Untold Secrets

Chapter Ten

Norma had just finished making breakfast for everyone when Alex walks into the kitchen. She glances over at him and smiles.
"Morning." she greets him. He nods his head back as he grabs the morning paper.
"Morning, Norma. Sleep well?" he asks, sitting at the kitchen table.
"I did. Not as well as I could've." she says honestly. The pain in her neck had become somewhat unbearable in the night, making her toss and turn for a bit before giving in to some pain medication.
"Mommy!" Norman cries out from the stairs as he and Dylan stomp down them. When he runs into the kitchen, his cheeks were stained with tears.
"What is it, darling?" Norma asks with worry as she kneels down in front of him and dries his cheeks. Alex watches, always having loved the way Norma interacts with her kids. He loved seeing her be so loving and gentle.
"Dylly called me a baby!" he cries out, pointing at Dylan accusingly. Norma glances over at Dylan who is standing in the corner with a scowl on his face. He looks too much like his father then.
"Well look at him. He is a baby!" Dylan says, trying to prove his point.
"Dylan it isn't nice to name call." Norma tells the six year old.
"It isn't name calling if it's true." he says angrily.
"Apologize." Norma tells him. He glares at her, his jaw muscles flexing.
"Now." she tells him. He rolls his eyes and glares at her again.
"You don't have to be such a bitch." he spits at her. Norma gasps and Alex stands up from his chair so fast that it topples over behind him. The glare disappeared in Dylan's eyes, being replaced by fear.
"What did you just call her?" Alex asks. Dylan opens his mouth but nothing comes out.
"Apologize." Alex says angrily.
"I-Im sorry." he squeaks out.
"To your room. I'll be up in a minute to speak with you." Alex tells him.
Dylan nods and quickly runs out of the kitchen and up to his room.
"And Norman, it's time for your nap, okay buddy?" Alex asks gently.
"I'm not tired." Norman whines.
"That's alright. Just lay in your bed and I will read to you." Alex offers.
Norman nods and slowly walks out of the kitchen. Alex turns to Norma who looks hurt. She glances over at Alex and smiles slightly, loving the fact that he had her back.
"I'm sorry if I overstepped-"
"No." Norma says quickly.
"You...you're fine. I...Dylan needs some structure in his life. He needs a man...manly figure in his life." Norma tells Alex.
Maggie rushes into the kitchen, opening the fridge and grabbing things in a haste. Norma and Alex glance to each other before looking back at Maggie.
"Uh, Maggie? What...what's up?" Norma asks slowly.
"They're here. All of them. I...I have to get food." Maggie says, not bothering to look up at them.
"Uh...M-Maggie? Who's here?" Alex asks.
"My brother and his workers." Maggie says, going through the food in the cupboards and filling her already full arms.
"Your brother, Keith?" Alex asks with fear. Maggie turns around, her red eyes glaring at Alex.
"I don't have time for your stupid questions, Alex." she snaps at him.
"Maggie are you...are you high?" Norma asks with surprise.
"It...no. That's ridiculous. And it's none of your business." she says before quickly walking out of the kitchen.
"She's high, right?" Norma asks, still staring at the front door after Maggie shut it behind her.
"Yeah. Most definitely." Alex confirms.

Keith had moved back into the house, leaving Norma and Alex both on edge. Keith had gained a lot of weight since high school and had lost a lot of hair. His teeth were yellow and his eyes always seemed to be bloodshot.
"I mean I'm scared to have my kids under the same roof as him, Alex. And now he has Maggie making poor choices." Norma says as she washes under Norman's arms. She glances over at Alex who is washing Dylan's hair while the young boy plays with a toy boat.
"It's just for a little bit longer. I have enough in savings to rent an apartment soon." he tells her, trying to calm her down.
A knock on the door stops them from continuing their conversation. Norma looks at Alex who opens the door, revealing Maggie.
"Hey guys. Dinner is ready." she tells them as she urgently scratches at her neck.
"Okay. Thank you. We will be down in a bit." Norma says sweetly.
Maggie nods and turns on her heel, walking back down the stairs. Alex turns to Norma who gives him a look.
"We have to get out of here." Norma says, standing up to pace the floor.
"I mean she wasn't even high, Alex. She was on...stronger s-h-i-t." Norma whispers.
"That spells shit!" Norman says, standing up from the water.
"Norman, language!" Norma says, trying to hide her smile.
"Kids too smart for his own good." Alex says with a smile.
"I'm serious, Alex. What're we gonna do?" Norma asks, grabbing a towel before wrapping it around Norman and pulling him out of the tub.
"We are gonna go downstairs and eat dinner. We are going to be civil and we are going to keep to ourselves until I have enough money to get us out of here." Alex tells her calmly as he helps Dylan out of the tub so the boy can dress himself.
"I can help, Alex. I have money from working at the diner and-"
"You need that money for the boys. I can take care of it." he tells her as she dresses Norman.
When dinner rolled around, Norma and Alex kept quiet, leaving an awkward tension in the air.
"So you two staying long?" Keith asks as he shoves food into his mouth.
"Not sure yet. Working on finding a place." Alex says, cutting Norman's chicken up for him.
"Well don't move out too fast. I just got here. I wanna catch up with you two." Keith says, winking at Norma. The action made her stomach churn wildly. She took a deep breath, trying to push back the bile rising up her throat.
"Yeah. Sure, sure." Alex says, glancing over at Norma with worry. He can see how pale and sweaty she is.
You okay? he mouths to her. She forces a smile back and a short nod.
"Maggie here has been trying to keep me in the loop while I was gone so I know all about the whole husband wife situation. You know, that they were screwin each other." Keith says with a chuckle.
"So what do you do for work?" Alex asks, trying to switch the subject off of Sam and Katie.
"Uh...business. I guess you could say I do a lot of trade deals. I sell...goods." Keith says with a smirk. The look in Keith's eyes told Alex that there was something off.
"Uh, I...I-I'm going to go up to bed, actually. I'm quite tired." Norma says, rising from her chair. Alex stands in respect as she stands.
"I'll be up soon with the boys." he tells her. She nods and disappears up the stairs.
Alex sits back down to finish eating. He looks over at the boys who have remained silent throughout the meal, something that made Alex nervous. They never went so long without talking. Norman, maybe, but not Dylan.
"So, Romero, you're boning Calhoun?" Keith asks with a smirk. The look on Keith's face made Alex feel antsy. He didn't ignore the way Keith had been eyeing Norma during dinner. It explained why she fled up to her room.
"I'm not talking about this in front of the boys." Alex says firmly. Keith chuckles and shakes his head.
"Whatever. If you're not then I'm gonna make a move on her. Can't let a pretty little thing like that slip away." he says, wiping his sweaty forehead with his napkin before digging into his third piece of chicken.
"She's a woman, Keith. A mother. Not a thing." Alex corrects him.
"Whatever." he responds absently.