Her Eyes

Chapter 67:

Alex pulled up at the motel after work. He felt an odd sense of nostalgia parking his car in the driveway, though it was better than parking in the woods a quarter mile back and hoping to God he remembered to roll the windows up. The golden glow peeking through the windows of the house lured him. This was his prison. His heart pounded as he knocked on the door. For as many times as he'd been in their house he never quite felt comfortable there. He felt like he was intruding on them, mainly because most of the time he was. But this was different; she asked him to come.

He smiled at her as she opened the door, though her face held a look of pained frustration. "Hi, Alex," she muttered without looking at him. She simply opened the door for him and left for the kitchen.

Alex shut the door behind him, following after her down the hall. "Is everything all right?" He had only been gone for a few hours and she was already a mess.

She opened the cupboard, reaching for some plates and handing them to him. "Can you set the table?" He could hear the years of stress seeping back into her voice. He wanted to comfort her, but he took the plates from her instead, setting the table like she'd asked. It was best not to pester her. He knew she'd eventually come around. He watched as she checked the pot roast a second time. He could feel her anxiety. He was only this empathetic when it came to her.

She shut the oven door and sighed, knowing he was still waiting for an answer. She moved over to him and motioned for him to have a seat at the table as she did. "Sheriff Arbogast came to see Norman today. He wanted to talk to him about Bradley Martin. Norman was fine about it. He answered all his questions, told him everything he knew…" Her eyes drifted away from his gaze as she took a breath. "Norman thinks I killed Bradley Martin."

Alex's brow furrowed at the confession. "Why would he think that?"

Norma opened her mouth to answer but the oven beeped before she could say anything. She sighed, standing up and moving over to the oven. "We'll talk about it later." She placed the pot on the stove and went down the hall to call Norman and Dylan down for dinner. Part of Alex believed she was just avoiding the topic like she always did, but something had changed in her a while back that gave him faith in her. She made her way back to the counter, her hand resting on her hip as she waited for her boys.

Dylan came down first, stopping in the doorway and sending his mother a look. "Hey, Romero," he greeted after a moment of confused silence.

Alex smiled at the kid as he took the seat next to him. "Hey, Dylan."

Soon enough Norman came down, offering his mother the same reaction to their surprise guest as Dylan had. Although Norman didn't seem as happy to see Alex as Dylan had. He moved over to the stove, scooping up some mashed potatoes. "Why is he here?" Norman whispered loudly to his mother. Alex knew Norman didn't like him very much and that he'd say anything to scare him away, but a part of him was honored that Norman felt he was that much of a threat. It just meant that Norma really did like him as much as he thought she did.

Norma sent her son a scolding look before returning to her seat across from Alex, leaving Norman the seat next to him. She smiled at him before taking a sip of her wine. It made him feel slightly more comfortable in her house.

They ate in silence for a while before Dylan piped up. "Emma's coming home from the hospital next week. I thought maybe we could throw her a welcome home party or something."

Norma smiled at her son. "I think that's a wonderful idea." Norman clanked his fork against his plate, taking a sip of his water to clear his frustration. His mother turned to face him, giving him a disapproving look before continuing with her dinner. Alex observed them in silence, unsure whether he should change the subject or not. But he had Norma to do that for him. "So Alex, how was work?"

He stared up at her. He didn't like when the attention was on him. It made him nervous. He glanced down at his plate, breaking off a piece of the roast to chew. "The usual. A few burglaries…convenience store robberies." He shrugged, taking a bite. He wasn't the most interesting person at the table. That's part of the reason he was so drawn to Norma; she made his life more adventurous.

"No interrogations?" Norman murmured under his breath.

Alex turned to face him, raising a brow. "No, I don't handle interrogations now that I'm just an officer." He knew what he was getting at.

Norman gripped his cutlery, leaning forward. "Then what are you doing here?" Alex stared back at him emotionless. It was all a part of the game. Norman's stare was cold…protective. "I know why you're here. Why don't you go ahead and ask?"

"Norman," Norma warned him before Alex could reply. He wondered if Pine View had helped Norman at all…it didn't seem to help his attitude.

But Alex pretended not to notice, turning back to his dinner. "It's fine, Norma."

But Norma's intrusion had only angered Norman more. He glared at Alex, the veins began to show on his forehead. "What? You're not going to ask me about Bradley Martin? You don't think I killed Bradley Martin?"

"Norman, stop it! Stop!" Norma screamed. Her son stared at her weakly, dropping his knife and fork. There was something different about Norman—something slightly methodic. Norma turned back to her plate, sighing deeply. "Eat your pot roast, honey. Come on. It's gonna get cold."

Alex stared at them in silence. He had no idea what he had gotten himself into. He glanced over at Dylan, who had his eyes glued to his plate as he chewed softly. Alex felt bad for Dylan. In a lot of ways, Dylan reminded him of himself. He was an outsider to his family…he was the only sane one.

After a few minutes of eating in silence, Dylan finished and excused himself, leaving Alex alone with Norma and Norman. Alex and Norma continued to eat in silence, patiently waiting for Norman to leave the table. But he continued to sit there, even after having finished his meal. He was clearly waiting for Alex to leave first.

Norma finished and picked up the three of their plates, placing them in the sink and returning back to her seat. "I thought you wanted to finish that groundhog you found?"

Norman shrugged, keeping his gaze on Alex. "It can wait. Sheriff Romero never answered my question." It was a clear dig.

But Alex didn't mind. He was flattered by how threatened Norman felt. "Your mother invited me." He knew it would hurt Norman, but it was the truth.

"Why would she do that?" The boy wouldn't budge, not with Alex there.

"Alex is our family friend. He was in the area so I invited him to dinner." Norma glanced at Alex as she spoke. He liked hearing her talk about him—calling him their 'family friend'. Norma waited for her son to respond or leave, but he didn't. "That groundhog isn't going to finish itself."

Norman glared at Alex and got up from the table, taking the hint. Alex watched as he disappeared into the basement, turning back to Norma. "What was that about?"

Norma sighed, resting her chin on her hand. "He's still upset about earlier." Alex gave her look that told her he was still waiting for an answer to his previous question. He knew she didn't really want to talk about it, but he needed to know. Her eyes fell to the table. She could never look at him when she told the truth. "After Milton left, Norman flipped out. He kept apologizing to me, saying he thought he was helping me." Her voice began to shake as she tried to stop the tears from falling. Alex reached across the table and grabbed her hand. "He asked me why I did it? He thinks I killed Bradley Martin." She gazed at their hands then broke apart from him, standing up and moving over to the counter to do the dishes. "I had to pull him out of Pine View because he was threatening the nurses. I just don't know what I'm going to do with him."

Alex stood up from the table, moving over to her. He let his hand rest on her back to comfort her. "I'm gonna take care of it. Trust me." He didn't know how, but he would.

She gazed up at him, a sad smile appearing on her face. "Thank you, Alex." She set the plate back in the sink and wrapped her arms around his neck. "For everything." He leaned into her as she closed the distance between them. This was the happiest he'd felt in years…perhaps even his whole life.

Just as the kiss started to heat up, the sound of someone clearing their throat came from behind them. Their whipped the heads to view Dylan awkwardly standing in the doorway, keys in hand. "I'm gonna head out to the farm…and maybe stay the night there."

"Okay," Norma replied, letting go of Alex. "I'll see you tomorrow." They watched him leave then turned back to each other, laughing softly out of embarrassment. Norma stared back at him, thinking about something he couldn't recognize. She grabbed him by the hand and pulled him in the direction of the stairs. His grin widened at her actions. She dragged him into her bedroom and shut the door, returning back to their kiss.

Alex pulled apart from her. "We just ate."

"What? Do you wanna wait fifteen minutes so you don't get a cramp?" Norma smirked at him. Alex rolled his eyes at her playfully. She kissed his neck gently, returning to her original mission. "I want you to stay the night."

"Won't Norman notice?" He wasn't sure why he was fighting this. He loved her. He wanted to be with her. But a part of him was still afraid of the consequences.

She looked up at him tenderly. "No, he doesn't sleep in here anymore." Alex raised an eyebrow as she turned her back to him, making her way to the bed. He decided it was best not to ask. She turned around to face him. "Well?"

He sauntered over to her, pulling her into his arms and kissing her. He was going to take care of her. That was a promise he'd never break.