Author's Notes: Sorry everyone, I actually thought I had posted the next chapter already until I received another review. I really appreciate all of you and I apologize for taking so long with this chapter. FYI, I have big plans for the next one…
*This is definitely not edited yet.
Please let me know what you think by leaving a review. I hope you enjoy!
Chapter 20: Live Without Regret
While sipping his afternoon coffee, the Sheriff studies a case file from the borderline county he's been assisting for almost a week. After a yawn, Romero realizes quickly not even an afternoon caffeine binge can help with his diminishing energy level these days. The unexpected break up with Norma is taking a toll on him. The darkened circles under his eyes, the slump to his shoulders and his overall distracted focus are all evidence of him struggling.
With a sigh, Romero sets his cup down and glances down at some reports within the file but once again he finds his thoughts drifting towards a certain captivating woman with hair the color of sunshine and eyes similar to sapphires.
His absent stare is broken by the sound of a familiar voice. When he glances up, the Sheriff sees an unexpected face staring back at him.
"You alright, Sheriff?" Dylan asks with a raised brow.
Romero's eyes widen in surprise, not expecting to run into the young man he's been actively trying to avoid in his sanctuary. Was he followed? There's no other explanation for why Dylan would be standing in front of him right now. The Sheriff himself only happened to stumble across the quiet diner one late night over a week ago, after a shift out of his jurisdiction. He's been here almost every day since.
Without thinking, the Sheriff blurts out a question. "Did you follow me here?"
Dylan's expression turns from concerned to instantly offended, Romero immediately regrets his words when he notices the young man's immediate change in demeanor. "What? Of course not! Jesus, do you honestly think I have nothing else to do with my time," Dylan rolls his eyes, now filled with a bit of anger. "I just wanted to ask your opinion about something, well, sort of personal. You helped me before and I appreciated it, but it doesn't matter what it is about anymore. I'll figure it out." He sighs and takes an awkward step backward. "But, it had nothing to do with Norma. I want no part of that mess."
Dylan continues to speak while glaring daggers at the Sheriff, who has chosen to be quiet. "And to answer your question, no I didn't follow you here." Dylan then raises his volume and directs his next words to the waitress at the register. "Bonnie, can I get the usual? Same table?"
"Sure thing, hon." The waitress calls out, while quickly writing down the young man's food request.
After giving his order, Dylan turns to face the Sheriff again with a smirk. "I've been here before," he states matter-of-factly as he walks away to a table toward the back of the diner.
It only takes about 10 minutes of solitude for Romero to realize he's made a mistake. Quickly he scrambles to gather his items and strides over to the register where one of the diner's waitresses stands.
"Ready to pay the check, Sheriff?" The waitress smiles.
Romero reciprocates the grin. "Actually, I would like to order some dinner."
The waitress, Ann according to her name tag, pulls a pad of paper and pen from her skirt before making eye contact with the Sheriff again ready for his request.
After Ann submits the food order, she returns to the register. "Ok sir, we will bring it to your table when it is done." She advises but then notices his arms holding the few items he originally brought in with them and eyes him skeptically.
"Actually, can you bring my food to that table over there?" Romero requests, directing the young waitress' attention to Dylan's table in the back of the diner. "And put his order on my tab."
"To Dylan's table?" She asks, confused how the young man would know the Sheriff.
"Yes." He responds with a nod and then pauses for a few seconds, curious as to how long Dylan has been using this little diner as a hide away from his problems. "He's been coming here for a while?"
Ann smiles fondly as she stares in Dylan's direction, both noticing how the young man has his attention solely focused on some paperwork sprawled in front of him. "Oh yes, for a long time now. He used to come here for at least coffee a few times a week so we all really got to know him," her smile then suddenly drops. "Unfortunately, he disappeared for a bit and we were all hoping nothing happened to him. We were very relieved to see him walk back through our door over a month ago, though he seems sad every time he's come around recently."
Romero knows the reason for Dylan's sadness, but he pushes the thought aside.
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Romero approaches the young man's table carefully, knowing Dylan will most likely be unfriendly toward him after what had transpired mere minutes before. As the Sheriff cautiously takes a seat, he realizes Dylan doesn't recognize his presence. Whether it's on purpose or not, he's unable to tell from the young man's detached conduct.
The silence continues for another minute before the Sheriff hears a familiar voice speak. Dylan questions monotone, his eyes remain engrossed within the pages of paperwork in front of him. "Are you following me now?"
"Alright. I deserve that." Romero acknowledges, clearing his throat while he sets his items in the empty space next to him in the diner's booth.
Dylan finally looks up from his work with a smirk. "You sure have an ego Sheriff," he scoffs and then shoots an intense glare at the older man sitting across from him. "I do have a life outside of dealing with Norma's craziness and her consequences."
Romero lifts his hands as a sign of surrender. "I know that," he sighs with a shake to his head. "I've been avoiding some situations. Unfortunately, you happened to fall into one of those situations."
"You don't need to explain. I know the drill. You were just trying to impress Norma by being nice to me. This isn't the first time and it won't be the last." Dylan shrugs his shoulders and then breaks his stare to return to his work, completely uninterested in continuing the conversation.
Romero settles back in his seat, thinking about what to say next. Using his thumb and forefinger, he yanks at the neckline of his shirt to release some pressure building in his throat. To say this is uncomfortable, is drastically understating the tense reality. While it would be easy to stand up and walk away right now, the Sheriff's guilt won't allow him to move a muscle.
Dead silence surrounds their table, minus the background the chatter of the other few customers in the diner. The quiet must be too much for Dylan to handle because suddenly his neck snaps upward with his hand dropping to the table simultaneously, causing the Sheriff to flinch in his seat. "What are you still doing here?" Dylan asks in a whisper-yell with narrowed eyes.
"Alright, just relax Massett. I know I'm in the wrong here and I'm trying to apologize." Romero states with a sterner tone, which then turns calmer as his words continue. "It's not going well, clearly."
"Clearly," Dylan retorts with a roll to his eyes. "What do you want from me anyways?"
Before another word could be uttered the waitress places their dinners in front of them and then steps away quickly with a smile, realizing she may have interrupted a tense moment.
"I want you to tell me what you wanted to talk about before, when I wasn't available." Romero says, eyeing up the delicious food in front of him. "And, I guess I'd like to know why you're dressed up as if you work in a bank." Romero smirks.
Dylan moves his notebook and paperwork to the side, placing his plate directly in front of himself. "I wasn't going to talk to you about Norma, just so you know. She gets herself into her own messes all of the time, I'm done trying to get her out of them. I guess I needed some advice about something, but you weren't available."
In between bites, the Sheriff clears his throat and pauses for a moment before replying. "Well, I'm here now so maybe I can help."
Unsure if he can trust Romero, Dylan is reluctant to share any specifics. In order to still protect his own privacy but maybe receive a guidance, he'll keep the details buried. "I think, well – I'm on the edge of a decision. But, this could be one of the biggest decisions I've ever or will ever make."
Romero's eyes widen in surprise with the admission, but decides to nod his head and remain silent in order for Dylan to continue freely. He does have a suspicion this whole dilemma concerns a certain auburn haired young woman, though he's going to keep that idea to himself.
"I'm just not sure if I should follow my instincts or my head on this one." Dylan confesses, leaving out his true question if he should pursue his heart's desires by being with Emma or stay in his safe zone as his mind usually guides him. Though if he's being honest, his pattern of following his head hasn't always worked out well for him.
"Sometimes we just have to take a chance in life, a leap as the saying goes." He chuckles a little, realizing how cheesy what he said sounds. Kind of reminds him of a father/son dialogue, which actually gives him some sort of epiphany. "It could potentially be the best choice you've ever made." Romero sighs sadly, closing his eyes briefly as he thinks of his own circumstance. "The worst feeling is the sense of regret and loss." At this point the Sheriff feels this overwhelming need to continue with this fatherly conversation, slipping even deeper into the dad role that he never realized he wanted. "Does this have anything to do with what you're wearing?"
"Sort of," Dylan smiles sheepishly. "I'm trying to expand my business."
Romero flashes a proud smile, sitting up a little straighter. "That's great Massett!"
Dylan grins widely at the Sheriff's words of encouragement, but then his smile suddenly falters. "Yeah, well – nothing is set in stone or anything yet. I just need this deal to go through to even have a chance to make this big decision."
Romero nods, hoping to prove his support because he truly is proud of the young man. "I'm sure things will work out Massett and if they don't, keep trying. If you don't keep pushing forward, you'll never move ahead. Right?" He's almost cringing inside of how much he sounds like a dad cliché.
"Umm – yeah, thanks Sheriff. I – I guess I need to hear, well, all of this. I think I know what to do now," Dylan flashes a grateful smile.
"Glad to hear. Now, eat your food." Romero smirks with a parental tone as he takes a bite of his own burger, now feeling confident in his new role.
In between bites, Romero and Dylan discuss the young man's business plans. The Sheriff provides positive insights and ideas to improve the possibility of his business proposal being accepted.
After the Sheriff insists on paying the bill, Dylan stops abruptly as soon as they step outside of the diner to express a few more words. "I know we weren't going to mention her name, so I won't. But, she told me how much she regrets everything. Things with her and Norman are, well, complicated I guess you could say. Even after all of this time, I still don't understand. Norman needs help, I believe that much is clear. The problem is Norma believes she's the only one who can fix his problems, so she can't let him go." Dylan pauses for a moment to glance at the Sheriff, who is now wearing a puzzled expression. "I know I shouldn't bring this up, but you know we were talking about regret before. Anyway I feel like you should know, she isn't heartless just confused."
With a simple wave and a thank you, Dylan gets in his truck and drives away leaving a stunned Sheriff behind. He had no words for the young man as he spoke, not even when he waved goodbye. The thoughts Dylan has planted are now ingrained in his mind. She feels regret. For some reason, this brings him comfort even though he hates to hear her upset.
Maybe what they've had, isn't lost. Maybe they can start anew. Maybe their future is still bright.
However, is he ready to forgive her? That is the true question.
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Sparkling blue eyes slowly blink open with a smile playing on her lips as she meets the stare of deep brown eyes hovering over her. His strong arms cage her body within mere inches of his. "Good morning Love," the Sheriff whispers with a somewhat rough voice due to the early hours. Wearing a coy grin he leans into her further, close enough to place a sweetened kiss to her forehead before he moves to her side.
"Morning," Norma replies softly while nuzzling into his embrace. "I love waking up in your arms, Sheriff."
His left arm lifts from her right hip to trace the curves of her face with his gentle fingertips and moves a stray blonde hair behind her ear. "I guess it's alright." He responds dryly with a bored expression and detached tone, but then chuckles loudly when he notices Norma's facial reaction. He knows some sort of smack of her hand or nudge would be coming his way. As predicted, Alex immediately feels a sharp poke of a forefinger to one of his pectoral muscles in protest.
In response, Romero gathers her closer and dances his fingers across the dip of her waist, tickling her side. Her wild giggles turn to soft hums of contentment as his touch slowly turns from teasing into soothing. "You know I would never want to be anywhere else," he mutters breathlessly while connecting his loving stare with hers.
Leaning her chin upward, Norma stretches her neck to touch her lips to his for a quick peck but the kiss deepens when Alex raises his hand to place his palm tenderly on her cheek. She whines happily as the kiss is intensifies and moves her body impossibly closer to his, maybe only a couple of inches separating the two now.
When their sweetened connection finally breaks apart, Romero still doesn't let her go. Instead he easily shifts her body to lay across his with Norma ultimately using his chest as a new pillow for her head. The feeling of their embrace, embarrassingly sends butterflies throughout his insides. Not much different than when he was a teenage boy with a crush. He inhales deeply, immediately met with the scent of vanilla with a hint of lavender which radiates from Norma's skin.
A gratified grin graces his lips while his eyelids begin to feel heavy and his breaths start to even out, just as Norma's had a little while ago.
However, an annoying beeping noise from the bedside table continues to blare over and over again causing the couple to flinch awake with the continuous disturbing sound.
"Don't leave me."
Romero feels the words rumble throughout his chest before he truly hears them. "What? Of course not?" He whispers in return to reassure the nervous voice.
"Please Alex, don't go." The volume of the familiar sugary voice increases, becoming a little more intense.
His eyes remain squeezed shut, but he now feels a light breath float above him and two gentle palms surround his shoulders which then move upward to cup his jaw. "Please stay with me."
Unfortunately the consistent staccato noise blasts louder and louder to the point where he slaps his hand around the bed, hoping to shut out the sound any means necessary. But after several minutes and the noise only growing more obnoxious, Romero finally pries his eyes open only to be disappointed with what he sees … or what he doesn't see.
What he doesn't see is Norma's twinkling blue eyes gazing down at him as he believed. He only sees the dull, the beige colored walls staring back at him.
His heart grows heavier and heavier in his chest by the moment while his stomach keeps twisting in knots as he struggles to recover from his very vivid dream. With a sorrowful sigh the Sheriff reaches over to his bedside table and shuts off his alarm, resisting the urge to rip it from the socket and toss it across the room.
After silence finally consumes the room, Romero spends a few minutes simply staring up at the ceiling blankly while starfishing his bed. He's more confused than ever with all of these conflicting thoughts causing chaos in his mind.
Is his pride really too strong to never forgive her?
Can he truly live without her?
Is she worth all of the heartbreak he knows she'll inevitably inflict upon him?
No woman has ever made him feel so comfortable, while simultaneously keeping him on the edge of his seat as Norma Bates has. Maybe he needs to remember his own advice and take a chance.
When his feelings are stable enough to face the world, the Sheriff lets his mind stray a bit back to the dream. The Sheriff's cheeks slightly blush at the recollection and suddenly he senses the need for a cold shower, if he's being honest. More than anything though, the memory of Norma lying in his arms warms his typically stoic soul. He just can't seem to escape the way he felt holding her in the dream …
He felt complete.
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So what do you think... Will Romero look past Norma's flaws? Will Dylan be able to fix his relationship with Emma? Thank you to all of my readers!