Her Eyes

Chapter 62: HOLDING ON FOR TONIGHT

The drive to the restaurant was a quiet one. Alex was becoming oddly comfortable with her and it scared him...it scared him half to death. He wasn't really sure how to feel about it. He knew he loved her, but he was afraid to love her. For as much as Alex desired trust from her, he sure had a hard time trusting her. He had a hard time trusting a lot of people. He's been so independent for so long that he doesn't know how to be with anyone else...especially a woman like Norma Bates.

They pulled up to the restaurant and got out of the car. Alex nearly ran to the diner door to open it for her. She smiled as she passed him, stepping into the thriving air of the small diner. They took the booth in the back closest to the window. Alex gazed at her as she settled in her seat. "How is everything?" She shrugged, scrunching up her face in her usual way. Their eyes connected across the table. "Have you heard anything about Emma?"

Norma looked about the room with a sigh. "She came home last Tuesday. She's still recovering." She glanced back at him with a sad smile. "Dylan's been visiting her."

Alex smiled softly before allowing his gaze to drift over to the waitress approaching them. The woman recognized him and grinned gaily at the recognition. "Sheriff," she greeted.

It stung deep in his gut. He ground his teeth through a tight smile. "It's Officer now, Sally." He allowed his eyes to delve deep into hers. "So you did move back to White Pine Bay?"

The brunette blushed brightly, rocking back on her heels. "Yes. It's about time I came back home." Her eyes never left his. They were the color of fresh spring grass; they were as beautiful and as light as ever.

Alex could feel a pain form in his heart. He brought his gaze back to Norma and smiled reassuringly. "This is Sally. We, uh, dated in high school."

"Up until you left me for that police academy in Portland," Sally added.

The pain began swell inside him. The emotions could have flooded out of him at any moment, but he built a sturdy dam. His eyes focused on his fingers that tightly clasped each other on the edge of the table. "No, Sally, you left me...you left me."

"Alex—"

"Can we just order our food?" He refused to look anywhere else. If he did, he would have lost it. The situation only had two possible endings, neither of which Alex wanted to explore. The tension in the air was high. It ripped through them like a silver bullet. Sally obediently took their orders and left them to themselves.

Alex turned his eyes towards the scene happening outside. He needed to escape this reality. There were certain parts of his life he never wanted to bring back up. Sally was one of them. "Alex?" Norma's voice broke through him, shattering the glass wall he put between them.

He shook his head, half in anger towards himself and half in disbelief of his fate. He couldn't seem to shake anything. Despair was his shadow, only disappearing in the dark...coming out in the greatest moments of light. His gaze fell to her eyes. They were a warm bath of security.

They ate in silence for the rest of the meal and headed back to the motel. Norma glanced at him as she put the vehicle in park. She had no idea how broken he truly was. She got out of the car and walked around to open the passenger side for him. He furrowed his brow at her actions and glanced down at the hand she provided to help him out. The warm from her hand filled him, pulling him in for a warm embrace. He tugged her by the hand in the direction of room 11.

"Alex? What are you doing?" she called after him.

He smiled back at her and opened the door, moving swiftly to the nightstand to retrieve the unopened bottle of scotch. He held it up for her to see and began opening it as she shut the door. She sat down on the bed and watched him struggle, laughing softly to herself. "Got it?"

He grinned at the victorious popping sound and took a swig, taking the seat next to her on the bed. He knew he couldn't burry this under the rug like everything else. There couldn't be anything between them. He rested his head against the wall as he sighed. "She was the only girl I ever loved. She was the one I thought I was going to marry. She was the only person I ever trusted. She helped me through my mom's suicide...and the funeral. And everything afterwards." He could feel Norma's eyes glued to him, listening intently...but he didn't look at her. He couldn't. "I asked her to marry me the night before I left for Portland...and she said she needed time to think about it. Said she'd come back in the morning before I left...and I never saw her again." He took another drink of scotch and gazed back at the woman beside him. "I've been alone ever since."

She reached down and grasped his free hand. "Well, you're not alone anymore, Alex. I'm not going anywhere."