2.
~ Norma hated being alone in this house. It always made odd creaking noises that she never really minded when another person was there with her.
When Norman was home with her, his familiar light rustling upstairs or prattle down in the basement had a familiar tempo that put her at ease. The house was made for a large family after all, and it disliked just her haunting it's hallways.
Alex had asked if she wanted him to stay the rest of the day with her. He had plenty of personal time saved up at work and they could make a visit to town. Whatever she needed, they could do.
Norma wasn't sure why she spurned his offer of kindness. Wasn't sure why she didn't want him being nice to her. Her more logical side knew it was better that Norman was back in PineView. That side remembered how her son had held a gun on her and talked about how they weren't meant for this world. How cold and assured his voice was when he talked about ending them both, was something she couldn't forget.
It was this logical side that also told her, Norman was dangerous to innocent women. Women who seemed so drawn to him. Like moths to fire that would burn them alive.
Still, she couldn't seem to let that logical side win. She had to stubbornly be ruled by her emotions just now. Her emotions, her love for her son, wanted him here in this lonely and empty house. A house that creaked uncomfortably with his absence.
She'd never felt safe in this house. Not since the rape. Keith Summers had done much more that assault her in her own home, he'd stolen any sense of safety she could ever feel. Every time the wind blew or there was a hard rainfall, one that loosened a shutter or that banged that back screen door, she was afraid someone was breaking into the house. That Keith had risen from the waters she and Norman had dumped him in and had marched right back in to hurt her again.
Not even Norman and Dylan's presence in the house had chased away that fear that constantly loomed over her since it happened, and she hated it. Hated that he'd made her afraid in her own home.
What annoyed her even more, was that only Alex made those fears go away.
When he first stayed at the motel, after that awful and shocking fire, was when she realized she wasn't afraid anymore. He hadn't been shy about coming to her front door and ringing the bell when he needed something for his room. He'd wanted privacy, but she'd liked having him in her home, in her kitchen to doctor his hand and face after his little fight.
He hadn't bragged about it. That mysterious fight she assumed was linked to some thug that deserved it. She hadn't asked about it either, and guessed it was just apart of his job description. She liked that he could handle himself and that he was kind to her, but curt at the same time. She wondered what Alex would do he'd caught Keith Summers trying to hurt her that night. If Alex had been in her kitchen at the time, Norma doctoring his wounds like before; when she caught him looking at her with such sweet fascination.
Then that monster breaking in and the blackness, the ugly swirling mass that she didn't like to think about it.
Only this time, Alex, fueled by Norma's rage, killed Keith Summers before he could even get two feet into her kitchen. His fat, smelly body lying dead and bloodless on the floor. Waiting neatly for the proper authorities to be taken away.
The dragon slayed by the fearless knight. The princess saved.
Norma liked this idea so much, she could convince herself that might be how it actually happened. The reality was so much more unpleasant. Besides, it would be the type of thing Alex would do. Keith Summers would cower before a man like Sheriff Alex Romero and everyone, including Norma Bates, knew it.
Maybe that was why she had kept the lights on when he worked late. That was why she stayed in the office until she saw his always recognizable Sheriff's SUV pull up to the far end of her little motel before she shut down her office for the night and skirted out.
"Night, Alex." she called with her best smile.
He'd always looked surprised to see her. Surprised that she knew his name and was making verbal contact with him. Like she hadn't done this exact ritual every night for him since he'd started staying here.
"Good night, Norma." he said in his always stoic tone before turning towards his room.
She wanted him to be in his room before she went up to the house for the night. Wanted him to see her walk the lonely steps in the dark to the house. She couldn't explain it, but she knew that he was watching her. Knew that the window in his motel room was perfectly angled that afforded him a crystal clear view of the house. Knew that as a cop, he would instinctively watch her until she unlocked her front door and closed it again. Making sure she was sadly inside.
She wanted him to do that. Wanted him to keep an eye on her. This angry, quite man who all the local criminals seemed to fear. No one would bother her with a man like Alex Romero keeping watch over her. No dragons would dare attack the castle with this knight guarding it.
Since he started staying at the motel, she hadn't felt as afraid of the odd noises in the night. Norman had certainly kept her mind occupied and she hardly had time to worry about anything else. She knew the reason she wasn't afraid to be alone anymore was because of him and she was thankful.
She was nicer to him. She felt bad that his house had burned down and she was thankful to him for slaying her dragons.
When he suddenly left her, his stupid new house ready at last, she'd been shocked and a little hurt. There was no reason at all he couldn't just stay at her motel forever. She'd heard of people living in a motel room long term and she could take care of him… bring him meals so he wouldn't starve… do his laundry since he was a man and obviously incapable of taking care of himself.
It had been a nice little fantasy she'd entrained. She would live in her big house, he would stay in his little room and they would just look after each other. Sort of like a marriage, only with very strict rules and a comfortable line of separation. Exactly the kind of marriage Norma liked.
Then Alex had to go and ruin it all by moving out. She'd felt the coldness and fear creep right back into the house as if they were dark and cold floodwaters. Something she couldn't stop or escape from.
Then, when they were suddenly and inexplicably married, she wasn't sure what to think. They'd stepped from a neat little arrangement of 'your side and my side' of the property to him stomping around upstairs. She wasn't used to having a man she wasn't related to in her house like this. He'd just shown up with bags (a lot of bags) and had moved into Dylan's bedroom.
What was he thinking? Wouldn't it make more sense to stay in his old motel room? It was nicer that way. Wasn't it? Cleaner? Safer? Better to keep her knight at a distance?
His footfalls upstairs had been too heavy and made the kitchen lights above jostle. The house didn't creak with loneliness because Alex made too much damn noise all on his own.
Still, she hated to admit, never once was she afraid when he was there. Not even when the break in happened. She'd been more shocked and then annoyed and angry that it had happened, but not afraid.
There was a reason someone had waited until her knight was out of the house to break in. No one would dare do this with him there. No one in town was that stupid.
All these things Norma was thinking over as she looked over her pitifully low fridge and mused over what to make for dinner tonight. She had no idea what Alex liked to eat. If Norman was home… best not to think of that.
Alex had enjoyed almost anything she put in front of him. He hadn't preferred one dish over the next and had no complaints so far. She was sure he was the type who ate TV dinners alone most evening and anything home cooked was a treat.
She jumped when she heard a loud bang and voices in the basement and was quick to grab a large butcher knife that was close. Only Norman was ever down there and she remembered the handgun she had Dylan get her was all the way upstairs. She'd have to run through the dining room to get it or dash past the basement door. She could hear the intruders loudly talking and marching up the basement steps like they owned the place. She started to rush out of the kitchen only to greet Alex and a uniformed installation man coming up the stairs and into the hallway instead.
"We're about done here, Sheriff Romero. My team will get started on the security systems for the motel." The pudgy little man was saying as he checked over his clip board.
"This is my wife Norma." Alex was saying eyeing the large butcher knife in her hand and discreetly pushing it away so it wasn't pointing at them. "Norma, this is Bill. He's putting in a security system for the house and bunch of camera around the motel… so you can feel safer." he said all this as though he was talking to a spooked horse and Norma glanced down at the knife still in her hands. She neatly stashed it in the fancy side bureau that was in the hallway.
"Our oldest son is the only one who's ever down here in the basement and we're not use to the house being so quite." Alex explained a with winning smile to Bill. "It's really spooky here at night."
"I saw all the taxidermy stuff. Good hobby for a kid to have." Bill said with a friendly smile. "I'm sure a big house like this gets really creepy at night though."
Bill looked at Norma with a reassuring smile as though he were a doctor.
"Don't worry, Mrs. Romero. We're setting up a really nice system. Alarms on the doors and everything. You'll be able to see who's coming a going at the motel at all times, it even records for you. We're not going to disturb the fancy wood work of this house either. Everything is controlled through your phones. Your husband is a smart man, you've got nothing to worry about." Bill said before bustling out to supervise the rest of the installation.
Alex looked a little guilty at the shocked expression Norma knew was on her face.
"I've been meaning to do this for a while." he said. "I'm a cop, Norma, this is like Disneyland for me… after the break in… the broken stained glass… I mean, it's going to be a lot more convenient for you to with running the motel-"
He wasn't able to finish his sentence before Norma threw her arms around him.
"This is so nice." she whispered in his ear. She could feel his arms wrap slowly and carefully around her waist and rest pleasantly on her bottom.
"Oh." he said in relief.
"Will it make a lot of noise if someone breaks in?" she asked hopefully.
"LOTS of noise." he promised eagerly. "Lots of noise and our phones will be alerted. Plus I'm the Sheriff so every cop in town will be here. Bill said he can rig it so the light will flash to disorientate an intruder."
"Oh, Alex! That's so nice!" Norma sighed as if he'd been describing a dream vacation.
She pulled away from him suddenly but his arms refused to release her. Her hips staying pinned to his as they swayed together in the hallway.
"I was thinking about when you stayed down in the motel after the fire." she said softly. "How nice it was."
"Oh?" he asked with a smile of remembrance.
"Yeah, I always liked staying in the office late. Just so I could be there when you came home. I wanted to make sure you were in at a decent hour. I didn't like to go to bed without knowing you were there." she explained. "I liked it when we could say good night to each other."
She felt a little silly by this admission.
"That's why I always made sure I was home before 9." he said with a slightly mischievous smile. "I normally worked much later."
Norma suppressed a grin.
"Really?" she asked.
"I couldn't have you stay up too late, Mrs. Romero." he scolded. "Besides, I loved seeing you run up those stairs after telling me good night."
"Alex!" Norma scolded in mild shock before his lips were lightly teasing hers.
He pulled away slightly and she admired that spark that seemed to flare in his eyes. She recognized it when they had danced at the Lights of Winter. He was happy. It was rare and beautiful to see and it transformed his entire appearance.
"I really like the security system, Sheriff." she said politely. Her tone proper and hushed as though they didn't want to be overheard and gossiped about in polite society.
"Glad to be of service, Ma'am. A young… attractive widow like yourself, alone in this house. I worry about you." he said with a tone that was almost comical it was so cliché.
"It's so reassuring the Sheriff of this town has taken such a special interest in my personal safety." she teased.
"That he has." he said in a hungry tone.
She smiled at him and tried not to break the spell of this silly game they were playing. It was the kind of dialog that was found in an old movie. A cheesy, hopelessly romantic black and white movie where the dashing, tall dark and handsome leading man saved the girl who had been in danger from some monster or unseen ghoul.
The kind of movie where nothing bad ever happened because the leading man was strong and brave and handsome. The hero always stopped the bad thing from happening and they fell in love and there was always a happy ending.
Norma felt her face fall when she realized bad things still happen and heroes didn't always arrive just in time to save anyone. Love doesn't always last and there wasn't always a happy ending.
Alex saw her face change and kissed her sweetly. He didn't want this moment to end and seemed determined to chase away whatever monsters were tormenting her.
"We're not mad at each other anymore? Are we?" he asked in a husky breath. His strong body backing her hers into the living room and toward the sofa.
"No." she mewed helplessly. That wonderful feeling of light headedness was washing over her and she was more than willing to become his plaything for the afternoon.
"Good." he said maneuvering her carefully on the couch as though she were made of particularly delicate glass. "Because last was fun, but we're not high school kids, Norma. I'm a man… and your husband. I need a lot more than just foreplay."
His breath was heated as he kissed her to near exhaustion and Norma felt her hips rise up effortlessly to meet him. Enjoying to contact of her hips meeting his. The roughness of fabric on fabric.
"Oh… okay…" she managed to say through her befuddled mind. His lip moving over her neck and ears and the buttons of her blouse mysteriously coming open exposing the lavender colored lace of her bra.
She wasn't sure how this was happening, how he'd managed to so artfully have her on her back with her blouse undone and her skirt hiked up. His hands playfully pulling at her panties while she squirmed at his delightful attentions. Her husband's bodyweight feeling safe and comfortable on top of her. Not too much, and yet, he could always give her more.
His breath warm and wet on her neck, his greedy hands slipping off her panties and casting them on the floor as if it were a crime to wear them at all. His mouth exploring her newly exposed breasts which burst to life at the sudden attention.
Like a having ice water thrown on them, the door bell rang and Norma jumped in alarm.
"Damn it, Bill!" Alex growled and sat up.
"Alex!" she hissed and pulled down her skirt. She realized she had her patients embarrassingly stolen by law enforcement not even a few seconds ago and looked around wildly for them now.
She barely had enough time to button her blouse up, smooth her hair, notice her fiend of a husband had pocketed her underwear, before some ungodly visitor was knocking on the door.
Alex looked back at her to make sure she was presentable and she gave a quick nod. Minus the underwear, this was as good as it was going to get. It was easier for men, Alex already looked presentable and hadn't been nearly undone that way she had moments before.
Sheriff Romero opened the door not to Bill the security installation guy, but a short, balding man with thick glasses.
"Sheriff Alexander Romero?" the man asked.
"Yes?"
"Is that a question?" the man asked. "Are you Sheriff Romero or not?"
"I'm Sheriff Romero. Who are you?" Alex said darkly to the odd looking little man.
"Your office said you'd be here." the man said. "I'm Everett Marsh. Oversight. I'm an agent for Uni-life insurance. You're extended benefits package was flagged last week for investigation."
"What?" Norma asked when Mr. Everett Marsh waltzed into her house and inspected it. With her new security system being installed she fully expected poisoned spears or a trap door to dispose of such a rude interloper. Something from 'Indiana Jones' would have been nice. No such luck.
"Well, anytime we have a suspicious case file come across our oversight committee, such as a long time bachelor marrying a woman at City Hall with no engagement notice or witnesses other than the county clerk, that raises a flag." he glanced at Norma. "I'm assuming you're the newly minted Mrs. Romero?"
Norma nodded. She never thought of herself as a 'newly minted' anything but the term didn't insult her.
"It raises even more flags when then the immediate family member of the insured party, your new step-son, Sheriff." Mr. Marsh went on. "Is checked into a very pricy in-patient care facility. So, naturally, I'm here to make sure the this marriage... is a legitimate marriage. That you two haven't come to some sort of an arrangement purely to scam this agency out of hundreds of thousands of dollars."
Marsh adjusted his glasses and looked at Norma and Alex as though he expected each of them to confess through tears to their terrible crime.
"Because, I'm sure you are aware, such a thing is illegal. You could lose your career, your pension and even serve jail time, Sheriff Romero." Marsh said easily.
Norma looked at Alex in horror. She had no idea Alex had risked so much to help her. She knew he job was at stake, but his retirement? Jail time?
"You to, Mrs. Romero." Marsh nodded at her.
"We're not lying." Norma barked defensively.
"Norma." Alex said calmly so she would stop talking.
Marsh smiled as if he'd won a small victory.
"I noticed you have a charming little motel down there. I'll be needing a place to stay during this investigation. Why don't you check me in, Mrs. Romero? We can talk more alone." he said.
Thanks so much for all the awesome feedback! I love it. I hope you guys really enjoy where this story is going.