Chapter 5: Everything is Fine (part 1)
A hand lay rest over her abdomen as she stared at herself in the mirror, dull eyes looking back her. Her bleak future grew that much darker within moments. There was no denying this away, tucking it away in the corner until she could conveniently come back to it and deal with it when she was ready. This was a baby, and if that test came up positive, she was screwed.
Sighing, she opened the bag and pulled out the test. She wanted to take it as soon as possible, but there was some comfort in not knowing for sure. Right now she was able to deny the situation for a bit. There was no definite answer yet. On the other hand, she would feel a lot better knowing that there wasn't a baby.
As she was about to open the box, she heard a knock at the door. Norma paused, tightly closing her eyes for a second as she huffed. All she wanted was to get this over with and everything was about to get in her way. If there was a baby, the kid would probably be born by the time she got to take this test.
"I'm coming!" She harshly called as she left the room and started down the stairs.
As she reached the bottom, she saw Dylan heading from the kitchen towards the door. "Don't worry, I got it," she told him.
Dylan looked to her and sighed. In all honestly, he wanted her to find out already so that there would be a little less stress around her. "I got it mom. Just go back and upstairs."
"I'm already here," she sighed, annoyed as she went to open the door.
Dylan stood there as she threw open the door and plastered a fake smile on her face as soon as she saw who it was - Alex.
"Alex!" She squealed, causing Dylan to roll his eyes.
Alex stood there at the door, staring down towards the floor. "I'm afraid this isn't a social visit, Norma," he informed her.
Norma's demeanor fell as she stepped off to the side to allow him inside. Alex was someone that she had come to really like, and she felt safe with him. Right now she could really use someone that she felt safe with, someone that would make her feel as though everything would be all right. And with Alex at the door, she thought that he would be the one to get her through the day today. Arriving the way he did though, she was sure he was only coming to share bad news.
"What is it?" she questioned, anxiety rising within her.
Alex sighed, looking around the room. He then turned and looked to her, beginning to wonder why she attracted every bit of trouble that came into this town.
"Have you seen or heard from Caleb Calhoun lately?" He asked.
Both Dylan and Norma tensed up at the question. Dylan stepped closer to the two, stopping next to his mother who crossed her arms.
"No," Norma replied with a nervous laugh. "Why do you ask?"
Alex looked between the two. This family had the worst poker faces ever, he knew that the name had struck some kind of chord with them.
"Someone not too far from here had spotted him and called in a tip. He's wanted. I looked into him a little bit and it shows that you're his only living relatives. I thought I might give it a shot," he explained.
Norma quickly shook her head. "No," she sternly answered. "I haven't seen him recently and I don't plan on seeing him anytime soon."
At first, Alex simply thought they were probably just covering for the man, but now he was starting to wonder if maybe the announcement just worried them. There was something in Norma's demeanor that caught his attention, a small amount of panic.
"We just don't get along all that well," she lied, trying to force a small laugh.
Alex sighed, examining the room once more. He wasn't sure whether or not he should leave at this point. There was definitely something wrong here, but he figured that they weren't hiding him, he didn't have any reason to believe that they were. But he was starting to wonder if her safety was at risk.
"Alright," he said. "Call me if you do see him or hear anything," he instructed before turning to leave.
"I will," Norma coldly stated.
She wasn't all that sure as to why she answered the way that she did. It could have been the fact that she was still angry with him, and for good reason. What she did know for sure was that her tone caught the attention of the sheriff. He just stared to her as if he were expecting an explanation. One that she wasn't ready to offer.
"Is there anything else you needed?" She questioned, doing her best to soften her voice.
"No," he answered with a sigh. "I'll let you know if I hear anything though," he told her, figuring that with the way she reacted, it might be best to give her a small warning if he is spotted near by.
"Thank you," Norma replied, just wishing that he would leave so she could get back upstairs already.
"I'll see ya," he said before turning and leaving.
Once he was gone, Norma wheeled around and hurried towards the stairs. The anxiety was building within her and she knew that as soon as she got this over with, she would feel a lot better. All she had to do was take the test.
Dylan's eyes followed her as she climbed the first few steps, concerned about the news that he had just heard. He knew why Caleb was wanted, but he thought that Norma would have asked a few questions at least.
"Do you know what he's wanted for?" He questioned.
"I can't say I care," she responded without even stopping.
"Mother? We need to talk," Norman announced as she rushed into the house, slamming the door behind him.
Norma stopped, dead in her tracks. She was so close. Her head dropped slightly right before she turned around to see her son standing there, looking as though he expected some form of an explanation.
"What is it, Norman?" She asked.
"I have no idea what's going on here and I think I have a right to know. Now please. mother, I want to speak with you," Norman stated.
Ever since he had witnessed the scene through the window down in the office, he had felt more out of the loop than usual. He felt a pang of jealousy that was driving him mad. Even Emma seemed to have some understanding of the secret events occurring.
"Norman please," Norma nearly begged. "You're acting like a child. Now stop it."
Dylan just stood there, looking between the two as they spoke. He knew that maybe he should step in, occupy his brother for a moment and let her continue upstairs, but he didn't want to make things worse by implying that he knew something. That, and it was just weird the way that they got along. they acted more like a couple than mother and son and he wasn't sure that he wanted to step into that.
"Well maybe I wouldn't act like a child if I weren't treated like one," he insisted.
"I promoted you to manager because I thought you were mature enough to handle the job," she stated as she started back down the stairs. As she got towards the bottom she motioned towards him. "This display, this right here, tells me that I was wrong," she added.
"I'm sorry, mother. I just want to help," he told her, trying to calm himself. "But how would you feel if I started keeping everything a secret from you?"
"There aren't any secrets!" She argued as she went ahead and continued to the bottom step. "I feel like you want me to be hiding something from you."
Norman looked to her, unsure of what to say at this point. Of course he didn't really want her to be hiding something from him. He just felt that there was something huge going on behind his back. It made him feel paranoid, like they were planning to lock him up somewhere or something like that.
At that instant, his eyes widened with fear. There was a chill down his spine. It was the one thing that he thought she would never do, but it made all the sense in the world. He was getting worse and she was getting more and more worried. And it would be something that she and Dylan would be planning together.
"You're trying to get rid of me aren't you?" He asked, nervousness ringing clear in his tone. "You're going to lock me away somewhere aren't you?"
Norma's heart broke at the question, her expression softening. "No," she replied as she threw her arms around him, pulling him into a tight embrace. "Of course not honey. I would never try to get rid of you."
Dylan stood back, watching the scene before was these moments that he felt as though maybe he was still the odd one out, and that maybe he was somewhat okay with that.
He did realize one thing though, that Norman might not be heading back to the office anytime soon. And it was pretty clear that he would not be too happy if he found out that Norma thought she might be pregnant. There would be a lot of questions and a lot of jealousy. So while he had his chance, he went up the stairs and to the bathroom where he grabbed the test and hid it.
Norma let out a silent breath of relief as she watched Dylan go up the stairs. She knew what it was that he was doing, and knowing that it would be out of sight for the moment did ease her anxiety a tiny bit.
"I don't want you ever worrying about me getting rid of you, all right?" She asked, pulling back from him.
Norman looked to her and nodded. There was still something that was off about the whole thing, but he decided that maybe he should just let it go. She assured him that there would be nothing happening to him, and he believed it. However, that didn't mean that he wasn't still upset.
"You promise that you won't?" He asked, trying to get some reassurance.
"I won't, I promise," she told him. She quickly shifted from concern to fidgety as she grabbed his hands and started guiding him towards the door. "So now that that's taken care of, I think you should get back down to the office."
"But mother…" He argued, wanting to stay and talk to her.
"We'll talk over dinner, all right?" She offered, practically shoving him out the door.
Norman left, the door being closed before he had a chance to say anything. He just stood there a moment, blankly staring at the door. He wanted to yell, to say something, to knock on the door and storm back inside. There was something that kept him from doing so though. It were as though he knew that he would get back at her for all of this in time.
Inside, Norma quickly made her way back up the stairs, only stopping before the bathroom door.
"Where'd you put it?" She called.
Dylan, who was back in his room, sat up and started towards the door. "Check the clothes hamper!" He then made sure to remain by his door for a moment in case he needed to go help her find it.
"Thank you!" She yelled, signifying that she had found it.