Hey Football Head,
Sorry I haven't been in contact. Olga caught me using the phone, completely lost her rag and actually smashed it. Then she locked me in my room. I tried to make a break for it but fell from the roof. Fractured my skull - not life threatening - and broke my wrist, so I've been at home doped up on pain medication and a cast.
Anyway, since I can't contact you that way I'm going to write this letter, take it with me when I go to get my cast off and leave it behind at the hospital. Hopefully someone will put it in the post for me!
In any case, if you get this, on the photo is a picture of a tree on the property and I've drawn a map. It's on my side. Don't touch the fence. When I go for a walk around the property I'll stop by there. Put something there, anything, so I know that you got my letter. Maybe it could be our secret spot or something.
Love, Helga

. . .

Three weeks later Helga finally got herself out of bed and snuck out of the house and decided to go to the tree anyway. So maybe Arnold had moved on. But she couldn't help that little part of her that hoped that he would answer her letter. Some way. Looking behind her, she made her way towards where the tree was. Looking around when she got the to be sure she wasn't being followed, she casually looked around. At first she didn't see anything. She was about to turn around and go back but saw a flash of pink in the undergrowth. Walking over to pick it up she saw it was an envelope in a plastic zip lock bag, addressed to her. Fingers trembling she took it out and opened it.

Hey Helga,
What you saw that day wasn't what you would have thought. Yes, I know what you would have thought. That she was my girlfriend and we were in love blah blah blah, but that's not the truth. I'm still determined to get a scholarship. She is Gerald's new girlfriends friend. I thought we were just friends, but it turns out she thought we would become more. It was an awkward conversation that has ended out friendship and made things strained between Gerald and I.
I can't believe you had to resort to smuggling a letter out of the house and leaving it somewhere public in the hope that someone would post it to me. Your lucky they did and didn't just throw it out!
Anyway, I hope your recovering well and didn't break your wrist again. I'm getting driving lessons now. Maybe we can arrange a date and time and I can come by and we can sneak off? I can't believe I just suggested that. But it would be really nice to see you and catch up properly. When your better. I will be back in a weeks time (Sunday). Hopefully you've found this and will leave a response on this side of the fence. Use the rock.
Arnold.

Excitement bubbled up inside her. She'd gotten the wrong end of the stick! She looked back at the house, and seeing no one took a pen from her pocket, and ripped a page from her diary.

I'll be here!

She then tied it to the rock and threw it over the fence, listening to it land with a thud. Then she did a little dance a squeal. Finally! She'd see Arnold!

. . .

"Where you off to Shortman?" Phil asked his grandson.

"To the beach," Arnold lied. "Just want to get one more trip in before it starts getting cold. Can I use the car?"

"No way!" his grandfather yelled. "Do you know how much trouble you would get into? I'm driving you there."

"No, it's fine-"

"Look, I know your lying," Phil said. "So just get in the car, grab your bike, I'll grab my fishing gear and I won't ask anymore questions."

Arnold grabbed his bike and put it on the rack on the back of the car. Then got in.

"When you have your license you can use the car," Phil said. "But don't dent it."

They were both quiet the whole drive to the beach. Once they were there they agreed on a time to meet back at the car.

"If your an hour late I'm calling the police," Phil told him.

"Okay Grandpa," Arnold said, smiling. Then he turned back toward the road and started the hike back to where Helga's directions told him to go.

. . .

"You look nice today, Helga," Steven said smiling. Helga tried to ignore the butterflies that fluttered around inside her. She needed to spend time away from this man.

"I'm in a good mood," she told him. "So I'm taking some food, I'm going to find a nice shady spot and I'm going to write and draw."

She lifted her canvas and bag which held her art supplies. "Find some inspiration."

"Sorry I can't join you," he said. "But I had to go to the office today. Maybe we'll have dinner together if I'm home on time."

Helga tried her best to smile and not smirk. "That will be nice."

She took off outside before he could ask anymore questions and paused to put on a show as if deciding what way to go. She deliberately chose to go in the opposite direction that she knew she would go in. She hid and watched as he got into his car and drove away. Looking around and seeing no one she headed off in the direction she needed to go in. When she got there she saw he wasn't there yet. She looked at her watch. She was ten minutes early, to be fair, but she still couldn't help but worry that maybe, just maybe, he'd gotten lost. Or worse, something bad had happened to him. She was so busy fretting that she didn't notice him come up to the fence.

"Helga," Arnold said. Helga turned and saw him there, his jellybean green eyes smiling and his blonde hair all over the place. His face was slightly flushed and she saw he had his bike with him. Had he ridden all the way from Hillwood!? Without askin questions she threw her bag over the fence, then the canvas, and climbed the tree. "Don't fall!"

"Shhhh!" she said. "The trees have eyes!"

"What do you mean, the trees have eyes?" Arnold asked, looking around him.

"Call me paranoid," she said, jumping down and landing with a thud. "But I'm pretty sure there's cameras in some of the trees."

"Are you serious?" Arnold asked, again looking around. "Cameras in trees and electric fences. What the hell?"

"Hell's right," Helga muttered. They stood there awkward for a moment, not quite sure how to greet one another.

"So, do you want to go to the beach, or stay close?" he asked.

"Beach," she said, lifting her shirt to reveal her swimsuit. "Or we could both sneak back over and swim in the outdoor pool."

"I think we're better to risk the beach," Arnold told her, looking towards the house. "We'll walk back to the road, and you can sit on my handlebars."

Helga laughed, liking the idea, and walked off, leaving her gear on the ground where she had dropped it. Quietly they made their way to the road.

"Did you ride all the way from Hhillwood?" Helga asked. Arnold shook his head.

"From the beach," he told her. "Grandpa dropped me off. He's doing some fishing."

Helga didn't ask anymore questions. She was just happy to be in his presence. When they got to the road, she did climb on the handlebars, and they made the ride to the beach.

. . .

They swam, caught up, laughed, ate corn dogs! Oh, they were so good! It had been so long since Helga had had any. They drank soda, again something Helga wasn't able to do since moving in with her sister and Steven. Helga could feel her skin burning, but didn't care. She was free, truely free, and she was with Arnold!

"Lila sat with us all one day and described the hosue you were living in," Arnold told her. "Rhonda was so jealous. Two pools, a spa, a maze! She told us everything."

"I haven't seen her since that weekend," Helga informed him. "Is she okay?"

"I haven't actually spoken to her in a while," he admitted. "I lost my cool with her one day and yelled at her. We haven't spoken since."

They moved onto talking about other things. Arnold's watch beeping alerted them to the time.

"We better get going," he said with obvious disappointment. "I can't believe we've already been gone this long."

Helga was sad to be leaving as well. She could only think that it was worse because she felt like she was returning to a cage. On their way back she saw a familliar car coming towards them and her heart stopped. When it pulled over and slowed to a stop, she told Arnold to stop, too.

Yep. It was Steven. And Olga.

"Helga, what are you doing out here!" he demanded, getting out of his car. "We've been worried sick about you! And why are you riding on his handlebars? What if you fell and broke your wrist again? Or worse!"

"Get off at once!" her sister yelled at her, striding over to her and pulling her off the bike. "Get in the car! How dare you leave and not tell anyone where you are going?"

"You can't keep her a prisoner forever!" Arnold yelled. Helga, Olga and Steven looked at him.

"Until she's eighteen, and while she lives under our roof, I damn well can," Olga hissed at him, standing over him in a threatening way. "Stay. Away. From my sister."

"You won't get away with this!" he yelled, as Olga pushed her sister into the car. Olga spun on him.

"With what?" Olga asked, suddenly smiling and innocent. "Taking care of my sister and looking out for her welfare?"

Arnold dropped his bike and went to start towards the car when he heard a horn honk. Looking he saw it was his grandpa, who pulled over as well.

"What's going on here, Shortman?" he asked out the window.

"They're kidnapping her!" he shouted.

"I don't have time for this rubbish!" Olga snapped, getting into the car. They pulled away. Steven was sitting in the back with Helga and talking to her sternly. Helga was looking down first, but then looked at him sadly.

How had such a wonderful day, ended so badly?

. . .

"So what do the police say, Shortman?" Phil asked his grandson. He hated seeing his grandson so down.

"There's nothing they can do, because Olga is her legal guardian, but they will send a couple of police over to check on things," he told them, kicking the wall. "I don't get how all these authorities are so . . . so . . . they just don't seem to be taking this seriously!"

"I know, Arnold," he said, hugging him one armed around the shoulder. "But it's only, what? One more year? Then she'll be free. And they're going to pay a visit. If anything is amiss, they'll pick up on it."

Phil didn't want to admit his doubts about that to Arnold though. Last thing the poor kid needed right now.

. . .

"How long have you been doing this, Helga?" Olga demanded, getting right into her face.

"What are you talking about?"

"Sneaking around with that boy!" she screamed.

"Olga-"

"No!" she shouted at Seven, turning on him. "No, Don't interfeer! Stop making excuses for her and defending her behaivour!"

"Hers? What about yours!" he yelled back at her. But Olga ignored him, turning on Helga again.

"Did you have sex with him, huh?" she demanded.

"Olga-"

"Shut up, Steven. Well? Is that why you snuck out? So you could slut around with him? Well?"

Helga sunk down in her chair and looked at Steven, pleading silently for help.

"Oh, don't look to him for help," Olga warned her. "Don't you dare."

"So what if I did?" Helga asked, throwing her head up high in false bravado. Her sisters face . . . she had never seen such a scary look, not even on her father.

"Stay in your room," she said quietly and calmly. "And don't think of trying to escape, either."

Olga glared at Steven and left the room, slamming the door behind her, leaving Helga and Steven behind.

"You should have told me, Helga," Steven said. "I could have covered for you had I just known."

Helga looked down at the floor before going into her room and throwing herself on her bed and crying. She heard Steven leave, closing the door behind him softly. When she looked up at her window, she saw something strange. Bars. They had put bars on her windows.

No she truly was in a cage.