I Am Norman (Bates Motel)

SIX

Dylan steered left,directing the car to the lane to White Pine Bay.The Honda Civic screeched as it made its turn,leaving a little drift marks on the road.Emma kept begging him not to leave her but he could feel Norman calling for help,for a saviour.

He was already prepared even before he told Emma about it.He made sure that he brought the essentials and weapons,since White Pine Bay has a notable reputation,not a great one.

Soon after,he reached his home or what it was left of it.The house retained its Victorian and old looks in the midst of the hills.The motel was totally vacant and there were no sign of his brother,Norman Bates.

Picking up his loaded and stuffed bags,he climbed up the stairs,perspiring more than usual since he haven't been exercising regularly.The bags pulled his arms down as he advanced the steps one by one.Dylan could almost feel the sockets of his arm loosening,tempting to separate itself with its long-time best friend.

Reaching the door,he ransacked his bags for the house keys.It may seem weird but he had one more set of keys made just in case something happened which in this case,his mother's death.He drugged deep in this lower section of the bag,his hand scrambling to find the lost keys.Finally,he managed to find them and whipped it out to open the cranky,old door.

No one was inside.

The smell of dust and wood lingered in the air.The floorboards creaked as Dylan took a step.The house was definitely re-decorated but most of the places looked the same as the last time he saw it.Stuffed animals hanging on the wall.Neatly arranged flowers.

He brought his bags up to his old room which was the attic.

The attic was almost covered in dust.Almost.The wall were just grey and the lights were being clouded by the thick dust.It was disgusting.Dylan sighed.Looks like he had to spend hours cleaning his old room of dirt and disgust.

While cleaning his room,Dylan heard a door knock and slowly trudged down the creaky stairs.He opened the door and Cody's face popped out.

"Hey,you're...Norman's brother,Dylan,amirite?"she said,scrutinizing Dylan.

"Yeah,step-brother,actually.Family complications."

"Oh,"Cody said."So...is Norman here?We arranged to go for a ride around town."

"He might still be in school.I just arrived here too,so I am not sure where he is now."Dylan scratched the nape of his neck.

Cody nodded.Then there was just an awkward silence between the two Homo sapiens.Nothing left to say,Cody turned and left not before saying goodbye to Dylan.

Before she stepped off the small flight of stairs,Dylan stopped and promised to notify if Norman came back,which Cody agreed.

Closing the door,Dylan continued on with his chores of unpacking and cleaning up.He sighed a heavy sigh,dragging himself to his room.

Beads of perspiration trickled down his temples and chest as the stuffy room 'condemned' Dylan in its womb.The worst part was getting dust stuck on his body parts as he tried to brush them which to no avail.Getting fed up,Dylan dashed to the basement and fumbled through all of the items,searching for a vacuum.

After attempts and attempts,Dylan found the vacuum and he looked really thrummy with his trimmed beard that has bits of dust and pieces of trash in it,his hair all messed up and ends sticking out awkwardly.He wiped away the sweat on his forehead with the sleeve of his grey v-neck shirt and brought the old-modeled vacuum up to the second level.

Switching on the machine,quickly and swiftly,the dust were swept into the vortex and entered the vacuum bag,its new home.Soon,the room looked much cleaner and hygienic than before.Dylan covered the mattress with a plain blue bed sheet and smoothed it out with his rough hands.He placed a pillow at the head of the bed which was not really soft but it was good enough for him,considering he slept in much worse place than this.Taking a look at the room,he felt a surge of pride and excitement.his room was definitely looking like something instead of a dusty useless space.Floorboards needed some work but he decided to do it another day,since exhaustion basically took over him.

Stretching his sore and worn-out muscles,he checked his phone for texts.He was hoping that Emma would send a message to him,telling him how much she misses him or something like that.He felt a little regretful of leaving her at Seattle but a guy's gotta do what they gotta do.He had to go for his brother;Norman was his only close and remaining relative other than Caleb,who's his father and Norma's brother.

However,there were no texts listed in his phone.Disappointed,Dylan grabbed his towel and headed straight for the bathroom,taking a quick shower,cleaning off the dust on his body.Just as he was about to enter the bathroom,he heard another knocking on the front door,a quick one in fact.Rolling his eyes,he dashed downstairs,tossed his towel aside and twisted the knob,opening the door,only to see Cath carrying Norman on her shoulders.

"Dylan,right?Norman told me you were coming here today,"Cath said,breathing heavily as she tried to support Norman who was unconscious.

Dylan's eyes shifted to Norman,snapping back into reality."What happened?"

"Can you just help me?It's not easy carrying an unconscious 16 year-old teenager who looks like 180 pounds but probably weighs like 260."Cath growled,trying to pull up Norman who was slipping from her back.

Like a smack to his head,Dylan immediately took Norman from Cath,bringing him to the couch in the living room.Cath wiped off the countless beads of sweat on her face,feeling really tired.She had to piggy-back Norman from the school since she didn't have a car.A disadvantage of being 16,she thought to herself.

Dylan darted to the kitchen and filled a bowl with cold water.drenching a small hand towel in it and wrung it.Using the cloth,he gently set it on Norman's forehead.

"So,uh...What happened?"

"He suddenly had a panic attack.Well he somehow recovered but then...he fainted without any explanation.This is unlike anything that i learned..."Cath said.

Dylan raised his eyebrows.Noticing the confusion in Dylan's eyes,Cath further elaborated herself."I study medicine in school.I aspire to go to medical school."

"Oh,i see."

"Just for your info,agoraphobia is a type of panic attack.Does Norman have it?"Cath asked,eyeing Norman.Dylan shook his head.Definitely not something Norman has."He decided to be home-schooled for a while,didn't he?What was that about?"

"It's hard to explain,"Dylan scratched his head,trying to put words into his explanation."Something bad happened,it traumatized Norman and it was bad.Thank god,he had Emma then,now there's no one to help except me."

"And me."Cath said,folding her arms."Believe or not,i am currently his closest confide."

Dylan raised his eyebrow,not able to believe her words."You?A smart,probably popular,and amazingly-gorgeous brunette is Norman's best friend?I don't buy it."

"What?Just because i'm beautiful and popular means i can't be friends with Norman?What is this?Mean Girls?"Cath scoffed,insulted by Dylan's words,which may sound flattering.

Dylan chuckled.A fiesty one,he mused.

The duo turned their attention to Norman,who was still in his own world.

"We should call for help."

"Why didn't you say that earlier?"

Cath shrugged her shoulders."Brain fart."