Helga Flashback (Anything in Parenthesis was not told to Arnold)

Helga had just gotten home from work, after a long day at school. Tired, groggy and annoyed she just wanted to sleep. She cautiously walked into the threshold of what she could barley consider home.

(Bob, being a blowhard and brute had always abused his own family, but the physical abuse? Helga didn't know what caused it, so she assumed it was Olga dropping out of college to run off with some sleaze-ball jerk named Ronnie, mixed with his business going downhill thanks to newer, and better technology. Bob began drinking and it only made things worse. He hit Olga when she told him she was pregnant with Ronnie's baby, and they never heard from Olga again… It had been 5 years ago when the first hit was thrown, after that, Helga's existence was spent wishing she could die. )

Teachers and other people asked about the bruises, but Helga just said she had been clumsy and brushed it off. Teachers decided to let it go and Helga breathed a sigh of relief. "We Pataki's don't TALK about things" Big Bobs words echoed in Helga's Head.

(Miriam tried leaving, stating she couldn't be with someone so dangerous. Helga knew what really happened to her mom, but since Bob still had a good reputation, he was walking a free man. The police report says that as she was leaving she turned around too fast and fell down the stairs… Helga knew very well her father pushed Miriam, causing her to break her neck along with an arm and a leg. Miriam didn't make it. Court was hard because she was tried to testify against her father… knowing what Big Bob did scared Helga, so she lied and said she was sleeping when it happened… She wishes she had told the truth. Bob's likeness for Helga saving his ass in court was short-lived, and he began to berate her and became even more of an alcoholic. Eventually he started with vulgar profanities, and it had slowly begun to escalate. Helga could defend herself fairly well against Bob, but when he was drunk (which currently was most of the time) he became a lot stronger and always won.)

Tonight, Big Bob listened as Helga came home. She had just gotten off her shift at the diner and had hurried to get home before Midnight. Her shift ended at 11:30 tonight because the other waitress was in Labor at the hospital, giving Helga extra hours. Unfortunately, it took Helga 35 minutes to get home from the diner. It was now 12:05am and Helga prayed he was passed out intoxicated. She was so wrong. Bob charged at her with his Lucky Belt and began to beat her with it, all while slurring hateful words and damaging what little of her self-worth she had left. Helga had no means of defense, and Bob wouldn't take a second to let her explain herself. After Bob had her curled into a bloody ball in the corner crying, he ordered her to stand and began to choke her violently. Helga had tried to get out of it, but slowly realized she couldn't win, and blacked out. Bob, thinking he had finally gotten rid of his last "Problem" slipped outside to get supplies to hide the evidence. Being drunk, he took longer to gather everything, and in that time, Helga had stirred and realizing what had happened, made a run for it out the front door. Everything she needed was in her book-bag, she had 10 specific sets of clothes at Phoebe's house for emergencies along with a set of spare hygiene products, as well as other clothes at school for Gym. She always kept her debit card in her pink wallet, in her pink bookbag, so she knew she was set. The only reason she hadn't gone to Phoebe's was because the rain was too much and she didn't want to explain to Phoebe's parents- although she was sure they already knew.

So here Helga sat in a tree-house across from Arnold, her football-headed crush since she was 3 years old, pouring out a traumatic event in hopes he wouldn't think she is a total basket case and wishing she had died instead of embarrassing herself like this. It was just too much.

Arnold's POV

Arnold was shocked, to say the least. Half of him wanted to go and beat the stuffing out of Big Bob Pataki himself, the other half wanted to hold Helga and be the one to comfort her.

Arnold knew under the rough exterior, Helga was kind and sweet. He had no idea she could be so vulnerable, and he definitely had no idea she was so damaged, but he realized something else as Helga was talking. She hadn't just suffered tonight; she had been suffering this for a long time. He remembered Miriam's "accident" and wondered if that was even an accident at all. He wondered just how long this had been going on as well, and wondered if tonight he could finally help the girl he thought was always stronger than everyone else.

"Helga…?"

"Yeah…?"

"Exactly… How long has this been going on?"

"… The abuse has been there all my life."

"He's been hitting you all your life?" Arnold asked a lot more calmly than he truly was.

"No, just verbally abusing us. We were always following his orders and being pushed around by him…" No wonder Olga was so fucked up… "The physical abuse started 5 years ago after Olga dropped out of college and got pregnant with some idiots baby. Bob hit her once and we never heard from her again. Miriam tried to leave but fell down the stairs and accidentally killed herself."

Arnold didn't like how she said that… It just seemed so… off…

"Its been me and the big doofus ever since. I got a job and now, Bob looks for any kind of reason he can to go ballistic and beat the stuffing out of me, even if im only 5 minutes late getting home. He thinks im out partying and getting knocked up." She didn't want to mention how every day she spent wishing she actually would just die, so she wouldn't have to deal with Bob, excuse the bruises, and deal with never being able to tell the boy in front of her that she loves him… as far as she knew, she was the walking rejection of the world. She started to cry again, feeling so pathetic…

Arnold's heart broke for the girl in front of him. Everybody had always thought Helga Geraldine Pataki was a strong, tough and unbreakable bully of a girl; she was crying and had had a mental breakdown right in front of him. Arnold wrapped his arms around her as she cried into her hands. He gently picked her up and cradled her in his arms while she cried. She grabbed onto him and cried, she finally let her guard down. The girl he knew wasn't this, but he realized she was much more broken than anybody he'd ever met. And the worst part for Arnold? The boy who always helped everyone, missed the one person who needed his help the most.