Arnold and Phoebe sat in silence, waiting for them to bring Helga into the room. Arnold was nervous, very nervous, but not about talking to her. He was prepared for that. What he wasn't prepared for was to see her...like she looked in the photo. He wasn't sure his heart could take it. Hearing his phone go off made him jump. Looking at the screen, he saw it was his grandpa.
"Well Shortman, there you are! Your grandma and I have been looking for ya!" "Sorry grandpa," Arnold said. "Something...something came up. I should have called earlier." "Well, its alright, we were just wondering where you'd run off to is all. It's almost seven, and we got dinner waiting for you."
Arnold smiled. "Thanks grandpa, but I don't think I'll be home for awhile. One...one of my friends is... in the hospital." The smiled faded from his face at his own words. Phoebe reached out and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Ah, I see... you'll wanna make sure they'll alright." Was Phil's reply. Arnold was always glad about how understanding his grandpa was. Phil might be crazy at times, but he knew Arnold well. "It's your little lady friend, Helga isn't it? The girl you were with for a time?" Arnold gaped at the phone. "How-how did you know?" "I could hear it your voice Shortman! What, you think I don't know my own grandson? What exactly do you take me for?" He gave a wheezy laugh. Arnold couldn't help but smile again. Yeah, his grandpa could read him like book. "Well, I'll let you go, Arnold. You tell your friend to get better soon, and you get home safe too. Its dark out and the loonies are always about at this hour. Like your grandma, for instance." No sooner than he had finished speaking Arnold could hear a muffled crash. "Pookie, you get down from there!" His grandpa yelled. Arnold could briefly hear his grandmother's cackling laughter before the line went dead. Chuckling slightly, he put his phone back in his pocket.
"Everything ok?" Phoebe asked. "Yeah, it was just my grandpa," Arnold said, still smiling. "He was just wondering where I was."
"Phoebe nodded. "I told my parents about Helga a few hours ago. I texted Gerald too. He said he'd bring us food if we got hungry." At that, Arnold shook his head, despite the growl his stomach uttered. "I cant think of food right now." Phoebe nodded again. "Yeah, I understand what you mean..." She trailed off, unable to say anything else.
For a few minutes, the two sat in silence, each burdened with their own thoughts. Phoebe broke it first.. "So, any ideas on how to approach this?" Arnold gave a short, false laugh. "Nope, not a clue. You?" Phoebe laughed too. "No, I haven't. How are we going to do this?" Arnold let out a long, slow breath. "I guess... we can play this a couple of ways. Helga is going to know that we know something, so she can't talk her way out of this." "Maybe we can pay the sympathy card?" Phoebe said. Arnold gave her a look. "What? It could work." Arnold shrugged. "Maybe..." He crossed his arms, thinking hard.
At that moment, the doors opened. Both teens stood up. Two nurses were wheeling in a bed, while another nurse trailed behind with an array of machinery. They smiled at the two before setting Helga up beside them. Steeling himself, Arnold looked down at Helga.
She still looked bad, but not as bad as his imagination made it look. She still had bags under her eyes, but her color was better. Almost normal. At least she was sleeping peacefully. Arnold noticed that someone had brushed her hair. But he still didn't like the tubes coming out f her nose, hooked up to a machine. There was an IV in her arm, and a clamp on her finger for her pulse. At least hearing the steady beat of the machine told him that she was indeed alive, going strong.
"Sorry for the wait," One of the nurses said, finishing up with the machine. "We needed to make sure she could breathe on her own before we brought her in. The anesthesia should be wearing off an minute. Give us a shout when she wakes up, yeah?" Phoebe nodded to him, and he and the other nurses left.
"Arnold? You ok?" Phoebe asked softly. "Yeah," He replied, seating himself closest to Helga. He wanted so badly to take her hand, to caress her cheek, run his hand through her hair. "Its just...hard, you know? To see her like this..." Phoebe sighed in agreement, drawing her chair closer to where Arnold's was. "Yeah, it is. But she'll be ok. We just gotta be there for her, you know?" Arnold nodded, a thought suddenly occurring to him. "Phoebe, did... did you happen to call Helga's parents?" Phoebe looked somewhat shocked at the question.
"No...no, I didn't even think of that. I assume that the hospital called them." "Then why aren't they here?" Arnold said, looking at Phoebe who had a strange look on her face. "I-I'm sure they're on their way..." She said half-halfheartedly. "Phoebe, you and I both know that's a load of crap." Arnold retorted. "Helga's parents aren't here because they couldn't give a shit about her! I'm starting to see what Dr. Eve meant, something is wrong. Seriously wrong, Phoebe. And I bet its their fault." Phoebe was flabbergasted. She had never heard Arnold speak ill of anyone, ever before. "Arnold, you cant possibly think her parents are responsible-"
"Oh, wake up Phoebe!" Arnold said loudly, standing up and rounding on her. "You know what her folks are like! Her mom's a drunk, her dad barely knows she exists! You cant possibly think they're not involved!" Arnold stopped, breathing hard. Phoebe looked down at her feet, unable to meet his eyes. Arnold flopped back down in his chair, his anger evaporating as quickly as it had risen.
"Your right Arnold," She said. Arnold looked at her, waiting to continue speaking. "Your right. There's no way they aren't involved. We both know that they're terrible people...but how in the world do we get her to admit it? She hates talking about her family."
Arnold shook his head. "I don't know... I really don't. Be we have to try, don't we?" Phoebe looked at him and smiled. There was a glimmer in her eyes. For the first time, she was close to tears.
Arnold cringed guiltily. He hated seeing girls cry. "Phoebe, about before...I'm really sorry I yelled. I don't know what came over me." His hand went to the back of his neck, and he looked at the ground. "No, its ok..." Phoebe said quietly. Arnold looked at her then. "Man, Gerald is going to kill me if he finds out about this..." He thought to himself. Phoebe sniffed and took her glasses off to wipe at her eyes. "I-I know this has been hard...on you, and-and its been a long day..." She said, hiccuping to catch her breath. "I-I don't blame you for being...angry, or...or-" Phoebe suddenly broke down in sobs, covering her face with her hands.
Appalled at his own behavior, Arnold quickly put his arms around Phoebe, rubbing her back. "In sorry," He said. "I wasn't thinking... I was only thinking of myself, I didn't stop to think how you felt through all this..." It was all he could do to comfort her as Phoebe let out all she had been feeling since this afternoon. Suddenly, a weak voice was heard over Phoebe's cries.
"Phoebe..." Both Arnold and Phoebe looked up. "Don't-Don't cry Phoebs. Seriously, its making my head hurt." "HELGA!" Both friends shouted at once, causing Helga to wince. "Criminy, are you trying to make my head split in two? What-"She stopped speaking, finally getting a good look at her surroundings. Phoebe got up to press the nurses call button. "Where-where am I?" Helga croaked.
"Your at the hospital Helga." Arnold said softly. Helga turned to look at him. For a moment, Helga looked confused. Then a look of fury crossed her face. "I'm at the freaking HOSPITAL?! Are you SERIOUS football head?!" She gasped as pain ripped through her chest. "Don't shout!" Arnold chastised her. "Do-do you remember what happened?" He asked quickly.
Helga thought for a moment. "I...remember being at the field at school... I remember tagging you out...then..."Helga's eyes widened as she realized what must have happened. "I...guess I passed out. You seriously brought me here because I fainted?"
"No, Helga. It was much more serious than that." Phoebe said, sitting back down next to Arnold. Helga glared suspiciously at her best friend. "Define serious." "You suffered a punctured lung, Helga." Phoebe said quietly. Helga gaped at her friend. "A punctured lung?" She thought. "Just from one lousy kick? Granted she fell down the stairs, but damn. She ought to give Miriam more credit. Woman could be a champion kick boxer."
At that moment, a doctor came in. It wasn't Dr. Eve. It was an older man, with graying hair and thick glasses. He smiled at the group. "Well, good evening. I am Dr. Crannel, I am the physician in charge of this ward. How are you feeling, Ms. Pataki?" His voice was formal, but kind. He also had a slight Scottish accent. He picked up a clipboard that hung on the edge of Helga's bed and peered at it. "Uh...still confused, I guess..." Helga rasped. "That's perfectly normal. You have been through quite the ordeal. How much do you remember?" The doctor walked over to the other side of Helga's bed. He pulled out a small flashlight and peered into Helga's eyes. He then proceeded to wrap a blood pressure cuff around Helga's arm.
"Well, Ms. Pataki?" He prompted when Helga didn't answer his question. "I-I was playing baseball...and I remember my chest hurting, and then I passed out. I don't remember anything else." The doctor nodded, still eyeing the pressure cuff. Once he took it off, he wrote something on the clipboard. "What about the accident itself? Do you remember what happened?" He took his stethoscope off his neck, and placed the cold sensor on Helga's chest.
"No...no, I don't remember." She said slowly, avoiding both Phoebe and Arnold's eyes. "The doctor nodded again, listening to Helga's heart. "Try to take a deep breath for me, as much as you can." Helga tried, but the air seemed to turn to fire in her lungs. "Once more." The doctor said, adjusting his stethoscope. Helga glared at him, but did as she was told.
Looking satisfied, the doctor wrote something else on the clipboard. "Well? What's the verdict? Can I go home?" Helga said. The doctor looked surprised. "Ms. Pataki, I'm afraid you'll be with us for a few more days. You need time to heal after your surgery. Furthermore, we need to make sure you wont develop an infection from your incision, as well as monitor your breathing. Also, as we have yet to get in contact with your parents, we cannot discharge you to them until they are notified. For now, your vitals are good, so I'd say that with continued improvement we can have you home in about four to five days."
Helga groaned. "Seriously? Four to five days? You've got to be kidding me!" She winced again. Dr. Crannel chuckled a bit at her reaction. "Once the anesthesia is out of your system completely, we can start you on antibiotics and a pain management regimen. You'll have to take it slow for the time being, nothing too strenuous. Ill be back in the morning to see how you are. In the meantime," He then looked at Arnold and Phoebe directly. "I'll leave her in your care. I am going to see about contacting her parents." With that, Dr. Crannel took his leave.
"Great. Just great. I have to be stuck here in this hell hole, all because Mir-" Helga stopped suddenly, remembering who was in the room. Arnold raised an eyebrow. He wasn't sure what Helga was going to say, but he was willing to bet any kind of money it was the cause of all this. With a look from Phoebe, it was now or never. "Helga, do you mind telling us just how you ended up injured?" He asked. Helga looked down at her hands.
"I don't know what your talking about." She said dismissively. "Helga, were not nine anymore. You cant just worm your way out of this." Arnold said, a bit of an edge to his voice. Helga shrugged. "I-I just...fell down the stairs is all." She finally said. She still wouldn't meet their eyes. It was Phoebe's turn to raise an eyebrow. "You...fell. Down the stairs?" She repeated.
"Y-yeah. You know how I am. I wasn't watching where I was going, and bam! Down I went..." She chuckled weakly. "Clumsy me..." Arnold narrowed his eyes. "How dumb do you think we are?" He demanded. Helga flinched at his harsher tone. "You think either of us believe that?" He continued. He knew Helga would come up with some lame excuse, but this time... Arnold wasn't having any of it.
"You calling me a liar?" Helga snapped, raising her head at last and locking eyes with Arnold. "Damn straight I am." He snapped back. "Do you know how worried Phoebe has been about you? How worried I've been? You could have died, all because your too stubborn to ask for anyone's help!"
"I don't need your help!" Helga retorted. Her chest stung, but she didn't care. "And so what if I had died? Its not like it would have been a great loss! Its not like time would have stopped or anything! You, Phoebe, the gang. All of you would have continued your lives. What the hell is my life worth anyway!?" Helga was crying by now, the hot tears streaming down her face. Phoebe had her hands over her mouth, too stunned to speak. Arnold had his mouth open, unable to believe what he was hearing. "She thought her life didn't matter? He wondered. Was that truly how she felt? How could she think that, and how could she think that we felt that way about her?"
"Helga..." Phoebe said through trembling fingers. "You...you have always been my...best friend. How-how could you think...how could you ever think..." She couldn't finish her thought. She just looked Helga with wide eyes. Arnold shook his head. "Helga, like it or not... we are here for you. We both care what happens to you. We..." He hesitated, wondering if he should even bring this up. "We might not be together anymore... but that doesn't mean I wouldn't be...devastated if you died. I still want you around. I need you around. We both do. So, please...if your thinking with our best interests...then let us help you. Please."
Helga looked at him. Looked at Phoebe. The three stared at each other for a long moment. Then, Phoebe's cell phone rang, causing all three of them to jump. Phoebe scrambled to unlock her phone.
"Hello? Hi Gerald." Phoebe said, getting up and walking to the other side of Helga's bed. "No, no I'm fine...yes, she's awake...no, we haven't yet..." Phoebe glanced at Arnold quickly. "Yes, we've been here all afternoon... I know that, but...yes, yes your right." Phoebe sighed and smiled. "Ok, Ill meet you outside. I love you too. Bye." She hung up the phone, still smiling. "Gerald is picking me up to go get some food. Do you want us to bring you anything Arnold?"
Arnold shook his head. "No, I'm fine." "Arnold, go with Phoebe. I'm not going anywhere..." Helga said grumpily. She was wiping her eyes, clearly embarrassed about her little episode. Arnold looked at her and frowned. His mind made up, he adjusted himself on his chair and folded his arms. "Nope. I'm going to stay right here. Phoebe, you go wait for Gerald. I'll be alright."
Helga sighed, and shook her head, defeated. Phoebe came closer to her and gently put her arms around her friend. Helga immediately stiffened, but didn't push her away. "I am so, so glad your ok Helga..." Phoebe whispered. "Yeah, yeah, I know." Helga said, awkwardly patting her on the back. "Now go and get yourself some grub." Phoebe laughed then, wiping a stray tear from her eye as she let go. She waved at them both before departing.
Once the door closed, Arnold sighed. "Phoebe really cares about you, you know." He said in a low voice. Helga was staring at the door Phoebe just went through. "I know." was all she said. Arnold took the moment to study her face. She looked tired, and it seemed like she was still in some pain. "At least she's looking a little better," He thought. It was then he noticed the dark bruise on her cheek. Striking while the iron was hot, he spoke again. "You feel like explaining that?"
Helga looked at him. "Explain what?" She said. Arnold raised his eyebrows and pointed at her face. Helga reached out and touched the bruise. "Oh, this..." She said quietly. "Yeah, that. Are you going to tell me the stairs did that too?" Arnold said angrily. "So what if I did? Its not like its your business." Helga muttered. Arnold took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. "Helga, I'm getting really tired of you dodging the subject." "So drop it." Helga retorted.
"We both know that's not going to happen. I'm staying here until I find out whats going on with you." "I think we both know that you have lost that privilege." She said, her voice full of bitterness. Arnold couldn't help but feel a little stunned. "Don't turn this around-" He started to say, but it was then the door opened. A slightly harried nurse came in, followed by none other than Helga's parents.
"About time you took us to the right room!" Bob barked. The nurse hastily apologized and scurried off at his words. "Lousy nancy boy... took us to three different rooms before we finally got here. So? Whats the story girl? What did you do this time?" Bob crossed to Helga's bedside in three strides, arms crossed. Miriam had followed Bob inside as silently as a ghost. She stood beside her husband, swaying slightly.
"I got a business to run, and here I find out you went ahead and got yourself stuck in here!" Bob continued, sticking his large finger in Helga's face. This never, ever would have happened to Olga!" Miriam nodded, silently agreeing with Bob. During this exchange, Helga kept her head down, unable to say anything.
Arnold's face darkened. As much as he tried to see the good in people, he never could see it in Helga's parents. Truth be told, he didn't like them. At all. Despite his better judgment, he spoke.
"Helga just had surgery. I don't think that any of this is her fault." He said through gritted teeth. Bob turned to him, as though just noticing he was there. Miriam though, kept her eyes on Helga.
"Oh, its you...Alfred. What are you doing here?" "Arnold." The boy replied. "Eh?" Bob responded. "My name. Its Arnold. I think I've told you enough times. As for what I'm doing here, I'm here for Helga. You know, to support her. Something you don't know a damn thing about.." Arnold stood up, his hands curled into fists. For some reason, seeing them here, blaming Helga for what happened...it was bringing out the worst in him.
"Hey hey hey! What makes you think you can talk to me like that?" Bob said, his voice quickly rising. "Whats the matter, Big Bob? Worried you might have to act like a decent human being for once?" Arnold hissed through his teeth. "You know what? You make me sick. All her life you have berated her, filling her head with lies, telling her she isn't worth anything. But she is worth something to me! Helga is a wonderful, passionate, beautiful person. And I can/'t see for the life of me how she ended up with parents like you!"
Helga sat there, stunned. She couldn't believe that Arnold was standing there, defending her. Arnold hadn't exactly kept his disdain for her parents a secret, but he was always cordial with them. She didn't want to admit it, but seeing him tell Bob off... it caused her heart to swell. He had called her beautiful. Passionate. Wonderful. She hadn't hurt those words from him in so long...
"You always blame Helga for things she didn't do, or things she can't control. And now your going to try to lay blame on her again, now of all times? She needs to heal, she doesn't need to be bullied by you!" Arnold stop to breathe, chest heaving. The two stared daggers at each other, each waiting for the other to act first. Arnold braced himself for a fight. He knew he had provoked Bob, but he didn't care.
Bob looked like he very well wanted to hit Arnold, but after glancing at Helga, he instead turned around and left the room, slamming the door behind him. "Tell me when the orphan boy leaves!" He shouted through the door. Arnold flinched, but only a little bit.. He sighed, and turned to Helga, who hadn't said a word since her folks had come in.
"Sorry," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. He felt his face turn red. Helga opened her mouth to speak, but a hand reached down and clamped on her shoulder, hard. She flinched and looked up into the eyes of her mother. But she wasn't looking at her. She was focused on Arnold.
"I think you need to learn some manners, young man." She said, a little shakily. "I don't know what gives you the right to talk to an adult like that, but I suggest you go and take a walk. Come back here when you can behave yourself."
Arnold gaped at her. He was honestly surprised. He didn't think Miriam noticed anything. In truth, he had barely spoken to her, even when he and Helga had been together. She had always seemed meek and out fit to him. To now hear her talk to him in that tone... it unsettled him.
"I...I'm sorry, Mrs. Pataki. That was... rude of me. Please, forgive my behavior." Arnold said, still uncomfortable with the way she was looking at him. Helga looked like a deer caught in a trap. Her eyes shot back and forth between her mother and Arnold, unsure of what to do.
"Your apology is accepted, Arnold. But I still need you to leave. I need to have a private word with Helga." Miriam said coolly. Unbeknownst to Arnold, she slightly increased the pressure on Helga's shoulder, digging her nails into her flesh. Helga tried with all her might to resist wincing in pain. Her eyes locked on Arnold's face, silently begging him to not leave her alone. Arnold's green eyes strayed to hers for an instant. They widened slightly. Just as quickly, they darted back to her mother.
"I...I would rather stay here, if that's alright." He said slowly. "I can go to the other bed and wait behind the curtain so you could talk." He smiled nervously. "Why does she make me so uncomfortable? He thought. "Something is not right here...I have this terrible feeling in my gut."
"I asked you to leave. Now you can leave on your own, or I will have you thrown out." Miriam's voice seemed to radiate hostility. It was a tense moment. Arnold didn't want to leave Helga alone with her. His every instinct was screaming at him to just take Helga and run. But he also knew that as her parents, they could easily throw him out and forbid him from seeing her. He couldn't let that happen. He suddenly felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He took it out and glanced at it. It was Gerald. He sighed. Against his better judgment, he relented. He looked at Helga, trying to reassure her.
"Ill be right back." He said, and smiled at her. Helga started to say something, but a look from her mother silenced her. Arnold's smile disappeared. "I wont be far," He said, both to Helga and more importantly, her mother. Without another word, Arnold turned and walked from the room.
Arnold started walking slowly down the hallway. Pulling out his phone, he noticed that it was almost nine-thirty. The hallway was deserted. Stopping to lean against the empty nurse's station, Arnold looked more closely at the message from Gerald:
Gerald: Hey man. Phoebe got you a cheeseburger and a chocolate shake. Were on our way back now.
Me: Thanks Gerald. And thank Phoebe too.
Gerald: NP. Phoebe told me what happened to Helga. Man! Girl can't seem to catch a break. Phoebe thinks she's lying about how it happened. What do you think?
Me: I think so too. Even more so now. But we can't get anything out of her.
Gerald: That's Helga for you. So what are you gonna do now?
Me: I'm not sure. Helga's parents are here now too. I can't explain it, but something doesn't sit right with me...
He had just finished sending that last message when he heard a small crash from the room he just left. He turned, staring at the door that led to Helga's room. It was dead silent in the hallway. Arnold strained his ears, listening hard. A second later, he thought he heard a gasp of pain coming from the room. Without a second thought Arnold tore back to the door and flung it open.
"Helga! Are you-" He stopped short, a horrific sight meeting his eyes.
Miriam was hunched over the bed, one hand knotted in Helga's hair, forcing her head back. The other was pressed hard into her chest, preventing her from moving. Helga's eyes were swimming with tears, her face scrunched in pain. He could see a fresh red mark on the right side of her face. Miriam had knocked over the small stool that had resided near the bed, resulting in the crash Arnold had heard. At first, neither of them noticed Arnold had reentered the room. Then Arnold was at the bed in an instant, tearing Miriam off of Helga.
"The hell do you think your doing?!" He shouted. Miriam staggered back, but she hadn't fallen. She looked at Arnold like she wasn't quite sure what he was doing there. Arnold placed himself between them, shielding Helga with both his arms outstretched, glaring at Miriam with absolute hatred in his eyes.
"How dare you," He spat, looking at the haggard woman in front of him. Miriam shook her head from side to side, like a serpent before its charmer. "You misunderstand... Helga was being hysterical...I was only trying to-"
"BULLSHIT!" Arnold roared, taking a single step toward her. He was breathing heavy, and he was starting to see red. "You listen to me," He growled, his eyes narrowed to slits. He pointed at Miriam with a shaking hand. "You fucking touch her again, and I swear...I will end your miserable existence! Now get the fuck out of here!"
Miriam stopped shaking her head. Her own eyes narrowed as she advanced on Arnold. "You cant talk to me like-"
"NOW!" He bellowed, taking another step towards Miriam. The older woman blinked, opened her mouth to say something, but seemed to think better of it. Without another word she turned and walked briskly out of the room.
Arnold closed his eyes and took several long, deep breathes. He had never, ever lost control like that. But to see her do that to Helga...
"Helga!" Arnold cried, his eyes snapping open. He turned around to face her. Helga was wheezing a little, her hand pressed to her chest. He eyes were closed, but they opened as Arnold had called her name.
"Are you ok?" He asked, his tone becoming much softer. Helga nodded, her breathing slowly returning to normal. "I am so sorry," Arnold said. Helga shook her head at his apology. She looked like she was struggling not to cry. "Here, let me see." Arnold said gently, reaching out to touch her face. At first, Helga flinched, but she relaxed into his hand as he examined her. His fingers lightly grazed the red mark on her face. It would probably bruise, matching the one on her other cheek Arnold tried to swallow the lump that was forming in his own throat. His thumb caught a stray tear on her cheek and he wiped it away gently. Helga looked at him then, and their eyes met. In his eyes, she could see shock, anger, and sadness. Exactly what she didn't want to see. And in her eyes, he saw pain...so much pain. He also saw fear...and shame. His felt his heart break all over again as he saw her beautiful eyes well up with fresh tears. Her lip quivered.
"Well...now you know." Was all she said before she broke down in Arnold's arms.
Well well well... who here is proud of our boy Arnold? I sure am! And so he finally knows. Once he and Helga have had time to process all this, where will this go? Stay tuned to find out! I hope you enjoyed!