The sun shines through the window the next morning, waking me up. The bed is empty so I prop myself up a little more looking around.
"Norman?"
No answer.
"Norman?" I stand up, wrapping the blanket around me. He isn't in the bathroom. Slowly I go on the front patio, peeking up at the house. Sure enough, I can see that a light is on so I go back in the room and put my clothes on and start toward the house.
"Norman?" I call out once more. I walk around the lower level and don't see him, so I walk up the stairs and go to his room. Again, I don't see him so I hesitantly walk across the hall to his mothers room, slowly opening the door. "Norman?" I look around, starting to leave until I hear a sniffle. I walk in further and see him sitting in the floor with his head on his knees.
"Norman?! Whats wrong?" I lean down to my knees.
He looks up at me, tears in his eyes. "I cant do this Jolene. She won't leave me alone. Why won't she leave me alone?! Why wont she get out of my head?!" I sit there quietly. He leans up, grabbing my shoulders. "Huh?! WHY?"
I shake my head, starting to speak. "Norman I-"
"I want to die so I can just get away from her." He breaks down, tears streaming down his face. I pull him into my chest, rubbing his shoulder.
"Why?" He says quietly through his tears.
"I don't know, Honey. I wish I did."
"I just want help. I just want you to help me."
Hearing his words makes me come to a realization. I can't help him. Nothing I'm doing for him is making him better. He needs to be somewhere where they can help him. Maybe not Fairvale, but somewhere. I've gotten him out so many times for selfish reasons and all I've done is make him worse. After all he's done for me, the least I can do is get him somewhere and never speak to him again. That would be the most helpful thing I'd ever do for him.
"Norman?" I ask. He looks up at me, his face pitiful.
"What?"
"Do you think you could benefit from going to another institution? Not Fairvale, but somewhere. They can help you better than I can."
He frantically shakes his head. "No, I cant. I wont. Please Jolene, please!" He wraps his arms around my waist.
I autonomously begin to run my fingers through his hair. "I just think you should consider it. They can give you the help you need. I don't think I'm doing much for you here."
"You are, you really are. I promise. You're helping me so much."
I shake my head. "It's hard for me to believe that when we've known each other for months and here we are, back at point A."
"Don't you care about me? And what I want?"
"Of course I care about you. You know I care about you."
"Then why do you want to get rid of me?"
"I don't want to get rid of you. I'm saying this because I care about you."
"What about last night? Didn't that mean anything to you?"
I feel tears well up in my eyes. "Of course it did. Last night was amazing. I just hate to see you continue to hurt like this."
"I'm not hurting. I'm not."
"I found you curled up in a ball on the floor crying because your dead mother wont stop speaking to you. Norman, you need help. Desperately. Help I can't give you. I'm only saying this because, well, I love you."
He looks back up at me and I lean down to kiss his forehead.
"Please don't lock me away again. Promise you won't."
"I'm not going to promise that. I can't." He lets go of my waist, leaning back against the bed.
"Why?"
"Because I want you to be better. I want you to stop hurting. Don't you want that for yourself?"
He shakes his head. "I want to have a life with you. Only you."
I sigh. "How are we gonna have a life together? Get married in another city and have kids in this house? Let them run around and play until Mrs Bates decides she wants to slash them up? How can I trust walking around here with a pregnant belly when you're not even all here 50% of the time? You're not even all you. It would never happen. It could never happen."
"But it could. It could happen to you, or me. If it can happen for some of these other people in the world, it could happen for anybody."
I shake my head. "No, it can't. It can't happen."
He starts to cry again. "Why?"
"You have to get better Norman. Do you honestly think any of that can work with you like you are?"
He shrugs. "I can try.."
"I know you can try. You're just...unable to succeed."
He leans forward again, wrapping his arms around my waist.
"You want to go watch the television to try and take your mind off of things?"
Slowly we stand up and he holds my hand so its still wrapped around him, even though he towers over my small stature. We make it down to the living room and he flicks the television on before coming to sit by me on the couch, cuddling in to me.
'Breaking news. Doctor Charles Vincent of Fairvale Mental Institution found dead in his office of a suspected heart attack. Foul play has not been ruled out."
I sit up. "Oh my God.."
Norman leans up, putting his hand over his mouth.
"I just went in his office to have him sign some papers and found him in the floor. I just don't know how this happened." Pattie says, dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief.
"Do you know of anyone who could've wanted to hurt him?" The reporter asks.
"I mean...not really but there was this new nurse..I cant recall her name but she got documents for a patient to be released without Doctor Vincent's consent, as far as I know."
Norman and I look at each other.
"Do you know the patient?"
Pattie nods. "Yes. Norman Bates."
The reporters jaw drops and the camera cuts back to the newscaster in the studio, who also looks shocked.
"We'll be right back." The newscaster manages, then the television cuts to a colorful screen.
I look over at Norman and notice he's trembling. I wrap my arms around his shoulders and pull him into my chest as I try to soothe him.
"Norman, it's OK. You know you didn't do it, don't you?"
"I didn't do anything to Doctor Vincent I don't know what happened to him. You believe me don't you?"
I nod, dragging my fingers down his back. "If you didnt do it then you have nothing to worry about right?"
"No, I do. They're gonna come and take me back to the institution. I'll never see the light of day again."
I sigh. "Well, maybe it would be better for you to go somewhere and get 100% better."
He looks at me with fear in his eyes. "No!"
"Well this is the first place they're gonna come. Do you wanna go stay back at my house?"
He thinks for a minute, then nods.
"Ok. Then we'll do that."
He smiles up at me and I lean down, pressing my lips against his. He groans and pulls himself up so that he's face to face, and on top of me.
He puts his hand on my waist, slowly starting to squeeze my hip.
I pull away from the kiss. "Norman, I don't think we should do this here."
"What do you mean?"
"In your mothers house, I don't think its a good idea. Lets go to the motel."
"It'll be fine."
"No, I really think we shouldn't."
"Please Jolene, let's just do it here."
"Norman why does it matter?"
He pauses, looking ashamed.
"I've never made love in my own home, I want to do it just once."
I look down, biting my lip. "Okay. If you really want to."
He gets off of me, scooping me up and carrying me up the stairs to his bedroom.
/Later/
The rain pounds on the roof as Norman and I lay in bed, our nude bodies tangled in the blanket.
He blinks slowly as I run my hand through his hair.
"Jolene?"
"Hm?"
"I think, I think I want to marry you. I would like to. I really want to do that. Marry you."
"Oh Norman,"
"Don't tell me reasons why I shouldn't get married because I know I shouldn't, but I wanna spend my life with you."
I stare at him and bite my lip. "I just..don't think that's a good idea. I'm sorry."
"Will you at least think about it?"
I rub his shoulder.
"Jolene.."
I blink, trying to hold back tears. "I just- I can't-"
"What did Richard have that I cant give you?'' He asks. My heart starts pounding so loud that I can hear it in my ears. He stares down at me and I break eye contact.
"It's really complicated, OK? Let's not worry about it when we've got right now."
He sighs, but drops the subject.
I drag my fingers up and down his arm before climbing on top of him and straddling his hips. I lean down, deeply kissing him. He groans against my lips and I grab his hands.
After a second I suddenly lose the urge I felt and pull away from him, climbing off and laying next to him.
He furrows his eyebrows. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, it just doesn't feel right. I just want to lay here."
He nods, rolling over so his back is facing me.
"Norman," I scoot closer, wrapping my arm around his shoulder, "You didn't do anything wrong, I just don't feel like doing anything."
"Is it because I asked you to marry me?"
"No, of course not. That's not it at all. I just feel like we shouldn't make a habit of it."
He nods, back still facing me. I scoot a little closer, kissing the side of his head, then down to his neck.
"We should probably start packing if you want to go stay at my house."
We both stand up, redressing ourselves. I grab my suitcase from the closet and start to pack my stuff and he goes to another room and returns with a suitcase, starting to pack his things as well.
"Are you nervous?" I ask.
He shrugs. "I don't know, kinda."
"No need to be. It'll just be like old times, minus Richard." I force a laugh.
He half smiles without looking up.
About half an hour later we're all packed and the car is loaded up.
"Do you wanna drive?'' I ask. He shakes his head.
"No, you go ahead."
I nod and scoot into the drivers seat. He rests his head on the window.
A while later we turn onto my street. "Almost there." I say quietly.
He nods.
As we get into view, I gasp at the sight of police cars, reporters, detectives, and onlookers all surrounding the house. I pull up and Louise turns, running up to my car window.
"Jolene!" She exclaims, sounding panicked.
"Whats wrong?"
"They found Richard's body."