She can hear the noises first. The steady beep of her heart monitor, the voices of the nurses around her. And then, comes the taste. It is a strange taste sitting on her tongue, something she has never tasted before. It has a metal hint to it, probably from the dried blood that sticks to the roof of her mouth. And lastly, comes the pain. It remains in one part of her body, her shoulder. The pain becomes unbearable, as if someone had just shot her again.
Her chapped lips part and release a cry of pain, making the nurses talk even faster and louder. She can feel her back arch from the bed she lies in as her eyes squeeze shut. Another cry escapes her mouth as she writhes on the bed while nurses hold her body down.
"Should we sedate her?"
"No. She needs to stay awake. Up her morphine!" another doctor shouts.
She can feel the medicine spread through her body, bringing with it a sense of numbness which calms her. Her heart rate begins to slow as her body relaxes into the sheets of the bed. Her eyes finally open and she blinks a couple times to clear her blurry vision.
When the figures before her come into focus, she is pleased to see not only her son and Emma, but also Alex Romero. They all wear the same worried look on their face which is a new look for Alex.
"You're awake." Dylan says with a smile. Norma smiles softly, the action proving more difficult than she would have thought.
"Where is Norman?" she asks, looking around the room. Surely he would be here. Everyone looks to each other, not knowing how to tell the poor woman that her son killed himself.
"Norma, you don't remember?" Emma asks.
"No. I...why am I here?" she asks. They look to each other again before Alex sighs and steps forward. He sits on the edge of her bed and stares into her blue, confused eyes.
"Norma, you were shot-"
"By who?" she asks, trying to figure out who she should be angry with.
"By Norman." he says.
"No. No you're lying. Norman would never hurt me. He wouldn't-"
"He did. And then he killed himself. Norma, he had issues-"
"No. You're all lying. Get out." she says, trying to keep the tears from spilling over onto her cheek. No one moves.
"I said get out! Get the hell out!" she shouts, making Emma jump. Dylan and Emma leave but Alex stays, his eyes never straying from her.
"Leave!" she tells him, finally letting the tears fall.
"No-"
"Go! I'll call a nurse."
"No. No I'm not leaving. Just because you're strong and resilient, doesn't mean you don't need someone there to take care of you." he tells her.
"I don't need you here. I don't need anyone-"
"Dammit, Norma Louise! Just let me take care of you!" Alex shouts, catching her by surprise. Alex is always a very quiet, serious man. He rarely ever raises his voice.
"Okay." she whispers, not wanting to fight with him. She had never met someone that stood up to her in such a way before. Most people just seem to listen to her when she gets mad. Either that or call her crazy.But Alex really did just seem like he wants to help her and take care of her and she has never had that before.
"Would you like some water?" he asks. She shakes her head, not in the mood to do anything except cry and maybe scream.
"Listen, Norma, i'm sorry for yelling. If you want me to leave, i'll go. I just don't want you to feel like you're alone in this." he says, misreading her expression.
"No." she says almost too quickly. "I mean...you're right. I don't want to be alone."
He smiles and gently takes her hand in his. She thinks back to the phone call they had when she was dying. She can only remember bits and pieces but one piece is glued to her head.
Her lips pull up into a smile which confuses him.
"You called me baby." she whispers. His cheeks and ears turn bright red and he looks at the ground.
"Yeah, well you were dying and I was panicked and it sort of just slipped out. I hope you're not feeling weird about it or anything." he says with embarrassment.
"No, it's alright. It's just...no one's ever called me anything like that." she says. He looks at her with surprise. She can feel herself suddenly become very drowsy from the pain medicine.
"Haven't you been married like twice now?" he asks.
"Yeah. But they were not very loving. They usually called me Norma or the occasional bitch or slut." Her eyes widen as she realizes how much she just told him.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to tell you that. This medicine is affecting me." she says, her words beginning to slur.
"No that's alright, i'm glad you did. Those guys are assholes and you deserve better. You know that, right?" he asks. She smiles, not really processing what he is saying. He notices the way her eyelids begin to droop and he holds back a chuckle as he watches her struggle to stay awake.
"Norma, it's okay to go to sleep." he says.
"No..because if I close my eyes, i'll have bad thoughts." she whispers.
"Bad thoughts? Are you afraid of them?" he asks. She nods.
"Do you want me to check under your bed from monsters? Would that make you feel better?" he asks, trying to joke around and make her laugh. Instead her face remains stoic.
"Alex, monsters don't live under the bed. They live inside our heads." she whispers, her eyes finally closing. Her breathing begins to slow as she finally succumbs to some well needed rest.
