The Fine Print: Daniel Knauf and HBO own Carnivale and, unfortunately, Justin and Iris.
Minutes Like Hours
By twinb80
Chapter Sixteen: Lost in Your Lies
Tournique - Evanescence
Look here she comes now
Bow down and stare in wonder
Oh how we love you
No flaws when your pretending
But now I know she...
Never was and never will be
You don'tknow how you betrayed me
And somehow you've got everybody fooled
Without the mask where will you hide?
Can't find yourself lost in your lies
I know the truth now
And I don't love you anymore
The cool night air blew into Norman's room. He found the breeze helped him sleep better at night. His mind had been going i circles all day since his encounter with Iris earlier that day. The past had played like a movie in his mind and he found himself remembering with clarity the way her body had felt against his. He could still see her face as it appeared that first night they made love. Her legs had tightened around him as she came and she cried out a man's name. So lost in his own pleasure as he came inside her the man's name had never registered in his mind. His face now burned with shame as he remembered their affair. Those months had been like a dream to him that he never wanted to wake from. Norman cursed his younger self for being so selfish and careless. The man he used to be had repeatedly taken pleasure in her youthful body and had not thought of the consequences of his actions. He had not lied to Iris when he told her that she wouldn't get pregnant. The slight possibility of him being wrong had been pushed to the back of his mind and forgotten. If she had actually gotten pregnant Norman did not know what he would have done. In his heart he knew the right thing to do would be to ask for forgiveness from God and Rose. To publicly raise the child as his own no matter the gossip that was sure to follow them. His heart knew this but his mind had never truly grasped the reality of the situation. Since she had never gotten pregnant he foolishly had felt invincible as to their actions. That had all change the night she told him their affair was over. Norman had been shocked at the sudden reversal of heart that she had but had said nothing. In the coming days and weeks she had acted like their affair had never taken place and Norman had learned how to play along. The rest of that year he reconnected with his wife and buried himself in Church related work. The years had passed and he had pushed the memory of their time together back in his mind and forced himself to forget the taste of her mouth on his. He and Rose had watched with pride as Justin took over the duties at First Methodist in Mintern and their lives were happy. Norman let the cool breeze outside his window lull him to sleep and he was soon dreaming of the past. Outside his room he could hear the voices of the people below in the living room. Earlier that day they had buried his beloved Rose in the First Methodist Cemetery and now they were back in their home for her wake. Justin and Iris had driven home immediately upon hearing of Rose's passing. Norman did not know what he would have done if they had not come home. His mind had been in a fog since Rose's passing. Thankfully Justin and Iris had taken over the funeral preparations and Norman had been left to grieve in peace.
Upon returning home he had gone to their room and not been downstairs since then. He could still sense her presence in their room and he closed his eyes and let his tears fall. Some time later he heard a knock on the door and went open the door. Iris stood before him dressed in a black dress and a plate of food in her hands. He let her into the room and sat back down on the bed. Iris closed the door behind her. She walked over to the small table in the room and put the plate down. When she turned around she found him staring at her as if he didn't know she was. She stood there and watched as his eyes took in her presence and she began to feel uncomfortable as his gaze travel over her body. She crossed her arms and walked over to him. He looked up at her face and she saw that he had some sort of paper clutch in his hand. She took the paper to be Rose's will since she had seen their attorney go up to Norman's room earlier. Norman continued to stare at her and say nothing. Iris closed her eyes and said a silent pray. She knew that Norman was struggling right now with the loss of Rose. But if he didn't say anything to her she didn't know how she could help him. She opened her eyes again and found him still staring at her with a dazed look on his face. She let him know that she would be downstairs if he needed anything else. All he had to do was call her name or Justin's and they would be there for him. He nodded his head to let her know that he had understood her words. She had made it across the room and her hand was on the doorknob when she heard him speak.
"Rose...I mean...Iris" He could barely get the words out of his mouth and he watched as she turn around. She stood there with one hand on the doorknob and the other hand laying at her side. Norman held the paper in his hand tighter and looked down. Concerned Iris walk back and stood in front of him. She waited till he could finally speak again. His eyes blurred again and then came to focus on her legs before him. The memory of those legs wrap tightly around him flooded his mind and he had to stop himself from reaching out and touching her. She was calling his name again. He found himself trying to focus on her voice instead of the memories going through his mind. Her voice cut through his muddle mind and he look up at her. She asked him what was wrong and Norman finally found the words he could not say before.
"She knew."
Iris looked down at him with a questionable look on her face. She didn't understand what Norman was trying to tell her. She told him that and he look back at her with shock written across his face. He found he could find the words to express what he meant again and wondered if she had really forgotten about their nights together. He let the paper fall out of his hands and she continue to look at him as if he had lost is mind. Norman sigh and gave into his impulse. Iris gave out a startled cry as his hands encircled her waist and he pulled her body to him. She was shocked at his actions and then gasped as his hands slip under her dress and found her legs. She stood there trembling as his hands ran up her legs and she braced her hands on his shoulders to keep from falling down. They stared at one another their breathing heavy as his hands continue to caress her legs and she found herself digging her nails into his shoulders. She gasped again as his hands found her thighs and parted them. His fingers began to stroke her through her underwear and a moan escaped from her mouth. The sound of her moan brought her back to reality and she snapped back to her senses. Her hands left his shoulders and she slapped him hard across his face. So shocked was Norman that he instantly let go of her and she slapped him again. Neither of them said anything to one another and the only sound in the room was their breathing. Shame and remorse filled Norman at what he had done to her. He had no right to touch her like that and she had not asked him to. He tried to apologize but she wouldn't hear it. He bent down and grabbed the paper on the floor. She stood there and he walked over to her and handed her the paper. Her eyes were still blazing at him but she took the paper from his hand. He watched as she read the paper and then look back at him. Shock was written across her face and she found that she couldn't speak. Iris closed her eyes as what Rose had written wash over her.
Rose had come home early that day and as she walk toward Norman's office her ears had been filled with their love making. She wrote in her letter how she had stood there hidden from view and listen as each moan and groan escaped their mouths. She had listen as Norman called out Iris's name and heard Iris's cry of release as she came in her husband's arms. She had stood there and heard them talking about making the guest room their meeting place. Rose had stood there hearing everything and never said a word to either of them. Iris open her eyes and felt her heart pounding against her chest. Rose had known and said nothing. She had allowed them to carry on their affair right under her own roof. Why? Iris found she couldn't answer that question. Her eyes found Norman watching her still and waiting for her to speak. Instead she said nothing and he watch as she walk over to the door and place her hand on the doorknob. With her back to him she told that she never wanted to hear about this again. He nodded his head even though she couldn't see him. She opened the door and slammed it behind her. He could hear her hurried footsteps as she ran down the hallway and then she was gone.
Norman's eyes opened as he awoke from his dream. His dream had been so real and he felt like he had really been back in his old home. Norman blinked back tears and tried to move his hand but he couldn't. His other senses took over and he realized that there were noises coming from above him. Justin's room. His eyes focus on the ceiling above him and to his horror he realized that he was hearing as the bedsprings squeak as Justin climbed onto his bed and onto some poor unsuspecting maid. His eyes burned with fury as he waited for the poor girl to start screaming and to hear her cries for help. He prayed to God to give him strength to endure what was coming next. He heard as the couple above him moved and waited for the screams to come. Instead his ears were filled with the noise of the bedsprings as Justin began to move against the woman beneath him. He heard as a woman's voice fill the air with her gasps and groans. Their was no screaming or cries for help. Norman blinked his eyes and found that he was holding his breath. He let his breathing return to normal but was confused to what he was hearing. The sounds above him were that of two lovers who had found each other again. There was silence for a moment and then he heard the bedsprings begin to squeak again under the weight of the lovers. Norman was shocked. Who was this woman that wasn't screaming out in terror and crying for help?
Bewildered he lay there and listen as the lovers began to move as one. He heard the headboard bang against the wall each time Justin thrust himself into the woman. He heard the woman's moans become louder with each movement between her and Justin. Her voice cried out for more and in the moment Norman realized who the woman was. Iris. Stun he prayed to God to let him die right then and there. The woman in Justin's bed was his own sister. And she wasn't screaming out in terror or crying for help like the maids. Why was that? Norman listened helplessly as he heard her cry out in pleasure as Justin move inside her. He heard Justin add his own moans to hers and knew without seeing that her legs were wrap tightly around her brother's waist. Norman was shock and revolt at what he was hearing above him. The noises they were making told him this wasn't their first time together. To his horror he realized that they must have been sleeping together back in their old house in Mintern. It was the only explanation for what he was hearing above him. Norman's eyes burn with fury was he heard their movements become faster and their voices got louder. Didn't they care if they got caught? Norman didn't think that they did because in the next moment he heard to his disgust as Justin came inside his sister calling out a name. "Irina". Norman had heard Justin call out this name as he pour himself into the maids. None of the maids in the house had this name and Norman had never known who this mysterious woman was until tonite. Justin's fantasy woman had been Iris. His own sister. As if confirming his thoughts he heard as Iris came calling out a man's name. "Alexei." Norman's eyes became larger as all the puzzle pieces came together and he curse himself for never realizing the obvious. That first night together Iris had told him she wasn't a virgin and Norman had wondered if Allan Bakersfield had been her lover. How stupid he had been. Iris had never gone to bed with Allan but Norman had convinced himself that she had. That was the only explanation for her calling out another man's name and not his own that night. He had idiotically convinced himself that Iris was crying out Allan's name. She wasn't. She was calling out the name of the man she love. Who had taken her virginity and he was the only man on her mind as she came in Norman's arms. Alexei was Justin. Her brother. Norman wanted to kill her right then and there. She had used him. Justin was away at school and she was hurting. He knew she was going through a rough time that year but he had never thought he would be used as a substitute for his "son". The bile came back to his throat as he wondered when her virginity had been taken. He had been so blind that he didn't even recognize the signs that they were lovers even back then. Norman's mind race to the past and he suddenly remembered the night before Justin left for school that first year. He had been sleeping and awoke to find Rose gone from their room. Before he could get his slippers on his feet she had return and climb into bed trembling. He had asked her what was wrong but she had just told him that she was concern about a sick relative they had. Norman had held her in his arms and Rose had gone back to sleep. Norman tried to shake his head "No" as the last puzzle pieces fell into place. Rose had known about Justin and Iris. She knew they were lovers and must of heard or seen them that night. But she had never told Norman. Why? Norman closed his eyes as he realized what Rose had done. She had never told him because she had hoped it was a one-time event. But Norman knew now that it wasn't a one-time event. They were lovers and had been for a long time. Norman couldn't understand why Rose had never told him. Why she never said anything when she saw the long looks and stares between Justin and Iris in Mintern. She had to have known then that they were still sleeping together. Now it finally dawned on him why she had never said anything. Rose had taken her revenge out on him for his affair by not saying a word about Justin and Iris. Her revenge had been cold and calculated. The noises above him began again and Norman closed his eyes. Rose had taken her revenge and now he and the rest of the world were going to pay the price.
