Her Eyes

Chapter 33: CRUELTY

As soon as Alex left the hospital he sped over to the Bates' house. Norma wasn't in the office and she wasn't answering the door. He was worried about her—more worried than he has ever been about anybody. He quickly searched the steps, remembering Keith kept a spare key underneath one of the planks. Once inside his ran throughout the house looking for her. He ended up in her bedroom. A feeling of guilt washed over him as he entered. It's not like he hadn't been in there before—it's just this time she wasn't there and there wasn't a dead body lying in her bed. Soon he heard the front door slam shut. As he got to the top of the steps she was already inside the house peering up at him. "Where the hell have you been?" he shouted, jogging down to steps to meet her.

"I went to the phone store. What are you doing in my house? What's going on?" She looked at him as if nothing had happened, though he knew something had. He hated how nonchalant she was about everything.

"Why haven't you answered any of your texts for thirty-six hours? I thought you were dead." He huffed; he hoped she noticed that he was hurt.

She stared back at him dumbfounded. "I just lost my phone. Why does everyone immediately jump to I died?" She didn't notice his injury. She turned and walked over to the kitchen.

He followed her. "Maybe I jumped to it because you put yourself and me in a vulnerable position making that 'alleged' deal with Bob Paris." He stared into her eyes when he finally reached her.

She wasn't the same. She was keeping her distance from him. "Alex, don't start. I am not dead." She stared back at him plainly. "I'm alive…you're alive. Whoopie." His heart panged as she walked away from him to set her bags on the counter.

She didn't care that he was hurt—that's what hurt him the most. "Well somebody tried to kill me, and I can only assume it was a message from Bob." He hoped she knew what he was getting at, but—

"Are you sure?" she asked in disbelief. "Bob seemed fine." And now she was taking Bob's side. He was losing her. "I just don't think that you should assume that he's the one that tried to kill you." She shot him a matter of fact look before turning her back to him.

She was unbelievable. He would do anything for this woman, but she wouldn't even give him an ounce of sympathy. "You know I could be dead. I did get shot at." He hoped it hurt. He hoped it hurt as much as him spending all night and day worrying about her safety.

She turned around to face him. "Well it looks like it went right through you."

Out of all the arguments they've had, this one was the worst, mainly because he could tell that she didn't care how he felt. Normally he would have brushed it off, but nothing could numb the pain he was feeling. He was done hoping that she'd notice him the way he noticed her. He was done being nice. "Where's the flash drive?"

"Why do you have to drag my flash drive into it?" He'd hit something. He could see the rage rising within her.

He couldn't believe the way she was treating him after everything he's done for her. "You wanted me as an ally." He shot her a hard look. "I gave that to you. I respected you."

She sighed, thinking it over. "Fine. Dylan hid it at the farm. It's taped under a grow light timer at the cabin. Some kid named Gunner knows how to open it." He began to walk out of the kitchen—he had everything he needed. "What kind of a name is Gunner anyway?"

"A stupid one." He felt his anger fume as he left the house.

He had calmed down by the time he got to the farm. When he got out of the SUV a dog ran up to him. It reminded him of the german shepherd he used to have—Jack was his name. Alex smiled at the thought as Gunner approached him. "Hey, Gunner."

"What can I do for you?" the kid stated, reaching down to pet the dog.

Alex looked around cautiously. "Can I talk to you inside?" He looked up and spotted a man sitting on the roof of the barn they were building. "I don't know you, do I?" he shouted up to him. The man seemed nervous.

"Oh, that's Dylan's uncle, Caleb," Gunner explained.

Alex squinted at the man. "You're Norma's brother?"

The man seemed hesitant. "Yeah."

The sheriff decided not to pry anymore. He was still mad at Norma. Besides it wasn't any of his business who her brother was or why he had never heard of him. He had other things to take care of. He leaned towards Gunner. "Come inside." Dylan had set up himself a nice little farm. Alex was kind of proud of him. He walked over to the grow light timer and ripped out the flash drive, throwing it down on the table. "I hear you can open the file on this," he told Gunner. The kid appeared a little apprehensive. "No one here is gonna be in trouble for any of this, come on."

"I don't know what that is. As far as I know, it's just a piece of the timer for the grow light." Alex hated when people acted like this towards him, yet everyone always did.

He sighed. "Gunner, don't make me get out the gun, bang your head against the wall, and all that shit cause I will do just that. Now open it." He waited as the kid plugged the drive in and typed in the password, before opening the file himself. He scrolled down reading the names until it hit him. He could have burst into tears right there. Of everything that Bob has done to him—this was the worst. He quickly closed the filed and ripped the flash drive out, slamming the laptop shut. "Tell Dylan I have it." He was on a mission.

He found Bob at the shooting range—Bob only went three places other than his house: the club, his office, and the shooting range. As Alex stormed up to him, Bob's guard stopped him. "Don't even start," Alex growled at him.

"Let him by," Bob shouted.

The sheriff glared at the guard as he passed him. "I'm gonna kick your ass and I'm gonna enjoy it." He made his way to Bob, the anger still rising within him. "I gotta question for you about a name on that ledger."

Bob glanced over at him, smiling a bit. "I was wondering when you'd actually look at it. Finally saw your mom's name on that ledger."

Alex hated talking about his mom. He loved her so much that even the thought of her pains him. "She's been dead twenty-two years. She'd be rolling in her grave that her name is on some piece of shit like that."

"Don't look at me. I didn't put it on there…your father did. He set up that whole income thing way back." Bob waited for him to say something, but he was too shocked. "So maybe now you'll help me."

Alex rolled his eyes and walked off—this day just kept getting better and better.

Alex stopped by the local prison and asked to see his father. They met in the visiting room, which was more like a small cafeteria. It hurt him to see his father—it hurt him how happy his father looked to see him. He wasn't even sure what to say to him.

So his father spoke first. "You're looking well."

Alex glanced up at him, sighing slightly. "Yeah, well it's not a social visit."

His father looked at him plainly. "Why would it be?" He was right…but it still hurt when he said it. He hated seeing his father—he hated seeing him like this. "What happened there?" He pointed to his arm.

"I was shot…that's not why I'm here." He hesitated for a moment. It didn't really matter what he said just as long as he got his point across. "I saw the ledger. I saw her name. Of all the things that you've done to her—to us…this has to be the lowest."

His father stared back at him unashamed. "What does it matter? It's a name on a ledger."

He hated him. "You were an arrogant cop to the rotten core."

"Oh, and you're prince charming?" his father shot back,

Alex shook his head in disbelief. "I'm nothing like you," he stated. He didn't have time to have this argument again. He came here for a reason. "You're gonna take her name off that ledger or I'm gonna kill you, you got that? Use one of your friends whose dead, I'm sure you got a lot of them." He glared at him. "You're not using her…not anymore."

His father leaned back. "You don't have to make such a big deal of everything like you always did. It's annoying," he admitted. He studied him for a moment. "But there's no telling you anything, huh? You always know best, don't you?" He leaned in closer to his son. "You've been blaming me for her death for twenty-two years when she's the one who chose to leave that way."

"And you drove her to it…you drove her to it." Alex felt his heart breaking at the thought of her.

His father stared at him for a moment before getting up. "Nice seeing you, Alex." The sheriff watched the guards let his father in, the pain seeping in. He needed a quick release.

So he went to the bar and after several drinks, realized how stupid his decision was. He got up from the bar, his jacket slipping off the one side. He walked out to the parking lot and sat down on the end of the truck next to his SUV. He figured if he sat there no one would think he was the sheriff. He knew he couldn't drive and he be damned if he walked the streets like that, so he flipped open his phone. He didn't have any friends or relatives…the one person he did have was her. He debated whether to call a cab instead, but he found himself dialing the numbers anyway.

She picked up the phone rather quickly. "Hi, Alex." His heart warmed at the sound of her voice. She seemed to be over their little fight.

Luckily he was too. "Hey, Norma. I, uh." His words were slurred. A laugh left his lips as he thought of what to say. "I need a favor. I don't have anyone else to call." He sounded pretty pathetic—he was pretty pathetic. "I need you to come get me."

"Are you okay?" He smiled thinking about her. "You sound weird."

He sighed at the confession. "I can't drive and I can't be walking around town like this."

She hesitated for a moment. "Okay…are you drunk?" She seemed amused by the thought of a drunken sheriff.

"Yeah," he laughed. "I'm at the bar near the station."

"I'm on my way." He sighed when she hung up. He missed hearing her voice. He got up from the truck and hobbled over to the side of the fence to wait for her. It wasn't long before she arrived, rolling down to window at the sight of him.

He didn't think it was her at first, but sure enough it was. He looked at the car with a confused expression. "Where's your car?"

"I traded it in." She looked at him through the open window. "I don't know what I was trying to prove. I wish I didn't. I hate it. I miss my car." The regret in her voice was evident. He got up from the fence and stumbled over to the car, climbing in—shaking the entire vehicle in the process. "What is going on with you?" He tried to ignore her comment as he attempted to buckle his seat belt. He heard her sigh before he felt her on top of him. He tried not to breath or move or anything—he needed out of this. "You're a mess." He was a mess. He couldn't take being that close to her. A sense of relief filled him as she returned to her seat.

"Can you just drop me off at my house?" He needed to avoid being alone with her any longer or he'd do something he'd regret.

But she was Norma Bates. "No way. You need looking after."

He felt his body tense up. He was trapped. "No, no, no. I'm fine. I don't wanna put you out." He closed his eyes and leaned back in the seat, struggling to relax. "Just drop me off at my house. It's—"

"Shut up," she mocked playfully. As soon as they got to the main road she looked over to him. "I'm sorry about earlier. I'm sorry you got shot."

He turned his head to face her. "It's fine. I'm a big boy." He smiled at her. He felt closer to her now then he'd ever felt. "Where were you?"

She returned her gaze to the road ahead. "I was at home."

"You know what I meant." He kept his eyes on her. He knew he was making her uneasy, but he cared about her. He wanted them to be closer. "Please don't lie to me."

She rolled her eyes with a sigh, but gave up the fight…probably thinking he wouldn't remember any of this anyway. "I left. I packed up and I left town. Thought I could change who I was by buying new clothes and a new car. And all it did was make me feel like crap." She caught him staring at her. "So what happened to you?" She was trying to direct the attention away from her. He knew she didn't want to be pitied…especially by him.

"I got shot," he mocked playfully.

"You know what I meant." She raised an eyebrow as she glanced at him.

He sighed, knowing she was right, but he couldn't let know about this—not like this. So he pretended to fall asleep. He knew she wouldn't buy it, but he'd do anything to avoid talking about it.

"We're here," she told him, putting the car in park. "I'll be right back." He got out of the car and waited as she grabbed a room key. She motioned for him to follow her, leading him to room 11.

"What? Is this my own private room? Reserved just for me?" He laughed as he stepped inside.

"Of course." She helped him take off his jacket before he lied down on the bed. He rolled onto his side as she tucked him in. "You're gonna sleep here for a few hours." He smiled at the thought of her tucking him in. He was enjoying this. "I'm gonna go make dinner and then I'll come check on you." She waited for moment then sat down on the bed beside him. "Alex, what happened?"

He was glad he wasn't facing her because he wasn't sure he could handle looking at her in that moment. He felt weak. He let out a long sigh before beginning. "One of the names on the ledger was my mom. She's been dead twenty-two years…suicide." He couldn't believe he was telling her this, but he couldn't seem to stop himself. "My dad, he was the one who set up the trust—he's in prison. And he was using her name to collect his share of the drug profits."

"I'm so sorry, Alex." He knew this was genuine.

He turned slightly to face her. "Yeah. That's my sad story." He sent her a smile, which she gladly returned.

She was thinking about something, but he didn't know what. "Life is so hard, isn't it?"

"Sometimes." He smiled again, turning so that he was lying flat on the mattress. He picked up her hand and began to stroke her fingers with his own. He didn't know why he did it, but he couldn't stop himself. Soon he found his hand drifting up her arm pulling her in, and she was leaning in. It was going to happen, but she stopped herself. She fixed the blanket and sat back up. "I'll make dinner, okay?" She stood up awkwardly. "I'll, uh, I'll come back." She nearly ran to the door, opening it.

It was now or never. "I think you're beautiful."

She stood in the doorway peering at him. "You're drunk. You're not gonna like that you said that to me tomorrow."

"Probably," he laughed. They smiled at each other one last time before she shut the door, allowing him to sleep.

It was dark out when he woke up. He was beginning to feel more like himself, but he was still feeling a bit fearless. He was planning on staying, but the sound of the piano made him rethink his decision. He opened the door to find that it was Norma sitting with her brother at the piano. She turned around to face him, getting up from the bench. "Hey."

Everyone was now staring at him. He laughed awkwardly—he didn't know she was having a party. "Sorry to interrupt. I just wanted to thank you. I'm feeling better. I'm just gonna call a cab."

But again she was Norma Bates. "No, you're gonna stay for dinner."

He knew it was coming, but he was still caught off-guard. "No, I'm not in any shape to—"

"Yeah. No. I'm not taking no for answer. You're staying." He loved the about her. She turned to the group. "Let's go sit down. Dinner's ready."

They all walked to the dining room. Alex felt out of place. He stood awkwardly at the back of the room, waiting as Norma came in for the kitchen with a salad bowl, setting it down on the table. "Where should I sit?"

"Anywhere." He loved that she was trying to make him feel comfortable. She pulled out the chair at the head of the table. "Here."

"Thanks." He took the seat and watched as she walked away. He couldn't believe he was here. Alex was never really invited to social outings.

"Would you like red or white?" Emma asked.

He glanced up at her. "Red, please."

"Say when." He was grateful that she was helping him.

He watched as she poured the wine. "That's good, thanks." He turned his gaze to Norma as she sat down. She was beautiful.

"Thank you all for being here." She cleared her throat a bit, thinking about what she was going to say. "I had this dream when I was little of a home where the door was open and friends could come and go and stay for dinner and talk…and everything would be lovely. Thank you all for giving me that." They all clinked their glasses. Alex looked up to find Norma waiting for him, so he raised his glass to her. She looked away shyly, taking a sip of her wine.

And then it happened. Caleb stood up shakily. "To my sister, Norma Louise, who has always been like the sun in a cold universe—for allowing us to all be together. God Bless you, Norma." Alex could sense the tension in the room. He saw the look of horror on everyone's face as soon as the man stood up.

"The food's gonna get cold," Norman added. Clearly something was wrong, but Alex ignored it.

After dinner was done and everything was cleaned up, Alex headed for the door.

"What are you doing?" Norma called out after him.

He shot her a confused look. "I'm gonna call a cab."

"No, you're not. I'm driving you." She grabbed her keys and left before he could protest, so he followed her down the steps to her car.

They sat in silence for a while before Alex turned to her. "Thanks for everything tonight." She gave him a smile in return. He thought for a moment, unsure how to ask. "So that was your brother?" He saw her tense up.

"Uh, yeah." She glanced over at him briefly before looking back to the road.

He didn't want to make her anymore uncomfortable, but he wanted her to know that he was there—that he would protect her from anything and everything. "You can tell me anything, you know?"

She bit her lip. "I know." She pulled into his driveway and parked.

"Thanks again." He smiled and got out, waving at her as she left. He would fix everything for her.