Chapter Four

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I post this chapter tonight for ALittleTasteOfMadess, my soulmate, my muse, my sweet. I'm making a big deal of it now, but every chapter is written with her in mind. She is so loving, so compassionate, so gorgeous, and the world is a better place for her being in it. I hope you enjoy this, my love.

Now for my reviewers. ALittleTasteOfMadness, you are the sun in a dark night. Thank you so much, for the review, and the various encouragement outside of this site. You have told me that you love me, and it is returned exponentially. Cleo, I sincerely hope this chapter helps satisfy your need for Norman and Caleb interaction, though there will be more later. And yes, that was one of the things that bothered me about the third season. "Oh, here's $30,000 extra dollars, let's just throw it away without any other thought!" Makes no sense.

I hope this is a compelling continuation. Please let me know what you think, lovelies!

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.*o0o*.

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Five days, and the house seemed even more empty than ever.

Norma dragged herself out of bed, showered, and dressed, but not before she'd had a shot of whiskey. She didn't bother with food after, pouring a healthy dose of alcohol into her coffee and downing the cup. Norman's empty chair taunted her and she stared at it with haunted eyes before she slammed the cup down and filled it halfway again, this time straight whiskey, and she finished it in one go.

The office needed to be manned, though, and with Norman gone and Emma off to Portland for her lung transplant, it was up to her. She had already taken care of withdrawing from her classes at the community college; after finding out Bob Paris had vanished, she had seen no point in continuing. All too soon, he would give information to the authorities, and she and Norman both would be wanted by the police. What was the point?

Nothing had a point anymore. Her life had ended when Norman had left her.

She finished the last tiny sip of the whiskey in her cup, stashed the bottle in a tote bag that she had on the table, and headed down to the office, struggling with the wooziness in her head as she walked down the stairs. Just one more day, she told herself, and then she wouldn't have to pretend anymore, once they came to arrest her. It would almost be a relief. It couldn't be much longer...

It was three hours before she even had her first customer, and another two before someone came to check out. As Norma waved her out, the sheriff's SUV came rumbling onto the gravel, and her throat closed up. She pulled out her whiskey and took a healthy gulp before stashing it again.

The bell rang as the sheriff entered, and Norma stood expectantly. "Alex?"

"Norma," he responded, staring at her.

He was alone, she realized, no back up of any kind to be seen. "You're not here to arrest me?" she asked, incredulous.

"No, of course not! I wanted to come earlier, but it would have looked suspicious!" He turned and locked the door, flipping the sign to say 'closed'.

Her mind raced as Alex pulled her back into the parlor. "What do you mean?" She didn't understand; there was no way that Bob Paris would spare her, not after what had happened between them. Certainly it was only a matter of time before he would be back to bring her in...?

"Bob Paris won't be a problem anymore. I got rid of him." He looked searchingly into her eyes, warm hands closing over her shoulders. "He's not going to bother you again."

"What?" Norma nearly whispered the question, horrified as her sickening hopes were dashed. She wouldn't be escaping this life so easily... "You.. You..."

"I did it for you, Norma! I did it to keep you safe!" He pulled her limp form into an embrace.

Everything inside of Norma was a dissonant swirl. She was overjoyed to think Norman would be free of trouble, but now, she'd have to continue here alone, managing the motel and pretending everything was all right. Finally, her relief over Norman won out, and she smiled hesitantly. "Thank you.. Thank you, Alex."

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.*o0o*.

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The sun was just setting over the horizon when Norman exited the cabin, heading toward the small fire near Caleb's van. Since Dylan had left to be with Emma in Portland, it was just the two of them and Gunner at the farm. Norman no longer had the buffer of Dylan between him and his uncle, so he avoided him as much as possible. He feared another black out might come over him, and the last thing he wanted was to hurt his brother by doing something to Caleb needlessly. It seemed as if the man really was content to leave his mother be at last.

He sat on the cooler and watched Gunner shifting foil packets around the hot coals with some long grilling tongs. "Hey, Norman, how's it going? Feeling any better?"

"I don't really want to talk about it," he answered calmly.

"Okay, man, no worries."

Gunner went back to cooking the food, but Norman felt eyes on him nonetheless. "Is something wrong?" Norman asked quietly, making eye contact with Caleb.

"Nah, nothin'." He turned away just as Gunner announced the food was ready. Soon, they were crumpling their empty foil and throwing it in Caleb's garbage bin. Gunner asked Caleb to play on his guitar after he'd emerged with a large bottle of whiskey, and and the older man obliged.

Norman lay down on the ground near the fire, crossing his arms beneath his head. The stars overhead were bright and beautiful in a way they weren't in town. As he gazed into the deep night sky, Norman slowly began to recognize songs his mother had sung to him over the years; Perry Como, Pat Boone, Elvis Presley... He felt a pang in his heart as he thought of Norma, then a stab of jealousy as he wondered if she'd sung the same songs with her brother all those years ago.

The guitar strummed a very familiar introduction, and his uncle's soft voice sang lyrics he knew too well. "Mister Sandman... bring me a dream... Make her the cutest that I've ever seen..." His voice somehow made the song melancholy, echoing inside the hollow place inside Norman. He felt tears gathering and sat up, wiping at his eyes.

The music broke off. "Hey, kid."

Looking up, Norman realized Gunner was gone, leaving him alone with Caleb. He wiped his eye one more time. "Yeah?" He answered, defeated.

"You want a drink?"

"No."

They were silent again for a moment, Caleb swishing the alcohol around in the half drained bottle. "I get it, Norman. I get it. ...Norma, man, she's... She's amazing, but she's like the sun, ya know? She'll burn ya." Caleb's eyes flashed in the light of the fire, and he took a huge gulp of his whiskey.

"Don't..." Norman began, dreading what terrible things might come.

"She's beautiful and bright," Caleb continued, ignoring him, "and you'd do anything for her, anything at all, anything to stay there in her warmth, and then she'll blind you. I only wanted to make her happy. I couldn't... I couldn't walk away..."

Holding his breath, Norman turned towards him. This was it; this was the moment that he would lose it and try to murder his uncle. Something he said, his remembrances of Norma, would set Norman off and it would be over.

Caleb took another drink of the whiskey, staring at the ground before he spoke. "But you left. I don't know how you found the strength. You're a better man than me."

Instead of the terrible rage he'd expected, Norman felt pity, and a touch of anxiety. "I love her, but It's not- I never-"

"I know that look." He laughed, smiling despite himself, and the chuckle transferred into his words. "Overwhelmed, lost... I won't say anything, don't worry 'bout that. What happened? What made you leave?"

Norman teetered on the edge of total confession. He still held hatred for this man, his mother's rapist, but it seemed that he was perhaps the only one who could understand what Norman was going through. Still, he could leave part of it out.. he didn't have to reveal the worst of it... "I.. uh... I have these black outs..." Caleb leaned in closer, giving Norman his full attention. "I lose time, but Mother says I do things, things I can't remember... She says I killed my father when he was hurting her. I don't want to black out and hurt her, too." He paused, picking at the grass beneath him as a shaky breath left him. "I tried to kill myself once to protect her, but... She wouldn't let me. So this time I left instead."

Caleb held his gaze for a moment. "A much better man," he repeated, actually clapping him on the back.

Norman fought the tears he felt welling up in his eyes, angry at himself for reacting this way to the kindness of a man he so abhorred. He glanced down, releasing his fists. "Actually, can I have that bottle?"

Caleb handed it over and settled his guitar in his lap again. Norman took a drink that burned its way down into his insides as the quiet strumming picked up again. Staring at the full moon, bright and shining in the dark sky, and he thought of Norma. Minutes, or hours later, he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. A message from his mother...

"I love you, Norman."

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.*o0o*.

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Norma took a deep breath as Alex rolled off of her, immediately closing her legs. With a far away look in her eyes, she turned away from him and clutched her pillow. She felt dirty, used, unsatisfied as he rolled to his side to embrace her from behind. The Sheriff felt like completely the wrong size and shape pressing against her, huge and hard like her brother used to, and she closed her eyes for a moment. She remembered Norman pressing up against her in the still of the night, whispering in her ear, and wishing it was his seed she was pressing between her thighs. What was wrong with her?

"Are you okay?" He asked, stroking her side.

"Yeah," she replied slowly, eyes focusing on the roundness of the full moon outside her lacy curtains. She thought of her sweet son, of his devoted presence, and she sighed deeply.

"This just isn't the behavior I'd normally expect from a satisfied woman," he said, pulling her tightly against him. "You're all tense... Do you need me to..."

His hand trailed down her side and slid towards her center, and it was just too much, too similar, and she panicked and sat up on the edge of the bed. "Stop, stop..." She covered her mouth and clenched her eyes shut, suddenly nauseated by the unfamiliar smell of the man in her bedroom.

"Norma, what...?" He moved to sit beside her, a concerned look crossing his face. "I thought we were...?"

"I don't know, I just... I need to be alone." She turned partially away from him, crossing her legs.

"Alone?"

Standing, she plucked her robe from the vanity chair and slid into it, "I'm sorry, Alex. I'm just... I'm in a strange place right now. Please, just go."

She stared in the mirror, listening to the rustling sounds of the sheriff putting on his clothes. "Norma," he said quietly. For a moment, she thought he would go on, but he didn't. She listened to his footsteps retreating, to the distant sound of the front door. She stood, and moved to the window, pulling apart the lacy cloth and staring at the night sky.

Where was Norman? Was he safe? Was he thinking of her now? She pulled her robe tight, tears streaming down her cheeks. She plucked her phone from the nightstand, staring at the various messages she'd sent him without response.

"Where are you?"

"What are you doing?"

"I miss you..."

"Please come home..."

Norma stared at the screen for a while, losing track track of time as she looked over her own messages, many sent days before. before finally typing out a new one.

"I love you, Norman."

Norma closed her phone and moved to Norman's room, staring at the empty sheets where he should be. She still hadn't made the bed; once she did, she'd be admitting he was gone for good. For now, she set her phone on his night stand and moved to the bathroom.

It was easy to wash away the evidence of her betrayal, to pretend she had never invited Alex in, had never let him kiss her and carry her upstairs like some chivalrous knight claiming his reward. The shower squeaked as she turned it off, and she stepped out of the tub, dropping water all over the floor. The steam distorted her reflection in the mirror. Carrying the discarded robe in one hand, she walled back to her room, dropping it in the laundry basket before frantically ripping the sheets off of her bed and stuffing them in after.

How could she have thought that playing with Alex would somehow rid her of the anguish she felt inside?

She made a high, whining noise of desperation, stumbling the few feet to Norman's room, collapsing nude onto his bed and wrapping up in the used sheets. His smell was starting to to fade, but she buried her noise in the pillow and breathed deeply, wishing so much that she knew where he was. A small flashing light caught her attention on the night table.

A text message...

She fumbled with the phone in her haste, bringing it closer and typing in her lock code.

"I love you, Mother. Always."

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.*o0o*.

To Be Continued

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