loose cannon ◄ BATES MOTEL

1: HOMECOMING

Author's Note: I am the biggest advocate for adding characters where they benefit/alter the story in a way that makes sense and makes change. I don't support just throwing in random characters for the hell of it. Olivia is not a random character. I understand that the twin trope can (and often does) go very flat. There are plenty of prime examples of that floating around the internet. The minute that Norma said "Had I been lucky enough to have a daughter, I would have wanted her to be exactly like you", was the minute that Olivia was born. I toyed with the idea of her being the youngest Bates sibling, but it just would not make sense/work in the story. Had Norma had a daughter with Sam, I do believe she would have favored her over Norman. However, because Olivia is a product of incest, she is a reminder to Norma of the trauma that she went through. She does love her (just like she loves Dylan) but the relationship is strained. Olivia had to be Dylan's twin, so that Norman would still be the golden child. Enjoy this short little introductory chapter! More to come. Please leave a review if you feel so moved!

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CHAPTER ONE
Homecoming

IT SMELLED OF PINE.
The heavy breeze rushed the lush scent towards Olivia's nostrils. She rolled her windows down and rested her arm on the edge. This only encouraged the wind, blowing strands of dirty blonde hair everywhere. A song played, something upbeat with spunk, probably from the 70's. A slightly battered looking wooden sign reading, Welcome to White Pine Bay!, greeted her as she drove out of the forest and along the sunny coastline. The glittering waves pushed and pulled along the sand. Families gathered on the beach; a mother and father, arms wrapped around each other, a little boy building a sandcastle, two girls doing cartwheels, always in competition for their parents' attention. She smiled. Everything was as it should have been.

The only thing out of place was her. She was not meant to be here. This was not her home, not the place she had grown up, not the place she'd fallen in love for the first time and not the place she would fall in love for the last. This place was unfamiliar, friendly but not hers.

A ping on the radar. That was Olivia. After disappearing for four years, here she was. A slightly modified version of the person that she used to be. Her hair was shorter, her cheeks were hollower, and her eyes had lost their childlike, glinting quality. Her eighteen year old self was full of hope; starry eyed and naive, barely touched by grief. Sometimes, she missed that girl.

The faint blue buzz of the sign was barely visible in the sunlight. Bates Motel - Vacancies. Her mother had what she had always wanted. She was running her motel. Not only running it, but successfully, too. Now that Sam was gone, she was free.

Gravel crunched underneath the car's tires as she pulled into the parking lot. Lots of other cars were parked in front of the friendly yellow complex. People were scattered everywhere, holding beach balls, towels, and bottles of sunscreen. A father and his daughters were propped under a tree, seemingly napping on a red and white picnic blanket. A mother soothed her crying son, whose face had fallen prey to sunburn. A teenage boy and girl were engaged in an intense game of badminton.

She parked her car in front of Room 6 and quickly glanced around before opening her door and slamming it shut. She had to make sure her mother wasn't around. She wasn't ready to see her. Not yet.

There was a door marked Motel Office in bold, red lettering at the end of all the rooms. Her sandals made the same crunch as her tires as she walked towards it. Olivia peered inside, just to see a teenage girl working. No blonde.