Bed of Lies

Chapter 3: Too Much of a Good Thing

Alex Romero woke up in one of the rooms of the Bates Motel. His head was pounding from the intake of alcohol he had been drinking earlier that day. He turned on his right and glared at the clock: 7:30pm. Shit, he thought. As his memory thought back to how Norma had driven him back to the motel and put him into bed, he felt utterly embarrassed. Embarrassed that Norma had seen him drunk, but also humiliated that she had tucked him into bed like a child. Alex struggled to get up from the bed due to his arm in a sling and the shooting pain that followed from his shoulder to his fingertips. When he eventually made it up from the bed, he felt as though he owed Norma an apology. He exited the room and made his way up to her house.

Alex heard a piano playing and the sound of cheers. As he peered into the house, he saw Norma sat at the piano with a man. Alex frowned. Without wanting to interrupt with a knock of the door, Alex walked in of his own accord. Norma sat playing the piano with her back to him. Dylan and Norman, Norma's two sons were listening intently. Along with Emma, who smiled at Norma's talent. Norma played the last key and shot around in the chair after hearing the claps. When she saw Alex, her whole face brightened up. 'Hey!' She smiled. Alex laughed nervously. 'Hey, just wanted to let you know that I'm feeling better now. I'm just going to hail a cab' he replied, still awkwardly standing in the doorway.
'No you are staying for dinner' Norma told him. Alex glared at Emma, Dylan and Norman in embarrassment of being told what to do. 'No, I'm not' he protested.
'No buts, you are staying'. Norma walked over to Alex and pulled him away from the door gently. 'Ok, well dinners ready' she spoke. As she turned away from Alex, he lightly touched her arm. 'I'm sorry that you had to see me like that' he said seriously. Norma looked into his eyes with a sad look. 'Alex, it's fine. Life sucks, I get that way sometimes too. Don't feel embarrassed about it, I'm glad I could return a favour and look after you for a change'. Norma made her way into the kitchen and Alex followed. 'I appreciate it, thanks uh, Norma' he said. Alex was curious to see who the man was sitting next to Norma at the piano before. He didn't want to pry or come off as intrusive, but needed to ask. 'So um, who's the guy?' Norma felt her face go a bit red when she thought about how her brother Caleb had committed a crime raping her when she was young, and the fact Alex was a cop within a short proximity of Caleb. 'He's my brother' Norma told him, her voice going low. Alex frowned at her answer. 'Haven't seen him around before' he pointed out.
'He's just here for the week' Norma lied. 'Go sit down dinners ready, I'm going to bring it out'. Norma wanted to avoid talking about Caleb to Alex. She had a feeling that if Alex noticed the tension between them, he would ask her about it. And if she told him what really happened between them, Alex would probably kill him. 'Norma, I didn't do anything uh out of the ordinary did I?' Alex remembered that he had made a move but Norma wasn't ready. The same way he tried to kiss her when they shared a hug a while back - she wasn't ready then either. Norma just stared at him blankly. 'What do you think?' She asked. Alex felt slightly embarrassed, leaving the room and entering the dining room.

Norma came into the dining room and placed the Chicken Marsala in the middle of the table. Dylan and Emma took a seat while Norman hovered around the top of the table, hinting to sit in the 'head of household' chair. Alex stood awkwardly waiting for Norma to come back in the room. He had no idea where to sit. 'Where do I sit?' He asked.
'Anywhere. Here' Norma told him, ushering him to the 'head of household' seat opposite him. 'Thanks' he attempted to smile.
'Sure' she gleamed back at him. He stared, observing how beautiful she was. Alex looked over at Norma's brother Caleb. He was curious about him. His thoughts were interrupted when Norma tapped her glass to catch the tables attention. 'Um, thanks for all being here. I had a dream when I was little, of a home. A home where friends could come and go, have dinner and talk - and everything would be lovely. Thank you all for giving me that' Norma said. Alex looked at her intently, she looked so timid and adorable sharing that story. The nice atmosphere changed to tense when Caleb stood up from his seat. 'To my sister Norma Louise, who's always been the sun in my cold universe. Thank you for letting us all be together. God bless you, Norma' he said. Everyone at the table sat with their eyes wide. Norma looked away from Caleb awkwardly, while Emma picked her nails. 'The foods going to get cold' Norman gritted through his teeth. Norma tried to uplift the room by saying 'cheers'. They all clinked their glasses and smiled at one another. Alex lifted his glass in appreciation to Norma, a little smile forming his lips. Norma returned the smile and blushed slightly as she took a sip of her wine. Alex noticed that Caleb tried to clink Norman's glass and Norman violently pulled his glass away. Something was definitely going on between them.

After a nice dinner and good conversations, Alex went into the kitchen where Norma was cleaning the dishes. Dylan hovered in the kitchen next to her. Alex nodded to Dylan, implying for him to leave the room. Norma turned to look at Alex and smiled at him. 'I wanted to thank you for dinner' Alex said awkwardly.
'Sure. It was lovely to have everyone here, especially you'. Alex didn't know how to respond so he changed the subject. 'So tell me about your brother' he inquired. Norma looked away from him and turned back to the sink. 'What? There's nothing to know' she turned defensive. Alex knew she wouldn't be open about it and the only way he would find out is to push her a little. 'Things seemed a bit tense between you two. Especially with him and Norman' Alex pressed. This was the last thing Norma wanted to talk about, especially to Alex. Because of his title as Sheriff, she found it difficult to trust him. 'Maybe Norman just wasn't feeling well. There's nothing going on' Norma lied. Alex knew she wouldn't be of assistance to his queries so he just let it go. 'Well, I'm gonna go' Alex sighed, exiting the kitchen. Norma followed him to the door and waited until they were out on the porch. 'Alex' Norma called after him. He turned around. 'I had a good time tonight, it was nice. Are you feeling better?' She asked, referring to him being drunk hours before. 'I'm fine, thanks Norma. I'll see you later'. Norma touched his arm and leaned forward. She kissed his cheek with her soft lips while holding one hand on the other side of his face. Alex was shocked by her movement but relaxed soon after. She pulled back to look in his eyes and beamed up at him. 'Bye Alex' she said sweetly.
'Bye, Norma' he nodded.