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Clemency: Part Two

If punching bags could scream, very loudly, in agonizing pain, Alex would be in big trouble. He could feel his knuckles going numb after landing every punch. The sweat dripping down his face only resembled the fury in his veins. The impotence. He's lost the love of his life. He's lost his Norma Bates.

Wild thoughts invade his mind as he travels a couple of hours back. How Norma forced him to give her back the key to what he got so used to calling home. How she told him that there was no going back and that he should never have messed or come between her and her son.

He clearly remembers how awful it felt for her to look him in the eyes and tell him, with no remorse, that she used him for her convenience. That she had toyed with him for her own benefit. That she's known about his love for her for years now, and she simply used that in her favor.

If she was affected by the pain she was physically causing him, she didn't show it. Her blue eyes were like burning daggers impelling into his skull.

He'd been going at it for fifteen minutes straight now. He could feel his heart wanting to rip his ribcage in half. But he wouldn't dare to stop. He needed an outlet for his frustration, for his anger. And unfortunately, this was it.

He grunts in resentment as he felt tears coming down his cheeks. Norma had no idea how bad she's hurt him. He gave her his all. His entire heart; and she's decided to crush it as if it never meant anything to her. Anything at all.

While his purpose was solely to protect her, hers was completely divergent. In a way, he'll never understand how strong her love for Norman is. He doesn't have someone that belongs to him, that shares his DNA, someone with tiny hands and feet that look precisely like him. He's not a father. And he never will be.

'I've always told you what you wanted to hear. I knew that this would make the true you come out from hiding. Norman helped me. He helped me see who you really are.'

His eyes are red. From anger. From crying—from pure affliction. He's known a crying Norma. A hysterical Norma. A lying Norma. A strong and powerful Norma. A happy and in love, Norma. But the Norma that he saw tonight? That Norma he's never known.

'You really think I'm buying this crap?' Alex had laughed when Norma told him that she never loved him. 'Seriously, Norma. Stop the nonsense. I'm not stupid.'

But was he? Was she clever enough to wrap him in her game just for the sake of her precious, little Norman? Has this been a game since the night they met? Shelby was her first option, but it is possible that he was the second runner up?

His arms are burning, and so are his lungs. He can hardly breathe, and he felt every single one of his muscles tremble in pain underneath his skin. He groans and grunts and yells in frustration.

His knees go weak, and he collapses on the hard, concrete floor of his garage. His breathing extraordinarily shallow. He sits back on his heels, his head pushed back as he hunts for air. The punching bag dangles freely above him, daring him to continue.

After a while, his breathing evens out, and he's capable of thinking clearly, wiping the sweat off his forehead. He's dying for a shower, to feel clean for a change. Everything that happened with Norma had made him feel used, worn out.

In an attempt to get up and off the floor, he patted the concrete floor, spotting blood on his swollen knuckles. It hurts like hell but not more than the ache he's feeling inside.

He lays down, his back hitting the floor. He can't think straight, and he wishes things were different. If he had known how much wanting to keep her safe would affect his relationship with Norma, he wouldn't have given it a second thought.