Author's Notes: I've been away from this for so long, I'm rusty on how to even write so this chapter may be pretty terrible. Maybe I should've ended this fiction a couple of chapters ago, but here I am moving forward for anyone who may still be out there. Who knows, maybe I'm the only one even reading this or if this is even a fandom anymore? Should I continue this? Let me know…
*This isn't edited yet*
I hope you enjoy….
Chapter 16: Not Ready to Let Go
Dylan lingers on the stairs outside the front door after the Sheriff disappears inside. He feels selfish for not being by Emma's side, but right now he can't seem to move a muscle. With feeling the weight of the world on his shoulders, Dylan is struggling. The need to find a magical cure for Norman, to give Emma the perfect relationship she deserves and to repair what has been truly broken with Norma is causing his mind to spin. A few encouraging words can't take away what has been buried for so long.
While submerged in his solitude, Dylan doesn't realize how the time slips by him until a subtle noise of footsteps on concrete snaps him out of his thoughts. In looking up, he notices the Sheriff standing frozen in place with no expression on his face and a vacant look in his eyes. "You alright?" Dylan hesitantly asks, noticing Romero startle at the sudden sound.
The Sheriff glances down to briefly meet the young man's concerned eyes, but then immediately returns his empty stare to the open space in front of him. After pausing for a moment, Romero breaks into a jog and rapidly moves down to the outdoor steps without sparing a word.
After hearing a loud squeal of tires accelerate out of the Motel parking lot, Dylan props his elbows on his knees and covers his forehead with the palms of his hands in search of relief for the growing headache he seems to be developing. While in this position Dylan's head becomes heavy in his hands, mostly due to his thoughts now being preoccupied with what caused the Sheriff to act so strangely minutes ago.
Abruptly Dylan sits up with wide eyes as the obvious answer to his recent question pops into his mind. "Damn it Norma," the young man mumbles under his breath as he steps through the threshold of the front door, slamming it shut behind him.
The unexpected racket causes Emma to scramble to her feet and emerge from the kitchen. When Emma appears in the hallway she's just in time to see her boyfriend stomp inside with anger radiating from his tense figure. "Are you okay? What happened?" Emma asks cautiously in a timid tone, too uncertain of his reaction to approach him at this moment.
Dylan pauses at the echo of a familiar shy voice he hears from behind him. In response the young man turns around to see his girlfriend standing with clasped nervous hands and reddened eyes. At the sight, Dylan swiftly approaches Emma with a tightened smile and arms opened wide. When the distance between the couple is close enough, Emma tentatively steps into the offered embrace and then instantly melts into his arms. "I'm sorry Emma," he whispers while placing a kiss to her hair. "I didn't mean to snap at you earlier. I'm just under a lot of pressure right now," he confesses while she nods into his chest. "I'm not angry with you, ok? But, I do need to speak with Norma right now," he sighs before continuing. "I love you, but I think it's best if you go home while I speak with her."
Instead of speaking, Emma nods again into his upper torso with a sniffle and then pulls back from his comfortable hold. She maintains eye contact with his baby blues as Dylan softly swipes a tear from her cheek with his thumb. Leaning down he kisses her cheek sweetly and then resumes his original movement up the staircase as he hears Emma close the front door.
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When Dylan reaches the third floor of the house, he notices a door ajar. Without hesitation, the young man steps toward the door and pushes it open to find his mother quietly sobbing into her hands. She quickly lifts her head and immediately tries to pull herself together, instantly swiping away any stray tears with her fingers. "Oh. Hi honey," she speaks with a wobbly voice and flashes a nervous grin in an attempt to cover up her sadness.
"Save it Norma!" Dylan grinds his teeth and furrows his brow in obvious frustration. "What did you do!?"
"I don't know what you mean sweetie?" She asks in a sweetened tone, still smiling but it falters.
Dylan's fists clench at his sides after hearing her fake sugary response. "Stop it Norma! Just be honest with me. For the first time in my life, tell me the truth. What did you say to the Sheriff?"
Her eyes widen, surprised at her eldest son's sudden outburst. "I had to let him go. It's for the best Dylan," she exhales a little erratically while standing to her feet. "Norman needs me."
"Bullshit! Don't blame this on my brother." Dylan can feel his blood begin to boil in his veins. He knows he's being irrational about this situation; however, his mother made him like the guy so he's still feeling a little salty about her manipulation. "This is about you and the wrong choices you always make!"
After a small bout of silence and a deep breath, Dylan can no longer stand the stillness in the room. He continues to speak, but some of the anger has faded now and he feels a little more in control of his aggravation. "I really shouldn't care about what decisions you make in your life but I can't help wanting the best for you. Even though you and Norman discarded me long ago, I'm still here."
He then hears his mother whimper quietly in front of him, yet Dylan remains unfazed and persists with his thought. "The Sheriff was good for you and as much as I hate to admit it, he was good for our family." He sighs and drops his focus to the floor briefly before making eye contact with her again. "As dysfunctional as you are Norma, he wanted to be with you. The Sheriff could finally be the father figure Norman needs, maybe I need as well."
Dylan then takes a couple steps closer to his mother; however, he still maintains a fair amount of distance away from her. "Do what you want Norma, you will anyway. But, don't blame your decision on Norman or me for that matter. Just be honest with yourself and realize what you've lost." Ultimately, Dylan turns his back toward Norma and steps closer to the doorway. Just before entering the hallway, Dylan voices a few more words. "Maybe if you're lucky, you haven't broken him completely."
The last thing Dylan hears before leaving the room, is his mother crying.
As he steps further away from the room Norma currently occupies, the young man struggles with whether he should end this drama and disappear with Emma forever. In the end though, his feet automatically drag him to the room designated as his in the Bates' residence.
As much as he wants to relieve the stress resting on his shoulders, Dylan knows he can't leave his family behind.
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An annoying light shines directly into the closed eyes of the Sheriff, stirring him awake with heavy eyelids. He didn't plan on falling asleep with the side of his face resting on the keyboard of his laptop, but unfortunately the sharp pain shooting up his neck is a reminder of his bad decision and the devastating events which happened the night before.
He sits up in his unsupportive office chair and gradually runs the palms of his hands down his face. Yesterday was probably one of the worst days he's ever experienced. Just when he thought he and Norma had a real chance at a future, she ripped his heart from his chest and stomped painfully on it with one of the many high heels she possesses in her closet.
Last night, the Sheriff held onto a sliver of hope that maybe Norma had simply made a hasty decision and would immediately call him to take it all back. Deep down though, as he continues to remember how Norma's tear filled eyes appeared to have an added richness to the already profound blue and how her fingertips trembled with nervousness along his skin during her confession, he knows it is no use in trying to change her mind.
It is over.
The Sheriff gasps loudly while alone in his office at the thought of never seeing the love of his life again. He once believed they could make it through any sort of adversity because throughout their relationship they had been tested, but apparently he had more confidence in their love than he should have. In order to move through his days and allow the hurt to weaken over time, he needs to burying all of these feelings so far down they can never be recovered. No way is he putting himself through this type of hardship again.
The Sheriff has a job to concentrate on after all, which at his own admittance has suffered recently. He needs to be the leader his department deserves, not a love-sick puppy who feels compelled to follow around his lady love and adhere to any request she has. He's lost himself within this relationship, so much so that he doesn't know if he can ever truly find himself again. Obviously this won't happen overnight but taking the future day by day, may be exactly what he needs.
With a sigh and a new resolve to push aside any lingering feelings for the woman who has shattered his heart for the last time, the Sheriff stands from his chair with new enthusiasm and attempts to start his day.
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A week passes in the Bates' household; however, within the house walls no one seems to notice.
Time sort of stands still as the three occupants appear to shuffle between the motel and the residence with barely any life in their steps or any words leaving their lungs. While the connection between Norma and Norman seems to have strengthened, the strain of the relationship with her eldest son has appeared to have grown weaker than ever.
The interaction between mother and son has been so minimal since their previous emotional outburst, Norma only knows Dylan remains on the premises because every morning the sight of his truck parked in the lot brings a smile to her face. However, sorrow always immediately causes her grin to fade when she realizes another day has passed without speaking to her eldest son. She hopes one day, things will change but currently the situation seems hopeless.
Norma also mourns her relationship with the Sheriff on a daily basis. Several times a day she stares at his number saved in her phone, finger twitching to touch the green circle on the screen. Yet every time Norma's fingertip hovers near the surface, she abruptly stops herself with a frustrated cry. She knows this can't continue, but Norma isn't ready to let go. She may never be. This thought process keeps her hopeful that one day they will find their way back to each other.
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Dylan wakes up with a loud yawn and a stretch to his limbs. He scans the darkened room and debates on trying to once again close his eyes for a few more minutes of shut eye but since sleep hasn't blessed him in days, Dylan reluctantly decides to start the day.
Since the argument with his mother, Dylan has isolated himself. He's even distanced himself from Emma, by ignoring all messages and calls from her number. It's not that he doesn't want to answer. In fact, he wants to every single time but his finger falters and he ends up letting the response go unresolved. His old struggles once again appear to surpass any rational decisions.
Unable to shake the demons of the past, Dylan continues to believe he is not good enough to be with his beyond perfect girlfriend, Emma. "She deserves better than me. I'll only bring her down," he continues to mumble to himself every time a call or message from her is missed.
Admittedly, he's watched his confused girlfriend from his bedroom window, unable to look away as she appears to mentally debate whether it would be best to climb the stairs of the Bates' residence or continue to the motel office. Subconsciously, Dylan wishes Emma would climb those steps and demand to see him but she never does. This only reinforces the delusions in his mind, which have been plaguing him for days.
As he quickly sneaks down the stairs to the kitchen in order to grab a quick breakfast before Norma or Norman emerge from their rooms, Dylan hears a noise near the front door that makes him stop dead in his tracks.
Muffled voices and an occasional thump banging against the door, requires him to carefully check on the noise. With careful steps, Dylan reaches the entry and peeks through the peep hole. Upon seeing a confusing scene through the tiniest of windows, Dylan flings the entrance open with force and steps out on the front step to notice various sized boxes littering the porch area surrounding his feet.
Dylan searches the area with his tired eyes when he notices a couple of different delivery people running up and down the long stairwell with hands full of packages.
"Hey! What the hell is going on here!?" Dylan shuts the front door behind him while he whisper-shouts to one of the strangers when they are close enough to him, the tone sounding angrier than he wants.
"You have received a rather large delivery. It was requested we deliver this personally to the front door of the house on the hill by the Bates Motel," the visitor advises with a shaky voice.
Dylan furrows his brow in confusion, glancing down at some of the packages before making eye contact with the delivery person again. "Sorry, I'm just caught off guard. I wasn't expecting anything to be delivered here. Do you know who sent all of this?" He asks, gentler and with genuine regret for his previous sternness.
"Sorry, I'm not allowed to say. We were just given instructions to deliver it," the man says with a tight lipped smile.
With a nod of understanding, Dylan's mind begins whirling in an attempt to figure out who sent all of these mystery packages and what they may contain. "Wait, let me give you some money for carrying all of these up here. It's a long way up these pain in the ass stairs," Dylan chuckles nervously.
"No worries, Sir. We were already provided a more than adequate tip for our efforts." The man advises with another tensed grin, as he turns to step down the long and tiring stairwell for the last time.
Dylan is left with more questions than answers as he watches the delivery truck skid out onto the pavement, anxious to tear into one of the packages to discover the mystery.
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Thank you for reading!