The last of the dishes from breakfast with Norman were put away and she grabbed a towel to clean off the table. An insistent pounding stilled her hand mid-swipe through a drop of syrup. Perhaps it was Dylan, coming back to pretend he didn't want to be part of their family?

Shedding her apron, she hurried to the front door. Norma groaned when she realized it wasn't her wayward son, but that obnoxious little shit who had taken to palling around with Norman. Reluctantly, her hand found the handle and she pulled open the door.

"What do you want?" She asked, skipping the pleasantries because this girl didn't afford her any last time.

The brunette took a slow drag from her cigarette, and Norma wondered if she lit it before walking up the steps just to look rebellious. Cody's heavily made up eyes dissected her, a smirk playing on her lips like Norma was some damn joke. "Norman." She answered finally, blowing out the smoke. Fortunately, Norma could still hear the sound of Norman's shower upstairs.

Norma shooed away the cloud with her hand, shooting her a hard glare. "What's your name again? Corey? Katy?"

"How about Norman's girlfriend?" Cody must've noticed the way Norma's face tightened because she laughed, arm cradling her stomach as her cigarette held on for dear life in the other hand.

Norma took the opportunity to snatch the cig away and chuck it over Cody's shoulder. "You can leave now. Norman will be busy today helping me with the motel."

"Oh will he now?" Cody said, still laughing and not terribly bothered to have lost her smoke. "Because he just texted me 10 minutes ago to pick him up."

Norma was getting real tired of that phone that Norman played with when he thought she wasn't watching. That explained why he smiled reading a message after breakfast. She might have to drop a line on her family plan.

"It doesn't matter. There's no way in hell I'm letting him leave this house with you."

"You can't control him." Like hell she couldn't. "He's got his own mind; he can do what he wants." Cody dug her hands into her shorts, looking bored. "I'll just wait out here until he's ready."

Norma's icy blue eyes narrowed, regarding the girl in front of her. It was a warm summer morning and she seemed to be celebrating it in a tight white tank that showed off her magenta bra. Real classy. It was then her eyes locked onto a bruise purpling her tanned skin. "What happened to your arm?"

It was just a second, but Norma saw her façade drop. She made a show of looking down. "Oh this? Your son can get pretty passionate."

She ignored the obvious dig and looked at the other splotches on her arms- some dark brown and others blossoming into ugly yellow smudges. "And those?" She inclined my head. "My son isn't abusive."

Cody's green eyes widened, her smirk wiped away and Norma knew she had won. "Norman told me you had issues with parents." She continued, twisting her tone into mock sympathy. "Did your father do that?" Cody gaped, looking for once like the young girl she was. Norma almost felt bad, but felt her lips curve anyways.

"Whatever. You don't know anything about me, you crazy bitch." Norma tilted her head back, leveling her a cool smile as she spun away and stormed down the stairs.

A few minutes later, Norman walked into kitchen, hair still wet. "Is someone here? I thought I heard something."

"It was just Dylan."

His shoulders slumped. "Oh."

Norma's lips thinned as she noticed he was wearing his favorite blue dress shirt, sleeves pushed up to his elbows, and pressed khakis. "I thought I told you to get dressed in something you wouldn't mind getting dirty."

Clasping his hands nervously, he dodged her glare. "Well, I thought you wouldn't need my help till later."

"Go change, Norman."

"Yes, Mother."


The afternoon found Norman and his mother on their knees in Room 2. Norma insisted that the stains left by the latest bunch of trimmers could come out by hand.

Norma growled as she pushed a towel drenched in carpet cleaner into an ugly spot. "I swear, Norman, next time Dylan tries to drop a group of his dirty hippies here we are saying no- money be damned!"

Flipping over to a clean side of his towel, Norman frowned, getting frustrated. "This isn't coming out, Mother. Why don't we just replace the carpet?"

"You know we can't afford that. Or haven't you noticed our empty hotel?"

He rolled his eyes and continued cleaning. When thirty minutes had passed and he realized they had three fourths left to go he threw his rag down. "I can't believe I'm wasting my day doing this." He groaned, wiping his wet hands on his jeans.

"Oh cheer up, honey." She smiled, ignoring his tone. "I know you hate cleaning but at least you get to spend time with your favorite person."

Norman stubbornly turned from her, but she caught his reluctant smile. "Yeah, you know what we need right now? Music!" Pushing herself up, she hurried over to Norman's phone, not noticing the way his shoulders tensed at the invasion of privacy, and swiped over to his downloaded music. She decided to go with the first song, their music tastes almost identical.

From the thin device came the jazzy trumpeting of Blue Moon. "Come on, Mother." He admonished, looking worriedly out the open door that was letting out the strong fumes from their cleaning products.

Swinging her hips and raising her arms, she called out to him. "Don't be such an old man, Norman. Only Officer Romero is renting today, and he's not even here." He tried to focus on the soiled fibers under his fingers, but the sensual way she moved across the room had him mesmerized. Her blue skirt spun around her legs. Frank Sinatra's lazy baritone started up and Norma met his gaze, eyes sparkling.

"Blue moon…" She mirrored the lyrics, her breathy voice combining effortlessly with the track. "You saw me standing alone." He stopped scrubbing, feeling the inevitable tug on the cord that attached their hearts. She had him transfixed, like a Siren luring a sailor into the foggy abyss.

"Without a dream in my heart…" She continued, half laughing. "Without a love of my own." And then he was standing, towering over her blonde head. He caught her hands that were waving above and brought them between their bodies.

"Blue moon…" His voice was unsteady but he held a toothy grin. They continued together, knowing the words by heart. "You knew just what I was there for…" He swung her gently around the room and pulled her close, hand moving to her waist. Norma's brow twitched, but she matched his smile. He was always pushing their relationship into odd territories- not that she minded. It was perfectly harmless. Totally innocent. Her heart skipped into her throat, despite herself, as she locked her gaze with Norman's brilliant green one.

They circled the room through the rest of the song, laughing and slipping on the wet carpet. When the next song came on, they stopped, both slightly breathless.

"See!" She teased. "Don't you feel a million times better?"

His thick brows relaxed and he beamed down at her. "Yes…"

"Then let's finish this room so we can go back home and I can make you whatever you want for lunch." Norma's fingers slowly slid from his soft ones and she felt instantly… less.

He nodded. "Ok, Mom."

After thirty more minutes of scrubbing and listening to Billie Holiday and Dean Martin, Norman got up to use the room's restroom. He paused when he heard the familiar jingle of a text message, interrupting Guy Mitchell's Heartaches by the Number. He snatched the phone from the dresser and made his way into the bathroom, music following him in. After a minute and a flush he came out looking down.

Norma turned her head and caught her son thumbing his phone, his eyes lighting up. It was obvious to her who he was texting and she felt her heart drop. She thought they had been having a good time? Why did he need to distract himself with that girl? Images of Norman entwined with Cody played in her mind. Fingernails scraping skin, bodies rhythmically grinding. No. Her fingernails dug into her palms. There was no way her son was with someone so… opposite herself.

She hoped Cody had just been trying to get under her skin earlier that morning. They couldn't really be sleeping together, right? Right?

"Are you fucking her?"

"Mother!" He nearly dropped his phone.

"Answer me, Norman."

"I'm almost 18." He gasped, turning pink and tossing the device onto the bed. The music had stopped by now.

"That girl is poison." She felt like a broken record but he wasn't getting it.

"Mother, you wanted me to put roots down and this is what I'm doing!" His eyes were shining, exasperated. "Am I not allowed to talk to girls now?"

Getting up, she began tossing dirty rags into the linen cart. "Not that one. And you're doing more than talking, aren't you?"

Suddenly, he was up too. "Who then?" He was close now, eyes drilling into her.

No one really came to mind. "What about Emma?"

"I don't like Emma like that." It was worth a shot. She knew she couldn't bar him from every girl in town.

"Honey, please." She lowered her voice and moved to him, brushing his bangs over his forehead. "It hurts me knowing you're with her. She's clinging to you because she knows how good and kind you are. She wants someone who will never disappoint her." Her breath hitched and she stopped, realizing she could've been talking about herself.

Brow furrowing, his upper lip curled. "She likes me for more than that." He paused and he looked lost in himself, perhaps thinking up another reason Cody might be interested in him. Instead of offering up something, he shook in anger. "What does it matter if I'm sleeping with her? You were fucking someone before my age!"

SLAP.

His face whipped to the side and his cheek was pink and stinging. He looked back at her in shock. "How dare you." Her teeth were bared, voice shaking with rage. "You KNOW what happened to me. I can't believe you would even say…" A sob choked her.

Blinking, he fought the urge to comfort her, to beg for forgiveness. She couldn't rule his life like this. "Well it explains why you're so over protective of me. Why you're so crazy!"

That word. She HATED it. Her hand fell again on his face, leaving her palm almost numb. Norman's green eyes started to dilate and the it looked like the world was narrowing in on him. "What's gotten into you?!" She cried, raising her hand again. When she brought it down a third time he caught her in a strong grip.

Eyes widening, her blonde hair flew forward as she was slammed into the nearest wall, Norman's grip still tight on the wrist above her head. A gasp escaped her lips. This was not her Norman. This was the darkness that had swung a blender into Sam's head.

His eyes were blank as he leaned forward, pressing himself flush against her. "Tell me, Mother, who should I be fucking?"

Against her ribs, her heart was galloping and she held her breath. "Norman…" Would he kill her too?

Norman's eyes flashed and he looked like a cobra ready to strike. Instead, he shifted a thigh between her legs, rubbing up against her sinfully. Clamping her eyes shut, she let her head fall back against the wall, desperately trying to ignore the warm pulse starting down below. "Stop it, Norman." She pleaded, biting her lip.

Norma jolted when she felt his hot mouth close on the crook of her neck. Her other hand automatically coming up to thread into his hair. "God…" She gasped, holding onto him as he raked his teeth against her skin. What was happening? Why wasn't she pushing him away? The world around her spun like she had a bad case of vertigo. The center of her universe at that moment was Norman and his soft mouth sucking on her neck.

Her whole body was a livewire. Every point their bodies connected was sending an electric shock shooting to her belly. She groaned as he pressed his leg higher, pushing into her and forcing her on to her toes. The vague awareness that this was wrong slipped away from her. Things never went her way. Maybe she could finally have what she had only dreamed about.

Breathing in his cologne, she pushed herself down, desperate for some kind of friction. Her slightest movement sent him into a frenzy, biting at her jumping pulse point. Norman lifted his head, face flushed and breathless. The young man looking down at her was someone else- something else. It was hard to think with him moving against her like that. Absently, she wondered if this is how he was with Cody. Blood pounded in her ears at the thought, and the hand gripping his hair pushed him forward and onto her lips.

Mine.

God, his lips were so soft, so warm. She was losing herself. Only vaguely aware the door to the room was still open, anyone could walk by and see them. Fuck it. A thigh appeared from beneath her skirt to settle on his hip, calf pushing him closer, if it were possible.

She sucked on his bottom lip and he let out a shuddering breath, releasing the wrist above her head and using both hands to grab her by the ass and lift her. Norma's other leg found its place behind him and she pushed her tongue past his teeth as they both fell backwards onto the bed. On top of him now, she rolled her hips and he whimpered. His hardness was straining beneath her. Was this really happening?

Looking down, she saw his eyes were dark, would he even remember this? Did she want him to? Gaining some sense of himself, he dug his fingers into her thighs, pushing up her skirt as her own fingers traveled down his shoulders and onto his panting chest.

"Is this what you want, Mother?" He gasped between kisses.

He wasn't asking to see if she were alright. The question was mocking and cruel, but she had never been more turned on. She was going straight to hell.

"F-fuck me…" She pleaded. She never wanted anything more.

Something in him snapped, and they were back against the wall. Norma's fingers managed to find the edge of the door and she slammed it shut as their lips collided. Meanwhile, his hand came up and palmed her breast. Clutching onto him, she cried out into his mouth. She needed more of him. Now.

Slipping a hand between them, she gripped him through his jeans and his whole body shuddered. A smirk stretched over her swollen lips. Not to be outdone, he raked his thumb over the nipple straining through her blouse, causing her back to arch. When he felt a tug on his belt and zipper, he looked down between them.

"Please, Mother..." He was like a dying man in the desert, begging for water. She was loving this new change in attitude. Again he bit down onto her collar, as she released him from his briefs. He was dark red under her hands and leaking. She gave it an experimental stroke, loving how it felt like soft velvet and the way she was able to draw a long moan from his lips.

"Come on, Norman, I said fuck me." Removing his hand from her breast, he trailed it down her stomach, his other lifting her up as she wrapped her legs around him. The heat between her legs was unbearable for the both of them. Fingers finding her wet panties, he pushed them to the side.

Looking back up, he met her half-lidded gaze. Green eyes drilling deep into her core. Even in his state, he wanted to appease her. "Want you so bad..." He was almost shaking with need.

Both her arms crossed behind his neck and she pulled him close. Sensing she would have to take control, her mouth found his again. This kiss was different. It was slower, their tongues taking turns. Unable to wait any longer, she reached between them and lowered herself down. Normally, it would've hurt because she hadn't had sex since Zach, but she was so wet he slid in all the way to the hilt.

"Norman!" She hissed, breaking free of the kiss to hit her head on the wall behind her. He was surprisingly well endowed, just like Sam. It felt like he was filling all the space she had. For his part, he looked even more out of it, like he was having trouble blinking. When she started rolling her hips, he gripped the back of her thighs and began thrusting, slow at first- then fast and deep. The way he was pushing her into the wall would no doubt leave bruises, but all she felt was white hot pleasure. He was throbbing between her and sending shockwaves up her spine.

"I love you…" He gasped desperately into her ear.

"Never… leave me, Norman." She moaned between thrusts, biting possessively at the point his jaw met his neck.

Eyes fluttered shut and her mouth gaped, her breath coming faster as he pushed into her harder. Lifting her up and slamming her down. Her head fell forward, hair spilling across his shoulders, and she pushed down to meet him. A whine, short and high like a dog being kicked, escaped him and he hugged her closer. The way his hips started thrusting more erratically and desperately told her he was close. The latest spike of pleasure nearly sent her over the edge. As much as she wanted to come, she didn't want it to end.

However, when his hips jolted between her legs and she felt him spilling into her, his hot seed mixing with her own juices, she lost it. Crying out, she jerked around him, eyes rolling into the back of her skull. "Fffffuckk!" She sputtered, clenching around him.

He gave a few shuddering thrusts, coming down from his orgasm. Norma was so over sensitized, the way he was grinding into her was almost painful. When he slowed to a stop, he let her fall from his grasp and slide down the wall. Legs weak, she barely stopped herself from completely collapsing. Norma looked up to see him staring blankly above her head. It looked like he was in the realm of catatonia.

Norma straightened and leaned into him, sighing. Her poor boy. Guilt settled uncomfortably in the pit of her stomach. What had she done? Cupping his face, she brought her lips down and kissed him gently. Norman didn't move. She pushed her cheek to him hopelessly, a burning behind eyes as she blinked back tears. As she kissed the side of his face she reached down and pushed him back into his pants, zipping him up and buckling his belt. Her fingers slid down his side and brushed the wrinkles from his shirt. Still, he remained unresponsive.

Taking a step back, she organized herself. Pushing her skirt back down and combing her hair with her fingers. Deciding to take a quick peek in the mirror, she walked to the one over the dresser and frowned at the pink teeth marks dotting her neck. Looking over at Norman, she realized he had his own share of them. Worry assaulted her, making her heart skip a few beats. He couldn't know what they had done, but the evidence she had left would lead a trail back to someone.

Norma was struck with a thought and she rushed into the office to grab her keys. It took a little maneuvering but she managed to prod Norman into the front seat of her old Mercedes. After a nerve-wracking drive she got them to the arts center. They weren't working on the musical today but maybe she could get Norman to believe he met Cody there.

When she got him from the car, she led him by the hand to a nearby bench and sat him down. It was difficult ignoring the guilt of leaving him there, but at least it was the middle of the day. Sparing a glance in both directions, she could only see a few cars parked next to a salon half a block away. Norman continued to stare ahead, his thin lips pressed into a small smile. Everything would be ok, she told herself. Then she bent down and pressed her mouth onto his, sighing.

The next moment she was in her car and driving back to the motel.

A few hours later when she was nervously cutting green onions for their dinner, she heard the door slam open. "Norman?!"

"Mom!" He rushed in, eyes red and shining. He collapsed into her arms, shaking. "Thank god you're okay!" He cried.

"Norman, what's wrong?" She asked, trying to shake the memory of what it felt like to be in his arms earlier that day.

He gave a pained gasp. "I-I thought I hurt you." His fingers dug painfully into her sore back and she had to bite back a moan.

"Oh, honey, I'm fine." She spoke into his hair and rubbed circles on his shoulder blades. Norma pushed him away to look at him. "Did you have another one of your… black outs?"

Norman nodded slowly, trying to gain control of his voice. "I remembered y-yelling at you in the motel room, and t-then I was sitting outside in town."

Closing her eyes, relief flooded her senses and she forced him to look at her. "I'm fine Norman, see?" She was wise enough to change into one of her high collared blouses that hid her neck.

Norman's eyes traced her and he seemed to calm down. "I'm sorry, Mother, I shouldn't have said the things I said." He fell into her arms again.

"I'm sorry too."

When he started pressing light kisses into her neck she froze. "Norman?"

He stopped too, perhaps realizing what he was doing. "I'm sorry." He breathed into her hair. "The thing with me and Cody- it's over. If it'll make you happy."

Heart pounding, she couldn't stop the smile that reached her lips. "...Thank you, Norman."

And she knew she would be the only one his arms would ever hold.