The trio walked silently through the long corridors of the police station. Norman was in the lead, Dylan and Chloe followed closely at his heels. Upon reaching the holding cell, Chloe felt her stomach drop at how hopeless and defeated Norma looked. If Norma was giving up, what did that mean for the rest of us?
"How are you?" Norman was the first to speak. His voice was shaking with a sad anticipation. He laced his fingers through the slits under the window. Chloe stood behind him, out of view, hoping to not interrupt.
"I've been better." Norma admitted, her voice slightly cracking. Chloe had never seen Norma this way, it made the knot in her stomach tighten even more. She opened her mouth to say something, anything, but no words would come out.
"What can we do? How do we help?" Norman's voice was frenzied, as if he were about yell or cry, maybe both. Chloe couldn't lie, she felt the same way. She wanted to scream out her frustrations. This was never supposed to happen, it was supposed to be taken care of. Chloe determined then and there that she needed to talk to Zack. Was this revenge for sneaking into his house? For finding out his disgusting, terrible secret? She blanched at the thought. Is this my fault?
"I'm glad you want to help, Norman, really that's big of you. Any mother would be broken in half at such devotion." Norma quipped bitterly. Chloe's brow furrowed as she walked around Norman to be closer to the cell. Was she really refusing help at this point?
"Norma?" Chloe was questioning Norma's tone. Norma glanced away, rolling her eyes. Chloe bit her tongue and stepped back away from the cell, numerous thoughts playing through her head. Norma is leaving us to deal with this, she thought bitterly. Dylan huffed as he stepped up to say his piece.
"Your bail has been set at one hundred thousand dollars. You got that laying around? No?" He paused briefly as he stepped closer to the cell, coming to stand right beside Norman. Norma still hadn't responded by the time Dylan spoke again. "No, I didn't think so. Look, I looked into it, we can use the motel as collateral." Norma didn't seem to care if she stayed or left the little cell, she barely even listened as Dylan spoke.
"You know what? Just leave me here. Get the hell out of here, all of you. Seriously, I don't need your help. This is all a big mistake, it's just gonna clear itself up." It sounded like a lie to all three of them. Just her voice made Chloe shiver. The hopelessness was starting to creep itself into Chloe's own brain. What hope was there for us if Norma just gave up?
"Really?" Dylan's cocky voice snapped Chloe out of her depressing thoughts, and Chloe wanted to roll her eyes. Power play much?
"Mhm." Norma dismissed, looking away.
"Given everything that happened, you don't need any help?" If looks could kill, Chloe knew she'd be six feet under after the look she received from Norma. Looking at Norman, Norma's face softened slightly before betrayal took over it. She knows we told Dylan. Shit.
"Yeah. Now get out of here." Norma snapped harshly. The hurt and anger were clearly heard in her voice.
"You've got no one else to help-"
"Get out of here!" Norma screeched, cutting Dylan off. He huffed irritably and immediately backed off, turning swiftly on his heel as he left the area. Chloe spared an apologetic glance at the Norman before quickly following after Dylan.
She caught up to him in the parking lot. He was resting against the car, obviously still fuming. She approached cautiously, not knowing what to say.
"She's such a bitch." Dylan was the first to speak. He lit up a cigarette, shaking his head ever so often.
"You can't help people who don't want to be helped, Dylan." Chloe spoke softly. She still kept her distance, though Dylan took no notice.
"Did she seem angry to you? Bitter?"
"What exactly did you expect? You told her Norman went and had sex last night, and now you pretty much informed her you knew all about our secret." Chloe shrugged, finally coming to lean beside him on the car. He sighed and raked a hand though his hair.
"Guess I could have handled it better." The way he said it made Chloe laugh. He gave a small smirk, keeping quiet as he took another drag off his cigarette. The pair waited in a comfortable silence for Norman. They didn't have to wait long.
He stormed out of the building a few minutes later, not saying a word to either Dylan or Chloe as he climbed into the backseat. The couple glanced at each other with matching looks of confusion, Chloe's laced with more concern. Dylan finished his smoke before climbing into the driver seat. Chloe slid into the passenger side. The comfortable silence Dylan and Chloe had shared turned tense and uncomfortable. The ride back to the house felt much longer than it really was.
Dylan had left for work shortly after they had returned, and Norman hadn't even gone back up to the house, he had instead gone straight to the motel office to try and find the deed. Chloe putzed around the house, not sure what to do in her free time. Her anxiety had her on edge. She wanted to talk to Zack, to try and figure out what had happened. He had wanted to talk to her anyway, or so he said. Who knew what he wanted after today.
"We need to talk." She pressed send and hoped he wouldn't question her.
"No shit. I'll stop over in 10. I work in an hour."
"Okay." It wasn't okay, considering Norman was down at the motel, and Norman was more than just a little pissed at Zack currently. She peeked out the front window to see Emma's car parked in front of the motel and she frowned.
What the hell is Emma doing here?
Her question was answered in the least as Emma made her way to her car, followed closely by Norman.
Wasn't he supposed to be looking for the deed to the motel?
She decided to put it out of her mind, knowing she'd be able to question him later. Instead, she made her way downstairs, making sure to keep watch out the window nervously. She didn't know what would happen, or what to say. So much had happened within the last twenty four hours and it seemed like everything was coming to a head. A swift knock pulled Chloe out of her thoughts. She took a huge breath as she opened the door.
"Let's make this quick." Zack spoke gruffly, pushing past her into the house. Chloe looked at him in disbelief.
"Hello to you too, asshole." Zack gave her a harsh glare, but otherwise looked awkward. It was something Chloe hadn't remembered seeing since she was younger. "Why do you look like somebody kicked your puppy?"
Zack"s fist clenched and Chloe stepped away wearily, not wanting to be a target again. She had no idea how unstable her brother currently was, and she didn't want to find out while she was all alone with him.
"Shut the fuck up, Chloe." He growled, raking a hand through his hair. "You need to shut up and listen for once in your fucking life." That certainly shut her up. "Romero is looking into your file, Chloe. He doesn't know for sure if you were here the night Norma killed Keith, and you're damn lucky for that, otherwise you'd be sitting in that cell right next to Norma."
Chloe was shocked. She hadn't even thought of just how likely it would be for her to be in jail right now.
"Is he still looking into me?" Chloe asked quietly, still shocked.
"I don't think so, now that he has Norma." Zack explained, now rubbing the back of his neck as he looked anywhere but his younger sister. His voice cracked at Norma's name. Chloe didn't know what to feel. Did her brother actually like Norma? Was he capable of those types of feelings after all the fucked up shit he's done? Chloe wanted to drop it but needed more information.
"She can't possibly get pinned just because of some carpet fiber, can she?" It was one of the questions reeling in her head. Keith had owned this place for how long, couldn't it be possible that the carpet fiber was just stuck there from before? The conversation felt as if it was just any normal talk with her older brother. She didn't like it. She didn't like him, but right now, he was her only source of information.
"She can, and she will if I don't do something." Zack's voice held some superiority, or something akin to it. Chloe wanted to roll her eyes, but she knew it was true. The only way Norma would be let off the hook was if Zack did something, or if somebody else took the blame which Chloe was not going to be doing.
"What are you going to do?" She was curious as to what he could do. She knew there were probably a few different things he could do, she just didn't know what.
"I don't know yet." Zack shrugged. Well that wasn't very informative. Chloe furrowed her brow. Zack ran a hand through his hair before glancing at his watch. "I have to get going. I just wanted you to know you need to watch yourself. We still need to talk about you breaking into my house, Chloe. I know what you saw, and I want to talk to you about it."
He was talking in a calm, reassuring voice, as if she were an injured child, or a scared animal. It made her want to scream. What was there to talk about besides the fact that her half-brother was a fucked up freak? She immediately put up her defenses.
"I know what the fuck I saw, Zack. We don't need to talk about it." She wanted him to leave, so she attempted to end the conversation. Instead, Zack's facade dropped. His face immediately twisting into one of rage. He rushed her, holding her by the shoulders tightly.
"You told Norma, you little bitch. Why else would she have gone down to the basement?" He was seething, spittle flying out of his mouth. Chloe shrunk back, but his hold on her was painstakingly tight.
"I didn't." She cried out in pain.
"Then who the hell did, Chloe?" When she didn't answer immediately he shook her harshly. "Who the fuck was it?"
"It was Norman." She wailed, and the shaking stopped instantly. Zack looked at her, the craziness no longer in his eyes. Instead, his face was blank, but his eyes were set in a hard, cold glare.
"You're not ruining this for me Chloe. I love her, and you're not gonna be the reason she gets locked up or leaves me. Stop digging into my life, and stop dragging Norman along." He gave her shoulders one last painful squeeze before shoving her away from himself, directly into the wall. She hissed in pain as her head smacked against it hard. He glanced at his watch at sighed. "Now I'm going to be late. We are going to be talking again soon, Chloe. Don't forget what I said last time."
With that, he turned and left without another word. Chloe sank to the ground, upset with herself, with Zack, with the entire situation. Her arms were painful to move, the back of her head was tender to the touch. She had given away the information that Norman had known about the girl. Everything was falling apart at the seams.
Well there's chapter twenty one. Uploaded way later than I ever expected. I'm super sorry for the hiatus, guys. College got the best of me, and so did writers block. It still kind of is, actually. I'm currently on winter break, and I started rewatching Bates and got totally inspired. Mix the fact that I don't have school work and got my inspiration back, and he is chapter twenty one! I'm going to try and update more frequently, at least once or twice a month. I want to thank everyone that has stuck with me and this story, I really appreciate it! Alright, back to the usual, 1. Was everyone in character? 2.Chloe's outfit link is still not up to date, I'll be working on that soon enough. 3. What do you think Zack really wants to talk to Chloe about? 4. I was really sad about the lack of Chloe and Dylan interaction in this chapter, but don't fear, the next few chapters will make up for it;) 5. I again want to thank everyone for all the follows, favorites, and reviews that I have gotten even while being on hiatus, they really meant a lot, and definitely got me writing. They make me smile so big my face hurts, so please keep them coming!:)
Until next time, my lovely readers! Xx