"I couldn't stand the thought of you being sad about it, and I thought I could do something or fix it, whatever that means." I hope you all enjoy this new chapter. Review if you enjoy. Happy Reading - MJ123

Alex stood, his gun staying put in his hand, looking at the man. His name sent a chill up his spine. Steven Bates, Sam's brother. He remembered Norma telling him that they'd slept together once and that he carried a torch for her. He felt like a moron, standing there just looking at him. He was sure as hell ready to guard what was his, being Norma herself.

It felt like an hour had passed by the time he opened his mouth, he coldn't say Norma was around, he would only want to see her and plus she wasn't in the proper clothing to greet people, "No, uh, no she's not around right now," he answered, praying she would stay put in his room like he asked, he knew following directions was not something she was keen on.

"Well, I know that. It's only five in the morning. I just came in from Arizona with my daughter, we're looking for somewhere to stay," he explained, still keeping look out for Norma. He'd lost touch with her once, he was damned if it would happen again.

Daughter? He thought, growing more sceptical of this man's motives. "I'll tell you what. If you keep driving a few miles up the road, you'll find a place called The King's Motel. They are open all night. There are always a few rooms open," he informed, hoping he would leave as soon as possible.

"Thanks, I appreciate it. I still wanna come back tomorrow and see Norma. When does the motel open?".

"8 am at the earliest. I can let her know you came by so she has a heads up," though he didn't want to offer this man much, there it stood. He figured Norma would go on a rampage the second she found out anyone from her past had resurfaced to White Pine.

"That would be great," he sighed, seemingly disappointed that he couldn't see her when he wanted to, "I'll be back by then, I just wanted to stop by." He then proceeded to shoot him a kind smile and walk back to car, getting in and driving away through the winding roads of the town.

Alex, pleased that Steven finally left, walked back into the motel room and immediately dropped his gun back on the bedside table. Norma shot up from the bed and paced back to the widow, checking out the grounds, "Is everything alright? Who was that?," the nervous questions were shooting out of her like a torpedo.

"Norma," he sighed, taking a seat on the mattress, "That uh, that was your brother in law. He was looking for you."

She walked to him, her face in complete shock. She never thought she'd hear from him again, how did he find her anyway? Her heart started to pump as she thought back to the last time they interacted.

"Steven? What did he want? Did he say what he wanted? Or why he was here?" she asked, her voice had the word nervous written all over it, she was close to stammering.

He just stayed silent and shook his head, "No, he didn't say much at all. Just that he and his daughter were passing through town, wanted to see you, and-"

"Woah, wait a second, wait, his daughter? Steven doesn't have a daughter, he didn't have a family, he lived alone," she explained, her face scrunched up in disbelief. "Are you sure he said that? Did you just hear him wrong?".

"No, Norma. He said "my daughter". Though, to your credit, I didn't see anyone in the passenger seat," he said, thinking back hard, he didn't know why someone would lie about having a child.

"God, I just don't know why he would show up. I left him and everyone else behind anyway. I'm different now and so is my life, I really don't want to see him, I can't see him," she said, obviously stressing out, Alex watched, he could tell she was easily to the point of tears.

She plopped down next to him and he placed a hand at her back, though it pained him to comfort her judging by her recent behavior, he knew it was right. He loved her and he would never leave her sad like this, "If there's anything you wanna tell me, you can. I just, I want you to be completely honest with me. We've already established that I'm not going to leave you."

She sighed, her breath hitching as she averted her eyes from his, a few teardrops leaked down her cheeks as she shook her head. He pulled her into him, his arms wrapping around her sweetly scented body as his nose into her hair. "It's okay, alright? You can tell me," he murmured, rocking her body gently.

"I um…" she started, sniffling and resting her head on his shoulder, "Y'know how I said we only slept together once?".

He nodded, his heart already starting to deplore, the very thought killing him, "Yeah, we were in Arizona when you told me. You said it was awful and it only happened one time."

"I lied," she admitted, backing away from him now, she feared he would get mad again and she couldn't handle seeing him that way, "We had an ongoing affair. It lasted for about a year and a half."

He looked down at the floor and shook his head slightly, his eyes tearing back up to hers quickly, "Why couldn't you just tell me that?".

"I-I...I didn't want you to think badly of me," she murmured, her palm coming up to meet her forehead. "I didn't want you to think I was cheap or easy, I was just so unhappy. I was so unhappy, I needed someone to be there and make me feel safe."

He didn't want her to get worked up again, so he re-wrapped his arm around her and pulled her back, "I understand, Norma. I do, I get it."

She took another deep breath and looked into his eyes, though it was hard to do, this had to be said and it was to be truthful and admitted to his face, "You know how I told my therapist I had a miscarriage a few years ago?".

He nodded, keeping his grip on her tight.

"Alex, it wasn't Sam's baby, it was Steven's. We'd been sleeping together for months and I didn't expect it, it just happened. I lied and told Sam it was his," she cried, the tears dripping down her cheeks.

He hugged her tighter and kissed her head, "Hey, it's okay, Norma. It's alright, calm down," he murmured, rubbing the center of her back for comfort.

Her breath hitched as her body continued to shake, "A-And Steven found out. He didn't know I was pregnant at all, I was three months along. He came to my house the morning after I lost the baby, Sam was at work…"

The sky was a dark grey that morning, the same color Norma felt inside. She had been admitted from the hospital three hours before and refused to get any sleep. It was horrific, being surrounded by a group of doctors and nurses who can only gasp at the amount of blood extracted from her body. She never would've expected it.

She had gone to bed a little earlier that night, making sure Norman was tucked away asleep safe and sound and that Sam had a beer and his sports highlights. She was awoken by a wet, uncomfortable feeling, her thighs felt sticky in her pajama pants. The alarm clock read 1:00 when she popped up in bed and noticed all the blood. It didn't take an expert to know what was happening.

Her hands clasped over her mouth as she cried, realizing she'd lost the baby. It took a lot of courage, to get up from that bed and walk to the living room. Sam was most likely drunk and wouldn't believe her if she didn't have evidence. As she crept into the room, her toes brushing the brown carpeting as a hand sat on her flat tummy, she observed him.

He was watching some game show, laughing whenever the host would make some cheesy comment, to her surprise he wasn't drunk yet. She could tell by the way he laughed, his voice carried no form of slur whatsoever. He must've snuck out once she fell asleep, probably to go see her. His affair and biggest "secret". It's not like Norma was sad about it, she had gotten over him at least two years into the hitting and shouting.

She cleared her throat, water overflowing her eyes, "Sam?" her voice choked out, soon hitching as the crying became more prevalent. He turned in the chair, flicking on the desk lamp on the side table, the second he saw her crying he huffed, "Why are you crying?" he asked, his voice endlessly irritated. This is how it was when he wasn't drunk, he was a verbally abusive asshole but there was less to no hitting or touching.

"Sam," she cried again, moving closer to stand in front of him, she knew he got the message once his eyes flew down to her blood soaked pajama pants.

"Oh shit," he exclaimed, his eyes bulging at the sight. The abdominal cramping was already starting for Norma, she couldn't stop grasping her side, it was like someone was stabbing her. Though it was bad, she couldn't express the feeling like she wanted to, that would just wake up Norman and make him worried.

"We have to go to the hospital," she said, sniffling and moving back towards the doorway to change and clean up.

The ride over was probably the worst part, all he could say was "This is why you should have aborted it" and "I'm sorry I ever knocked you up". His words only made her cry harder, evoking more irritation from him. Her focus was turned out the window the whole trip there, her hand still grazing an empty belly. Upon arrival, Norma slowly got out of the car and walked inside, going to the front desk where they immediately got her to the best OBGYN on call.

The experience itself was utter hell. There she was, tired and emotionally drain, laying on a table while a doctor put her under anesthesia and got rid of all pregnancy tissue left in her cervix. The procedure was quick and forgotten by Sam the minute it was time to take her home, the medication making her groggy and her body incredibly sore, the cramping getting firey.

When she went home, she went to bed. She was confined there for hours. The only human contact she'd had was Sam coming into their bedroom and telling her he'd be late that night and to not wait up. She couldn't say she expected anything less. It wasn't until Norman left for school, with strict warnings from his father not to wake Norma, that Steven went to her.

He thought it would be a normal morning, he'd make sure everyone but Norma was gone, go inside, they would have sex, and then breakfast. She gave him a housekey a good five months into their affair, it wasn't hard for him to enter her home. He called out for her and went to the bedroom, her weak voice guiding him there.

It wasn't hard for him to tell she went through some major strife. Her eyes held black circles underneath, her pupils were red from crying, and she was bundled up in something he'd never seen her in before, sweatpants. Once he sat next to her and pulled her to him, she told him everything. The pregnancy, the miscarriage, how the doctors referred to it as an "incomplete abortion", though Norma would've never done such a thing, and of course Sam's reaction.

But to her own dismay, that morning was one of the last times she saw Steven. The final meeting was Sam's funeral, he'd been a pole bearer and only gave her brief glimpses of eye contact. Everything had been terminated, the pregnancy and her relationship.

Alex had listened to her words with a heavy heart, his arms not leaving her body. It sucked to know that Norma went through such pain and heartbreak. "I'm sorry, Norma," he said once more, kissing her temple.

"It's okay, it's over," she sighed, hugging him tighter, "I'm just baffled as to why he's back here and how he found me."

"I don't know, nowadays you can track anyone down, it's hard to stay incognito in a world where everyone is curious," he looked to the window with a tight lipped expression, "He's coming back first thing in the morning when you guys open the motel."

"Fuck," she muttered under her breath with a quick shake of head.

Immediately, he ran a thumb over her hand, "We'll figure it out, okay? I'll take the day off and be here with you the whole day. If things get awkward or too much we can get away from her for a while." He would have the SUV ready to roar the minute she needed it.

"Thank you so much, Alex," she said, leaning up to kiss his jaw, figuring anything else would be too personal due to their situation at the moment.

"Anytime, Norma."

Review if you like. Thank you for reading - MJ123 :)