Her Eyes

Chapter 39: ANXIETY

Alex woke up with Norma pressed into his side. He smiled down at her-he had never see a woman as beautiful as her. He sat for a while admiring her until the alarm on his nightstand began to buzz, waking her up. Her eyes fluttered up to him. When she was fully aware of her surroundings she peeled herself off of him, scooting over to the edge of the bed.

"I gotta get ready for work," he mumbled, standing up. There was an awkward tension in the air. He didn't know why-it's not like they had done anything but sleep. He felt odd being alone with her in his house-in his bedroom. He moved over to the dresser and pulled out his sheriff's uniform, turning around to view her before heading down the hall to the bathroom to change. When he came back she hadn't moved; she sat still against the headboard. He smiled at her as he placed his gun in its holster, slipping his phone in his pocket as well.

"Alex?" She finally spoke up. She had been thinking about what to say to him. That sad exhausted look hadn't left her face in weeks. She breathed deeply, avoiding eye contact with him. "Can I stay with you? Just for a little while?"

A pain formed. He was afraid of what might happen if she did, but he was even more afraid of what would happen if she didn't. He looked down at his feet awkwardly. "Uh, sure." He looked up to view the smile grazing her face.

"Really?" He hadn't seen her this happy since he brought back her car. He nodded and headed towards the doorway. "Alex?" He turned around to face her. What could she possibly want now? "Could you go to the house and get some stuff for me? Maybe check on Norman?"

He sighed, nodding again. "I'll head over there after work."

The DEA was still surrounding most of the station. He hated going to work these days, but White Pine Bay needed him-Norma needed him. He stepped into his office to find Babbit waiting for him. He sighed. "Is this gonna be a daily thing?"

She glared at him. "I need to have a word with you." She waited for him to have a seat at his desk. "It's been nearly three weeks and nobody's found Bob Paris. I've sent some of my best guys out there...and nothing. So what am I supposed to think?"

He shook his head. "I'm not really sure what you're asking me?" He leaned back in his chair. They'd never find Bob and they couldn't trace it back to Alex-he covered his tracks well. He was sure of that. He raised his eyebrows, waiting for an answer.

She stared at him for a moment...as if she could to read him. She had something to say, but she was hesitant to say it. "I think you have him." He stared at her plainly; he didn't care what she thought. "I think you're hiding him. I don't know where. Maybe at your house?"

He furrowed his brow. "If I was going to hide someone-I wouldn't keep them at my house." He almost laughed at the accusation.

"Then where is he?" she pressed, leaning over his desk.

"How the hell should I know?" His body could be anywhere by now. She pulled back and crossed her arms over her chest, squinting at him. He glared at her. She was wasting her time. "I've got work to do, Agent Babbit. Call me if you find anything." He grabbed a stack of paperwork and filtered through it, watching her leave through his peripheral. He needed to find a way to relax.

After work he headed over to the Bates' house like he said he would. He parked the car and reached into his glove box for the key. He'd had it since the day he got the flash drive-he just never thought to give it back. What if there was an emergency? He climbed out and headed up the stairs to the house, silently hoping that Norman was down in the office. Luckily he was.

Alex made his way up to Norma's bedroom with ease, though inside he felt a little nervous. He wasn't sure what she needed-he didn't even know how long she was staying. She'd left it all for him to decide, and that scared him. He opened the closet and found a suitcase, which he set on the bed before moving over to her dresser. He felt odd going through her stuff. He had done it before when they searched her house, but this was different. She wanted him to do this. He pulled out a few shirts from the drawer and placed them neatly in the suitcase. He opened the next drawer and grabbed some pants and skirts for her to choose from. But it was the next drawer that caused his heart rate to skyrocket. He stood staring at the lingerie for what felt like hours. He hesitated, reaching for the bras and panties. Surely she'd need them, but would she be embarrassed that he saw them-that he touched them? He was. He grabbed some without looking and threw them in the suitcase, closing the dresser drawer. After grabbing her bathroom essentials, he zipped up the suitcase and headed down the stairs.

Norman appeared at the foot of the steps. "Sheriff? What are you doing here?" He seemed to be acting normal until he spotted the suitcase. "What's that?"

Alex sighed, reaching the bottom step. "It's your mother's stuff. She's-"

"I don't know if mother would like you going through our things. I mean after what happened the last time." There was something different about Norman. Alex noticed it the day he questioned him about Annika. He was no longer the sweet innocent boy whose best friend was his mother; he was something else-something much, much worse. "Mother doesn't want you hanging around here anymore."

Alex furrowed his brow. "Norman, what are you talking about?"

"I don't want you hanging around here anymore, Alex." That's when he saw it for the first time. He watched as the boy's eyes went black; he was gone. "I know you wanna take Norman away from me...lock him up somewhere." An ugly grin crept across his face. "No one's ever gonna come between me and my son."

Alex fought back as the boy lunged at him with a knife in his hand. But Norman was strong for his size; he broke free and sliced Alex's hand as it came up to stop him. Alex winced in pain, instinctively reaching for his gun, but he stopped himself. He couldn't kill Norma's son, even if it was self-defense-she'd never forgive him. He ripped the knife out of the boy's hand and threw it aside, fighting him to the ground and knocking him out. He grabbed the suitcase off the step and darted out the door. He didn't know what to do. He couldn't exactly call the police. His hand was gushing, so he unbuttoned his shirt and used it to wrap his hand up.

He sped home, flinging the front door open on his way in. He looked around the house as he headed towards the kitchen-she had cleaned his house while he was gone. Norma stood up from the couch and followed him. "What happened to you?" she inquired, glancing down at his hand.

The shirt was now soaked with blood. "We need to get Norman some help soon." He slowly began to unwrap his hand, grimacing from the pain.

Norma shooed his working hand away, unwrapping the shirt for him. Her eyes grew wide at the sight of the gash. "Did Norman do that to you?"

He ignored her. "There's a first aid kit underneath the sink in the bathroom." He turned on the faucet and ran his hand underneath the warm water as she retrieved the kit. She came back and sat down at the table to care for his cut. He sat down and laid his hand in front of her. "Norma, we can't have him staying there with guests. He's violent."

She started to breathe uneasily, filtering through the kit for some gauze and antiseptic. "I know." The tears started to fill her eyes again.

Alex sighed. He hated that this was her life; she deserved more than this. "And where is Dylan? ...And Emma?" He was beginning to worry about these kids like they were his own children.

She shook her head lightly as if she could shake the feeling away. "Dylan's been at the farm and Emma's having a lung transplant. They're both fine as far as I know. And we haven't had any guests the past few weeks, so there isn't much to worry about there." She looked up at him with sad eyes. "I'm just sorry he did this to you."

He smiled a bit, brushing it off. "It's not your fault, Norma." He grabbed her hand with his free hand. "None of this is your fault."

She nodded, biting her lip. She unscrewed the cap to the antiseptic and poured some on a cotton pad. "Now this is gonna sting. I don't want you to wince like last time," she mocked.

"I didn't wince," he shot back playfully. It stung a little, but the pain he felt in his heart numbed all other pain. He wanted so badly just to run off with her-go somewhere where they could live a new life together without all the trouble of the past. They needed that, but he knew it would never happen. When she finished cleaning his cut, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it. You just finish up here," she told him.

He watched as she left the room. He smiled a bit, thinking about her. She was already acting like she lived here. He wrapped the gauze around his hand and headed out into the living room after her. His heart dropped when saw who was at the door.