His arrival made her all the more uncomfortable.
Every breath, every little movement that he made brought back the images that were dormant in her brain.
But she had to ask, had to know. So she asked him, "Why are you here?"
His response was unavoidable. He would be staying for a while. It wasn't that she didn't love him. But everything he did brought back that memory, rather than the ones she had wanted to hold onto.
Norma quickly decided that she didn't want to be alone with him. It would be too much. While Norman was in school, she would have to make up some excuse to get away; maybe she should go buy some new curtains or linens for the motel. Wonderful parenting, she scolded herself, Your son's been here for five minutes and you're already trying to get away from him.
"Do you see that?!" he asked, staring out the window.
"See what?!" she snarked, doing nothing to remove the bitter twinge from her voice.
Norma moved towards the window, glaring out of it to try and see what was--
Her heart skipped a beat. Norman was walking down the street with a girl. They were obviously talking about something, not having noticed the vehicle that was driving on the wrong side of the road behind them.
Another girl was standing nearby. From what Norma could tell, she had noticed the speeding car, and brought it to the attention of the others. The young woman moved out of the way just in time. Norma watched in horror as it sped past them, leaving them flinching in the dust. She started to walk out, to go and check on the kids. Dylan followed behind her quietly, as if he was working out what was happening.
The teenagers all ran towards the car. Norma's view was blocked as she ran down the steps, silently swearing that she would one day break her neck on them.
When she got there, Norman's friend had crumpled to the ground, sobbing in her hands. Norman's hands were on her shoulders, squeezing them tight. "Someone-- call the police," was all he managed to mutter before Dylan had his phone out, dialing the number.
They arrived five minutes later, sirens blazing and tires squealing. Norma's heart skipped a beat as she watched Sheriff Romero get out of his car. Could he see the guilt etched on her face? She hoped not.
He seemed not to notice her at first, then, as he set up a perimeter in front of the motel, his eyes landed on her and he pulled her to the side, asking what she had seen. It seemed that she was the only non-hysterical person here; even Norman had looked bothered, sitting silently at the bus stop bench with his arm wrapped around one of the girls.
She watched as they loaded the car onto a tow truck. Alex explained that the man's name was Jerry Martin. Something about that name was familiar to her, and she stored it away for later, unable to recall having met this man.
"He works in a warehouse up the road. Looks like somebody set fire to it..."
"You're saying someone intentionally set fire to his warehouse? That's terrible," she muttered, glancing dow the opposite side the road. Norman had disappeared to meet the bus, since it obviously wasn't going to make it down the road. A few minutes earlier, he had consoled one of the girl's into going to the hospital. That's her. Norma had thought. That's the one who came to the door a few days ago, asking for Norman. Bradley Martin. That's when it clicked for her that Jerry Martin must've been related to this Bradley Martin, the girl that Norman was hanging out with. Her heart sank.
Based on what little she had seen and heard, Jerry Martin was nearly dead.
"Interesting morning, huh?" Dylan asked. Norma's expression was wrought with worry. "Burnt up dude drives into a ditch in front of your motel? How rude," he said, as if he thought he knew what she was thinking. "You know, it's a really nice town you picked here..."
"If you're gonna stay here, you're gonna pitch in. I've ordered new bed linens for the motel, and I need someone to pick them up. I'll get you the keys."
She stomped away, hands in her coat pockets, refusing to look him in the eye.
Alex stopped her. "Mrs. Bates," he waved, trying to keep her attention. "Could you come here, please?"
Norma's heart leapt into her throat when she saw Keith's vehicle, and the image of his knife flashed in her brain.
~ ~
It wouldn't be so hard, she figured, to keep the secret from getting out. All she had to do was stay hidden to keep herself and her boy safe.
At least, that was her thoughts, until the Sheriff showed up at her door.
Norma felt stupid. If you really meant to go through with this, her mind cursed, Then you would have rehearsed this.
"We have an eyewitness, someone who was driving by, who said that they saw him standing on your front lawn and that you and your son were talking to him."
Her breathing grew rapid as she thought up a considerable argument. Play it stupid, she thought, No one will notice, they'll just think you're a ditz. "Well, yes, I mean, I'm-- I didn't know that you had meant had I ever seen him. I thought you meant recently."
"Did he make any threats to you?"
"Threats? No. Why if he had, I would've called the police."
They waltzed around each other in a tangle of words before Norma shrugged. "Well, that's all the information I have, so...is that it?" she asked, allowing herself a sigh of relief.
"No, actually, I'd like to take a look around, if you don't mind."
"Actually, I do mind," she hissed, stepping in his way. "I think you need a search warrent for something based on some...meaningless conversation out on my front lawn...right?"
Her gaze drifted to Deputy Shelby, and Alex must've noticed, for his own eyes drifted back to his collegue. He turned away, and Alex returned to the conversation. "You better work with me. I'm the last guy you want on your bad side, okay?"
"Okay."
A plan fizzled in her mind.
YOU ARE READING
Norma
FanfictionNorma had it rough. She did what she had to do. Although she believed it was the best route, it didn't make it any easier. A rewrite of "The Music of Bates Motel," themed entirely towards Norma. Each chapter counts for an episode of Bates Motel and...
