Her Eyes

Chapter 45: MISSING

Alex's heart began to pound as the figure got closer. "I told you I didn't want you here," the figure cried out. The voice was menacing, beckoning to him. There was nothing more terrifying than this. Alex had come close to death before, but for some reason this scared him more. Because it was him. Because he was raised by the woman Alex had fallen helplessly in love with. Because he knew that it wasn't their fault—it was no one's fault.

Alex sat up from the couch, trying desperately to form a plan. He could barely think straight. All his thoughts went to Norma. He needed to keep her safe. He would have to try to reason with the boy. "Norman—"

The boy scoffed, approaching him. "Norman's sleeping." There was no way outta this. The boy stood before him, towering over him. "I thought I warned you not to come back here." His eyes were black as death. "No one's gonna take away my son. I won't let them."

He had to think quickly. "I'm not gonna take away...your son, Norma." He didn't know what else to do. "I just wanna help you." He hoped he was getting through to him, but the expression of the boy's face hadn't changed.

He wasn't Norman anymore—he was her. "No, you don't. No one has ever helped us. They never will." The boy glared at him. His eyes pierced through him. "I want you to leave."

"Alex! Alex!" a voice screamed from upstairs. It was Norma. He needed to get to her. He stood up from the couch, but the boy blocked him. "Alex." She came down the stairs, clutching her stomach as the blood began to seep through her fingers. She fell to her knees at the foot of the stairs.

The boy kept his gaze on the sheriff. "Don't ever get in my way."

"Alex. Please wake up." Norma shook him. She stared down at him as he jolted out of his sleep.

"What? What's wrong? Are you all right?" He saw the worry in her face.

She bit her lip hesitantly. "Norman ran away." He stared at her blankly as she looked towards the window. "We had another fight. He got mad and ran off."

He hated seeing her like this. He stood up from the couch and walked towards the door. "Well what were you fighting about?"

She followed after him hurriedly. "He wanted to know why you were here. I told him that you wanted to protect us, and he got mad. Alex, I'm just so scared. What if he goes out and kills someone else?"

"Well I'm not gonna let him," he mumbled, glancing back at her to make sure she was following him. They ran down the stairs and climbed in the SUV. "Call Dylan, tell him we're out looking for Norman." He was in sheriff mode. He could feel his adrenaline pump through his veins as he started the engine and drove off. He didn't know where he was headed exactly. He didn't know Norman all that well.

He glanced over at Norma as she called her son. He admired her for a moment. She was beautifully tragic. His eyes turned back to the road ahead, searching through the dark trees and grass. "Dylan? Norman ran away again." Her voice was beginning to quake. Alex reached over and grabbed her free hand. She suddenly wasn't listening to Dylan anymore—her thoughts were focused on the man beside her. She caught herself and turned back to the phone. "What? ...I didn't see where he went. I wasn't gonna go after him alone. ...No. I'm with Alex." His heart jumped when she said his name. Her eyes were on him. "We're out looking for him right now." She returned her gaze back to the window. "Dylan, just be careful, okay? All right. I love you. Bye."

"Do you have any idea where he may have gone off to?" Alex asked keeping his eyes trained ahead.

"I have no idea," she sighed. "The last time he ran away we couldn't find him anywhere and when we got home he was there sitting on the couch like nothing happened." She squeezed his hand. "Thank you so much for doing this. I mean, it's almost three o'clock in the morning. You must be exhausted."

He shrugged. "We need to find Norman."

They searched around for an hour and still no sign of Norman, so they drove back to the house where Dylan was waiting for them. He stared at them when they walked in together. Alex knew what he was thinking, but he ignored it. Dylan returned his gaze to his mother. "Don't worry. I'm sure he'll come back," he told her.

She gave him a thoughtful smile, stroking his cheek. "Go get some sleep. I'm gonna wait down here."

He glanced over at Alex before heading off up the stairs. "Night."

Alex followed Norma to the couch, plopping down beside her. They didn't say anything to each other for a while, neither one looking at the other. The silence eased them. Silence was good...sometimes.