Hey, everybody! I know I just posted a chapter a few days ago, but I love all my readers so much I decided to write a little something else. I appreciated everyone's views, thank you all so much for making this story what it is and inspiring me to add to it so much. I have more to come for this story and I hope you all enjoy this new chapter. Leave me a review if you have any ideas, suggestions, comments, or criticisms. Happy reading! - MJ123

It had been two weeks since Norma and Alex had touched their wedding planning sheet. This was no shock as their personalities were similar, Norma was an expert at putting things off until they faded away and Alex was a procrastinator who vowed on getting things done in the last minute. Norma was frustrated at herself for letting such an important event slip, she promised herself to get on track so everything would run successfully and smoothly.

Alex talked her out of guilt, saying they both had busy lives and the planning process should just come naturally, he claimed if they forced planning it, the experience would be less enjoyable. And because she loved him, it was easy to agree. The couple had planned a nice Friday evening in the midst of all post-engagement stress, they wanted to get some form of takeout, preferably Chinese to suite Alex's likings, and catch a late night movie on cable, something black and white to agree with Norma's taste.

The bride to be, however, was running a bit short on patience as her anticipated groom was running late for their date. Granted, Friday was typically the day he stayed late at work to get extra work done so it wouldn't have to be touched over the weekend, but that was only for a little while. He was supposed to show at 9 pm but Norma's watch read 11. With no texts or calls returned or given, she decided to throw on her crimson trench coat and head out to the sheriff's department.

The drive their was filled with a multitude of anxieties and excess fears. A thousand what if's popped into Norma's mind as the Mercedes smoothly skidded along the winding roadsides of White Pine. What if he's with someone else? What if he's hurt? What if he stood me up on purpose because he doesn't truly care about this relationship? What if he doesn't care about me?

Norma was never one with a cool head, relaxation was not a given for her, she had to talk herself into normality and leave any worries behind, serious or miniscule. Once she pulled up to the station however, everything resurfaced making her shake with anger and sadness, which was a true bitch because she didn't even know the truth. When she walked inside, she was met with that same receptionist that had been employed since the first time she was called down for questioning.

The receptionist had lost all attitude towards Norma, mostly because she knew about her and Sheriff Romero's relationship, if she were to test her, than she'd be fired faster than you could say "street crime." Her head popped up the second she saw Norma, resisting the urge to roll her eyes, she plastered a phony smile on her face and remained pleasant. "Hello, Mrs. Bates. What can I do for you this evening?," one could actually hear the passive aggressive angst reaping in her tone.

She ignored the woman's words and looked back at Alex's door, shut and private as always, something she didn't need to see at the moment as she was on a mission for validity. "I just need to see Sheriff Romero, it's kind of an emergency. He's not working is he?" she asked, now trusting the secretary she once hated, but hell if you're going to get information out of anyone, especially about the worlds quietest officer, you needed to do a little schmoozing.

The woman was quick to shake her head, an amused smile coming alive on her lips. "No, Sheriff Romero is actually talking with a friend in the break room. She showed up here a little while ago out of the blue and they've been back there," she broke to point to an open room a few doors down from Alex's actual office and then looked back to Norma, "Ever since. She seemed pretty nice. I can let you back if you want to speak with him."

Norma's heat dropped when the word "she" came into her ears. What she was being referred to? A pretty she? A sexy she? A slutty, conniving little she who would do whatever it took to get her hands on Alex? If so, that she had something coming to her. Norma could feel her face getting hotter but slowly decided that if she caused a scene in the office, she'd be prohibited from seeing Alex. Therefore, she sucked up all vicious feelings and nodded with an incredibly forced smile, "Yes, I'd love to see him if you wouldn't mind."

Just like that, the receptionist rang her back and she began pacing heavily towards that damned back room. Once she arrived at the doorway, she peaked inside to see what she was up against. Just as she suspected. A pretty "she." Her hair rested in perfect curls down to the middle of her back, the relax tee-shirt she wore was far too tight only showing off her ample breasts and formed curves, this bitch looked like she worked out at least four times a week, surviving on a diet of steamed kale and fruit smoothies.

Her blood boiled as she observed the look on Alex's face, happy, and almost aroused at the woman that sat before him. Without another thought processed, she walked inside and stared him down. "Hello, Alex," she said, walking closer to him, she knew it was vital to protect what was her's.

He was quick to wrap an arm around her waist and kiss her arm, his elevation made it harder to show affection to anything else. "Hi, baby. What are you doing here so late?" he asked, his voice sounded affectionate and innocent, making Norma want to soften up right away and leave with no further questions asked, but that "she" kept staring at her making it hard to just drop her feelings.

"I just decided to drive down and see how you were doing. I get worried when you stay cramped up in that office for so long," she said, making it seem like less of an issue with a small laugh, her eyes immediately rested on "she", "I'm sorry…I'm afraid we haven't met before, I'm Norma Bates. Alex's finance," her voice had the word possessive drenched all over it as her hand moved back to clutch his head, marking her territory.

She smiled wide and looked up at her, "Wow! Congratulations to both of you! It's so nice to meet you, Norma. I'm Mariah, I was just in White Pine Bay on a... well, I guess you could call it a self discovery mission. I just had to stop by and see my old bestie Alex," she squealed excitedly, looking back to him with a grin.

"Bestie?" Norma asked, her focus turning down at Alex, "What does that mean?".

"Oh my god!" Mariah gushed, with a nostalgic smirk on her face, "Alex and I were best friends in high school. Literally, he was the coolest kid ever. I was a cheerleader and he was a total book nerd, but he meshed with my group of friends so well. We would do everything together, go to parties, practice cheer routines, and we even went to prom together."

Alex laughed at her remembrance, the smile staying on his face as he nodded, "Yeah, yeah, I definitely remember that night. How can I forget when Chuck Wright threw a fist in my face and broke my nose."

"He was a total douchebag! I'm so glad I lost touch with that loser. Last I heard, he moved a few towns over and became a local at the bars if you know what I mean," she hinted with another giggle. That noise made Norma fume. The thought of her fiance to be and some hot girl from high school whom he would do "everything" with both repulsed her and scared the shit out of her. Alex was his, that's why she wore his ring and he carried her legal and personal burdens, never holding them over her, but supporting her.

"Wow, sounds like someone had quite the high school experience," Norma said, her arm draping around Alex's shoulders. He wouldn't get an earful until they were driving back home and this girl was long out of sight. He looked back up at her with a grin and nodded, "Yeah, I did. Hanging out with the popular girls was the highlight of four years being shoved into lockers and being called a sissy."

Mariah scoffed and reached over to tap Alex's arm, "C'mon, you were never a sissy. Well, only after school when we would practice my cheering routines," she laughed, the smile staying at her lips.

Norma hated her hand on Alex, it burned her inside, made her want to walk away and brand Alex with the word cheater. But that's the thing. He hadn't done anything. He would never do anything. At least that's what she told herself. She figured she'd try to win him all to herself later on, right now this little "she" was her main concern.

"So, Mariah, do you have any children or a husband of your own?" she asked, fearing nothing. She wouldn't be afraid to push this girl to the limit.

"Me? Oh no, no. I never wanted to be tied down. I always wanted to do anything at any given moment if I felt like it. I find that children are a burden and men can be incredibly overbearing," she informed, looking back to Alex, "Except you, you're pretty cool."

He laughed and nodded, "Yeah, I guess you can put it that way."

"I have to beg to differ on that one, I mean I have two beautiful boys and not once in my life have they ever caused me any distress. I guess you have to be selfless to be a mother," Norma said, a bitchy smirk on her lips as she enjoyed the words coming out of her mouth. She knew she was succeeding at being an asshole, Alex probably knew it to. The growing silence in the room made her worry a bit, but soon pleased her as she realized she hit a good nerve.

Soon enough, Mariah cleared her throat and looked back up to her. "You know something? My grandmothers name was Norma. She was a lovely women. Died not too long ago actually. We were always really close."

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that. I never met her, just your parents and they were pretty funny," Alex chimed in, the nostalgia written all over his face.

Her grandmothers name? This girl was playing hard ball. She wanted to piss Norma off on purpose, the hatred must've been completely mutual. And Alex just went along with it.

"Isn't that nice? I just hope Alex doesn't see me as a grandma," she joked, her hand tightening on his shoulder.

He turned back with a smile and shook his head immediately, a good thing because if he didn't, Norma would be sure to carry his balls in her handbag. "Your no where near grandma status," he laughed.

She smiled back, making sure Mariah watched their exchange. "Well, I better go. I have a job interview in the morning and I wanna wake up to try and look presentable." She rose from the table, slung her purse over her shoulder, and looked to Norma. "It was really nice meeting you, Norma." Her hand extended and surprisingly, Norma shook it, secretly wanting to rip it out of the socket.

"Yeah, it was good to meet you as well. Always a pleasure to meet any of Alex's friends," she smiled, unlatching. Immediately she wanted a large bottle of hand sanitizer.

Alex rose from his seat and gave her another smile, "It was really great to see you again, Mariah. I appreciate you stopping by to say hello."

"Yeah, of course. It was all my pleasure to be able to say hey," she grinned. And just as that smile appeared, the hug came, when Norma saw it she wanted to flip the goddamn table over.

Alex pulled away and moved back to Norma, watching Mariah walk to the exit, "Good luck on the job interview," he called, she flipped back and smiled before leaving.

Alex turned back to Norma and grinned, "She's nice. I'm glad you got to meet her."

"Yeah," she murmured, latching his hand with her own, "Yeah, she's a real peach." Without another word, she started pulling him into his office. Once reaching it, she brought him inside and shut the door behind them.

When everyone was out of sight and they were complete alone in the darkness of his office, she started kissing him, her hands roaming all over his body with feverish want. She wanted to get the image of that girl out of his head.

He pulled away with a small smile, "Norma, what's gotten into you?," his voice was playful as his hands rested at her waist.

She pulled him closer to the desk and sat on it, tugging him so he stood in between her thighs. She took his head and started kissing him again, leaning back so she lay stretched out on the desk. Once she had him where she wanted him, her hands moved to his belt buckle.

He was incredibly quick to pull back, "Norma, no. Not here," he warned, his voice hushed and gruff from her kissed, he reached down to fix himself.

She rolled her eyes and pulled him forward once again, starting to resume the kissing. He pushed her back gently and shook his head, "Norma, I'm not having sex with you here."

She stood from the desk in anger and pulled her dress straight, "Why not Alex? Why not here?" her voice was sharp as it rose.

He scoffed and looked at her like she was stupid, "Because Norma, this is where I work. A professional place."

"Oh I see, so you won't fuck me on your desk in private but you'll sit and flirt with that whore for hours on end in the fucking break room where everyone can see!," her eyes were a glare and her voice was as loud as freshly struck thunder.

"Flirting, Norma? What the hell are you talking about. She's just a friend. I can't catch up with a friend just cause she's a female?" he asked, his voice just as angry.

"A friend? A friend who wears jeans and cheap, $2 makeup? You think that's harmless?" she asked, she was quick to grab her purse and slam his door open, storming out of the office.

He followed back, taking her arm and pulling her to him, "Norma, you really think I want her? What's wrong with you?".

She ripped her arm away and walked further from him, "You think there's something wrong with me? Fine. Then don't bother coming home tonight, find somewhere else to stay and," she paused, pulling her engagement ring off and throwing it at him,"Find yourself another fiancé!".

Then, she left him there. Alex stood, reaching down to take the ring. There it sat in his palm, his heart aching from her lost presence, the only thing left behind being the scent of her sweet perfume. He'd never seen her like this before, it was harsh, like a blow to his very existence.

The minute she left, he knew he had to get her back.

He had to get her back.

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