Happy New Year to my fantastic readers! I love all of you so much and hope you all had a happy holiday and a great beginning to 2015. Anyway, this is a super long chapter in celebration of the New Year. Hope you all like it. (The next chapter may be rated M for some smutty beginnings and pillow talk). Leave me a review if you like it or have any plot suggestions/questions. Enjoy - MJ123 :)

Soon after leaving the house, the couple found themselves in the parking lot of a little diner amongst the numerous beautifully furnished homes and wide shopping centers. The second they pulled in, Norma turned to Alex with a smile. "You know...this is the first place John and I went when we first came to Phoenix" she said, stepping out of the SUV.

Alex shut the engine off and joined her outside. "It's quaint...reminds me of one of those fake 50s diners. Y'know the ones where the servers dress up as Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio" he exclaimed with a laugh, moving towards the entrance to hold the door open.

She walked in with a smile, grateful for his chivalry. "I like those diners. It must be like Halloween everyday for those people". Norma snagged them the first booth she could find, he soon joined, hooking eyes with her from across the seats.

"That wouldn't be such a bad thing. Halloween everyday, I mean. It's nice...pretending to be someone else for a little while. It's like a vacation from reality" he commented, taking a menu, and looking at the various options.

She nodded, observing the specials on the board above the tabletop area. "I always liked Halloween myself. Mostly because I can eat a bunch of chocolate without any shame".

He chuckled, looking up from his menu. "What are you gonna get?".

She thought of the specially recommended dishes. "Um...I'm not sure. The Greek club sandwich looks really good but I'm also eyeing Ranch BLT salad".

"I'm thinking about the fried chicken. I'm a huge fan of comfort food".

"Isn't everyone? That's my favorite thing to cook for the boys. They're all time favorite is my homemade macaroni and cheese. I'll have to make that for you when we get back to Oregon. I think you'll love it" she smiled, putting her menu down.

"I probably would. I'm a big fan of your cooking" he agreed, signaling the waitress. The woman came flying in on a pair of skates which she had no business wearing, she was twisting around uncomfortably to the left and right. "My name is Peggy, I'll be your waitress. What can I get for you both?" she asked with a kind smile, whipping out her notepad.

Alex gave Norma a hand gesture, signaling her to go first. "Can I please get the Greek club sandwich, a side salad with extra cucumbers and Russian dressing, and an iced tea?".

"Sure thing, sweetheart" she answered with a wide grin, then turning her attention to Alex. "And what can I bring you?".

"I'll just have the fried chicken with a side of coleslaw and mashed potatoes. Can I also get a Coke?" he asked, watching her etch the order down.

"Sure thing. I'll be right out with your food" she descended, struggling to move away from the booth.

Norma grinned as she rolled away, her eyes darting towards the booth on the other side of the room. "Fuck…" she muttered, her eyes closing tightly in dismay, automatically she rested her head on the tabletop.

Alex gave her a confused look. "What's wrong, Norma?" he asked, keeping his eyes trained on her. He extended a hand out and dropped it to her arm, rubbing gently as a sign of comfort.

She let out a small sigh, wanting to shrivel up or disappear into mid-air. "That woman over there with the brown hair and glasses. That is Sam's mother...why the fuck does she have to be here?" she said, her skin growing warmer in anger.

"I take it you two didn't get along so good when you were married to her son?" he asked, keeping his hand planted. Alex let his eyes glance over to the woman a few times.

"Not at all. Let me tell you, she was the mother in law from hell. So passive aggressive and condescending, a total bitch. She was so critical of me and the way I did everything. From the way I raised Norman, to the way I acted towards my husband, even how I kept my house bothered her. She always felt the need to find a flaw" she scoffed, trying not to make eye contact.

"She doesn't sound like such a good woman…" he stated, watching Norma's expressions change rapidly as she kept glancing over at her.

"She's horrible. And the worst part was...she always glorified her son. She thought he was the greatest man to ever walk the face of the earth. Always telling me how hard working and respectful he was. If only she saw him slam me against walls, hit me, scream at our son...she was completely clueless to the monster she raised. It doesn't shock me though...his father was a huge booze hound" she explained.

Alex felt his rage build when Norma recapped all the things her deceased husband would do to her. He felt anger towards his mother too...mostly because she was rude towards Norma. "I'm sorry you had to deal with those kinds of people honey...you didn't deserve it" he cooed empathetically.

Norma silently took his hand and kissed it, still feeling anxious to get out of the establishment. "Would you be angry at me if I wanted to get out of here?" she asked, with her lip between her teeth.

"Not at all. I understand completely, we can just go somewhere else" he said, trying to get their clumsy waitress to come back to the booth.

Everything was going smoothly until the pair heard a voice from across the way. "Norma? Norma is that you?" the voice asked. Norma immediately sunk in her seat, feeling sick to her stomach. Alex shot a sympathetic look her way, as she straightened out her body and gave the woman, who was now coming over to their table, a large, plastic smile.

Norma rose to meet the woman. "Hello Deborah" she greeted cheerfully, meeting her hug with hatred running through her veins.

"It's great to see you, Norma. I haven't seen you since Sam's funeral. What brings you back to Phoenix?" she asked, glancing at Alex.

"Ironically...a funeral" she answered, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Oh, well I'm so sorry we had to see one another under such circumstances. How have you been? How's my grandson? Where'd you scurry off to anyway?" she asked, giving her a tiny smile.

"We moved to a small town in Oregon, White Pine Bay. Norman is doing great, he's excelling in school and he has met so many great new friends. I've been good as well, running my own business and um...I met Alex, he's my boyfriend" she said, motioning to him sitting at the table awkwardly.

He stood as well, reaching out to shake her hand. Norma cut in with a smile. "Alex this is Deborah Bates, Sam's mother" she re-introduced.

"It's nice to meet you, ma'am" he greeted, giving her the best thin lipped smile he could, completely following Norma's lead. After all, the woman was one hell of a good liar.

"He's not quite as handsome as my Sam but I suppose if you like him enough…" she trailed off, looking him over.

Alex took that as his sign to exit, so he sat back down at the booth watching the interaction. Norma gave her a glare. "Really? I think he's perfect...he really loves me, he's protective, and treats me like a princess" she said with enthusiasm.

Deborah scoffed and rolled her eyes comically. "And Sam didn't? If I recall, you were perfectly fine with him all those years".

"You know what, Deborah...those 17 years I kept silent for you and your family's benefit but not any more. Though you thought the sun shined out of your son's ass, it didn't. Sam was actually horrible to me. He would hit me, slap me, punch me, and kick me. He would have me clean up his messes all while he called me a dirty slut, a skank, and an ungrateful whore. He would force me to have sex with him even when I didn't want it and worst of all, he would make Norman watch all of this...but don't worry I never let him lay a hand on my son" she said, giving her a nasty look. She turned to Alex who sat astonished at her revelation. "Let's go, Alex".

He rose silently, taking her hand in his and walking to the exit. Deborah stood with her mouth wide open, staring Norma down as she walked to the parking lot. She was a hundred percent sure she could hear her yell "lying bitch" as she shut the door behind them, but she didn't care, she felt good to get all that shit off of her chest.

The couple got back in the SUV and Norma looked at Alex. "I'm so sorry you had to see that, I didn't mean to unleash like that...especially in front of all those people" she apologized.

He said nothing, just taking her head in his hands and kissing her lips softly, pulling away with a small smirk. "You don't have to apologize for that, I'm so proud of you. It's great that you finally stood up to someone who hurt you like that".

She nodded with an appreciative smile, returning his kiss, and setting her eyes back on the road. Alex started the engine and pulled away. "So...I have a question" he started, keeping his attention focused on where they were going.

Norma glanced over at him and rested her arm on the window pain. "Shoot. You can ask me anything".

"Was all of Sam's family bad? Did they all not like you?" he asked, his brows furrowing.

"That's a good question, actually. No, I mean the majority of them did. But he had one brother named Steven. He was so handsome and incredibly kind to me, we were actually good friends. He was always the one to notice bruises and scars on my body...I wasn't shy to tell him his brother was an evil bastard. He was so empathetic, he'd always tell me that he loved me" she explained with a smile.

"Were you guys sleeping together?" he asked quietly.

She stayed tight lipped for a few moments. "Well, we weren't sleeping together. It was only once…"


It was early morning in Arizona. Sam had just went to work and Norma had sent Norman off to school with a sack lunch and a kiss on the cheek. She was looking at a decorative list of all the chores and duties she had to fulfill around the house when there was a knock at the front door. She rolled her eyes, putting the paper down, and answering.

To her surprise and excitement, it was Steven, wearing casual clothes and a relaxed smile. "Morning, Norma" he greeted, but the sunny expression soon faded when he got a look at the golf ball sized, purple bruise gracing her temple. "How the hell did that one happen?" he asked, taking her arm gently, and shutting the front door behind them.

"Sam came home last night and I didn't have dinner on the table...the house was still kind of dirty because I had to work a later shift at the Holiday Inn and I couldn't make it home in time to get everything done" she explained with a heavy sigh. She was so fed up with being treated like someone's whipping post.

"Oh Norma...you don't deserve any of that. I'm sorry to say I'm related to him. I hate to see you like this, whenever he marks your beautiful face with another bruise I just wanna kill him" he said, running his gentle fingertips across the laceration.

"Me too" she said with a nod, retreating back to the kitchen. "Can I get you a cup of coffee?".

He shook his head slightly and moved closer to him. "No, thank you. I want to clean up that bruise a little bit. Do you have any ointment?" he asked.

She silently reached up into the kitchen cabinet, taking out a long tube of healing cream, and handing it over to him. Steven pulled her close to him, unscrewing the cap on the tube. "C'mere...this won't hurt. It'll probably make some of the color disappear" he explained with a comforting smile.

She nodded, "That's good. I hate that they're always so easy to see" she sighed, sitting at the kitchen table with time so he could heal her wound.

He dabbed some ointment on his index finger and swirled it around on the bruise, rubbing it in slightly, not wanting to press on it too much. Unscrewing the cap on the bottle, he looked up at her, "There we go. It should heal a lot quicker now".

She looked him over with her mouth open a bit. His eyes met her own with equal desire. He leaned over quietly, taking her cheek in his hand before kissing her lips softly. Norma followed suit, kissing him back with more force. Soon enough they were both out of their seats and entwined with one another. He reached up, hooking her thighs over his waist, and hoisting her on top of the kitchen counter.

"I've wanted you for so long, Norma" he whispered before planting his lips onto her neck, sucking at her skin delicately. Norma blushed at his sweet words, sliding off the counter, and taking his hand in hers.

She kissed his cheek and took him into her bedroom.


Norma looked back at him. "It wasn't very well thought out...it was kind of a heat of the moment situation. I mean, I loved him but like my brother not like a lover. Taking him to bed was a stupid idea. Having sex with him was like taking a horny, inexperienced teenage boy's virginity".

He chuckled at the comparison. "That bad, huh?".

"God, it was like a blind guy trying to hit a bullseye on a dartboard" she scoffed, taking his hand in hers, and playing with his fingers.

"Well, I would give him some credit. As a guy...it's actually pretty tough to please a woman, it's like you all have this secret button that we have to press or else we go down in history as terrible in bed" he defended, glancing at her with a playful glare.

"Lucky for you. You never have a hard time hitting my bullseye...I always come with you" she purred, running her hand along the inside of his thigh.

He looked at her, his eyes burning with desire.

"I can't wait to get you home".

Let me know how you like it in the reviews :)