Missing

Chapter Five: Take Action

She paces the floor of her large, empty house, waiting for Alex to return to her home. With each step, her thoughts become more and more desperate as they wish for her son to magically walk down the stairs from his bedroom, asking for a biscuit. As if none of this had ever happened.
The front door opens and Norma rushes to see who it is. Alex slowly walks in, removing his coat. Norma takes action, helping him out of his coat and hanging it on the rack next to the door.
"Do you know where Norman is?" she asks. Alex looks up to her before looking at the ground again.
"Norma-"
The tone in his voice hinted that something had happened to her son. Something far worse that anything she ever wanted to think of.
"Alex, please. Please tell me he is alive." she whispers, tears running down her cheeks. Alex looks up at her with surprise. He grabs her arms, rubbing hem.
"He is. He is, I was just going to tell you that Sam confessed to taking him but won't tell us where he is." Alex says, walking past her into the kitchen. She follows, becoming angry.
"Well let me go down there. I'll talk to him." she says. He shakes his head.
"No, you're not going near that man ever again." he says, opening the fridge and grabbing a water.
"He's my husband. Besides, I made him confess to taking my son. I can get it out of him-"
"No I'm not letting you do that." Alex says, taking a drink of water.
"Uh, I'm sorry, since when did you have any say in what I do with my husband?" she asks.
"I have a say in who speaks with my prisoner." Alex says, raising one of his eyebrows.
"I have a right-"
"No, you don't." Alex says calmly.
"Yes I do!" Norma says, getting worked up.
"I'm going down there right now and-"
"Norma!" Alex says, setting his water down and running after her. He grabs her arm before she slips out of the door. Norma shoves him away but he quickly grabs her again, ignoring her punches.
"Let me go! Let me go, dammit! I need to talk to him!" she shouts, hitting his chest. She shoves her hand against his stomach, hitting the spot where Sam had kicked him. Alex gasps and releases Norma, clutching his stomach. Norma calms down immediately, focusing now on Alex.
"Alex? Hey, what's wrong? What did I do? Are you alright?" she asks, grabbing his arm and trying to find where he is hurt. He waves his hand, reaching for the door.
"I'm fine. I'm just gonna go." he whispers, still holding his stomach.
"Go? No, Alex. No, I'm sorry." she says, walking after him. He limps down the steps, gritting his teeth to stop a scream from escaping his mouth.
He reaches for his car door but Norma steps in front of him. She places her hands on his chest, gently pushing him toward the motel.
"Norma, Im fine." he says through his teeth.
"Let me take a look." she says, grabbing the first aid kit on the way to the room. She closes the door behind them and Alex collapses on the bed with a sigh of relief.
She walks over to him, untucking his shirt from his pants. She begins to unbutton it and Alex puts his hands over his eyes, trying to calm himself. She pushes his shirt away, inspecting his toned stomach.
"You have a rather large bruise." she says, tracing the outline of the purple and blue bruise. "That isn't from me, is it?" she asks with concern.
"Don't flatter yourself. Your loving husband did it." he says with a smirk.
"What do you prescribe, doc?" he asks lightly. She smirks but plays along.
"Lots of rest. And maybe...maybe try not to get into any more fights any time soon." she says. He moves his hands from his eyes and looks at her with a smile.
"I can't promise that. I would do anything to protect you, Norma Louise." he whispers, sending chills down her body. She can feel a pull toward him, something so strong that she had never felt before. If she was being honest, it terrified her. Which is why she looks away and stands up.
"I'm going to go up to the house and prepare dinner. You stay here and sleep. I don't want you out of this bed until I say so. Got it?" she asks, taking charge. To her surprise, he smiles and nods.
"Yes ma'am."
And with that, she walks out and shuts the door behind her, her plan in mind which didn't involve going back to the house. He had her son and she would stop at nothing to get him back. So she drove down to the station and walked in with a confidence she had not known before. He could no longer hurt her, he had no power over her. She was finally a free woman.
"I'm here to see Sam." she says through the glass.
"Mrs. Bates, does Sheriff Romero know you're here? He made it clear he didn't want Mr. Bates to have any visitors." the receptionist says.
"He is my husband. It's my right." Norma says, becoming upset.
"Mrs. Bates, sheriff Romero said-"
"I don't give a shit what he said. Let me speak to deputy Shelby." she demands. The receptionist sighs and calls deputy Shelby in.
"Mrs. Bates. What can I do for you?" he asks, putting on a charming smile.
"Can we talk?" she asks with her own charming smile and sad eyes.
"Of course. Come back to my office." he says, buzzing her in. Norma walks in and sends the receptionist a look before following Zach to his office.
"I just wanted to ask to visit my husband." Norma says once the door is closed.
"Alex made it very clear that he didn't want-"
"Why is Alex Romero getting any say in my life? Come on, Shelby, please. Couldn't you just give me, five minutes?" she asks. He sighs and glances up at her.
"I could...perhaps, if you could...give me five minutes." he says suggestively. Norma's eyebrows scrunch together with confusion. Surely she is misunderstanding him. He can't really be asking for such a thing from her.
"I..." she can't speak. She can't move. Zach Shelby is already locking the door and undoing his belt.
"Don't worry. I'm quick when I have to be. And no one will know. It'll be our little secret." he whispers in her ear as he pushes her down to her knees. He forcefully pushes her head into his crotch which is still covered by underwear, and she pushes against his legs to get away. He keeps her trapped for a few seconds before letting her go.
"I don't...please." she whispers, suddenly feeling like the weak woman she was a week ago and had been for years. He shows her his phone which now has a picture of her on it. By just looking at the picture, it looks like she wanted it.
"Now that's a keeper." he says with a smile.
"Please delete it."
"Come on, Norma. We're just messing around." he says, pulling his clothing aside. He pries her jaw open with his hands, her sensitive skin throbbing with the pressure of his fingers. He grabs her head by her hair but she finally finds her strength and pulls away.
"Stop it. I'm not that kind of woman." she says, pushing his hands away.
"Really? That's not what I heard." he says, trying to grab her again.
"I'll scream." she says, glaring at him. He stops his movements with shock. "I'll scream if you touch me again. Let me see my husband and no one will have to know about this."
"No one will believe you anyways." he tells her.
"I'm wearing a mic." she tells him, hoping he won't press too hard on her lie. "Sheriff Romero put it on me for my husband's case."
"Bitch." he mutters, zipping his pants and looping his belt through. He opens the door and she follows him down the hallway to where they keep the prisoners.
"Three minutes." he warns her. She steps inside and he closes the door behind her.
"Come back for more fun?" he asks, smiling darkly at her.
"Sam, please give me my son back. I know you took him." she says.
"Listen bitch, I didn't take that shithead anywhere-"
"Bullshit!" she yells.
"It's not though. I personally didn't touch him."
"Then who the hell did?" she asks.
"A friend of mine."
"Tell me who or I'll cut your dick off and leave you to bleed out." she warns.
"Careful what you say in here, sugar. They might be listening." he says bitterly.
"Tell me who." she says, walking toward him. He smiles and leans back, spreading his legs apart.
"I'll need something in return." he says. She spits in his eye, making him jump up from his bench, his fists clenched. She backs up until she feels her back hit the door. She knocks on it, wanting out but no one comes for her.
"Deputy Shelby isn't going to save you. He's on my side. I guess you could say...he's a friend of mine." he says, closing in on her. Her eyes widen as she puts the pieces together. The other man in the woods, the man who helped her husband make their own son disappear, it was him.
Sam's fist raises up and as she watches it fly toward her, the door opens and she is pulled out of the room. Sam's fist hits the closed door, making a loud bang as he bruises his knuckles, even making some of them bleed.
Norma looks up at Alex who doesn't look very pleased with her. His dark eyes search her face before moving to her body.
"Did he hurt you?" he finally asks.
"Physically, no." she says, looking away from him. He deserved better than her. He deserved someone who didn't have so much baggage. Someone who wasn't just a walking sex target.
"Lets go then." he says, walking down the hallway, his hand on her back. They pass by Shelby who is casually drinking his coffee.
He looks up and down Norma's body with a smile before winking at her.
Norma could feel it in her throat but was  afraid to say anything. Her mouth was sealed shut. Once they reached outside and walked into the sun, the bile in her throats began to rise and Norma ran to the bushes where she then emptied the contents of her stomach onto the warm ground.
Alex was there within seconds, holding her hair back. She tried to push him away, embarrassed by herself, but he remained, rubbing her back and waiting for her to finish. When she finally did, he helped her to the car and drove her home.