Chapter Two
.
.*o0o*.
.
At long last, here is the second chapter of Closer! I would like to thank bates-angela from Tumblr, who wrote an amazing Tumblr review of it. I hope she enjoys where we're going from here, and I promise it will end well, not like the last one.
I originally wrote this as a one piece for ALittleTasteOfMadness, but I hope you appreciate the expansion. I know we both love happy fluffy pieces, and I hope this turns into this, though I'm glad you ...enjoyed... this last bit. :) Don't worry, Edifying, I'm not going to stop! It's just taken a while to get here. Hannigram-13, heck yeah, Soul Bates for LYFE. And Cleo, I'm so glad you liked it. I am going for realism most of the time!
Less smut and more plot in this chapter. Let me know what you think, friends!
.
.*o0o*.
.
Norma was in the shower when it happened.
She was smiling, tingly and relaxed in her afterglow despite the unpleasant task to follow. It was completely unbelievable, that she and Norman had found themselves in a sexual and romantic relationship... She couldn't even pinpoint when she'd started thinking of her son in that way, but she was happy. So happy, for the first time in years... Despite this, she fervently hoped that the he would be able to accept what she was about to tell him, and tried to hold on to her happy feeling.
A loud thud and shout could be heard, and she quickly shut off the water, grabbing her towel. All the sparkling joy she'd felt shriveled inside her as she wrapped herself in the white, fluffy fabric. "Norman?" she called, heart beating fast as she moved cautiously towards the door. There was shuffling outside and a thump followed by a crashing sound, someone falling down the stairs. "Norman!"
As she reached for the door, it opened inward and Norman grabbed her and put his hand over her lips, shaking his head; then he pulled her quickly out of the bathroom, rushing down the hall. She saw two men crumpled at the bottom of the staircase as she looked over the edge of the rail, panic rising inside. Norman led them to her room, but before he had shut the door, she heard a man's voice shouting from downstairs. "Ben? What happened?"
"Norman, who is that?" Norma whispered desperately as the lock clicked.
Norman swiftly moved to lock the door that let in from his room and started scooting the bed towards it, frustrated as he had to pull his loose pajamas tight aging his arms. "I don't know... they tried to grab me. Call the police."
Clutching her towel around her, Norma fished for her phone in her purse. She didn't dial the police exactly, but a gruff voice answered her as the pajama-clad Norman slowly pushed the wardrobe closer to the door that led out into the hallway, attempting to block it. "Norma, what is it?"
"There's someone in the house," she hissed, crouching in the corner. "They attacked Norman."
"Where are you?"
"My bedroom," she hissed.
"I'll be right there," he assured her. "Stay down, try not to confront them."
Just then, her bedroom doorknob began to jiggle. She stood and let her towel fall, helping Norman move the wardrobe just in time as they tried to kick the door in. He picked up her towel and wrapped it around her. "Alex is coming," she said quietly, before shrieking as a shot rang out.
Norman grabbed her wrist and dragged her to the far corner, pressing her to the floor. "Get down!"
"You get down too!" she retorted, pulling him next to her.
He moved to lay on top of her, ignoring her protestations as he used his body to shield hers. Norma felt her pulse in her head and heard the thumping of it in her ears. She was terrified that somehow, at the end of this, Norman would be dead, and she'd be expected to continue on alone...
Momentarily, the shots stopped and the whole door started to move. Whoever was out there had clearly shot open the lock, and the wardrobe began to shake.
"Norman!" she whispered desperately, unsure what she meant by it. She gripped his hand where it lay next to hers, tears gathering in her eyes as her whole body shook. This was her fault somehow; she'd gotten involved with the seedy underbelly of White Pine Bay, and it had turned on her, just as Alex had said it would.
"It's okay, Mother." He sounded steady, but she felt his body quaking, too.
Another loud bang sounded, and Norma flinched, concentrating on Norman's comforting presence. "Put your hands up!"
There was more shouting, more crashing noises, and then all went silent. Norman stayed laying over Norma, but as she raised her head, he buried nose in her hair. "Is it over?"
"Shush!" she ordered. "Don't move."
Seconds ticked by, terror growing inside them, until the door cracked gently open. "Norma?" came their intrepid sheriff's voice. Norman exhaled loudly as the sheriff shoved the door inward, peeking in to see them on the floor. "Are you okay?"
"We're fine," Norman said for her, standing. He shoved the wardrobe slightly, allowing the sheriff to open the door.
The sheriff bypassed Norman completely, going to help Norma to her feet. He looked from Norma's state of undress to Norman with a cocked eyebrow before pulling out his radio. "I need some back up at the Bates Motel, please. Some of Ford's men were after the Bates'." The radio crackled a quick response. "Norma, you might want to put something on before they get here. I'll just talk to Norman outside while you're covering up."
She didn't like the idea of Norman talking with the sheriff alone for any length of time, so as soon as they had exited she threw off her towel and pulled on her blue robe, foregoing any underclothes in her haste. Bursting out the door, she blurted out, "He doesn't know anything, just ask me! I'll answer all your questions." Both men stared at her quietly, silence stretching out between them as she moved to Norman's side and took his hand. She stared at the unconscious man on the floor, swallowing her sudden jolt of fear.
"Norma, did you actually.. see anything?" Romero asked. "Norman says you were in the shower when these guys tried to grab him."
"I saw enough," she said defensively, looking to Norman for support.
"It's all right, Mom, I don't mind."
"Thanks, Norman." The sheriff gestured to the stairs, and together they moved to the living room, and frustrated Norma following behind.
.
.*o0o*.
.
By the time Alex had finished debriefing them, and the deputies had led out the offenders, it was two in the morning. Norma was exhausted, and she didn't have the energy to worry about telling Norman about his father. Hopefully, if she didn't mention, he wouldn't either. She closed and locked the two front doors, then turned to find Norman standing close. "Oh, honey," she breathed, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. "It's gonna be okay."
"I know, Mom," he answered, holding her close. "Sheriff Romero said he'd take care of it."
Inside, Norma dreaded what that might mean; Alex had said they were Ford's men. How could one man challenge the head of a drug family? Still, they were safe for tonight. They would need to take more precautions, be absolutely sure all the doors and windows were locked, maybe even leave town... "Let's check over everything before bed, Norman, make sure we're locked in tight tonight. Will you get the basement windows, honey?"
"Of course, Mother." He gave her a quick kiss, and they separated temporarily to check all the entrances were sealed, meeting up again at the base of the stairs.
She was nervous again, all the joy she'd been feeling completely squashed by the horrible thought that someone she had gotten involved with had been trying to hurt her son. "Let's- let's go to bed. We can lock the doors again, barricade ourselves in..." Norman looked like he might protest, but he held his tongue, and Norma sighed in relief as she took his hands and led him up the stairs.
Her room was a mess, the wardrobe and bed still askew. They moved the bed back together, and pushed the wardrobe in front of the door again, sealing themselves in. Norma swiftly moved the chair that matched her vanity and lodged it under the door knob of the door between their two rooms, shaking it to be sure it was secure.
"Oh! That would have been a better idea," Norman said, chagrined. He had spent valuable time moving the bed when he could have don't something quicker.
"We were scared." She took his hand and led him to the bed. "You did wonderfully."
They curled into the comforters together, Norma resting her head on Norman's shoulder, heart still racing. She couldn't imagine she would sleep much tonight, even with Norman's warm and loving presence right by her side. Forget being afraid of telling Norman the truth - she was afraid of losing him entirely.
"Mom," he said softly, his breath tickling her hair.
She hesitated before turning and kissing his cheek. "Yes, honey?"
"I just... Well, I still want to know. I know you're tired, and I am too, but... Can we talk now?"
Norma took a deep breath, her first instinct to tell Norman it could wait until tomorrow. He wouldn't argue; he was her sweet boy again. He would wait patiently until tomorrow, possibly even the next day, and she could put this off probably indefinitely.
However, she knew she had made him a promise. "Come here, Norman," she said, and they shuffled and rearranged themselves until they were facing each other, pressed together under warm, safe blankets where nothing could hurt them. "I'm going to tell you. But I want you to know before I do that I don't blame you for any of it."
Norman took a shaky breath and nodded his head.
"All right. All right..." Norma told him. She made sure the whole event was cushioned with her insistence that he hadn't meant to do it, that he'd only been protecting her, and his father's death was a terrible but unavoidable consequence, and when she was done, she watched him bury his face in her chest and both of them wept.
.
.*o0o*.
.
By the time Norman had come downstairs in the morning, Norma had set the table and laid out platters of hotcakes and bacon and eggs. Her son was fresh and dressed nicely in khakis and a button-down shirt, his hair wet and combed back. She took him in, clean and with red rims around his eyes that belied how long he'd been crying this morning already, and went to him. "Oh, Norman!"
She wrapped him in her arms, feeling his clutching at her just as surely. His face went into her neck, hot breath exhaling in a silent sob against her skin. "Mother..."
"It's okay. We're okay." She held him as he shook, and after a moment he had stilled. "Here, I've made your favorite breakfast," she said, urging him to sit.
They ate in near silence, Norman merely picking at the food he had moved to his plate. After a few moments, Norma decided to test the waters. "Norman... I don't want you feel guilty about this."
The boy glanced up, incredulity on his face, but he didn't speak due to his mouthful of fluffy hotcake.
"You didn't even know you were doing it," she said matter-of-factly, averting her eyes as she gestured with her silverware. "You still don't even remember, and it's not like it's going to happen again." They were both silent for a moment, and she stood and moved to him, cupping his cheeks. "You were protecting me. You've always been there to protect me, Norman. That's all it was."
Norman stared at her with wide, wet eyes, tears beginning to streak down his cheeks again. "No, Mother. That's not all of it." He hiccoughed and looked down.
"What do you mean?" she asked sternly.
Norman closed his eyes. He didn't want to see her face when he said it. "Sheriff Romero... He seemed to imply that... I mean, I don't remember it..." He paused, shaking. "He thinks I had sex wiith Miss Watson!" His eyes grew large and wet with fear. "I mean, I don't - I don't remember, I don't remember having sex with her, but he had to have a reason for asking, didn't he? Does that mean I was there when she died?"
"Norman, don't..." Despite a selfish twinge of jealous, she pushed her own feeling aside and went to him, keenly aware of his emotional state. "Don't..."
"Does it mean I killed her?" he yelled frantically, "I had sex with her and then I killed her!"
"Stop-"
"Oh, God, I killed her, oh, God-"
"Norman!" Norma grabbed her son by the shoulders and shook him. "You didn't kill anyone! You didn't! Now stop talking!" Norman collapsed backward, shaking as his eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed to the floor. "NORMAN!"
.
.*o0o*.
.
To Be Continued...