Untold Secrets

Chapter Two

Things were moving quicker than Norma had ever expected them to. John was home from college but Norma still hadn't heard from Alex about whether or not he would run away with her. Graduation had just ended but Norma couldn't seem to find Alex anywhere.
"Have you seen Alex?" Norma asks Bob Paris.
"Not since he got his diploma." Bob tells her.
"Have you seen Alex?" she asks, moving on to Rebecca.
"Fuck off, Norma. You've been after my boyfriend all year. Give it a rest." Rebecca spits back, glaring at her. Norma feels the urge to fight back but the need to find Alex overpowers that urge.
"Maggie, have you seen Alex?" Norma asks, finding Keith Summers' little sister wandering about the school.
"He didn't tell you?" Maggie asks with surprise.
"Tell me what?"

Alex had just finished locking his front door when he hears Norma's car pull up to his house. He glances back to see her yank her door open and step out of her car before slamming the door shut. She looked pissed.
"What the hell, Alex? When were you going to tell me?" she asks angrily.
"I wasn't." he tells her honestly, grabbing his last bag and walking it to his car.
"You didn't think you owed me at least that much?" she asks.
He shoves the bag into his trunk before closing it and turning to her.
"I'm trying to move on-"
"By joining the Marines?" she asks. He sighs and looks away from her, staring at the house in front of him. His dad had just been arrested by the DEA and his mother had killed herself. The place that he once saw as his home now stood as an empty reminder of all the bad things that had happened to Alex.
"What are you running away from?" Norma asks.
"I don't know who I am anymore, Norma." he tells her, looking back into her wet, blue eyes.
"I need to find my purpose. That's what I am running to." he says, leaning against his car. He looks down at his dirty shoes, feeling as though he might cry.
"I just...I thought she would always be here. To see me graduate...see me get married. But now..." he trails off, glancing back up at the house.
"I've got to get going." he tells Norma.
"What about me?" she whispers, drawing his attention back to her.
"What about me, Alex? I could've made you happy. You know I could've. We could have started a family and I could've helped you find a purpose. But you're leaving me! You're leaving me here with these people and...and i'm alone." she cries, feeling betrayed by the man she trusted most.
Alex felt bad for doing what he had done but there was nothing either of them could do now.
"It's done, Norma. I can't change it. I can't take it back. I'm sorry." he tells her. She wipes her tears away, the broken look on her face gone and replaced by the poker face that had always made Alex feel uneasy.
"I will never forgive you for this." she tells him before turning on her heel.
"You're not going to say goodbye?" he asks, wishing he could hug her one last time. She doesn't say anything, doesn't even glance back at him. It was like he hadn't said anything at all. She gets into her car and disappears down the road just as quickly as she had come.
She drove straight to John's house to tell him of the baby. He proposed to her on the spot and she accepted without hesitance.
The next three years went by in a blur.
John was a nice enough guy at first, working hard to bring home enough money to support her and baby Dylan. But eventually, he became irritated. It started with insults casually thrown at Norma. Eventually, John became an avid drinker. It was routine for Norma to have a beer open and waiting for him when he got home as well as a hot meal. He would sit in front of the tv while Norma fed their child. One small mishap and he would become physical with her.
He would grab her wrist and squeeze it until she fell to her knees in pain. He would slap her across her cheek, spit in her face, pull her hair, nothing too serious. But eventually, the beatings became worse.
"Where've you been?" John asks as soon as Norma quietly steps inside the house. She looks up with surprise, seeing him in his usual chair, glaring at her. It was almost one in the morning and Norma had snuck out of the house to meet a man she had just met named Sam.
She met Sam at the grocery store when her shopping cart ran into his. He was charming and sweet, offering to pay for her groceries to which she refused. So instead, he offered to take her out. She quickly fell in love with him, being whisked off her feet by his genuine kindness. The affair had been going on for almost two months.
"I-I...there was..." Norma stutters, caught off guard by the sudden interrogation. John slowly stands up, walking over to Norma. He grabs her by her arm and smacks her across her cheek, making her cry out.
He then drops her to the floor and kicks her in her side, making the air rush out of her lungs. He hits almost every place on her body with his hands, leaving marks and bruises that will surely show tomorrow.
"John, please-"
"You lying slut. You think you can go behind my back? Who is it? Is it Romero?" he asks, holding her down by wrapping his hand around her neck, cutting off airflow. Her eyes widen as she realizes that this is how she might die. Her nails claw at his hands and face, anywhere that might make him let go of her. She finally manages to kick him off of her and flee up the stairs to grab Dylan and the car keys.
"Don't think you're getting away that easy." he shouts, trying to stand up in his drunken state.
"Fine, go! Go run off and call your boyfriend, Alex." he shouts, leaning against the doorway while Norma buckles her three year old in the back seat. She races off to a motel, paying for a room.
She felt strange after hearing Alex's name. He had always been on her mind, sometimes she pretended like Dylan was Alex's son. It made dealing with the young boy a bit easier. But hearing his name for the first time in three years had made something click.
Before she knew what she was doing, she was dialing his familiar number. She paced the motel room, taking large sips of the bottle of vodka she had bought in the office of the motel. Dylan was sleeping in the bed, his cheeks pink while his hands were tucked under his face.
"Romero." his voice says into her ear. Whatever air she had in her lungs had rushed out of her, leaving her struggling to answer.
"Hello?" he asks again.
"Alex?" she asks, her voice sounding hoarse because of her neck injury.