Hello everyone! Here's a short chapter to peak your interest. Hope all is well with my fabulous readers. Enjoy - MJ123 :)

Only Alex got sleep that night. He stayed on the far right of the mattress as Norma occupied the other side, with lots of tossing and turning all pertaining to Steven and his return back into her life. Why now? That was the only question inhibiting her mind. They had cut ties permanently, he was out of her mind the second she and Norman hit the road for Oregon. They had slept together for months, she lost his baby, and her son killed his brother. That was putting it bluntly, existing feelings towards all previous events were simply a given.

Once the morning sun rose, Norma had risen too. Her eyes gravitated to Alex sleeping next to her, this pained her immensely. They hadn't slept apart since before their first night together. It hurt, not being able to feel his arms wrapped around her waist. She could only wish for such security, especially after cheating on him.

With a sigh she got up and looked down at her attire with a sigh, she forgot about the lingerie. It was too late to go back up to the house and change, Norman and Dylan were most likely sitting at the kitchen table with a bowl of Lucky Charms, it wasn't in her best interest to fully wake both boys with an inappropriate peep show. Then an idea struck her and she grabbed her cell phone off the nightstand, quickly shooting a text to Emma. She asked if the young girl could sneak into her bedroom and grab her some kind of outfit from her closet. With a quick response saying of course and a tad of ease, Norma went into the bathroom and walked into the shower.

Just as the hot spurts of water hit her skin, she took a deep sigh. Steven. AKA shit from her past she had absolutely no intention of bringing back. There wasn't much she could do but try and make the re-introduction as simple as possible and somehow try to avoid all awkward tension that could come about, though obviously impossible. The sound of the shower curtain pulling open killed her train of thought, much to her surprise it was Alex. The fact that he'd want to do such a thing with her after the incident was surprising.

But there was no emotion on his face. No form of desire or want was to be shown. He slid past her to grab the shampoo and lathered his short hair. Though she didn't like the cool calis tension in the small area, something had to be said, she had to break the ice.

"Good morning," she murmured, a free hand reaching out to rest on his back shoulder blade. It felt foreign to touch him, his skin didn't hold the same warmth it always did when she felt him nor did those same goosebumps flare. She could've cried from the barren amour he could not afford her.

He turned to her, the hand dropping from his skin as their eyes locked. "How'd you sleep? I know last night was uh, rough," he said, his mind still clouded with all the things she admitted to him. It hurt to know about what she went through before they met. Norma didn't deserve it, any of it. Strangely enough it didn't make him want to hold onto her tightly, sure he loved her as much as he could, but anger still existed, a kiss couldn't make everything okay.

"I didn't."

Alex sighed lightly and let his focus hit the shower curtain. "I'm sorry," his voice was gruff and honest like it always had been. He felt compassion and empathy but he wouldn't dare to touch her, not yet, it was too soon. She obviously picked up on this, he could tell by the way she was looking at him, it was an empty stare.

"It's fine." With that, she opened up the curtain and left the bathroom, tossing the spare robe from his closet onto her still damp skin. She walked to the door and opened slightly to find a paper bag containing her clothes, she was quick to snatch it and head back inside before any guests could catch a glimpse of the disgruntled motel owner looking so unkempt.

Once back in the room, she placed the contents on the mattress and sighed at the combination. A blue skirt and green button up blouse? Something Norma would've never dared to put together. But who was she kidding, it was better than nothing, and she was grateful to Emma for grabbing them. She quickly changed before Alex could leave the bathroom, not wanting him to see her naked body.

She walked to the bathroom door and knocked once finished, "I'm gonna head back up to the house."

"Okay. I'll text you later," he answered back, shutting the water off and wrapping a towel around himself.

"I…" she began, her eyes darted all around the room as she searched her mind for the words though she knew what they were, she'd said them a hundred times before to him, "I love you."

"I love you too, Norma." Though tensions were high, her heart still skipped a beat when she heard his voice, she shook her head soon after and grabbed her phone before leaving the room.

Just as she started walking back to the house, a car pulled up on the gravel and, thinking it was guest, she turned back for the office. There was no need however, the man rolled down his window and looked her way immediately, he couldn't miss her even if he tried to. "Norma?".

There it was. She could pick his voice out of a crowd if she had too, it was distinct, strong, and incredibly reminiscent of the past. He got out of the car before she could walk anywhere else.

"Norma?" he asked, but she still wouldn't turn to face him, instead she pretended like she couldn't hear him.

He didn't get the message and soon walked behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder. She looked back at him with a emotionless expression, "Steven, what are you doing here?".

Steven looked at her like she was some extraterrestrial creature, the unpleasant tone of voice was enough to make him do so, "I've been looking for you."

"Why?" she asked without hesitation, the sooner she shooed him away the better.

"Because I wanted to see you, I've wanted to see you ever since I found out you left town."

Norma turned back to fully look at him, he hadn't changed a bit. Same scruffy features and that crooked smile that had saved her life many times and over. "You've been waiting for three years to come find me?".

He looked at the ground and shook his head, "I wouldn't say that. More like it took me three years to find you."

"Why? Why did you want to come looking for me? I got out of Arizona for a reason."

"How about we talk all about it over breakfast? I could take you out to a diner I passed on the way here," he offered, his smile still in place, it was like nothing ever happened in his eyes.

"No, you are not going to take me out anywhere," she said, firm in her disposition. She already had Alex and she was happy though the cracks in their relationship were prevalent at the moment.

"C'mon, Norma. It's not going to be a date or-"

"You're damn right it's not going to be a date," she warned, looking at him with a hard pair of eyes.

"Let me finish," he said, looking around to make sure they were still alone, "Just give me an hour tops and I'll explain. I promise."

She sighed and looked down with a regretful frown, "Fine. An hour. Any more than that and I'm walking back here, do you understand?".

He smiled and started walking back to the car, a signal for her to come along.

"Same old Norma."

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