Her Eyes

Chapter 73: SO EASY ON THE EYES

Alex woke up in a bit of a fog; the emotions from the night seemed to block out everything else. The feeling of Norma wrapped tightly in his arms calmed him. And though he could feel himself becoming too comfortable with her...he didn't mind.

"Where are you going?" she mumbled as he climbed out of the bed and away from her reach.

"The shower. We got a long drive ahead of us." He smiled, watching her false discontent. He could remember the moment he knew he loved her. It seemed like forever ago that he stood at the docks pretending to make a deal with some no good piece of shit that had threatened to kill her—her and her son. Taking Norman to the sanitarium wasn't going to be easy. Alex didn't like being a part of these types of family situations. He didn't like that Norman blamed him for the growing distance between him and his mother. But Norman needed help, and Norma deserved to be able to relax...if just for a little while.

"I'll be in there in a minute," she muttered back. And he laughed probably for the first time in weeks.

He wasn't at all surprised when she rushed out the door after their time together. It was sad how easy it was to forget the world around them when they were together. But it was best not to upset Norman, especially when they were dragging him against his will to yet another treatment center.

He seemed fine as he made his way down the long series of steps, his mother gently guiding him to the car. That was, of course, until he made eye contact with the former sheriff. Alex watched as the boy eyed his mother. "You're taking me there again, aren't you, mother?"

She sighed, her hand instinctively coming up to brush the strands of hair from his eyes. "This isn't going to be like last time. This place isn't like Pine View. Alex says they are very nice and they know what they're doing. And you're going to stay there until you get better. There's no coming home early this time." The pain was obvious in her eyes. The separation from her son killed her. In some way it seemed like a betrayal. Though she must have known it was the best thing for him. "It's all going to be all right, I promise." Despite the skepticism in the boy's face, he climbed into the car. Norma glanced at Alex, giving him an approving nod before getting into the car herself.

Alex followed after them without another thought. "How's Dylan doing?" he asked, adjusting the seat to accommodate his height. They decided to take Norma's car. The sheriff's SUV seemed a little too threatening for a simple trip to the sanitarium. And Alex wanted Norman to be as comfortable as possible—even the littlest things could set him off these days.

"He's been with Emma these past few days," Norma muttered with a sigh. "He just sold the farm. I think he's planning on moving away from us."

Alex smiled softly, reaching over to grab the hand that lay in her lap. "He probably just needs some space. He's growing up. He can't live with his mother forever."

Norma rolled her eyes, teasingly escaping his grasp. "That's what you think."

It was hard not to be mad—not to blame Norman for what had happened to Sally. Norman was just as much a victim as anybody else, though Alex had a hard time believing that. "I think you're really gonna like this place," Alex told the boy. "It's not as glamorous as Pine View, but in a lot of ways that's kind of a good thing." Alex glanced back at the motionless Norman, sitting with his arms crossed watching as the trees whipped by in the distance.

They settled into silence a little while after that. There was nothing to say to each other. They all knew how this was going to end—the feeling was evident. Alex could sense the demise Norman would most likely place upon him for this, but he couldn't help the overwhelming desire to save Norma from destruction. He'd be damned if he let another woman die a lonely death.