Play Along With It

All Explained

I had fallen asleep on the couch last night. Knowing what Norman used to be did put a little fear into my heart. I had half a mind to leave, but I couldn't. I needed to know why he did it.

So I was sitting on the couch, waiting for him to wake up. I wasn't watching TV or anything, just thinking about how I was going to talk about this. If he was a rapist in the past, what that one girl said on the news could very well be true. What did he do to the other girls he saved?

I didn't have to wait long before I heard the bed springs in our bedroom squeak, followed by footsteps leading down the hall.

"Morning babe." Norman greeted me, like last night didn't happen. "What do you want for breakfast?"

"Norman, sit down." I ordered. I glanced at him. He had a look of regret, sorrow, and even a little anger. But he was down anyway. We sat on opposite ends of the couch for a while, saying nothing.

Finally, Norman broke the silence. "You figured it out, didn't you?" He mumbled.

"Why did you do that, Norman?" I demanded in a gentle voice.

He sighed. "I was stupid when I was younger."

"That's not an excuse. Raping isn't something you do when you're stupid." I pointed out. When I said the word 'rape', Norman noticeably flinched. I leaned forward and placed a gentle hand on his knee. "Please tell me what happened."

Norman looked away, and I heard a sniff come from him. I sat back, waiting for my answer.

"It started when I was 16. I had a girlfriend. She was my first and last one. I could've sworn I loved her. I wanted to give her everything, just to see her smile. But then..." He wiped what I was assuming was his eyes. "I went to her house one night. She was having a party, and I never knew about the party. So I went inside. It was a mess. There was liquor everywhere, weed, marihuana, sex. I eventually found her upstairs." He paused again to wipe his eyes. "She was in bed. With another guy."

I bit my lip. I knew the feeling of being cheated on. And I felt bad for him. "I was more violent when I was younger. I slammed the door shut and ran downstairs. I remember what I was thinking." Norman paused, his shoulders shuddering. I reached forward and started rubbing his shoulders, making him flinch. But he relaxed after a second. He leaned towards me until his head was resting on my lap. "I was thinking; 'I'll show her. I'll fuck someone else, get even with her.' So I grabbed the nearest drunk blonde, and dragged her upstairs. I took her to a different room, and she was laughing. I don't think she knew what was happening. So I....had my way with her. It felt so good. I mean, I wanted more after I was done with the blonde.

"Then I started screwing all the other girls at that party. God that night was great. I never felt so satisfied in my life. And by the time my ex found out, I had already fucked half the school. I got addicted. I was a sex addict." Then he took a ragged breath. "After high school, though, I didn't know what to do. I wasn't excepted into any colleges because I focused more on getting laid than I did schoolwork. I was on my own. I started going to parties, though, and that seemed to work. Screwing girls who'd probably never see me again. But then..." I saw tears glistening in his eyes. "Parties just sorta lost their fun after a while. I was 21 by then. I started... Started..." He sat up, and kept his back to me. "I started dragging girls out of bars and forcing them in the alley." I bit my lip. Why was I with him? "For some strange fucking reason, I liked it when they struggled." I wanted to throw up at his statement. "It started to become a regular thing for me. Until one night, when I was 26. I was doing my usual, walking the streets alone by a bar. When a girl was thrown out of the bar. She had a pretty mature body, and looked at least 18. So I figured the bartender caught her with a fake I.D. I only went after women 18 years or older. I didn't want to be a nasty fuck screwing a kid. Anyway, I followed her around, and eventually caught her in an alley." Norman started to shudder.

"I had my way with her, and went through her wallet. Since I didn't have a job, I needed to get money from somewhere. So I was going through her wallet while she was recovering, and a card slipped out. I figured it was a credit card, so I picked it up." He started shaking more violently, and grabbed a pillow. He held it tightly to his chest, and buried his face into the pillow. "It was a school I.D." His voice was muffled by the pillow. "She was only 14." He started sobbing into the pillow, keeping his back to me. I reached forward hesitantly, and rested my hand on his back. He jumped at my touch, and continued to wail into his pillow. I sat back, waiting for him to finish.

Finally, he broke away from the pillow. His face was red and his eyes were puffy. Tears were still in his eyes, and stained on his cheeks. "I hated myself. I wanted to die so badly. That poor girl and so many others had their lives ruined by me. So I went home, and basically stayed in there forever. Until Sean came by for a visit. He said that he hadn't heard from me in a while, so he wanted to make sure I was ok. I wasn't. I told him everything, and Sean offered to let me live with him." He sniffed again, wiping his nose on his sleeve. Then he started laying, almost hysterically. "I owe Sean my life. He stopped me from taking my own so many times." My heart ached for Norman. He had one of the worst pasts imaginable. And knowing that he was suicidal too just made me hurt. I leaned forward, and took the pillow away. He watched while I snuggled into his side. "After a few years, I started thinking that I wanted to help people. Protect women from assholes like me. So I started doing that. Sean helped me, and that's why we do it to this day. Only Sean, Andrew, and you know what happened."

"Why does Andrew know?" I whispered, staring blankly ahead.

"He was Sean's roommate when I arrived. He overheard my story, but kept his mouth shut. When he heard what we were going to do, he wanted out. So he moved in with his girl." Norman glanced down at me. He scooted away from me, and sighed. "I'll help you pack, if you want."

"You're evicting me?" I asked. I know that any other sane person would've left him. But I didn't want to. I felt obliged to stay with him. I liked to think I was helping him in some way.

"Figured you'd want to leave." He mumbled.

I leaned forward and took his face in my hands. He gazed into my eyes, his blue ones glittering with tears and sorrow. "I hate your past." I whispered. Now he had a look of defeat and grief on his face. "But I'm happy you're trying to change it. I'm glad that you're not the same guy anymore, and that you're trying to redeem yourself." I added, wiping his tear away with my thumb. Norman nodded, and I pulled him in for a hug. He buried his face into my shoulder and his arms went around my waist, while I slowly rocked him. He was shuddering, and I felt his tears starting to soak into my shirt. I heard a floorboard creak, so I glanced at the source of the sound. Sean was standing in the hallway, watching. I give him a little thumb up, and he nodded. He slowly went back into his room, while I continued comforting my big teddy bear. "I love you, Norman." I whispered. I knew it was sudden, and we were only together for a week, but it felt longer than that. In fact, this ten minutes it took to talk felt like a whole day.

"I like you, too." He mumbled, holding me tighter. My heart sank. Like? But I had to remember. He had been in love before, and maybe he was scared to love again. Or he could know that this is way too fast. Either way, I stayed with him on that couch, holding him until lunch time.

(Wow, was anyone expecting that? Tell me what you think of Norman's past! Would you stay with him, or leave him?)