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Norma walked two miles until she found a little bar nestled in between an old gas station and a convenience store. She decided she'd go in, she needed a drink after tonight.
As Norma walked inside, she looked at her surroundings. It was a dim lit bar, the smell of apple martini mix in the air, the sound of people rambling to one another way passed wasted, and some Lynyrd Skynyrd song playing in the background.
She took a seat on the red leather bar stool.
The bartender, a larger man, with a graying beard, in a leather vest approached her from behind the bar.
"What can I get for you, miss?" he asked, washing a dirty beer mug.
"Um...I'll just have a plain vodka on the rocks please" she said, reaching into her bag.
"It's on me" she heard from behind her, she jumped at first, then turned around.
She looked into Alex Romero's warm brown eyes.
"Alex, you don't have to-"
"It's on me" he said, handing the bartender a few bills.
She gave him an annoyed glare and sighed.
"Thank you" she said shooting him a tight lipped, small smile.
He looked her over. Her lace dress hugging her in all the right places, her curly dirty blonde locks cascading over her shoulders, and her beautiful blue eyes pale with an obvious sadness.
He confidently took the chair next to her and sipped on his Jack Daniels, his body smelling like a mixture of cologne and the alcohol in his hand.
"What are you doing here anyway?" she asked, clearly irritated by his presence.
"I needed a drink, this is the only bar in town where there are no 20 somethings buzzing around, slurring about random shit I don't care about. What are you doing here? I didn't take you for much of a drinker" he asked, watching as she sipped on the vodka.
"I drink on occasion, I'm just here because I...never mind" she said, focusing on the sports game projected on the flat screen mounted to the wall.
He kept his eyes on her.
Finally, she glared at him.
"What?" she asked clearly looking for an argument.
"You look upset, I figured I would ask what was the matter" he said, smirking, he reached into the bowl of peanuts next to his arm and popped a few in his mouth.
"Well, nothing is wrong. Stop bothering me, oh and by the way, I'm about one hundred percent sure those nuts you just ate were spit backs" she said, raising her eyebrow slightly at him, and grinning in minimal comic relief.
His eyes shot open at her comment, he reached for a napkin, and wiped his tongue, making a gagging noise as he tossed the napkin aside.
"How did you know those were spit backs?" he asked, his face still scrunched up in disgust from the taste of the saliva coated snack.
"Mmm, I used to work in a bar for a little while before I got pregnant with Norman" she said, nursing her drink.
She looked over at the napkin on the floor.
"You know, you really shouldn't litter" she said, motioning to the garbage.
"Never mind my shit. What's wrong?" he asked, scanning all over her gorgeous face with his eyes.
She looked at him, sighed, and opened her mouth to speak.
The amount of butterflies she put in his stomach was ridiculous. He sat upright, giving her his full attention.
"Well, I went to meet George's parents in this really swanky restaurant a few miles away. I made a complete idiot of myself and walked out" she said, laughing, and shaking her head at her own story.
"Meeting his parents? What is this high school?" he asked, tossing back the rest of his drink.
"He happens to be very sophisticated, he wanted to take our relationship to the next level...I was so stupid to think I deserved a man like him" she said, squinting her eyes at the contents of her glass.
"Hey" he said, placing a hand on her arm, his warm eyes staring into her blues filled with sadness and disappointment in herself.
"Norma, you deserve-"
"Norma!" she heard, breaking eye contact with Alex and looking towards the direction of the voice.
It was George, he rushed to her side, about to scold her, but then his eyes landed on the Sheriff.
"Hello, Sheriff" he said, nodding his way.
Alex gave him a sarcastic smile and sipped his drink.
George placed a hand on her waist and kissed her cheek.
"Norma, can I speak to you outside?" he asked, his voice soft and gentle.
She nodded, grabbed her purse, and got up to follow him to the exit. She was wondering how he found her.
Once they got outside, George looked around, when he saw no one, he grabbed Norma's arm tightly and pulled her towards the back of the bar.
He pinned her against the bricks.
"George your hurting me!" she yelled.
He only slammed her back against the bricks harder.
"How dare you embarrass me like that!" he growled at her, their faces inches apart. She turned her head away in distaste and fear.
"George, I'm sorry" she yelped, tears leaking from her eyes.
"And then you go and whore around behind my back with your friend, Alex" he thundered at her.
He took her shoulders and slammed her against the bricks two more times.
She squealed in pain.
"Ow" she cried, her voice laced with sadness and her back on fire.
"Your nothing but a slut!" he roared, his hand moving up to her neck. He wrapped his hand tightly around it, clutching.
"Stop!" she managed to gasp, his hand squeezing her tightly, her air waves being cut off every second.
He squeezed his hardest, then tossed her down on the gravel, walking away from her.
She watched his figure get into his car and speed off.
She got up and leaned against the bricks gently, afraid of putting pressure on her probably forming bruises.
She reached into her clutch and pulled out her phone. She called a cab to come pick her up. She moved back out to the front parking lot and waited for her ride. Norma prayed she wouldn't see Alex, she didn't want an interrogation right now. She couldn't believe what had just happened, who was that? That was an evil entity that only wanted to hurt her, that was definitely not George Heldens.
The next morning, Norma woke up with shooting pain in her upper and lower back. She didn't need to look to know it was George. She put her head in her hands and got up out of her bed. She stripped off her pajama shirt and went into the bathroom. She looked in the mirror, sure enough bruises covered her soft, porcelain skin. She can't say she was shocked, she'd been through the same exact event with Sam. The scars, bumps, and bruises didn't ail her anymore, it was just the thought of the person who gave them to her. Unfortunately, it was hot out that day, too hot to wear a cardigan to cover up the nasty afflictions, so she picked a dress that she thought covered them all.
She headed downstairs to the motel office and began booking check in's on her laptop.
Much to her adversity, Alex walked in, eager for his morning cup of coffee.
"Hey, Norma" he said, nodding at her.
"Good morning" she greeted him emotionless, still typing on the computer.
"What happened to you last night?" he asked, filling his cup with coffee.
"Nothing, George came to get me" she lied.
"I see. Do you have anymore sugar?" he asked, looking around on the coffee table.
"Um, I think we may in the back" she turned to look.
"Holy shit" she heard whispered behind her, stopping dead in her tracks, she knew what he saw.
"Norma" he said sharply.
He stared at her porcelain skin. She had a black and blue bruise on her shoulder blade, and another light green and purple one peaking out off the back of her dress near her spine. He was filled with rage when he saw them. He knew it was George. He wanted to kill him, massacre him, and bury his body in a shallow grave.
She walked into the back office despite his worry, reached into a basket full of sugars and creams, and grabbed a few packets. She returned in front of him and dropped them on the table.
"Norma, did George give you those?" he asked, worry and concern washed over his face.
She stared at the screen, blatantly ignoring his questions and accusations.
"Norma!" he yelled, trying to lock eyes with her. She wouldn't budge.
"Norma, goddammit!" he scolded.
Her head snapped up at her.
"What! What the hell do you want?!" she yelled, her face red with anger and frustration.
"Who gave you those bruises?" he reprimanded her.
"None of your fucking business!" she yelled, her eyes wide, an almost ravenous look on her face.
"Norma, I just want to help you" he said, his tone meek, his face genuine.
She couldn't let him get between her and George. Whatever they still had between them.
"Just leave me alone! Leave me alone!" she shrieked, a few tears making her cheeks wet.
"You want me to leave?" he asked sharply.
"Get out!" she hollered.
Alex looked at her, her voice was angry but her face was filled with sadness. Her bottom lip was trembling, her eyes overflowing with tears.
Though it hurt, he placed a hand on the knob and looked at her one last time, her stance still strong. He walked outside and shut the door behind him.
