A/N: Thank you so much for your reviews to the first chapter and for letting me know you're intrigued by this idea/concept of what I'm trying to do. To the guest who asked if s/he could suggest something for the after the house break-in scene: yes, you can. Although I already have an idea of what I want to write for that scene, if I can work your suggestion into it, I'll do it, so feel free to DM me your idea or post it in the reviews. I hope you all like this next chapter!
Norma wakes up and feels the throbbing pain of a mild headache. She groans as she sits up on the bed and then smiles when she remembers why she has a hangover today.
She and Alex got married yesterday. He invited her out and they drank a bottle of champagne and two bottles of wine last night. Or maybe she drank the wine all by herself. She remembers Alex pouring the red liquid into her glass as they waited for their order, and while she ate the delicious spinach ravioli, and the tiramisu cake they shared. She probably ate most of that by herself too.
"Yeah, he's already a great influence on me." She repeats her words from last night out loud to herself.
"Get up, Norma. Bathroom, something for this headache and coffee." She tries to motivate herself to move.
She goes into the bathroom, washes her face and teeth, swallows two ibuprofen capsules and then goes down to the kitchen expecting to find Alex there. It's early and she didn't hear any noise coming from his bedroom but as she peeks into the kitchen she sees he's not there. Then something on top of the coffee maker grabs her attention. Looks like a piece of paper.
She reaches the note and reads it:
Good morning! Enjoy
the wedding present.
Got some guys to fill
in the pit.
See you tonight.
A
She smiles and thinks that Alex is already winning the 'best husband' title between the three men she has been married to, and he has done it in less than 24 hours of marriage.
Norma pours the still warm coffee left on the pot in her mug. There's a used and washed coffee mug in the sink drainer which means Alex drank coffee too before leaving.
He made coffee. Gave her a morning surprise wedding gift and cleaned his mug. She can get used to this.
After work Alex stops by his house to bring some boxes and pack a few things. He finds one of the people he used to see, Rebecca, inside his bedroom. She tries to seduce him but he stops her advances with a gentle approach and telling her the truth behind his rejection: he got married.
He knows Rebecca has a jealous streak on her and even though their relationship was never exclusive; both of them seeing other people during the years they've known each other, he doesn't want to hurt her either. But for him, their relationship ended the moment he decided to marry Norma, and even more so when he promised to love, honor and protect her. Their marriage may be a fake one, but his promise was real, to himself and to Norma.
After Rebecca leaves, hurt and furious, Alex looks for Bob Paris' money and in a moment of panic, decides to pack it all and bring it with him to Norma's house. As he drives back to her place, Alex starts thinking back to the events of the last few days.
'I need you to get him out!'
'Norma, I'm not magical.'
He was tired that morning after spending the whole night until the early hours of dawn getting rid of Bob Paris' body and boat. He frankly was a little frustrated that she only called him when she needed something from him but it was his entire fault because he always came to her aid whenever she called. He couldn't be angry with her now for asking favors of him when she, or her sons, were in trouble.
He had just killed a man for her. To protect her. Because the other night when he saw her crying in front of the motel after telling him 'We're all doomed in the end, right?' he couldn't bear the thought that she was scared and suffering, and that he couldn't do anything for her. So he went and tipped Bob off, and then waited for him in his own boat and killed him.
She had no idea of what he'd done. She would've never asked for him to do such a thing, so he can't be angry at her. It was his decision. But he had to go to work and had no time or jurisdiction for dealing with her son's mental ward medical hold. She'd have to wait the 48 hours.
Then two days later…
6:16 a.m.
'What's the problem, Norma?'
"Why do you have to answer the phone like that? What happened to "hello"?'
'Fine. Hello, what's the problem?'
Another crisis no doubt. He felt a headache coming on.
She did have a crisis and a terrible idea. She actually proposed to him. She asked him to get married "only on paper". He said no and felt terrible afterwards but she was being a pain in his ass. He was also resentful by her assumption that he would say yes, that his feelings for her were not so secret anymore, that she knew his weakness. She even offered to sleep with him as if that meant nothing to her, and that hurt him. So he said no.
But the next day he went to see her, to check on her. For the second time in the same week he told her he was sorry he couldn't help her. He asked if she was afraid of being alone with Norman and she said no, but her eyes told him a different story. She was scared. If she was trying to give him a silent confirmation to his question she succeeded. He decided right then and there that he would help her; he couldn't ignore his own desires and compulsion in doing so anyway.
He left her house. He went to Pineview and paid for Norman's place in cash. He called her and told her he'd marry her. Then, that very same night, her phone call came. The voice message that chilled him to the bone and made him drive to her house like a madman because it sounded like a goodbye. He couldn't lose her now. Not when he was marrying her. This is not how he would've wanted their relationship to start; he would've liked to take her out first, to dine and wine her, to give her everything she deserved. But things with Norma had never been logical. If this is the way it was going to happen, he'd take it and make the most out of it.
So he married her the next day. And that same night she told him some of the sad stories about her past. He already knew her marriage to Sam Bates was not the happiest one, but he didn't know her first marriage wasn't either. She was so young. He could imagine her; a teenager with a baby, going from one bad marriage to the next. She really had not been lucky in love. For such a beautiful and amazing woman, what a tragedy that no man had showed her that she deserved to be loved. He will be the one to show her.
Alex arrives at the house and goes to the basement to find a hiding spot for the money. He won't tell Norma about his encounter with Rebecca. First, because it will only aggravate her and she's stressed out enough as it is. Second, because he didn't tell her the names of those women when she asked because for him they're all now in the past. After a few minutes, he hears Norma coming down the basement stairs and he moves closer to the light so she knows he's here. She looks frightened.
"Oh, God, it's you. I got scared. Norman's the only one who's ever down here." He says nothing. "What were you doing?"
"I was looking for somewhere to do my laundry." He lies.
"Just give me your laundry. I like doing laundry." She offers.
They look at each other remembering that other time when they butted heads over her doing his laundry.
"Is that the truth?" She's suspicious now. She's squinting her eyes, tilting her head, and smiling.
"No, actually I was hiding a bunch of money down here." He tells the truth.
She smiles broadly. He looks at her face and can't stop himself from mirroring her smile. How is he supposed to not fall more and more in love with her when she smiles at him like that?
"Yeah, that's funny. Come on, I'll make us something to eat."
She starts walking upstairs, and he follows not too far behind, before taking a last look at the hiding place that now holds a bag full of cash.
Once in the kitchen, he's not sure what to do. She already took her jacket off and is putting on an apron. He stands there looking at her for a full minute before speaking.
"Do you need help?"
"Oh! Not really. I bought a rotisserie chicken already cooked because it's too late to start cooking now, so I'm just going to make a salad, if that's okay?"
She's looking at him waiting for an answer.
"Yes, of course." He's used to eating frozen food so anything she makes will be better. It's not like he will say no to whatever she has planned.
She starts taking greens out of the fridge and he takes his leather jacket off and puts it on one of the chairs.
"I can set the table." He offers.
"Ok. Second cupboard on top are the plates, and first drawer from the left you'll find the utensils." She directs him with her hands, and the same time she's making quick work on the salad; cutting and tossing. He's barely finished putting the empty plates on the table when she brings the salad bowl to it. She takes the chicken out and the smell of it fills the room immediately. She starts cutting it in pieces and licking her lips once in a while, quickly cleaning her hands on her apron.
"What's your piece?"
"Huh?"
"The chicken. What piece do you want?"
"Anything. Whatever."
"Alex, there's a whole chicken for the two of us. You can tell me which piece you like."
"Ok." He chuckles at her insistence. "Thighs and drumsticks are fine."
"See? That wasn't so hard." She smiles as she places the pieces on his plate. "Sit down." He does as she asks.
She brings napkins, water and salad dressing to the table and sits down in front of her plate with the chicken breast. They start eating in a companionable silence until Norma breaks it.
"I want to thank you."
"For what?"
"For having your friends fill the pit. You didn't have to."
"I didn't want you to have an accident… or one of your guests. It's safer now."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
He could live just for the smiles she keeps giving him.
Once they're done, Norma clears the table and Alex offers to do the dishes. She says it's no problem, they didn't even use that many. She'll be done in 10 minutes.
"Well, thanks for dinner."
"Sure."
"I'm going upstairs then."
"Okay. Goodnight."
He checks that the kitchen door is locked. Her safety is always his main concern. She notices it and smiles thankful at his thoughtfulness. He grabs his jacket and heads upstairs.
Norma finishes tidying up the kitchen, takes off her apron and turns off the lights. She does the same with the hallway and living room lights. She goes into her bedroom, takes off her clothes, and puts on her blue silk robe.
She's on her way to the bathroom. She's tying the bow of her robe at her waist so she doesn't notice that Alex has come out of his bedroom and is headed for the bathroom too.
They meet in the middle and laugh nervously when they see each other.
"Uh, ladies first."
"No, you go first. You have to wake up early tomorrow."
"Don't worry. It's yours." He retreats back into the hallway to his room.
"Goodnight, Alex." She speaks softly as she sees his form retreat into the hallway.
"Goodnight, Norma." He turns around to face her when he replies.
He lies back on his bed. He's content in a way he hasn't been in a long time. He finds comfort in knowing she's safe, that as long as he's here he'll protect her and nothing and no one will hurt her, ever again. He was mad at her because she proposed an insane thing: to get married. And now he's happy that she did.
He doesn't know how long he can live so close to her without telling her that he loves her. She knows he finds her beautiful and attractive. But the truth is he has been in love with her for a long time now. Infuriating, annoying, mercurial and flighty as she is, he's deeply in love with her.
But he'll wait for her; he'll wait until she is ready to accept his love. Meanwhile, he'll keep helping and protecting her. He thinks that's the only thing he wants to do for the rest of his life.
He hears the bathroom door open, and waits until he's sure she's at her bedroom again. He goes out of his and sees the door to her bedroom closed; he's not invited in yet. He hangs his head feeling a little defeated even though last night he refused to sleep with her. He's not expecting now for her to fall into his arms after just one day of marriage. But how he yearns for her. How much he wants her.
He goes to the bathroom, and when he comes back he lies in bed again and falls quickly asleep.
The next morning he wakes up very early. He hopes she's still sleeping and doesn't hear the sounds arising from his throat as he takes care of his own needs and comes with a muffled groan against his arm in the shower.
He gets ready for work, goes to the kitchen and makes coffee but he takes his to go. He wants to get out of the house fast. He can hear steps above meaning she's already awake. He can't see her right now. He feels his yearning for her is getting stronger the closer he gets to her. Before, he could dream of her and please himself thinking of her, and then fall asleep without guilt. Now, living with her is different; every sensation is multiplied. Her perfume hangs in the air constantly; her cooking feeds his hungry stomach and her presence leaves him with an unfulfilled latent desire.
He goes out the house and drives off. He thinks he sees Dylan in his truck pulling over at the parking in front of the motel.
TBC…
