though? He doesn't like her. The sight of her unnerves him. Those piercing eyes and a mouth that smiles easily but could turn mischievous in a second. Something's wrong with her - with that family. It's plain as day. He hates being in this position. Nothing is clear. He knows that he doesn't like her but he can't keep from seeing her. Physically, she's nothing special. Sure, she's got a nice body but he's had better. So why? Why is he here now on a quiet slightly rainy night when he could be somewhere else. Anywhere else. It seems that the very thing that repels him is the same thing that's drawing him in.
He inhales deeply and drives off with one last glance at the towering old house on the hill.
