Here's chapter 10. I wrote it a while ago and could only post it now because I finished writing chapter 9. Hope you like it and please review.

5.) Battle of Wills

Throughout the week after Arnold and Phoebe confronted Helga about the abuse of her father, she came to school with injuries less frequently, but it was clear that the beatings hadn't stopped. On Saturday, Arnold was on his way to pick up an order from the meat market for his grandfather. He had an umbrella over his head and a coat on since it was raining fairly hard. He was just coming up on the Pataki residence when the door flew open and a figure ran out of the house and down the street as fast as it could go. The scene startled Arnold and it took him a few seconds to process what had happened. Once his brain caught up with his eyes, Arnold immediately dropped his umbrella and ran after the figure, knowing it could only be one person.

He had to push himself to catch up enough to see her. She ran in the direction of the park and eventually stopped under the cover of a large tree and leaned against the bark. Arnold stopped a few feet away to catch his breath. Once his body had recovered from the run, he started to approach her, but a sound stopped him in his tracks. She was crying, sobbing in fact and hugging herself. Something was very wrong and Arnold had a sneaking suspicion that he knew what it was.

He walked over to her slowly and as quietly as he could so as not to startle her. He stopped when he was barely under the cover of the tree branches. The rain had pelted him and he was soaked but he didn't care. Hesitantly, Arnold called her name.

"Helga?"

She gasped and turned to him, her eyes wide and filled with fear. Arnold nearly gasped when he saw her face. Her right cheek was bruised and her right eye was black and swollen. His fears had been confirmed in that moment. Helga, seeing his startled expression, covered up her eye in a futile attempt to hide the injury. Arnold walked up to her and gently removed her hand from her eye.

"Helga…did your dad do this to you?" he asked.

Helga's fear-stricken expression returned and that was all the confirmation Arnold needed.

"Why are you letting him treat you this way? You know it's not right."

Helga scowled at Arnold. "Right or wrong, it's none of your business, football head."

"The second Bob put his hands on you, it became my business," Arnold said.

"Well, I never asked for your intervention. Besides, what do you care?" Helga asked bitterly.

"I care because you're my friend! I thought you knew that."

"Like I told you before, there's nothing you can do so you might as well just go home."

"Not a chance. What's happened to you? The Helga I know would never let anyone, not even her own father, push her around."

"I guess you don't know me as well as you think you do." The bitterness had returned in her voice.

Arnold was silent for a moment before answering. "You know what? You're right. I was wrong about you. That tough girl act you put on for all these years was just a charade. You're nothing but a weak, spineless, pathetic, scared little girl."

Helga's eyes narrowed and she grabbed Arnold's shirt, pulling him nose to nose with her. "I could beat you to a bloody pulp right now!"

"I know you could. So why are you letting your dad do the same to you?"

Helga let go of him and looked down at the ground.

"Because I don't have any other choice," she said softly, her tone defeated.

"What are you talking about? Call the police or CPS and they'll stop it."

"You don't get it Arnoldo! If I call the police, Big Bob will be arrested and thrown in jail and Mariam is so chronically drunk so she can deal with Bob's abuse that she can't even take care of herself now, let alone me. I'd be placed in foster care in some strange town and probably never have any kind of normal life again!"

"Why don't you ask Phoebe if you can move in with her until your parents work out their issues? I'm sure she'd let you."

"I can't ask her parents to take on the burden of supporting me," Helga said.

"They wouldn't consider it a burden if they knew your situation," Arnold said.

"Yeah, but they'd still have to pay extra expenses because I'm there and besides, the family has different customs, and I wouldn't want to have to adapt to a new style of living."

"Well…what if you came to live with me in the boarding house?" Arnold asked. Before she could answer, he kept going. "You wouldn't be a hardship on us because everyone pays their own rent and I know Grandma and Grandpa would be okay with it after I explained your circumstances. You could stay in my room."

Helga shook her head immediately. "I can't."

"Why not?" Arnold asked.

"I just can't."

"Helga, you can't keep living like this! The violence is only going to get worse if you don't do something."

"I can handle it," she said, though there was no confidence in her voice.

Arnold glared at her. "Don't be stupid! I saw you run out of your house, probably crying. You try to handle this yourself and you'll end up in the hospital or worse, in the morgue! I don't want that to happen, especially when I can do something to prevent it."

Helga glared right back at him. "I told you to butt out of my family problems! It's my crisis, I'll deal with it!"

Arnold's frustration had nearly reached its peak and he had to use all his self-control to keep from literally slapping some sense into her. Instead, he grabbed her shoulders forcefully, but not enough to cause her pain.

"Damn it Helga, don't you get it? I care about you and I wanna help you so why won't you let me?" He asked through gritted teeth.

His actions surprised Helga, but her anger quickly returned. "You wouldn't understand."

"Then help me understand," he said desperately.

"Just leave me alone!"

Helga pushed him in the chest as hard as she could. Arnold fell back on the ground with a thud. She took off running, not caring if he followed or not. She just wanted to get away; away from her house, away from her problems, away from any questions; away from him.

I'm sorry Arnold…

From that day forward until the end of the school year, Arnold and Helga didn't speak to each other. Helga didn't bully him anymore either. It wasn't until the first weekend of summer break that the two met up outside of school.

Arnold was just getting ready to leave the house to go play baseball with the guys when he heard someone knocking at the door. Assuming it was Gerald, he was shocked to find Helga standing there instead.

"Helga, what are you doing here?" he asked.

"…can we talk?" she asked softly, looking at him pleadingly.

Arnold stared at her in surprise, never having seen her so timid. "…Sure."

Arnold closed the door behind him and sat down with Helga on the porch, waiting for her to speak.

"I'm sorry…" she said suddenly, looking truly apologetic.

"About what?" he asked, taken aback.

"That day when you followed me to the park; pushing you down and screaming at you. I'm sorry."

"…Thanks, Helga. But I notice you didn't come to school with anymore bruises or black eyes since then. What happened?"

"I ran to Phoebe's house after I ditched you. She called Olga and Olga called the police. Dad was arrested and he's in jail now for child abuse charges and Mariam checked herself into rehab. She'll be there for the next four months."

"Who have you been staying with?"

"Phoebe through the rest of April, and Olga since just last week. She's taken a leave of absence from teaching but she has to go back to Alaska in a week to keep her job. School doesn't let out there until June."

"Then what will you do?"

"I don't know. Staying with Phoebe for the whole summer wouldn't be fair and I can't just stay in an empty house. I'm effectively homeless until the state decides to place me in the foster system."

Arnold looked at her sadly. This shouldn't have been happening to her.

"What about you Arnold? I heard you're taking a plane to San Lorenzo on Monday."

"Yeah. I found a map of the last path my parents took before they disappeared, so I'm going to look for them."

"You're not thinking of taking on that big a task alone are you?"

"Of course not. Gerald, my grandparents and the other kids are going with me."

Helga looked at Arnold in surprise. "How'd you manage to sucker all the other kids in the class into following you on this expedition?"

"Well, not all of them. Nadine, Rhonda, Harold, Sid and Stinky are going. And I didn't sucker them into it. To be honest, I didn't really plan on any of them going. Nadine wanted to go because of the chance to study all the bugs in the jungles and she got Rhonda to agree to come. Harold said he wanted to go because there was nothing to do in Hillwood, and once Sid and Stinky found out Harold was going, they tagged along."

"You know Harold was lying, right?" Helga said.

"What do you mean?" Arnold asked.

"He wanted to go because Rhonda was going. It's obvious they like each other."

"I see…"

Helga hesitated before speaking again. "Hey Arnold, can I ask you something?"

"What is it?"

"Well, um…would it be okay if I joined the party?"

Arnold gave her a confused look. "Why?"

"It beats staying here and having no place to go. Besides, I think you're entitled to have your real parents in your life and I want to help you do that."

Arnold's eyes narrowed. "So let me get this straight. You wouldn't let me come to your aid when you needed it most, which you still haven't given a reason for by the way, and yet you're inexplicably willing to help me when I need it most and risk your life in the process? How does that work?"

"I'm your friend. Isn't this what friends do for each other?" Helga asked.

"Oh, you're my friend? That's funny, cause none of my friends ever gave me a month-long silent treatment. My friends aren't so stubborn as to not admit when they obviously need help. My friends trust me enough to know that I have their best interest at heart. If you're my friend, you have a weird way of showing it."

Helga looked down, ashamed of her foolish conduct. "So I guess that means you don't consider me a friend anymore, huh? Can't say I blame you."

Arnold sighed in exasperation. "Helga, why did you act that way?"

"Because I was scared," she answered not looking at him.

"Scared? Scared of what?"

"A lot of things…"

"Will you stop being so cryptic? What could you have to be scared of in the boarding house?"

"Myself, for one," she muttered.

"What? I don't understand."

"Look, I can't tell you everything, alright? I was scared, let's just leave it at that."

Arnold sighed again. "So, you wanna go to San Lorenzo with me?" he asked.

Helga finally looked up at him. "If it's okay with you."

"Alright, but if you go, there's one stipulation you have to meet."

"What's that?"

Arnold cupped her face with his hands and stared right into her eyes. "If your mom or sister isn't around to take care of you, the day we get back to Hillwood, you move in with me. I don't care what objections, misgivings or excuses you have. If there's no one to take care of you at your house, you move in with me. Understand?"

"But-"

"No buts. When we get back, you're going to live with me." He smiled at her. "After all, we're friends, aren't we? This is what friends do for each other. Please, let me help you…"

She smiled back. "Thanks, Arnold…"

"Don't mention it." He picked up his bat. "I'm going to play baseball with the guys. You want to come?"

"Alright, but don't expect me to go easy on you, football head!" She said, smirking at him.

Arnold's smile grew. "I wouldn't want it any other way."