Our Past

Chapter 3

Four months had passed and Norma and Alex had grown closer. They hung out after school, before school, on the weekends; they told each other about their family's but Norma was the one to keep one thing hidden, ashamed of what was happening with her.
They were sitting in a treehouse that was hidden from the rest of the town. They had made it a hangout and refused to tell anyone of their whereabouts.
"What are you doing after high school?" Norma asked, picking at a dying daisy.
Alex looked at the purple sky as he laid next to Norma, "Military school."
"Military school? Why?" Norma asked, laughing for a second.
"I want to be a better man than my father and prove to the town that I am," Alex stated, seriously.
Norma lost her smile and threw the flower to her side.
"You are better than him," Norma responded, turning on her side to face him.
"That's not what other people think," Alex laughed, mockingly.
Norma glared at Alex, "Don't listen to other people. Listen to me. I'm pretty much your best friend, so only my opinion matters," Norma laughed, making Alex smile wide.
"You definitely are my best friend," Alex said, looking into Norma's eyes.
Norma lost all her thoughts once they locked eyes. It felt surreal. Laying with this person who cared deeply for her; who made her feel comfortable and never scared. She was falling for him; she knew she was, but she didn't want to ruin their friendship.
"Let's just sleep out here for tonight," Alex yawned, looking at the now black sky.
"What about the bugs?" Norma asked, scrunching her nose.
"Norma," Alex laughed, "we've taken naps out here before. It's not like the bugs are randomly going to come out. Plus, it's fall, there are hardly any bugs," Alex chuckled, closing his eyes.
"Okay," Norma whispered in response.
She grabbed the extra blanket from the bag she had brought snacks and drinks in and covered her and Alex's lower body.
"Goodnight, Alex," Norma whispered, closing her eyes after looking at her watch.
"Goodnight, Norma," Alex replied.
-
Norma woke up to birds chirping and the sun slowly rising. Her vision was slightly blurry from sleep but as soon as the blur went away, she realized that she was face to face with Alex. She went to sit up and scoot away from him but his arms were holding onto her tightly, keeping her secured in his arms.
"Alex," Norma whispered.
He didn't respond.
"Alex," Norma whispered again, trying to wake him up.
"Shhh. Just let me rest my eyes," Alex responded, pulling Norma closer to him if that were even possible.
"Alex, look it at how our bodies are! We have to move or at least let me go," Norma laughed, nervously.
"Yeah, I know how we're positioned," Alex responded, still not budging.
"But-".
Alex cut her off by crashing his lips onto Norma's. Norma shut her eyes and kissed back. This is heaven Norma thought. Norma pulled out of the kiss and looked at Alex questioningly.
"This is a dream," Norma stated.
Alex chuckled as he locked eyes with her, "It's not.".
Norma was dumbstruck. They stayed silent until Alex felt the need to break the quiet.
"I've liked you for awhile now. It was love at first sight when I saw you running to a truck with a piece of toast in your mouth." Alex laughed, making Norma giggle.
"I thought I was the only one who had these feelings. I never planned on admitting it," Norma whispered, feeling shy as her cheeks burned up.
"I want our friendship to go onto another level. I want us to happen." Alex stated, making Norma tear up.
"What's wrong?" Alex asked, sitting up, bringing Norma up with him.
"We shouldn't. There's one thing you don't know about me and it's too humiliating. It'll ruin your title and image if people were to find out while we're dating," Norma responded, tears falling down.
"I don't care about my image. It's not that big of a deal to me, just tell me what's wrong?" Alex asked, looking worried.
Norma wiped her nose and cheeks. She took a deep breath and looked into Alex's eyes. She knew he would understand but she was embarrassed.
Norma took one more deep breath and shut her eyes, looking away from Alex, "My brother is an awful person. You already know that because he punched you in the face.".
Alex nodded and let Norma continue.
"Six months after I turned thirteen, he made me have- sex... with him. I didn't think anything of it. I didn't know it was wrong, but after a few months had passed, of him and I, I finally realized it was completely wrong." Norma broke down.
Tears fell from her eyes and her heart was racing. She looked at Alex who had looked away from her, his jaw clenched together.
Norma continued, "I tried to end it. I told him to stop and that it was wrong- he didn't listen. He's been raping me for three years now and I have no power to stop it.".
Alex averted his attention back to Norma and examined her demeanor. His face showed sympathy and worry. His fists were bawled up and he was thinking about killing Caleb.
"I can't tell my dad because he'll kill Caleb and I don't want that. I hate Caleb with everything in me but there's one part in me that still loves him. He was all I had before he moved out. He protected me and now he's against me." Norma whispered, tears falling down her cheeks slowly.
Alex pulled Norma to him and held her. He kissed the top of her head multiple times, and squeezed her tightly, wanting to take all of the pain away.
"I want us to be together. I don't want you to feel embarrassed about anything. I won't leave you for this or anything else. You're the one I want," Alex whispered.
Norma let out a heartbreaking sob as she wrapped her arms around her lover. She lifted her head and kissed him as the tears kept falling. The kiss made things official. It was a promise that they would help each other and love one another for as long as possible.
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