No Strings Attached

Chapter Thirty Four

The past few weeks had been a blur of frustration and heartbreak for Alex. Harder than he'd ever thought possible. Each day felt like dragging himself uphill, with the weight of Norma's absence pressing against his chest. He wasn't sure what hurt more, the fact that she was gone or the cold, undeniable truth of why.
He still remembered the night it all clicked. It had been late, and the streets were quiet as he walked his usual patrol. His mind was a haze, the same numbed state that had consumed him for weeks. His movements felt mechanical, his body on autopilot as he made his way toward his SUV parked down the street.
But he stopped mid-step, frozen in place, when he caught a glimpse of her out of the corner of his eye.
Norma.
She was across the street, standing by one of the boutique windows, her blonde hair catching the winter moonlight like it always did. But she wasn't alone. George stood beside her, tall and polished, the picture of effortless perfection.
The world seemed to stop turning. The noise of the town faded into nothing. Alex could only stare, his heart shattering into pieces all over again as it all started to make sense.
This was why.
The realization hit him like a punch to the gut. This was why she'd broken things off. She hadn't said it outright, but now it all made sense. She'd left him so she could be with George.
And how could he blame her? She and George made sense. Two perfect people belonged together. George could give her a life of comfort, a life without secrets or danger. She deserved that. She deserved someone like George.
Not someone like him.
Alex swallowed hard, his jaw tightening as he forced himself to look away. But before he could move, Norma turned her head, as if she'd sensed his presence.
Her eyes locked onto his across the street.
George, oblivious, continued talking, pointing out something in the shop window. But Norma wasn't listening. She couldn't hear a word he was saying. All she could see was Alex.
The pain in his eyes cut through her like a knife, raw and unguarded, and her breath caught in her throat.
Without thinking, she took a step toward him, her body moving on instinct, as if she would always be pulled into his orbit no matter how hard she tried to stay away.
But just as she did, Alex turned.
He walked swiftly to his SUV, his movements sharp and deliberate. He reached the door and paused for the briefest of moments, glancing back at her over his shoulder.
Their eyes met one last time, and Alex's expression was a mix of betrayal and heartbreak, hurt like she'd never seen before.
Then he got in and drove away, the taillights of his SUV disappearing into the flow of traffic. He thought about it over and over every day since then. The sudden distance, her vague excuses, the way she'd avoided his eyes in their last conversation. She hadn't just left him. She'd left him for George.
Though he hadn't seen her since then, the memory of that night still made him feel sick, a heavy knot twisting in his stomach whenever he closed his eyes and saw her with him.
The radio in his SUV crackled to life, yanking him out of his spiraling thoughts. "All available units. We've got a possible hit and run reported at the corner of Maple and Elm. Suspect vehicle fled the scene. Injuries unknown."
"Romero, en route," Alex replied, his voice steady, even as his gut tightened. Work was work, and no matter how much his personal life had crumbled, he was damn good at his job.
But when he arrived, his stomach sank.
The sleek black car was parked on the shoulder, its rear bumper crumpled. Two figures stood beside it, illuminated by the flashing red and blue lights. Before he even stepped out of his car, he knew who it was.
George. And Norma.
For a moment, Alex gripped the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles turned white. He forced himself to take a breath, then another, until the hot surge of anger and hurt settled into something colder. He wasn't going to let this break him.
He stepped out, his expression carefully blank. "Carter," he greeted the other deputy, his tone clipped.
"Hey, Sheriff," Carter said, glancing up from his notepad. "Rear-end hit and run. Suspect fled west, we already have a unit en route. I'm about to take the driver's statement if you want to take the passengers?"
Alex's jaw tightened, but he nodded. "Yeah, I'll take it."
He turned to Norma, who was standing a few feet away, arms crossed tightly over her chest. Their eyes met briefly, and something in her expression shifted, guilt, maybe. Or pity. He didn't want either.
"Miss," he said, gesturing for her to step aside. She hesitated, then followed him a few steps away from the others.
"What happened?" he asked, his voice as detached and professional as he could make it.
She looked at him for a moment, as if searching for something, before speaking. "We...we were coming back from dinner. Someone came up behind us, going way too fast. They hit us, then swerved around and took off." Her voice was steady, but her hands fidgeted with her skirt.
Alex nodded, jotting down her words. "Did you see the car? Or the driver?"
"No," she admitted, her voice faltering. "It all happened so fast. George...he tried to catch the plate, but—" She stopped, shaking her head.
His grip on the pen tightened at how casually she said his name. As if it wasn't a dagger straight through his heart. He didn't want to picture her and George at dinner, laughing, sharing secret smiles. He didn't want to think about the life she was building without him.
He glanced up at her, and for a moment, the mask slipped, his jaw tightening. He didn't want to notice how tired she looked, or how her body language was more reserved than usual. He didn't want to care, but he did.
"Are you okay?" he asked, the question coming out softer than he intended.
Norma looked at him, her eyes wide, startled. She opened her mouth, then hesitated, as if unsure how to answer. "Yeah," she said finally, though her voice was barely above a whisper.
He nodded, his throat suddenly too tight to speak. He looked down, his gaze falling on her hands, still trembling slightly, and he had to fight the urge to reach out, to steady them, to tell her it was going to be okay. But that wasn't his place anymore.
"Alright. You're free to go," he said, the words clipped, hollow.
She lingered, just for a moment, before turning back toward George, her legs feeling unsteady beneath her. She kept her arms wrapped tightly around herself, as if the weight of Alex's gaze still lingered on her.
Her chest felt heavy, like something had settled there that she couldn't shake off. The sound of his voice, steady, measured, and professional, had felt like a slap. It wasn't cold exactly, but it was distant. Too distant. She hated it.
"Everything okay?" George asked as she approached, his tone casual, but his eyes flicked from her to Alex.
"Yeah," she murmured, managing a weak smile. "Just...answering questions."
George nodded, shifting his weight. He looked calm, composed, like this was just another inconvenience in his otherwise perfect life. She envied him for it. Norma glanced back toward Alex, unable to stop herself. He was still there, standing beside the other deputy, his head bowed as he jotted something in his notepad.
The flashing lights played across his face, sharp shadows highlighting the hard set of his jaw.
He looked painfully handsome, but he also looked...tired. Worn. And underneath the professional mask he wore so well, she thought she saw something else, something he was trying to hide. A vulnerability that made her throat tighten.
The conversation they'd just had replayed in her mind, every word, every pause. His voice had been calm, controlled, but there had been a moment, a single moment, when it cracked. When he asked her if she was okay.
The way he'd looked at her...it was like he didn't believe her answer. Like he was waiting for her to say something else, to give him a reason to stay in that moment with her.
She wanted to tell him she wasn't okay. That the guilt of seeing him like this was eating her alive. That every time she saw his face, she felt like the worst version of herself. But what good would it do?
Bob had given her no choice. This was how it had to be.
"Norma?" George's voice broke through her thoughts.
"Hmm?" She blinked, turning her attention back to him.
"You sure you're alright? You're kind of...quiet."
"I'm fine," she said quickly, offering another faint smile. "Just shaken up, that's all."
George seemed satisfied with her answer, turning back to the deputy, who was asking him another question. But Norma's attention drifted again, her eyes drawn back to Alex.
When she'd seen him step out of his car earlier, her heart had clenched in a way that was both familiar and unbearable. He'd always carried himself with a quiet confidence, but tonight there was something heavier about him. A weariness that hadn't been there before.
She wondered if she'd put it there.
Norma looked away, her stomach twisting. She'd told herself a hundred times that she'd made the right decision. That this was the only way to keep him safe.
He'd asked her if she was okay. And she hadn't been able to answer honestly. Not because she didn't trust him, but because she didn't trust herself.
If she'd let herself admit the truth, she wasn't sure she could've walked away.
She crossed her arms tighter, her nails digging into her sleeves as she stared down at the pavement. The night air felt colder now, her breaths coming out in small, visible puffs.
When Alex finally walked past her, heading back toward his car, she kept her gaze fixed on the ground. But even without looking, she felt his presence like a physical weight. The scent of his cologne, faint but familiar, stirred memories she'd been trying to bury for weeks.
They flashed before her eyes before she could stop them. The warmth of his gaze, the taste of his lips, the feeling that only he could give her in the pit of her stomach.
He didn't say anything as he passed. Neither did she. But the silence between them felt louder than words.
As he climbed into his cruiser and drove away, Norma exhaled slowly, the ache in her chest spreading, tightening.
She told herself she'd done the right thing, that this was best for both of them. She had to believe that. But tonight, standing in the glow of flashing lights, watching Alex walk away again, she wasn't sure she believed it anymore.