HUUUGGEE thank you to BatesLuva for helping me and being there for me! This one is for you! XOXO
They ran through the wet grass, Norma holding her shoes in her hand again. She follows Alex without hesitation, trusting him fully. They turn a corner and Alex quickly turns on his heels, pushing Norma back where they came.
"Wha-"
"Shh." he whispers, pulling her down next to him behind the bush. Her back rests against his chest and she can feel his breath against the nape of her neck. The guard passes by without stopping, not even noticing the couple just a few feet from him. They wait a couple minutes before slowly standing up again. Alex grabs her hand and runs with her all the way to the back of the fence.
"Alex I hope you don't expect me to climb over." she says with worry, looking up at the tall fence.
"Don't worry. We are crawling under. See?" he asks, pulling the wiring up.
"I'll get my dress dirty." she says, looking down at her dress. Alex removes his jacket, leaving him in nothing but a thin t shirt. He lays the jacket on the ground beneath the fence.
"There." he whispers, pulling the wiring up as high as it would go. She kneels down and slowly crawls under and holds the fence up for him when she is done. He grabs his jacket on his way through, standing up beside her.
"Here. It's cold out." he whispers, handing her his jacket. She hadn't noticed how cold it was until he had said something. Her mind was so focused on getting out and with the adrenaline pumping through her, she hardly felt the cold. Until now. So she pulls his jacket on, letting his scent consume her.
"Come on. The car is just down the street." he whispers, taking her hand again to lead her. She slides her shoes on once they get to the street.
"Where are we going?" she asks with excitement.
"It's a surprise." he says, glancing over at her with a smile. She smiles genuinely for the first time in weeks.
"Alex?" she asks quietly, her eyes never leaving his smiling lips.
"Yeah?" he asks.
"Thank you. For....for taking me away and for marrying me and-"
"Of course, Norma. I just hope you'll forgive me for not coming around. It must've been hard." he says sadly, staring at the ground as they walk.
"It's alright. I understand that you're busy-"
"But I am your husband." he says.
"It...we had to get married. I don't hold any responsibilities to you." she says, partly lying. She wishes they could've married under different circumstances but Alex doesn't like her the way that she likes him.
"Well you should. I made a vow. For better or for worse." he says as they reach his car. He opens her door for her and she slides in.
"It's not a far drive." he says, starting the car.
"But it is a bit of a walk." he adds, giving her another clue.
"Should I even bother bringing my shoes?" she asks. He glances down at them with a smile before looking back at the road.
"As much as I love watching you walk in those...no you probably shouldn't bring them." he says. She looks at him with a smile, not letting the compliment slip by.
"You've changed." she says, staring at him.
"What?" he asks.
"You...you're...I don't know, you're more willing to display your thoughts." she says.
"I like it." she adds. He chuckles.
"And you smile more. You never used to smile. I used to think your face was paralyzed." she says, making him laugh.
"I like your laugh." she says, staring at his lips.
"Well I am...I'm working on it. Showing my emotions to you. You're my wife, you deserve it." he mumbles, glancing over at her.
"We're here." he says, pulling off of the road. She looks around with confusion.
"Alex, there's nothing here." she says.
"Right." he says, stepping out. She steps out and watches him open the trunk.
"There's nothing here. But remember the walk I mentioned?" he asks, pulling out a picnic basket.
"Walk where?" she asks.
"Do you trust me?" he asks, stopping in front of her.
"Yes." she says in a hesitant voice.
"Good." he says, kneeling down in front of her. He takes her shoes and slips them into the basket so quickly that she couldn't even get a peak inside.
"I'll have to carry you." he says, standing up.
"What?" she asks with surprise.
"You don't have shoes. Do you want to do piggy back or bridal style?" he asks.
"Alex I-"
"You're not walking bare foot. Not until we get there. It isn't safe. So which is it?" he asks.
"Whatever is easier for you." she says, suddenly feeling worried that she might be too heavy.
"Bridal style for my bride." he says, handing her the basket. Her heart flutters at the sound of him calling her his bride. He picks her up with ease and begins walking into the woods.
"Are you taking me out here to kill me?" she asks, looking around with worry.
"If I wanted to kill you, I wouldn't have gone through so much trouble as to bring you all the way out here. You would've been dead a long time ago." he mumbles, continuing his walk.
"Charming." she says with a smirk. He glances down at her and rolls his eyes.
"I told you to trust me." he whispers, expertly walking his way through the trees and over fallen logs.
"Just...tell me if you need a break, all right?" she asks, looking into his dark eyes.
"I'm fine. Norma, you're light as a feather." he says, smiling slightly.
"Right." she says, not believing him. A short silence follows before Alex talks again.
"Would you tell me the truth if I asked you something?" he asks, staring straight ahead.
"What?" she asks curiously.
"If...if I were to ask you how you're doing, would you tell me the truth?" he asks.
"No." she says honestly, looking at his long eyelashes.
"Why?" he asks.
"Because I don't want you to see me as this new dark person that you've already had a glimpse of. I'm trying to be the old me and I don't want you suffering or hurting because you think that I am hurting. So no. I wouldn't tell you the truth." she says, watching him think.
"Norma I have seen the best of you and I have seen the worst of you. And when I married you, that was me saying that I pick both. I want to know both sides of you and I want to...I want to be able to cherish both sides of you the way that you deserve." he says, still not looking at her. His words had confused her. He wanted to cherish her? Does he like her back?
"My heart breaks a little more every time I get to thinking." she whispers, giving in to his wishes.
"It's difficult, trying to act like I am okay. But things had ended earlier than I would have ever liked. I wanted my relationship with Norman to last forever. Or at least until I died. But I never imagined that he would leave me first." she says sadly.
"Not everything is supposed to be beautiful and long lasting." Alex begins, his eyes scanning his surroundings. The trees begin to clear and a field of flowers lays before them. Alex sets her down gently and grabs her hand, continuing their walk.
"Not everyone is going to stay forever. All you can do is enjoy the time you're with them and thank them when they're gone." he says. They stop and Alex grabs the basket, pulling out a blanket.
"Alex...I'm not always tired like I say I am." she says, helping him lay the blanket out on the grass.
"When I say I am tired...I actually feel numb." she admits softly as if confessing to a crime.
"I know." he mutters, catching her attention.
"You know?" she asks.
"I've been through this before. My mom. She...well she acted a lot like how you've been acting. But worse. She didn't have good days. The only thing that came close to a good day was when she didn't try to kill herself. She was a shell of who she once was." he admits, his eyes flickering everywhere except where Norma is as she stares at him sadly.
"That's why I have been keeping such a close eye on you. Why I was so quick to get you into Pineview. Because I won't let your death be my fault too." he whispers.
"Alex your mother's death wasn't-"
"It was. I saw her every day as she got worse and I didn't do anything. Because I told myself that she did it to herself by staying with my dad. She had it coming. But when she...when she died...I was the one who found her. I thought she was asleep but...her lips and her fingertips were blue.
"And that was the first time I had ever seen my mother look truly at peace." he ends softly. She looks at him sadly, wanting nothing more than to comfort this man.
"So that's my sad story." he says with an awkward chuckle. He opens the basket and pulls out two wine glasses followed by a bottle of Norma's favorite wine.
"Alex, you didn't have to do all of this." she says as he pulls out pasta and bread.
"I didn't. Emma and Dylan helped. I would've burned the house down if I tried to cook on my own." he says lightly, handing her a glass of wine.
"Besides, I never really got to...take you on a date before we married." he says hesitantly.
"That's alright. I don't expect any of that. Really Alex, you marrying me was favor enough. You don't have to take me on dates." she tells him. His smile falters as he stares up at the stars.
"All right." he says simply, neither of them fully satisfied with their conversation.
"I do enjoy this though. Being able to get away for a bit. It feels...normal, almost. Like I am not crazy and suicidal." she says, trying to joke but failing.
"You're not." he tells her.
"Crazy and suicidal, I mean. I don't think you are. You're mourning. And whenever you're ready to come home, the house is waiting for you." he says cautiously, watching her face.
"The house. Right." she says softly. He looks away, knowing he is doing an awful job at trying to flirt with her.
"Maybe once my therapist can take his hands off of me I can talk to him about leaving." she says, failing yet again at trying to make a joke.
"Your therapist is touching you?" Alex asks with worry. She glances at him and sees his worried expression before sighing heavily.
"Alex, it's nothing. Really, don't worry about it." she tells him.
"Is he touching you against your will?" Alex asks, obviously not ready to let this slide.
"No, no. I just...I shouldn't have brought it up. It's nothing." she says.
"Well it's not nothing-"
"Alex! Just let it go!" she says, snapping at him. She didn't know why she was pushing him away when all she wanted was to be close to him. She sees his hurt expression and sighs once again, finishing off her wine before standing up.
"The sun will be up soon. We should head back." she says, already putting things back in the basket. Alex numbly stands up, folding the blanket and shoving it in the basket.
"Here." Norma says, handing him the full basket.
"I can walk back just fine." she says, slipping her heels into her feet. He hangs his head sadly, following her back into the woods, occasionally directing her when he sees her going the wrong way. Her heels sunk into the mud multiple times, causing her to frustratedly yank her shoe up from the ground and continue walking.
"I could carry you-"
"I'm fine." she says, snapping at him again. Her cheeks heat up and she feels anger towards herself for being so rude to her husband who snuck her out to spend a lovely night with her. She had ruined it just like she always ruins everything.
Her heel sinks into the ground again, making her ankle bend in an awkward, uncomfortable way. She gasps as her balance is lost and she falls to the ground.
"You alright?" Alex asks, grabbing her arms to help her up. She pulls her arms away, standing on her own. She looks down at her dress which is now stained with dirt and grass.
"Great. Just great." she huffs, fingering the ruined fabric. Alex scoops her up swiftly, making her gasp.
"Hey! I said no-"
"And I listened to you. But now look what you've done to that pretty little dress of yours." he says, carrying her the rest of the way. She feels tears spring to her eyes at frustration of the night. It isn't until Alex sets her down on the road that he notices her distress.
"What? What did I do? I'm sorry I picked you up-"
"No, no. It's not that." she says, wiping her tears away. She hated how her medication was making her so emotional.
"I've ruined it." she cries, shaking her head.
"I'm sure it's not ruined. I mean there's gotta be some way to get stains out of it-" he says, trying to console her.
"No, not the dress. The night." she says with frustration.
"You did this all for me and I...I have been nothing but rude and-"
"Norma, I enjoyed it." he tells her. She looks at him with confusion when she sees him genuinely smiling.
"I snapped at you." she says.
"Just like you would have before all of this happened. I feel like I spent the evening with the old Norma. It gives me hope. I know you're healing. I'm going to help you whenever I can. But I know you can do this without me too. Just like you walked through the woods in your heels. You fell time and time again but you picked yourself up each time." he tells her, making her feel better about herself and about the evening.
"But from now on, if you need me to carry you then you'll have to ask me. I won't step in and swoop you up if you don't ask me to. Alright?" he asks. She nods, wiping the last of her tears away.
"Let's get you back." he says, opening the car door for her. She slides in, watching him walk around the car and slide in beside her. He starts the car and begins the drive back to the institute.
"Alex?" she asks hesitantly. He looks over at her as an answer.
"I would like to do this again." she tells him, making him smile. He nods, staring at the road in front of them.
"Just tell me when and I'll be there." he tells her. They pull off of the road and step out into the cold morning air.
"Here." Alex says, pulling his jacket off of her again to place it on the ground.
"It's fine." she says, grabbing it and handing it back to him.
"My dress is ruined anyways." she says. He lifts the fence and she crawls under, turning back to him.
"Is this where you leave me?" she asks, trying not to sound upset.
"I could walk you to the window again." he offers.
"That's alright." she tells him, grabbing the wire of the fence.
"Thank you, Alex. I...I've never had someone go through all of this trouble for me." she says, looking everywhere but Alex's dark eyes.
"I have something for you." he tells her, catching her attention. He takes something out of her pocket and hands it to her through the fence. She looks at the wrapped package with a bow tied around it.
"Open it in your room." he says, glancing up into her blue eyes.
"I...I don't know what to say. Thank you." she says again, wishing she hadn't crawled through the fence so she could hug him.
"Sure." he says with a shrug. He grabs the fence, stepping closer to it.
"You'll be back soon?" she asks with hope. He smiles and nods.
"I'll write to you. We can plan our next adventure." he says. She places her fingers over Alex's, ignoring the warm feeling that was brought with the simple touch.
"I'll be seeing you." he tells her.
"I'll be seeing you." she replies, reluctantly pulling her hand away and turning away from him to sneak back to her room.
