Sorry it took so long to update…things have been pretty crazy. I've been having trouble figuring out Alex's fate in this story. I want to keep it as close to the actual storyline as possible. And I'll be splitting my time between this story and my new story, The Hurt Locker. I wanted to make this chapter a little bit longer than usual to make up for it. Thank you all for reading. I appreciate every single one of you :)

Her Eyes

Chapter 51: A THOUSAND FORMS OF FEAR

They burst through the front door, arms wrapped around each other. They needed each other. They needed some sense of security, because they were both falling apart. He never kissed a woman with so much love in his heart. She was different from everyone else. She was special. She was his tonic cure. He led her to the bedroom, slipping off their coats in the process.

She broke away from him, her eyes filling his. "I thought you wanted to wait."

He sighed and tugged her closer. "There's been a slight change in plans." He never appreciated anyone the way he appreciated her. He never needed anyone the way he needed her. She helped him in ways she'd never understand. He waited so long just to kiss her that every kiss seems to last a lifetime. She slid off his tie and began unbuttoning his shirt as he continued kissing her. He'd never get enough of her. He loved her. He gently tossed her on the mattress and climbed on top of her. They stared at each other for a moment, each trying to wrap their head around the situation. It was almost unimaginable—the two of them together. But they were meant to be together. It was their destiny. "I like you."

She laughed lightly. "What? You don't love me anymore?" she teased.

He rolled his eyes and leaned down to kiss her. It unbelievable how much he loved her—how much he wanted her. She must have known exactly how he felt about her. Otherwise she wouldn't have kept coming back. There was a loud knock coming from the front door. He peeled himself off of her, sighing deeply. "I'll be right back." He grudgingly walked down the hall to the door. He had no idea who was at the door. No one ever came to visit him—he had no friends to come and visit him. His heart stopped as he peered through the window at the woman. The scowl never left her face. He hated Babbit. He opened the door and stared at her, an unimpressed look on his face. "Can I help you?"

She gazed down at his rumpled clothing. "Are we interrupting something?"

He furrowed his brow, opening the door further to view the other officers. He felt slightly embarrassed. People were slowly closing in on his life. He was losing his room to breathe.

"Sheriff, I'm gonna need you to come with us." He felt his heart pounding, screaming at him to run. The walls were slowly crumbling in on him. He wasn't safe anymore. No one was safe anymore. "I wanna take you down to the station for some questioning."

He didn't break from his careless demeanor. He couldn't crack in front of her. He couldn't let her win. She couldn't just come into his town and act like she ran the place. He felt a presence behind him, but he didn't turn around. He wasn't really sure what to do anymore.

"Alex, what's going on?" It was the most humiliating moment of his life. He felt weak. He wanted to run and hide, but he was tougher than that. He didn't really have a choice.

He turned around and moved towards Norma. "They need me down at the station. I won't be gone that long." He tried to move her back towards the bedroom, but she wouldn't budge.

He could see the worry in her eyes. She knew what was happening. There was no bullshitting her. "Alex."

He could have fallen apart in front her. His world was coming to an end all over again. She was his only reassurance for a better life. "I'll be back." She didn't believe him. He knew that. But he'd never lie to her. "I promise."

Her eyes never left his. He knew this was killing her—he could see it in her eyes. She couldn't disguise anything from him. "I love you."

A pain formed in his heart. He hated leaving her, but he had to. He hated even more that she had to watch this happen to him—on the night of their first date no less. He gently kissed her forehead. "I love you too."

The ride to the station sent an eerie feeling through him. He wondered if this was how Norma felt when he arrested her. He couldn't think of anything more humiliating. His dad would be so proud. Little Alex was slowly becoming his father. And he hated himself for it.

All eyes were on him as they walked through the station to the interrogation room. He hadn't bothered to re-button his shirt. He didn't care what they thought of him anymore. The sheriff's election was coming up soon and he knew his chances of winning were growing slim. He wasn't sure what the people thought of him anymore. Things hadn't looked too good for a while with the collapse of the drug business and now the Bob Paris incident.

It was just him and Agent Babbit in the room, but he knew the others were watching. People were always watching. He took a seat at the table, already feeling like a criminal. He couldn't decide if he was or not. He's killed plenty of people. He never once considered himself a criminal. But then again no one ever found out about the people he killed…except the Bates. They always happened to be around when trouble hit. They were cursed…they were all cursed. He knew that.

"Sheriff, what were you doing at the boatyard on the night Bob Paris disappeared?" She didn't sit down—she never sat down. She liked to tower over him. She probably thought it made her intimidating, but Alex wasn't scared…he'd been through worse.

"I was looking for Bob Paris." He kept his eyes trained on her. Looking away would show weakness…guilt.

"I thought you were out looking for Norman Bates?" She raised her eyebrows, her arms crossed in front of her. She thought she was so special, but she was really just like everyone else Alex knew. She thought she was better at her job than she actually was. She'd never get through to him.

He stared at her plainly. "I was."

She nodded and moved to the corner of the room, turning around to face him.

"What's wrong with him?"

If only it was that simple. He wished he knew. "I don't know."

"When I went over to speak with Mrs. Bates she said he wasn't available…do you have any idea where he is?" It really wasn't any of her business.

The sheriff sighed deeply. "He's being treated somewhere."

"You're very close with his mother?" She stared down at his open shirt, giving him a knowing look.

He didn't falter. "Yeah." What she thought of him was the last of his worries.

She nodded glancing down at the floor. "We checked your phone record. It doesn't show a call to or from Mrs. Bates the night Bob Paris disappeared. You said that she called you."

He shrugged indifferently. "People make mistakes."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Yeah…they do." She was implying something. He hated that about her. She made her way back in front of him and took a breath. "Why exactly did you go to the boatyard?"

He leaned back in his chair. He was oddly comfortable with himself. "Bob was on the run—he wasn't gonna drive out of town. He's not stupid."

She studied him for a moment. "How well did you say you knew Bob Paris?"

He could see the reflection of himself in the glass. He was a criminal, and he was slowly coming to terms with it. "We grew up together."

"So you know things about him?" She thought she was getting somewhere.

He furrowed his brow. "We weren't exactly close."

"We searched the boatyard and on one of the boats we found a wallet that belonged to Bob Paris." She placed her palms on the table and leaned closer to him. "I need you to tell me what you were doing at the boatyard."

He didn't move…he couldn't. "I was looking for Bob Paris."

She stared directly into him—this was another one of her tactics. She wanted to scare him. But nothing could scare him. He was fearless. Except for when it came to Norma Bates. "Did you find him?"

His heart sank. He could lie and hate himself forever. Or he could tell the truth and lose his job…possibly go to jail. "No."

She stared at him for a while. He was unbreakable to her. He learned to be that way—he had to be that way. He couldn't trust anyone. She turned and walked to the door. "All right. Thank you for coming in."

He watched her leave, finally taking a breath. Now it was just that matter of getting home. He pulled out his phone and called Norma.

"Is everything all right?" He was happy to hear her worried voice.

"Yeah." He sighed. It was a bit of a lie. He wasn't exactly all right. He was falling to pieces. "I need you to come pick me up. My keys should be in my coat pocket."

"I'll be there as soon as I can." He was a little apprehensive about her driving his car. She hadn't exactly earned the right to drive that car, but he had no other option besides a cab…and he hated cabs. He got up from the table and walked down the hall to wait for her outside.

He watched as she parked the car and got out, leaving the driver's door open for him. They climbed inside and stared at each other. "You look like a mess," she commented.

"Yeah. Whose fault is that?" he shot back. He put the car in drive and drove back to his house. When they got inside they made their way back to the bedroom. Alex plopped down on the bed, letting out a sigh of annoyance.

She stood in the doorway peering down at him. "Alex, what happened?"

He stared up at the ceiling. A lot had happened in one night. He was slowly trying to take it all in. "I lied."

"About what?" She sat down next to him.

He wanted to wrap his arms around her, but he felt so distant. "She asked if I found Bob that night…and I told her that I didn't."

She sighed, placing a hand on his knee. "He wasn't a good man, Alex."

"And that makes it okay?" He glanced at her before returning his gaze back to the ceiling.

"No." She shook her head lightly. She was being honest. "No, it doesn't."

His decision that night would always be the biggest regret of his life. It haunted him like a shadow in the dark. "I could have let him leave."

"And he might have come back and hurt someone else. You were protecting the people you cared about—that doesn't make you a bad person." It was slightly comforting, but he didn't buy it.

"I just don't like lying." He didn't want to think about. He tried to shove it all away but it kept coming back to face him.

She didn't look at him. She was thinking about something. The walls were comfort for them. "Why?"

"Because, Norma." He didn't want her to know. She didn't need to know.

"Alex." He couldn't scold her for keeping things in if he did.

"Because my dad lied all the time." He shook his head. He hated thinking about it—about him. "He lied about where he was—what he was doing. We had no idea he was involved in the drug business…that he was running it. When I got a little older I started to figure it out. And when I asked him about it he'd get mad…real mad." The words started to catch in his throat, choking him. "Lots of dads hit their kids, but when he hit her…. She was all I had. She loved him. She loved him so much, and I couldn't do a thing about it."

She laid down next to him, cuddling against his side. "I'm so sorry."