Hey there, Normangles! Nice to have all my readers geared up for this chapter. Sorry it took a bit to write. I hope you all like this, please leave me a review if you enjoyed it and want more. Love you all & Y! - MJ123 :)
Once a gunshot rang out and buzzed through the Bates home, Norma ran from Ella's nursery and down to the living room. It wasn't Steven lying there but Alex, tears started to flow immediately, he was helpless lying there in a pool of his own blood. His eyes were closed and that made her heart race faster, she took his hand and shook it.
"Alex please, wake up, get up," she begged, crying harder when there was no response, "Alex!" when he didn't react, she grabbed her phone from her pocket with shaking hands and dialed police.
"911, what is your emergency please?" the operator asked, Norma was so startled she could barely speak. She couldn't believe she was looking at Alex struck down by a bullet, she honestly thought he was invincible.
"Hello, yes please...my boyfriend was shot and we need medical attention immediately please," she spoke frantically, tears streaming down her cheeks as she clutched his hand to her chest, "It's Sheriff Alex Romero, we need someone to come right now."
She figured stating his identity would make help come faster, he was the most important figure to White Pine Bay. If no one came within the next three minutes, Norma would be shocked. She prayed he would receive the best medical care possible.
"We'll be there as soon as possible, ma'am," the man over the phone said, from the fast paced tone of his voice, she knew this was gonna be a big deal, everyone in town would know about Alex's injury in a matter of an hour. She called Dylan next, luckily he picked up on the first ring.
She sniffled but the tears just kept falling, "Dylan, Alex is hurt, okay? We're going to the hospital soon enough. I need you to meet us there immediately." She had never needed one of her son's so much, there was no way she could handle this alone.
"Whoa, whoa, slow down Norma," he stopped her, in attempt to get her to calm down though it wasn't going to work, "What happened exactly? I need you to talk to me."
"Dylan...I just-" she started to break down hard, her body erupting in sadness, "Please, I can't explain right now. Just meet me at the hospital." She hung up after that and then the paramedics arrived, ready to go with a stretcher and all other types of devices Norma had never seen before.
The first medical assistant that pulled Alex onto the stretcher looked to her, "You have anything to do with what happened here, ma'am?" he asked professionally, it was almost as if she was being tagged as a prime suspect already.
She just shook her head and popped her hand over her mouth before more tears came, "No. No, I was upstairs when this happened to him. Is he gonna be okay? Please, I need to know now," she begged, feeling herself slipping away slowly.
"Ma'am, I can't tell you any of that information right now. We need to get him to the ER now, they will do what they can and then we will give you updates," he said, walking away with the stretcher.
She followed behind and looked at Alex, a mouthpiece to help him breath strapped over his thin, unmoved lips, "I'm coming with you to the ER. I'm staying with him."
"And who are you to him, miss?" the man questioned, Norma wanted to hit him at the moment, his voice was beginning to sound utterly condescending. But of course that was just her being impulsive, she didn't want to deal with anyone right now unless they were Alex or one of her kids.
"I'm his fiance," she answered confidently, moving closer to walk beside the stretcher, she held onto his hand as they walked through the parking lot and to the ambulance.
Once they got him all strapped up in the back, Norma climbed in, still holding onto him and crying, "I love you, I love you so much Alex Romero. Please don't leave me," she sobbed, her nose touching the back of his hand.
She just observed his face. Cold. Lifeless. That shook her to the core, the thought of anything happening to him. He was her whole world. From the first time time they sat down and spoke about the shit she had gone through in the first months of moving to White Pine Bay he had promised to protect her family. Then the next year when she was stuck with abusive George Heldens, he took care of her and actually made her feel more loved than ever before. He took care of her all the time with no stops in between.
She was never in love with someone so much. It was just him, she wanted him, and she needed him to survive this. And the second she was in strangling distance of Steven, she wouldn't hesitate. He deserved to have the shit kicked out of him for doing this to Alex. Everytime she looked at his chest and saw that bloody wound, it killed her. Someone who was so weak like Steven had taken down the strongest guy she knew.
Once they pulled up to the hospital, Norma had to let go and let the doctors get Alex set up in a private room. Of course there were numerous deputies standing in the hallway by his room ready to figure out the state of his health. It wasn't a bad thing, it actually made her feel pretty safe.
There she sat in a hospital waiting room waiting to hear is he was dead or alive. She cried by herself, her body shaking until Dylan showed up. The moment she heard him call "Mom," down the hallway, she stood from her chair and walked up to him giving him the biggest hug imaginable.
His heart cracked a bit the second he heard his mother sobbing into his shoulder, he wrapped his arms around her middle back and rocked her a bit, "It's gonna be okay, mom. They'll come out soon and I'm one hundred percent sure Romero will pull through," he said, his voice a mumble.
She took his hand and sat with him in the waiting room chair, "You don't know that, Dylan. What if he's really hurt, what if he's de-"
"Hey, don't go there. You always do this to yourself, mom. You worry about stuff when you don't know the whole story or situation. I'm right here with you and I'm reassuring you that he will be okay. He's a strong guy," he reassured, keeping a hand on top of her own.
"Your right, Dylan," she said, staying quiet for a little while while she felt comforted by his presence.
Despite her eldest son's calming words, Norma still had her doubts like always. Alex simply couldn't die.
After all, he was her Superman.
Thanks for reading and hang tight until the next chapter. It will be a few days so I can rotate and work with Unfaithful a bit more. If you haven't read that yet, give it a shot. Leave a review for this chapter and let me know your thoughts. Thanks - MJ
