Chapter 12

There was so much to do when I got home. I was introducing my parents to everyone and their mother. The phone was ringing off the hook. Every single person I went to high school with called as soon as they heard. I must have told the story a million times.

We learned that my parents had a savings account at the local bank with a lot of money in it. We figured they must have been saving up for a down payment on a house. They started house hunting immediately. My mother also applied to every hospital and clinic in the area.

There was a lot to do. Not to mention taking care of Helga. She checked into a little rehab center just outside Hillwood. I was so proud. She was starting to get her life back too. Slowly but surely, things were falling back into place. I guess in order to have everything I want, I needed to lose everything. It was hard and scary but totally worth it.

Helga started gaining weight and was starting to look like her old self again. At times she'd have pretty bad withdrawals, but I was there for her every step of the way.

Sometimes she'd call me when it got really bad and she didn't want to see a doctor. I'd come to her room and just hold her as she cried and shook. I'd usually call a doctor in afterward because after all, there was only so much I could do. I was just happy to be there for her in any way I could. I just wished I could take the pain away. I hated seeing her like that.

With Gerald and Phoebe at school, Helga was my only friend. Well, I guess there were still some old people from high school kicking around here and there, but I wasn't nearly as close with them as I was with Helga.

It's weird. Even after all we went through, I still loved her. Starting around senior year, it was hard to keep my affection for her platonic. She just lost her boyfriend, she was going through a lot. It would probably be a while before she was ready to move on.

My parents eventually found a nice house in a suburb with an in-law.

"It's perfect! This way you can have your own little place to live if you decide do go to school near by." My mom beamed

"Yeah, and if not, we can always rent it out and get some extra money" My father winked

My parents were awesome. They struck a perfect balance of being there for me, and giving me space. After all, I was 19. I wasn't a little kid anymore. They totally supported me in whatever I wanted to do.

Every Sunday we visited Grandma and brought new flowers to Grandpa's grave. Being a doctor, my mother offered to bring grandma to live with us, but she seemed so happy at Hillwood manor. She had a lot of friends there. She didn't really know what was going on anyway. I don't think she really understood that her son was back. She kept calling him Arnold.

That spring she passed away. She went peacefully, so there really wasn't anything to be sad about. Her funeral was more of a celebration of her life. We shared memories about her over tea that night. It was so nice to hear about my grandparents when they were younger. They were pretty cool people.

Helga was coming home in July. It occurred to me that she didn't actually have a home. I did not want her going back to that nasty apartment building.

I called her that night "So do you know what you want to do when you get out?"

"Well I've been doing a lot of writing here. One of the girls here works for a publishing company and she's bringing one of my books to her boss"

"Wow that's awesome!" I was so excited for her

"Yeah, I'm applying to a few colleges and if I can make some money off my book I might not have to take out a loan. I might even get a special scholarship."

"I'm so happy for you Helga!" I really was. That was great news. "Well I might go to school near by too. We have plenty of room in our new house if you need somewhere to stay. I'm hoping to get into Brookstone. That way I can just commute back and forth."

Helga insisted in renting the in-law if she did want to commute. She was fiercely independent and wouldn't take any handouts. I would probably be the same.

It seemed like everything was starting to come together. As much as I wanted to continue pretending like it wasn't there, I knew I had some unfinished business.