Chapter 17: Daughter

"Get lost kid, Olga isn't here right now!"

"Umm, Mr. Pataki. I wasn't looking for your daughter Olga. I want to speak with your daughter Helga."

Bob rolled his eyes at Arnold and shot a glare at him." Listen kid, it's late at night and the girl went to bed already! Now scram!"

Bob went close the door, but Arnold suddenly stuck his left foot in, making it stop all of the sudden. Bob instantly shot a glare at the teen." Okay, listen kid, no offense but you're really starting to piss me off! Criminy, it's cold as all hell outside and the damn heater in this store doesn't work!"

Arnold just looked up at Bob with a concerned look on his face. "I really need to talk to Helga. It's pretty important. And she hasn't gone to bed yet. She texted me earlier and told me that she was staying up pretty late tonight. You know cause it's the weekend and all?"

A small grin now appeared on Arnold's lips. He really wanted Bob to just let him in to talk to Helga. Why was he making such a big deal about it?

Despite Arnold's nice and good willed behavior, Bob knew he still needed to hide the fact that Helga was sitting in their living room with Curly pointing a gun at her face.

"Look kid, the girl changed her mind and she went to bed. Now really, you need to leave. We're closed."

Arnold's small grin suddenly turned to a look of disappointment." But I-"

"No buts kid!" Bob said in an annoyed tone as he suddenly cut Arnold off." Just go home and talk to the girl when she's at school!" And with that Bob went to close the door.

…

Meanwhile

"Your dad's taking forever!" Curly whined as he continued to point the gun at Helga. He still had her pinned down against the wall beside the piano. Helga hadn't moved a single inch. She knew that Curly was crazy in his mind, so she really didn't wanna test how crazy his trigger finger was as well.

"Probably just Miriam." Helga said in a low voice as she stared off at the living room in front of her." He's probably just talking to her, so she won't come in here."

Curly just looked down at Helga as a large grin grew across his lips." You know, your dad really is a sharp man." Curly said with a sigh." Looks like you took after your dad a little bit."

It took Helga a moment to process what Curly had just said. When she did, she looked up at him with wide eyes." What are you talking about?"

Curly snickered a menacing laugh to himself." Oh, Helga dear, you sneaking around in the backroom like that. You figured out what was going on. And then you tried to play it off as if nothing had ever even happened."

His smile widened even more as he finished what he was saying." You are a very smart and witty girl Helga Pataki. Just like your father."

Helga just rolled her eyes at the statement and looked away from Curly with a small scowl on her lips now." I'm nothing like Bob. You don't even know me Curly. You're just a little creep! You have no idea who I am, and you never will!"

Curly winked at Helga as he continued to smile at her." Now that's the Helga Pataki I remember! Keep it up girl, you know I like it when you get feisty like that!"

Helga looked up at Curly now eyeing his gun. She had been trying to avoid how weird and creepy he had been acting around her. He hadn't changed one bit since he dropped out.

"You better shut your damn mouth before I shut it for you, bucko!" She now spat at him her eyes shot to the sinister look he had on his face. Helga could feel the fear in her body slowly being replaced with anger now.

"And just how are you going to do that Miss-"

"HEY WHAT THE HELL KID?!" Bob suddenly shouted from inside the store, cutting Curly off as he spoke.

"What the…" Curly said softly as he turned to look behind him. This resulted in him taking his eyes off of Helga and even pointing the barrel of his gun away from her for a few seconds.

Helga's blood was now boiling. She just wanted to sock Curly in his creepy little face. When she noticed that he had taken his attention off of her, she knew it was time to act.

Before Curly had time to react, Helga grabbed his gun with her right hand. However, as she stood up and tried to take it from him. Curly quickly overpowered her, pushing her away.

Helga felt her breath rush out of her as Curly pushed her away, but she didn't give up. She almost lost grip on the gun, but she quickly regained her strength as she took her free hand and used to push against Curly. This left the gun pointed away from the both of them and to the wall on their right.

"Let go!" Curly growled at Helga through his teeth as he glared at her.

Helga just gritted her teeth as she glared back at the boy." Not a chance, creep!" She yelled at him as Curly suddenly rushed at her with anger.

Helga felt herself falling backwards for a moment, causing Curly to trip on his own two feet. Helga quickly let go of Curly for a moment as he slipped and fell flat on his face right in front of the family T.V., causing his glasses to fall off onto the floor.

However, before he could get up and point his gun at Helga again, she quickly jumped out on his back and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck as he tried to stand up.

"Let… me… go…" Curly squeaked out through her tight embrace as he slowly started to stumble backwards. Helga just stayed quiet as she struggled to keep her grip on Curly as he stumbled backwards. She was trying everything in her power just to take him down.

Curly's left arm suddenly flailed around behind him as he grabbed at Helga, trying everything to make her quit fighting against him. He found a long lock of her golden blonde hair and gave it a strong pull, causing Helga to flinch in pain.

"Ow, you bitch!" She growled at him as he suddenly took her left hand and punched him square in his right eye as hard as she could.

"Shit!" Curly yelled out as he suddenly lost his balance, causing him to stumble backwards again. This time after a few steps Helga felt them hit something from behind. She felt gravity start to take over as she fell back herself, flailing her arms around.

Curly fell back with her as the world seemed to roll in slow motion. He had tripped over Bob's recliner that was placed smack in the middle of the living space.

Helga felt herself hit the hard ground in pain. She slowly opened her eyes to see Curly falling down with his arms flailing around behind him. Helga braced for impact as Curly suddenly fell flat on top of her.

Helga felt pain rush through her body as Curly fell on top of her when suddenly BANG! A shot rang through the store causing Helga to grab her ringing ears in pain.

She stayed like that for a moment. She suddenly felt Curly push off her and stand up. She instantly closed her eyes in fear, expecting to get shot as she clung to her ears in pain. However, nothing happened.

Helga looked to her right through all the ringing and blurriness to see someone rushing at her. Someone with a football shaped head.

…

A few moments earlier…

"HEY, WHAT THE HELL KID?!" Bob yelled as he looked angrily at Arnold. Just as Bob was about close the door, Arnold had slipped inside, taking Bob by surprise.

"I'm sorry Mr. Pataki." Arnold said in a low voice. He then cleared his voice and tried to make it sound firmer." But I need to talk to Helga, now."

Bob just slowly started to approach Arnold, which made him start backing up a few steps." What the hell's your deal anyway kid?!" Bob said in a low but yet angry voice." I told you the girl is asleep! Now get out of my store!"

However, Arnold just shook his head as he suddenly stopped in place right in front of the front counter. "No Mr. Pataki." Arnold said in a firm voice as a frown formed across his lips." I'm gonna talk to her!"

Bob approached the teen quietly for a moment. Arnold continued to glare at him as Bob slowly approached him and leaned down to come face to face with Arnold.

"I told you once, and I'm only gonna tell you one more time." Bob said quietly as he glared into Arnold's eyes. Arnold smelled the strong stench of beer coming from his hot breath as he glared into the man's eyes that were full of fire.

"Get out, now." Bob said as he clinched his fists at his sides.

Arnold was about to speak when he suddenly heard a commotion coming from behind a curtain. Both him and Bob looked as the commotion was followed by muffled yelling.

"Helga!" Arnold yelled out as he ran around Bob but was suddenly stopped when Bob grabbed his right shoulder. Arnold flew backwards for a minute but was stopped from hitting the ground by Bob's strong grip.

"You can't go in that room!" Bob yelled at him angrily." It's private!"

Arnold looked over his left shoulder and sent a glare at Bob." Mr. Pataki." He said in an angry voice." What are you hiding from me?!"

BANG

The shot from the gun instantly made Arnold and Bob jump. Bob released Arnold to rub his ear in pain. This gave Arnold the chance to get to Helga.

Without a second to spare, Arnold ran blindly to the sheet that covered the living space.

He quickly threw the sheet over his shoulder to see Helga lying on the ground, covering her ears in pain. However, he was so focused on Helga that he didn't notice Curly sneak out of the curtain to his right.

Arnold quickly ran to Helga and kneelt down on his right knee." Helga! Are you oka-"But he instantly quit talking when he she looked at him.

Her left eye was extremely swollen and there was blood leaking from and nose. She looked up at Arnold in almost a dreamy way for a second. Just when she was about to speak, a shocked and scared expression came across her face.

"Arnold behind you!" She yelled out in a very high pitched voice. However, before Arnold had time to look, someone grabbed him by the back collar of his blue sweater and threw him across the living space.

He hit the ground with a loud THUD and felt rays of pain flow course through his back. He looked up to see a very angry Big Bob Pataki stomping his way towards him.

"You just had to come in here didn't you kid?!" Bob yelled as he suddenly lunged at Arnold. However, before he had time to hit him, Arnold rolled to his right.

Quickly, Arnold pushed himself off the ground to see Bob slowly and angrily approaching him." I told you to leave kid! But you didn't listen!"

Arnold was still shuffling backwards until he felt his back the wall. Before he had time to react, Bob was in his face and the strong smell of beer filled his nostrils once more. Arnold looked into the mountain of a man's eyes with fear on his face now.

"Your gonna regret doing this kid." Bon said in a low voice as he suddenly grabbed Arnold by the front of his collar. The next thing Arnold knew, he was flying through the air again. However, before he hit the ground again, his head his something.

The pain was fast and sharp as Arnold felt his head fly into the family Piano. The piano shook and a few keys made sounds as he fell to the ground. Instantly, he grabbed the right side of his head in pain and felt blood seeping through his hair.

Suddenly, Bob grabbed Arnold by the front of his sweater once more and yelled in the boys face." YOU'VE MESSED WITH THE WRONG PATAKI!" Bob yelled as he suddenly leaned his right fist back.

He hit Arnold once, twice, three, four times with a mix of right and left hooks. With each punch, Arnold could feel himself getting weaker and weaker.

…

Meanwhile

Helga frantically flew through the door to the backroom. The bright light in the room almost blinded her as she wasn't used to it yet.

She rubbed her sore eyes and felt pain come across her face. She growled to herself as looked across the room. The room was empty. She had no idea where Curly had went. He had just disappeared after the gun shot had rang across the room.

However, she wasn't worried about Curly at the moment. She was worried about the task at hand.

Quickly, she rushed over to the table and grabbed the small snub nosed revolver that Bob had left on the table.

She quickly examined the gun, trying to figure out how to open the cylinder and see if it was loaded. She pushed a few buttons on the gun, however, nothing happened.

She growled to herself as her mind instantly went back to the thought of Arnold dealing with Bob alone. She sighed to herself and let her hands fall by her sides, the gun in her right hand.

"Criminy, I hope this thing is loaded!" She said to no one as she instantly rushed back towards the back room door.

…

Arnold's vision was extremely blurry. In between punches, the images of Bob were starting to get harder and harder for him to see. His face and head were in so much pain and agony, that it was starting to become unbearable for the boy.

About five punches ago, he had just given up fighting the man. Hoping that soon he would quit and show a little sympathy for the poor teen.

Just as Bob was reeling up to hit Arnold again, Helga ran into the living space. Her eyes instantly shot to the right side of the room to see Arnold lying on the ground with Bob on top of him.

"BOB!" She yelled in a very high pitch voice as she raised the heavy gun in both of her hands. Bob looked up from Arnold and to Helga. His eyes instantly widened.

"Olga." Bob said in a low voice as he stood up." You put that gun down this instant!"

From down on the ground, Arnold looked around in confusion. He was still in so much pain that he didn't even realize what was going on around him. Through a very blurry image, he could see Helga holding something shiny in her hands, pointing it at Bob.

Bob slowly took a step towards Helga, but she instantly flinched and kept the gun pointed right at Bob. Bob just grinned an evil grin as he took yet another step towards her.

"You're not gonna shoot me." Bob said in a very low voice." You don't have the gall to shoot me!"

"Go away Helga!" Arnold said as he attempted to sit up but failed. His body was in too much pain for him to sit up. His ears were still ringing, and he hadn't heard a single word they had been saying to each other.

There was now blood leaking from his nose and his mouth. This caused a good bit of it to fall down onto his blue sweater." Get somewhere safe!" He yelled still trying to get to Helga.

However, Helga ignored Arnold. She just looked up at Bob with a scared expression was painted on her face. However, she still spoke tried to sound firm." You don't know that!" She spat back at Bob.

Bob just laughed as he continued to inch closer towards her, making Helga start to move backwards herself. The two of them stayed quiet for a moment. All that could be heard was the small sound of footsteps coming across the room.

Helga then felt her back hit something. She flinched and looked behind her to see she had hit the wall.

A scared expression came across her face as she looked to see Bob just inches away from her now. She stuck the gun out as far as her arms would let her. The cold metal was now pressed against Bob's chest.

She looked up to see Bob just staring down at her with a large grin on his lips." Go ahead, do it. I know you won't!"

CLICK

Helga opened her eyes to look in shock at the gun in her hands. It wasn't even loaded!

Bob calmly took his right hand and placed it on the gun. Slowly taking it from Helga's hand. "Looks like I was wrong." He said in low voice as he dropped the gun to the ground at his side. The sound of metal hitting a hard tile filled the room." Looks like you do have a little bit of Pataki still left in you after all!"

Helga looked up at Bob with a mix of confusion and fear on her face. His voice almost sounded like he was proud of her…

Suddenly Helga felt a strong blow land across her right cheek. She instantly flew to her right, hitting the ground with a THUD! She instantly grabbed her face in pain.

"It's just too bad it wasn't loaded." Bob said as a menacing laugh cracked across the room now.

Helga looked up through the pain and blur to see Bob walking back to Arnold.

"So, where were we?" Bob said as he approached a bloody Arnold. He was still trying to stand up but was failing miserably as each time he would just fall back to the ground in pain. He was in way too much pain to move, plus his ears were ringing and he hadn't really heard a single word Bob and Helga were saying to each other.

Bob raised his right fist to hit Arnold once more. A crazy grin now spread across his lips. Helga jumped up in fear as she suddenly heard a siren outside. Several sirens to be exact.

Bob noticed the sound too and looked up to see blue and red lights blinking outside his store.

He shot a glare at Arnold and grabbed him by his collar once again. "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO KID?!" Bob angrily spat in his face.

Arnold coughed for a moment and looked at Bob as through his blurry vision." Your… going to… jail, Mr. Pataki. I saw… everything that… happened before I came… in the store!" He said in a firm voice between rough coughs.

And at that instant, Harvey, the ex-mailman and now cop, threw opened the sheet to the living space. He instantly pointed his gun at Bob, flashing him with the small light he had underneath it.

"Give it up Bob, your going to jail." Harvey said firmly to the man who now had a shocked expression on his face.

Arnold just sighed and laid his head back softly on the ground behind him. That's when everything went dark for Arnold.

…

Three hours later…

Helga Geraldine Pataki sat on the park bench by herself. Dried tears and blood were across her face as she stared out to the pond out in front of her. She had forced herself to stop crying about an hour ago. Still, she felt the urge to cry still coming to her.

She had no idea what time it was. Heck, she didn't care what time it was. She just knew that she needed to be alone. Away from everyone.

The night was cold and brisk. However, she didn't shiver. Not even once. She still had on her blue tank top and shorts, but she had a large pink rain jacket on now that came down to her knees.

She just sat there, not thinking about anything. She didn't care to think about anything. Anything except for Arnold.

Arnold.

Her muse.

Her childhood crush.

Her everything.

Helga just looked down at the ground as she felt tears rush to her eyes once more. "Oh, Arnold." She said in a whisper to herself as she let out a small sob." Where did this all go wrong?!"

Authors note: Hey guys! I hope your enjoying this and I just wanted to say I'm sorry about the dark tone this story has created throughout. BUT, I promise it won't be like this forever. We should get to some brighter moments soon. ANYWAYS, hope you all enjoyed. You guys really are the best audience!

Also, just wanted to do a quick shout out to an author that has stuck with me through this story. Call me Nettie! Nettie, you've been one of my greatest supporters through this story and I can't give you enough love. Keep being awesome dude! Also, she has some great stories herself. Check em out!

And to all you other loyal fans out there, I love each and every one of you! Thank you so much for all the support you have given me!

Authors note (updated) Oh my gosh! I just realized that when I posted this chapter my document crashed or something and it didn't save the edits I made on this chapter! I am so sorry guys I fixed all the ones I could find!