While I'm Alive

This story is already on fanfiction.net so if you've read it there, nothing has changed. If you haven't read it yet, let me know what you think!!

Norma Bates had been having an amazing day. It started off rocky when she went to Alex's house to ask for help. When he denied her, she had sort of thrown a tantrum by kicking his stupid door which seemed to be welded shut. Alex had grabbed her by her arms and held her against his chest, calming her quite quickly. All of this had confused Norma to no end. He usually wasn't affectionate. So the fact that he gave her an almost hug had been surprising enough. Not to mention the way her body reacted to his touch.
But back to the point, Alex had finally agreed to help her speak with Bob Paris which went better than she could have ever expected. She was getting a pool for her motel. And after a quick run to the store, she was finally home to share her news with her kids. She walks inside, her hands filled with grocery bags.
"Hey, I'm home! I got a chicken. I'm gonna make a pie." she calls out as she walks through the house and into the kitchen. She sees both Norman and Dylan sitting at the table with scared looks on their faces.
"What's up with you two?" she asks, setting the groceries on the counter.
"Huh?" she asks again when she is met with more hesitance.
"Well, no one can be in a hospital, 'cause we're all here." she says with a laugh to try and lighten the mood. Her smile quickly fades when neither of them move.
What?" she asks again. For a moment, she fears that something bad has happened to Alex. She hadn't talked to him recently and the boys were acting very hesitant.
"I need to tell you something." Dylan begins with a hint of fear.
"What?" she asks, her face serious.
"Caleb's in town. He has been in town. He... He's up at my farm."
"Caleb, my brother, Caleb?" she asks softly.
"Just hear him out, mother." Norman says. She glances at him, trying to keep her tears at bay.
"Okay." she says again, softly.
"He... he showed up just after your mother died, and he tried to offer me a bunch of cash from the sale of the house, and I wouldn't take it... I didn't want anything to do with him, right? And... well, then his car broke down and... I needed some help building the barn. He seemed like he had nowhere to go and I didn't know what to do... So I let him stay. He feels horrible about everything that happened, about what he did. I know... I know that this is... It's a lot to ask you, I mean, too much, but I... I just feel like I have to ask, because he's... He's tormented over this. He just wants to talk to you. To tell you that he's sorry. He... to tell you he's so sorry that it ever happened." Dylan says, all the while looking like a little boy who had just crashed a car.
"You have to try and understand, it's his father." Norman says in Dylan's defense. Norma looks at Norman, her facial expression still blank. She felt betrayed. By both of her sons. Caleb had somehow found his way back into her life and deceived her own kids into thinking what he did was forgivable. She couldn't bear it any longer. She slowly stood up from the table and walked out of the kitchen. Once she hit the steps, she took off up to her room. She retrieved her suitcase from under her bed and began packing her entire closet into the small case.
She moved with such aggravation that she accidentally knocked a vase off of her dresser. She didn't care. She wouldn't be needing it anymore. She stormed out into the hallway, almost taking out her two boys that were walking to her room.
"Mother? What are you doing?" Norman asks as she walks past him and into the bathroom. She collects all of her skincare products and medication into a basket and storms back into her room. She dumps the basket into her luggage and tosses the basket behind her.
"Mother. Mother, stop it. You're scaring me!" Norman shouts.
That statement set her off. Something inside of her clicked. She grabbed the nearest object which happened to be a glass cup and chucked it at her mirror, shattering both objects.
She walks around her bed and lifts her mattress to grab her gun that Dylan gave to her for protection.
"Norma, stop it! Look, I'll leave. You don't have to." Dylan shouts.
"Leave me the hell alone!" she shouts back, walking past them and out of the room.
"Mother. Mother! Mother!"
She ignored the shouts of her boys and ran down the steps, grabbing her car keys.
"Dylan, let me go! Mother! Dylan, get off me! Mother! No! Mother!"
She ran out of the door and down the many steps in front of her house to her car.
"Norman, stop! Norman, let her go!" Dylan says as Norman runs after her.
"Mother, you can't do this!"
"Stop! Norman!" Dylan shouts.
"Mother!"
Norma opens the car door and tosses her suitcase in before turning to her boys who are running down the steps.
"Your brother will look after you!" she shouts before getting into the car. She slams it in reverse and peels out of the gravel driveway before zooming down the street, away from them.
She didn't know where she wanted to go. Her mind was racing with so many different thoughts, and she was feeling so many different emotions. She needed to get away. That's what she would do. Drive somewhere and stay there.
Her stomach growled, reminding her that she hadn't eaten since 10 o'clock that morning. If she was going to drive far away, she would need some food first. So she pulled into the nearest market and got out, storming into the store. She was walking up and down the aisles, her rage still seeping from her. She became even more enraged when she turned a corner and ran right into someone.
"Watch it-" she says angrily as she looks up into dark eyes. Her anger seems to disappear as she realizes she ran right into Alex Romero.
"Oh. You." she says, looking around.
"Yeah. You might want to lose the whole angry thing. It doesn't sit well with people in this town." he says. She glares at him, moving past him.
"Good thing I am leaving this shit town then." she mumbles, looking for something to eat.
"You're leaving?" he asks with surprise as he follows her. She ignores him, trying to walk quicker.
"Norma." he says, grabbing her arm. His gaze softens when he sees the hurt on her face.
"What happened?" he asks.
"What do you care?" she asks, staring at the items in his basket.
"I do." he says softly. She yanks her arm out of his grip and walks around him. He drops his basket and follows her out of the store and into the parking lot.
"I'm not letting you leave. Where are your boys? Do they know you're leaving?" Alex asks.
She turns around quickly, making Alex almost run into her.
"What I do is none of your damn business." she hisses.
"It is my business. This is my town. And you're..."
"I'm what?" she asks.
"Well aren't we friends?" he asks. She laughs, turning and walking away from him. He follows her without hesitation.
"You and I...we aren't friends. That's what you said. Those were your words-" she shouts back to him.
"Were. They were my words. Things have changed-"
"Nothin has changed." she says bitterly.
"Norma please. Don't push me away. You're hurting. I can tell. I want to help." he says, jogging to catch up with her.
"You want to help? Leave me alone." she shouts. He grabs her arm again, pulling her to his car.
"Let go of me!" she shouts, pulling away from him. He pushes her against the side of his car, making her stop moving.
"Stop being so damn difficult. You don't have to tell me what happened. But you don't get to be mad at me. Okay?" he asks. She nods, not trusting her voice. He releases her arms and she steps away from the car.
Alex opens his mouth to say more, wanting to take advantage of a silent Norma, but the sound of tires screeching catches his attention. He looks around Norma to see a black car speeding down the parking lot toward them.
The car slows down in front of his car and he quickly pushes Norma behind him, making her fall to the ground with a cry of surprise.
A loud bang fills the air and a sharp pain enters Alex's chest. He winces through the pain as he grabs his gun and aims it at the car that is now driving away.
He looks down at Norma to make sure she is alright. The pain in his chest comes back in a stronger wave than before. Norma stands up and moves his jacket out of the way to reveal a large blood stain on his uniform. She gasps while Alex falls against his car for support and slides down to the ground.
"Oh god! Oh my god, Alex." she says shakily as she bends down next to him. She pulls her phone out and calls for an ambulance while Alex breathes through the pain. He had never been shot before and he never could have imagined how much it hurts.
"Alex, hold on. Okay? The ambulance is on its way." Norma says, rubbing his shoulders.
"It-s cold." he whispers, shaking. She removes her jacket and lays it over him. She reaches up and places her hand on his face, trying to keep him awake while her other hand tries to stop the bleeding.
"Keep your eyes open, alright? Can you do that for me, hon?" she asks, using the same loving tone that she would use on Norman and occasionally Dylan.
"I-I....f...I-" Alex stammers. He could feel himself slipping and he wanted to tell her how he felt about her. He couldn't die without telling her.
"Don't try to talk, alright? Just focus on breathing." she tells him, one hand pressed against his wound while the other hand still cradles his face. Her eyes were wet with tears and the color of them seemed brighter. He could feel his lips turn up into a weak smile as he realizes he could die and the last thing he would see are her eyes. And that's just how he wanted to die. Staring at her.
"Alex? Alex, don't close your eyes." Norma pleads, watching the brown of his eyes disappear under his eyelids. She shakes his face, making him slowly open his eyes.
"Keep them open, Alex. I know you're a stubborn man but you need to do this. For me." she tells him. He smiles again, before closing his eyes once again. Thankfully, Norma can hear the sirens in the distance.
"It's going to be okay, Alex." she whispers, watching as the lights come into view. She smiles and lets out a sigh of relief.
"It's okay. You're going to be okay."