Untold Secrets

Chapter Nine

Alex had never hated himself more than he did in that moment. He hated everything about himself. He wish Norma would've yelled at him, kicked him to the curb, called the cops on him. He would've deserved all of it. But she didn't do any of that.
She hugged him.
She comforted him.
She told him that he was forgiven.
Because that's who she is, it's what she does. She isn't one to become angry at others easily. She is forgiving and loving and caring. And that's when Alex knew that he had fallen hard for her.
"Alex, please, don't go." Norma begs him as he packs his bags.
"I can't trust myself around you, Norma. I need to get help." he tells her.
"It was a nightmare, Alex! It wasn't you-"
"But it was me, Norma." he says, turning to her
"It was my hands around your neck. It was my body that was trapping yours down. It was me taking the life away from you." he tells her.
"You don't have to stay in the motel. Okay? I'll go. You stay." she offers. He shakes his head and reaches for his last shirt. Norma quickly grabs the other side of the flannel to stop him from putting it in the suitcase.
"Norma-"
"Please, Alex." she begs.
"I think it's a good idea, Norma." Maggie says, appearing in the doorway.
"We got lucky this time. Lucky that I woke up and heard the commotion. What if I hadn't come?" Maggie asks. Alex visibly flinches as he thinks of what could've happened. He releases the flannel and zips up his bag.
"Keep the shirt. I'm going." he tells her, picking up his bag.
"Alex-" Norma says, trying to follow him out of the room but Maggie steps in front of her.
"Let him go." she tells Norma.
Norma didn't see Alex again until later that night at dinner. Norman and Dylan were oblivious to what went down early that morning because Norma wore a bright yellow turtle neck to cover the marks.
"Miss Maggie, were your mommy and daddy good?" Norman asks as he takes a bite of pasta.
"Yeah they were good parents." Maggie tells Norman with a smile.
"My mommy is a good mommy. But my daddy wasn't." Norman tells her. Norma glances at Alex with fear, afraid of what Norman night say next.
"If they were good parents, why did they die?" he asks innocently.
"They...they didn't have very good friends. And when you're friends with the wrong crowd, bad things can happen to you, even if you're good." she explains carefully.
"Well why do good people die first?" Norman continues.
"When you're in a garden, which flowers do you pick?" Alex asks him.
"The pretty ones." Norman says happily.
"That's what sometimes happens to people." he tells him.
"So will my mommy die soon? Because she is pretty." Norman says with fear.
"Not necessarily. Your mommy is beautiful but she is much more than that. And she isn't in any danger. As long as we protect her and keep her safe. You think you can handle that?" Alex asks him. Norman smiles widely and nods.
"I can be her protector." he says, looking over at Norma.
"Thank you, honey." Norma says, kissing his forehead.
The phone in the kitchen begins to ring, alerting all members of the party at the table. Maggie quickly stands and smiles.
"Excuse me." she says before leaving the room. Norma turns to Alex while Norman and Dylan giggle at the noodles hanging from Dylan's mouth.
"Maggie got me an interview at the diner in town." she begins as she watches Alex pick at his food.
"Is that so?" he asks, not looking up at her.
"Yes. It was very kind of her." Norma says, continuing to watch him. She noticed that he refused to look at her.
"I go in tomorrow." she continues, trying to spark any kind of reaction.
"Oh." he says.
"I-If I get the job...I could have us out of here by the end of next month. We could get an apartment." Norma says, to which Alex does not answer.
"I-I know it's not as nice as this but...it's something." she tells him. Again, no reaction.
"Alex will you just look at me?" she asks.
"No." he answers simply.
"Alex-"
"I can't...I can't look at you. Because I can't stand to look at what i've done to you." he tells her.
"But Alex-"
He stands up so abruptly that his chair screeches against the wooden floor and toppled over backwards, hitting the ground with a thud. Norman and Dylan both stop laughing and look at Alex, the noodles still hanging from Dylan's mouth.
Norma glances around with embarrassment and notices that even Maggie has stopped talking on the phone and is watching them closely, ready to jump in if Alex missteps.
"I'm going to bed." Alex finally says softly as he glares at the table.
He walks quickly through the dining room and out of the house, slamming the door shut behind him. Norma sighs and rests her head in her hands while Maggie hangs up the phone.
"What was that about?" Maggie asks as she walks back into the dining room.
"I don't think things will ever be normal again." Norma says sadly.
"Why?" Norman asks, oblivious to the incident.
"Nothing, sweetheart." Norma says sadly. There is a short silence before Norma breaks it.
"Who was on the phone?" Norma asks Maggie.
"It was my brother. He's on his way home. He will be home sometime tomorrow." Maggie says casually.
"So should we go?" Norma asks her.
"No, no. He sleeps in the basement. You're fine." she says quickly. Norma nods and glances over at her boys, hoping Keith isn't the same asshole that he used to be. She didn't want her boys around someone like that.
"How is Keith?" Norma asks.
"He's...keeping busy. Ever since our parents died, we've been having some trouble trying to keep the business booming. It's an expensive house and now that there's only two of us bringing in money, it's becoming...almost impossible. I think we might go underwater soon." Maggie says sadly. Norma suddenly feels guilty.
"I'll work hard to get the job at the diner and help out. And i'm sure Alex will pitch in once he starts getting his paychecks from the station." Norma tells her, trying to soothe Maggie's frazzled soul.
"I can't ask you to do that-"
"We would be happy to." Norma tells her quickly.
"Come on, boys. Up to bed. We have to get up early tomorrow to clean." Norma tells them, kissing their foreheads.
Norma didn't sleep as soundly as she usually did. The bed was cold and far too big without Alex beside her. All she could do was toss and turn until eventually she had had enough. She slipped out from under her covers and slipped on a robe, walking downstairs.
The air outside was chilly but Norma welcomed it. It was better than trying to sleep alone in a bed that could easily fit three.
"Fancy seeing you here." Alex says from his chair on the front porch of the motel. Norma smiles at him, pleased that he is looking at her. The bruises on her neck were visible, a dark purple, but he didn't seem to be as bothered anymore which pleased Norma.
"Couldn't sleep?" she asks, leaning against the wooden post in front of him. He smiles and nods as his shoulders shrug.
"Seems so." he says simply.
"Keith is coming tomorrow." Norma tells him, watching him flinch as he surely remembers all the times that Keith Summers had bullied and probably beaten him.
"Done with his business?" Alex asks.
"Maggie said he is bringing it home with him. I guess his business men are staying in some rooms at the motel." Norma explains.
"Guess I should start looking for a place of my own." Alex says.
"No." Norma says quickly.
"They only need a few rooms. And you can't leave the boys. I mean, they worship the ground you walk on. I think they like to think of you as a father figure." Norma tells him. Alex's mind turns to the adorable faces of the young boys and his lips pull up into a soft smile.
"They're good boys. Very well behaved considering what they've been through." Alex says with a nod. There is a short silence as Norma watches Alex, appreciating the glow he has when talking about her children.
"Alex, please come back up to the house. I...I-I feel safer when you're there." she tells him. He stands up and walks to her, his dark eyes staring into hers. His hand slowly reaches up so his fingers could lightly trace the bruises he had left on her. She tries her hardest not to flinch from the slight pain.
"You shouldn't feel safer." he says softly, his hand dropping from her neck as he leans on the other side of the post she is leaning on.
"I've always felt safe around you. Ever since I used to knock on your window at night and come into your room." she tells him.
"Things were simpler when we were young." he says as he looks into the dark distance.
"Yeah." she agrees softly.
"The world seemed less...less scary." Norma says, glancing over at him.
"I had hope. I thought things would go differently." she continues sadly. His hand reaches over and takes hers.
"I'm sorry for what I did-"
"I wasn't talking about you, Alex." she tells him quickly.
"I know but...still." he says with a shrug.
"Come up to the house. Please." Norma whispers, looking into his dark eyes. He sighs and looks away, releasing her hand.
"Fine. But only if I sleep on the couch." he tells her. She smiles and nods in agreement.
"Deal. Come on." she says, leading the way. He follows silently up the long set of stairs in front of the house.
"Alex." Norma whispers with sudden fear as she stops climbing the stairs. Alex glances up at her and then looks past her to where she is staring at the open front doors.
"Did you close those on your way down?" Alex asks.
"Yes." she whispers.
"Stay here." he tells her, stepping in front of her protectively. She ignores his request and follows closely behind him.
"Norma." he says, turning back to her when he realizes she didn't stay.
"I'm not staying behind, Alex." she whispers back to him stubbornly. He sighs and turns back to the house, slowly stepping inside. He scans the dark rooms, his heart pounding in his chest.
"Anything?" Norma asks.
"No. Nothing out of place." he whispers back to her, moving into the family room. She glances into the dining room and slowly steps into the room, looking around.
Alex is searching the room when he hears Norma's gasp come from the kitchen. He quickly rushes to her, thinking the worst.
"Norma?" he calls out to her.
"Oh, thank god." Norma says with relief. He walks in and sees Norma kneeling down in front of Norman.
"He must've been sleep walking. I came in and he was mumbling to himself." she says, looking at Alex with worry.
"Should I wake him?" she asks.
"No. Don't do that. Just...just guide him to the couch. He can sleep there." Alex tells her, grabbing one of Norman's hands. Norma grabs his other hand and they slowly begin guiding him out of the kitchen.
"Finish your food, Norman." Norman whispers, his eyes half open.
"Can't let it go to waste." he continues.
Norma glances at Alex with fear only to see him returning the look. They gently lay him down on the cushions of the couch and pull a blanket over him.
"Share your toys, Norman." the young boy whispers into the dark living room. Norma and Alex watch with fear as he continues to mumble.
"It's like he's in a trance. I'm not sure if he is even asleep." Norma says with worry.
"I'm sure everything is fine. Let's just...get some rest." Alex tells her. She nods, realizing that Alex has to sleep next to her now that the couch is taken.
"I'll see you in the morning." Alex says, walking toward the front door.
"Alex-" Norma says, grabbing his arm and turning him around.
"Not tonight, Norma. I...I'm doing this because I care for you and I want you to be safe. Please respect that." he tells her gently. He leans down and places a soft kiss on her forehead before leaving the house.
She stayed frozen in her spot, her mind racing. For a moment, she saw a life with him. She saw him coming home from work and kissing her cheek or her forehead like he did just then. She saw their little ones running around and playing with Norman and Dylan.
She imagined that loving him would be like falling in love with darkness- frightening and consuming, yet utterly beautiful when the stars came out.
She just had to wait for him to allow himself to be loved. Because he was so easy to be loved but so damn difficult to love.

So sorry for the delay in updates! I just got back from vacation this morning and I am working hard on getting some chapters up and ready for you all. Thank you for the love and support!!
xoxo