Monday, September 18th 9:45 PM

Helga opened the door to the house and entered. The smell of vomit was fresh in the air on this floor. She looked around for the cause. She entered the living room, seeing her mother face up with what looked like fresh vomit coming out of her mouth. She saw her mothers chest struggling to rise as she was coughing. Helga panicked seeing her mother aspirating on the couch. "Mom!" She ran over and rolled her mother over to her side. She saw the vomit leaving her mothers mouth, as her upper body began to rise and fall with normal breathing. "Jesus Christ, Miriam!" She made her way to the kitchen and poured some watter into a glass and stormed back into the living room. Looking down at her mother, she dumped the water on her face. "Ahhh ugh, what the?" Miriam woke flailing her arms, and quickly sitting up. She looked around and saw Helga standing above her. "Helga….?" Miriam said. Helga seeing her mother was still inebriated, sat next to her mother. "Mom, you fell asleep on your back and almost chocked to death on your own puke." Helga said to her mother. Miriam did not seem to absorb the information. "I did? Oh gosh, Helga. I said I'd stop doing this!" Miriam said. Miriam leaned forward putting her elbows on her knees making a groaning noise and holding her head. "Helga, what happened?" Her mother asked. She looked at Helga, almost like she didn't mean just tonight. "It's alright mom," Helga smiled a bit and put her hand on her Mom's shoulder. "Let's go get you cleaned up. Come on." Helga helped her mother stand up. Helga was about as tall as her mother, they shared the same straw colored blond hair. Helga helped her mother get into the downstairs shower since she feared dropping her on the stairs. Helga started the shower and the rising steam made her mother perk up.

Helga helped her mother get undressed. "Just get undressed Miriam and hand me your clothes. Last thing I need is a full frontal shot of my mother." Helga said as she accepted the clothes. "Wait mom." Helga grabbed the cup and filled it in the sink. "Drink this." She handed her mother the glass, Miriam drank every drop and handed her the glass. Miriam slipped a second and Helga caught her in time."Jesus Christ Miriam." Helga said turning her face to the ceiling trying not get a glimpse of her mother naked. "I knew that was coming." Helga thought "Here Mom, take a seat in the shower." Helga gestured towards the small seat that was built into the shower. Miriam, sat feeling the water and she looked up towards the water coming down. "Will you get the cow ones, I think I'd like the pretty cow ones tonight." Miriam smiled and drunkenly bobbed her head. "Sure Mom. Just stay under the water and try not to fall for a second." Helga said. Helga grabbed her phone and put on some Dino Spumoni hoping she'll stay awake between the water and the music. "Ah, I love this song." Her mother started to repeat.

Helga made her way up the stairs. This had become and all too familiar scene of late. "Usually, she can make it into a bed without dying on the couch." Helga thought to herself as she made her way up the stairs and towards her parents room. She opened the door seeing her dad dead asleep. "Fucking asshole." She said under her breath. Bob not even rolling over form the noise. "Maybe I should wake him up and ask him if he cared that his wife was downstairs dying." She thought to herself. She decided not to, knowing how it would turn out. She got to the dresser and grabbed her mother's cow printed pajamas. She stopped and grabbed her slippers as well.

Making her way downstairs, she peeked inside the bathroom and heard her mother humming the soundtrack she put on. She was moving around, washing her hair. Helga came back out relieved she didn't have to wash her this time. She went into the guest bedroom. She put down the slippers near the bed. She took a look around, while she got the bed ready for her mother. She noticed her mother's hair dryer on the shelf along with her makeup setup. She looked around and noticed the growing collection of her mother's clothes in the closet. "Do we ever actually have guests?" Helga thought to herself.

She walked towards the bathroom and knocked on the door. "Mom, are you alright in there?" She inquired. "Yeah, Helga, did you grab my pajamas?" She heard her mother say from the inside. "Yeah, I'll leave them on the sink." Helga stuck her hands into the closed door and set her mother's pajamas on the sink, she grabbed her phone from the sink. Helga, put her back to the wall and slide down, sitting on the floor next to the bathroom door. She looked at her home screen, 10:30PM it read. She kept staring at her home screen, adorned with her photo from the last Sheer Mag concert. She loved their music, she smiled slightly. She remembered that her and Arnold talked about how much they loved their debut album Need to Feel Your Love. She was surprised how well their musical tastes blended. She wanted to text him and tell him she had fun tonight. She smiled again at her phone again. She really wanted to text him.

Her mother emerged from the bathroom, "Helga are you still up?" Her mother asked. She seemed a little more sober now. "Yes Miriam I am. Now come on" Helga said raising to a standing position. "This way," she pointed towards the guest bedroom. "I can find it, I promise." Her mother said. Her mother tripped a bit coming out into the hall. Helga grabbing her under her arms to help guide her. She helped her mother to the guest bedroom and got her laid down into bed. She made sure that she was on her side. She stroked her mom's hair. Waiting for her to fall asleep. "Helga?" She heard her mother say. She looked down "I'm here mom." Helga said. Miriam slid one eye open. "I messed up again didn't I?" She asked Helga. "No mom, you just needed to blow off some steam. We all do sometimes." She answered her mom. "I said I would stop, but I didn't. I messed up again. I can't do anything right" Miriam said. Helga felt a strange Déjà vu . Odd, since the last time this conversation happened Helga walked back to her room without saying a word at this point. She looked down at her mother, and continued stroking her hair. "That's not true mom, sometimes we mess up and it sucks. When we mess up though, we just have to try again. You can't change what already happened." She saw tears running down her mom's face. She hated seeing her mother cry. "I don't know if I'm strong enough Helga. I don't think I can do this." Her mother sobbed. "I know you're strong Mom. You made me strong, and I never give up. So you can't either." She found herself parroting Arnold's pep talk back to her mother. "You think so, Helga?" Her mother asked. "Yeah I do." She answered. Her mother looked at her both eyes open. She smiled and closed them again. Falling asleep instantly.

Helga got up and tucked her mother in a way so she wouldn't roll over on her back. She slipped out of the room, and made her way up the stairs. She finally made it to her bed. She kicked off her boots and looked at her phone again, 11:30PM. She put on her headphones and started listening to her indie playlist. She looked at her phone again. "I really want to text him." She put her phone down on her stomach. "There's no fucking way he's still up." She thought to herself. As she continued contemplating her music was interrupted by "ding" from her phone. She looked up at her phone and a new text from Arnold was on her front screen. She smiled, glad he texted first as she did not think she had it in her to. Sorry if this is weird, but I had a good time tonight. Thanks for coming out. She reread the message smiling. She opened her phone and started to type back, I had a good time too. It was not a total disaster surprisingly. Also, as a female, I wanted to thank you for not sending me a picture of your dick asking if I was still up. She felt satisfied with that. She got up and changed into her pajamas. A light blue ensemble perfect for sleeping. She go into bed and heard the "ding" of her phone again. She looked at the messenger application, opening the chat from Arnold. Well you got a close enough look at it earlier. Figured the memory would be enough. She started to giggled at her phone. Oh yeah I think I'll remember that for a long time.

She laid down on her side, getting under her blankets with her phone in front of her face. Same here, I might not shower for a week. He replied back. God don't do that, I don't know what it is with men and their ability to stink up a room without even trying. She typed back to him. Well you guys have the babies and we kinda smell. Seems fair. He quickly replied back. The three dotted icon came up after the message Turns out evolution is a teensy bit sexist. He replied. She started to giggle again. We just can't fucking, win can we? She replied back. A couple moments passed without a message from either from either side.

Her face started to smile less, then she heard the "ding" from her phone. What are you listening to? He asked. It's like he was watching her. She sat up for a second and looked around and out her window. She was known for doing something similar when they were younger, so a look may have been warranted. A little Ziggy Marley, switched from the indie playlist. How did you know I was listening to anything? She replied. I know because that's what I'm doing. Figured if we have such overlapping musical tastes, we probably have some overlapping listening habits. "He's right on the money," she though to herself. How about you? She asked back. Listening to some Nora Jones. That slow jazzy sound helps me think. He typed back. What are you thinking about? She typed. She felt this conversation getting dangerously close to a real conversation, she couldn't help herself. She actually wanted to know what he was thinking. "Please god don't say you're horny or some other shit." She thought to herself, as she saw the three dotted icon come up. Well I'm just looking at a piece I've been working on. Trying to decide how much 'revising' is too much. He replied. She was delighted that Arnold was different from most guys and he responded with something genuine. She typed back, Is that the landscape on the easel in your room? He typed back Yeah it is. A second passed and another message from Arnold came up. Since you decided to be nosy, what did you think? She smiled again at her phone. I liked it actually. The mountains looked gorgeous. I don't know anything about art or any crap like that but I imagined myself as the girl reading in the grass for a second. She finished typing. You're a really good artist there Football Head. She may have made fun of herself If she could see the way she had smiled at her phone screen. A moment passed without a responded. "Can't I just have one conversation with him, without making fun of him." She thought to herself.

Thanks Helga, you have no idea how much it means to me that you got that out of it. I appreciate it. He sent with a smiley face. I'm still not sure how good it is, but I appreciate the compliment though. He sent to her. She rolled her eyes, Don't make me repeat myself dummy. You're good. How long have you been painting? She asked. Probably since I was twelve, I can't remember really. He responded. Well It's good, keep it up. She sent with a winking face. "God am I flirting with him?" She asked herself. Only if you keep up with the writing, Petaki. He responded. "Oh god I'm flirting with him and he's flirting back." She thought as she turned a bit red and covered her eyes with her hand.

She took a deep breath and started to type. Listen, about tonight. I never got to….. She trailed off not knowing exactly what to say. She stared at her phone, choosing her next words carefully. This feeling she had gotten from him felt strange to her. Helga, the normally defensive island in the sea of teenagers let herself be vulnerable. She felt weak, she hated feeling weak. She hated feeling like she needed anyone. She felt weak for just a moment, but the feeling dissipated and grew into something else when Arnold raised her chin with his fingers and she looked into his eyes. There was something there that she couldn't place in his eyes. She couldn't stop looking at them and her eyes welled up during this staring contest. She kept thinking as she stared at her phone

His deep emerald green eyes entranced her. When she looked into them, it felt as if the entire world vanished around them and it was just the two of them. She couldn't figure out what was in his eyes that made her feel the way she did. "Snap out of it, Helga. We just hung out and he made me feel less crappy. There's nothing else." She said to herself. She looked at her phone and started typing again. Listen about tonight, I never got to thank you. I still did feel crappy about the whole situation, and you made me feel better. So…. Thanks for that. She sent it off. A quick reply back, Are you feeling better now? She typed back. I am feeling better now, yes. Arnold typed back Good. I'm happy you're feeling better. A few seconds passed without another message. Look Helga, I know you like to keep your own counsel. That said, if there's ever anything you need to talk to someone about. I'm here if you need it. Not sure how much help I can be, but I can try. She saw the message he sent. She smiled deeply. "He's so sweet. I kind of hate him." She thought to herself. You got it Dr. Phil. Should I fill out a form with all my problems and you can talk to me about it on live TV for a bunch of brain dead housewives and unemployed people? She responded back. "Dammit…" She said to herself. Whatever you say Helga, I'm here if you need it. He replied with a picture of himself with a big toothy smile. He had some paint on his face where he was clearly touching his face in consternation earlier. "There are his eyes again, smiling at me." She thought to herself. Thank you, Arnold. I'm beat, I'm gonna see a man about some porcelain and hit the hay like it owes me money. She typed to him. Have a goodnight, Helga. He replied back. You too, Arnold. She sent back to him. She smiled again, and put away her phone.