No Strings Attached

Chapter Eleven

By the time Norma pulled into the gravel lot in front of her house, her frustration with Alex had turned into exhaustion. She had walked inside, expecting a quiet, peaceful wind down to end her night. What she didn't expect was Dylan sitting at her kitchen table with Norman to tell her that Caleb was back in town and staying at Dylan's farm.
The news had felt like a blow to the chest and for a moment, Norma couldn't move, couldn't breathe. And then, suddenly, she jumped into action. She didn't know where she was going as she packed her things into a bag, she just knew she couldn't stay there. Not when the walls seemed to be closing in around her.
With the weight of her meeting with Bob still fresh in her mind and this new betrayal now stinging her core, Norma couldn't seem to think straight. She barely heard her sons' protests as she pushed past them towards her escape, throwing out a quick 'Take care of your brother' to Dylan before racing down the steps to her car.
The roads blurred together as Norma sped through the dark, her mind spiraling into memories she'd rather forget.
Her phone began to ring for the fifth time, making Norma's anger bubble over as she abruptly swerved to a stop on the side of the road. She didn't even think, just acted, as she jumped out of the car, tossing her phone to the ground. She pulled out the gun Dylan had given her and quickly fired at the phone, missing the first time, but hitting dead center the second, promptly silencing the ringtone.
The sharp sound of the gunshot rang out in the night, echoing in the emptiness around her, partially sobering her up. She stared at the destroyed phone, her chest heaving, before tossing the gun back into her purse and collapsing back into the car.
Shooting her phone wouldn't fix anything. It wouldn't make Caleb go away, wouldn't erase Dylan's betrayal, wouldn't erase the past. But in that moment, it had felt like the only way to take back some sliver of control. Her knuckles turned white as she gripped the steering wheel tightly.
"Damn it," she muttered, tears streaming down her cheeks. She thought about going to Alex's house, feeling the need to seek comfort in someone familiar, but then she remembered how she had angrily told him she didn't need him. She couldn't say something like that and then go running to him in the same night.
She didn't know how long she sat there, staring at the dark road ahead as she tried to figure out her next step. The car's engine hummed beneath her, a subtle reminder that she could still drive away from it all. She didn't have to face Caleb or Dylan or any of it. She could just keep driving.
A sudden movement in the distance caught her eye, pulling her from her thoughts. At first, she thought it was an animal of some sort wandering into the road. But as her headlights illuminated the figure, her breath caught in her throat.
The pale fabric of the hospital gown he wore was stained with blood, the red stark against the white, as he stumbled along the shoulder of the road.
"Alex?" she mutters, her heart lurching as she begins to recognize him. She quickly jumps into action, leaping out of the car to rush to him.
"Alex!" she calls out, her voice breaking as he looks up to her, his face pale and sweaty. The sight of him like this made her stomach churn.
"Oh my god, Alex," she says, her voice a mix of panic and disbelief as she quickly grabs onto his arm to steady him. "What the hell are you doing out here? What happened?" Norma began to look him over, her eyes darting to the blood soaking through the gown as he cradled one of his arms against his chest.
"You need a hospital," she demands, guiding him towards her car.
"No," Alex said sharply, planting his feet despite his evident weakness. "I can't go back there."
Norma's brow furrowed. "What do you mean you can't go back? You're going to bleed to death out here."
Alex shook his head still, already trying to move away from her car, though Norma kept her hold firm on his good arm. "Not safe. Take me to my house."
"Okay, fine, whatever. Just get in the car, Alex." she snaps, all of the overwhelming emotions of the day crashing back down on her as her shock begins to subside.
He didn't argue further, either too tired or too wise to push back against her determination. Norma helped him into the passenger seat, carefully adjusting him so he wouldn't put too much pressure on what she now suspected to be a bullet wound that went right through his upper left shoulder.
She slid into the drivers seat, her slightly blood stained hands shaking as she gripped the wheel tightly once again, though her earlier anger was momentarily forgotten as all she could think about now was getting Alex the help he needed.
She glanced at him as she pulled back onto the road, his eyes were closed, his breathing shallow but steady.
"What happened to you?" she asks softly, more to herself than to him. She didn't expect an answer, and he didn't give one.
By the time Norma pulled into his driveway, almost the entire left side of his hospital gown was red. She quickly got out of the car to help him out, wrapping an arm around his waist as she struggled to support most of his weight.
The closer they got to the house, the heavier he leaned onto her, and she could feel his exhaustion in every step. She knew he didn't have much strength left in him.
"Just a few more steps, Alex. You're okay," she encourages as they walk into his house, towards the living room.
"Emergency kits in the kitchen," he manages to mumble, his voice strained but steady. "Corner cabinet."
She nods as she helps him lower himself to sit on the couch, his hand firmly pressing against his wound to try to slow the bleeding. Norma darted to the cabinet he had mentioned and quickly found the bright red kit.
She brought it back to the coffee table, her fingers trembling as she sorted through the supplies. Alex watched her, his gaze sharp despite the haze of pain and loss of blood. He could see the fear in her eyes but there was also something else, something darker.
"What's wrong?" he managed to ask, making her gaze snap over to him.
"You're bleeding out on your couch and you're asking me what's wrong?" she asks with disbelief. Her eyes settle on his blood soaked gown again and the panic fills her once again.
"I need to pull this down," she mumbles to herself again, already pulling the fabric down his chest and quickly disposing of the blood soaked bandages from the hospital.
As soon as she did, the sight of the wound made her breath hitch, and she could feel tears spring to her eyes once again. The skin was red and angry, the dark red blood slowly seeping through the stitches. With a shaky hand, she picked up a piece of gauze, carefully trying to pour the antiseptic onto it with her unsteady hand. She couldn't keep her eyes off of his injury, guilt beginning to consume her as she suspected who might've been brave enough to take a shot at the sheriff.
"Hey," Alex says softly, pulling her attention away from the grueling sight. "It's okay. You got this, just breathe."
This man continued to surprise her. Here he was bleeding out in front of her, and he was helping her through it. She set her jaw, determined to pull herself together as she gently dabbed the cotton against his skin. Alex hissed in pain, fists clenched, but didn't move away.
"I'm sorry," she whispers, her voice gentler than he'd ever heard as she presses the gauze more firmly against his wound, her fingers lingering as she taped it down.
"I'm fine. Thanks for cleaning my wounds," he murmured lightly, his eyes fluttering slightly as she helps him lean back against the couch.
Norma's lips quirked, but the smile didn't reach her eyes. "We've done this before. Remember?"
Alex's mouth twitched into a faint smile at the memory of Norma cleaning the cut on his brow at her kitchen table. It felt like a lifetime ago.
"Yeah, I remember."
The memory hung between them for a moment, warm and charged. Norma felt her cheeks flush under his steady gaze. She reached for more gauze to try to clean up the rest of the dried blood on his chest and abdomen, but she felt his eyes on her, tracking every shift and touch. It made her feel exposed, vulnerable in a way she wasn't used to.
"You're good at this," he says softly, the faintest smirk tugging at his lips as she pauses her work to glare up at him, though the warmth in his voice made her stomach flip.
"Don't distract me," she says, the corners of her lips twitching up slightly as she continues with her work.
Alex studied her face, the tension etched in her features, her makeup slightly smudged as evidence of previously shed tears. He had noticed it when she had first found him too, and he just hoped their fight after Bob's meeting hadn't been the reason behind it.
"You didn't answer my call," he points out as she begins to clean up the bloody gauze from the coffee table.
"I, uh...my phone broke," she says, her gaze not quite meeting his, letting him know what she was saying was a half truth. He gives her a look when she finally does look at him, making her let out a frustrated huff.
"I shot it, okay?"
This only confuses him more as he tries to make sense of what might've happened after she left him just hours ago that led to her shooting her phone.
"Why?" His voice was soft and gentle as he asked this, his genuine concern ringing clear.
"My brother's in town. He's staying with Dylan at his farm," she explains, only furthering Alex's confusion.
"I didn't know you have a brother."
She winces slightly as she tries to think of just how much she was willing to share with Alex. Not that she didn't trust him, but she didn't want him to see her differently. She didn't want him to know the ugly truth of her past.
"He's...he's not a nice person. And I just...I couldn't stay there anymore, with them looking at me like that. So I packed a bag and I left. They wouldn't stop calling me and the ringing was driving me insane so I shot my phone." Her voice was strained with emotion and broke at times but her expression remained stoic and detached.
Still, Alex couldn't help himself as he took her trembling hand into his, his thumb gently rubbing the back of it.
"You need somewhere to hide out for the night?" he asks, his voice gentle but there was an edge to it. He hated that she just couldn't seem to catch a break.
Norma, however, looked at him with a mix of surprise and admiration. This was one of the many things she loved about him; he didn't push, didn't ask for more, just accepted what she was willing to share and supported her.
A new wave of grief washed over to her as she thought back to how she had treated him after the meeting.
"You'd let me stay here?" she asks with disbelief. "Are you sure?"
He stares at her with warmth in his eyes before slowly reaching up to tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear. The gentleness in his touch made her heart lurch as her breath hitched in her throat.
"You'll always have a place here," Alex murmured, his voice low and steady as he held her gaze. His hand lingered near her face, as though he wasn't quite ready to let go. "No matter what's happened, if you need somewhere to feel safe...you come to me."
Norma's breath hitched in her throat, his words weaving their way into the cracks of her guarded heart. She opened her mouth to speak, but the weight of his promise seemed to have rendered her silent.
"You don't ever have to ask, Norma." Alex finally let his hand drop from her face, their close proximity already making it difficult for him to keep to the promise he had made himself, which was to keep her safe. The only sure way to do that was to keep her at a distance from himself, from Bob.
Her chest tightened, the warmth in his tone breaking down her walls piece by piece. "Why are you so good to me?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
He could see her blinking rapidly, trying to fight the sudden sting of tears, and he couldn't help himself as his hand rose to her cheek again, brushing her skin softly. His thumb traced the line of her jaw with a tenderness that made her heart ache.
"You've been fighting on your own for so long," he tells her, his voice so gentle it almost unraveled her. "I know you can handle things yourself, you've proven that you can. But you don't have to anymore. Not with me."
The honesty in his tone, the vulnerability in his tired eyes, it struck her like a physical blow. She caught herself glancing down to his lips, felt a strange pull towards him, as if there was some invisible cord between them.
"We should get some rest. You're taking the bed," he says as his hand drops back to his lap, his tone leaving no room for argument. "I'll sleep on the couch."
Norma frowned, her eyes glancing back to the blood that stained his hospital gown. "Don't be ridiculous, Alex. You just got shot. We can share the bed. It's not like-"
"No," he interrupted, his voice firm. "It's not a good idea."
She tilted her head, a teasing smile playing on her lips. "What? Am I that irresistible?" she asks, expecting an eye roll from him or sarcastic comment.
His answer came quicker than she expected. "Yes."
The seriousness in his voice startled her, her teasing smile fading as she stared into his dark gaze. Her breath caught in her throat but before she could process a response, he was carefully moving to stand up.
"Come on, I'll help you get set up."
She had no choice but to follow him in a strange daze down the hall to his room, her mind still reeling from everything that had happened today.