(Thank you reviewer for the information provided. It was useful. Also I'm basing it in Washington, not New York.)
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Coming over, wish me luck - Arnold
Helga rolled her eyes and deleted the message. School was closed for the day. Apparently the janitor hung himself there. That was the rumor. More likely it was too damn cold for teachers to go in, so they decided, collectively, to take the day off. Their's wasn't the only school to do so. Helga didn't blame them. A snow storm had blown in overnight. She did wonder wether Arnold would actually make it. It was still snowing and the wind was like ice. She has stayed in her house, warm and toasty.
Getting up from under her blankets she made her way downstairs and unlocked the door.
Door's unlocked, she text, then went into the lounge to throw some more wood on the fire. Her father was nowhere to be seen. He had gotten a call in last night before the phone cut out saying he'd be hunkering down at work because visibility was too bad. Then that morning a text saying it would be a while before he got home. She didn't worry. Fifteen minutes later she heard the front door open, and turned to see Arnold walking in.
"Man, that was insane!" he said, slamming the door behind him. His face was red, what was exposed of his hair matted to his forehead, and his pants and jacket were soaked through. Helga moved forward to help him strip down. "I got a change of clothes in the bag."
She watched Arnold duck into the ground floor bathroom, then went and warmed up the jug. By the time he was done she had the hot chocolates ready, with marshmallows in.
"So what do you want to do?" she asked.
"I brought some movies over, or we could just hang out," he suggested, shrugging his shoulders. "The boarders are driving me insane."
"Fair enough," Helga said, taking a seat. She blew on her drink then took a sip. Ouch, still too hot. She noted that Arnold didn't seem to have a problem drinking a hot rink.
They watched a movie, ate some popcorn, and then the power went out. A few miutes later another text from her father arrived.
Doesn't look like I'll make it home tonight, either.
Helga sighed.
"What's wrong?" Arnold asked.
"Dad's not going to make it home tonight," she said. A loud bang drew their attention to the street outside. Getting up both rushed over to the window. Some idiot had attempted to drive and had smashed into the house across the street.
"Oh my God," Helga said. "Seriously?"
Next thing she knew Arnold had set up two chairs for them in front of the window, and had brought over the bowl of popcorn. Helga laughed and took a seat, and they both sat and watched the ensuing confrontation between driver and homeowner.
"Is that a plow attatched to their car?" Arnold asked. Helga squinted to get a better look.
"I think it is," she said, and they both cracked up laughing. Half an hour later some policemen came trudging through the snow. Then the first punch was thrown by the homeowner and a full on brawl broke out between them. Arnold and Helga watched as it unfolded, and then a plow came through, with three cop cars behind it. Then men were taken away, a tow truck was called, and the show was all over. Except for the damage done to the property.
"That's gonna be expensive," Arnold said quietly. Helga nodded in agreement.
"Now what?" she asked, looking at him.
"Are you going to be okay here alone?" he asked. "I can always stay."
That familiar uneasy feeling began churning in Helga's stomach. It wasn't a feeling she liked.
"I can sleep on the couch," Arnold told her.
That feeling sunk low, but was still there.
"Sure. It will be nice to have company," she said. "We can use the bbq to cook dinner on. I better get some torches and candles, too."
Arnold followed her down to help, and they got everything they needed. Candles, torches, and a small battery powered radio. Arnold sent Susie a text telling her what his plans were.
Stay safe, she texted back.
"That's the point of me staying here," he mumbled.
He watched as Helga pulled a frozen meal from the freezer and went outside with a pot. Curious he followed her out and saw her fight to get the contents from container to pot. It finally went in with a small bang, and she turned on the bbq, and placed the pot on the element.
"Wow," he said, coming up behind her, and wrapping his arms around her waist. He kissed her neck. "I'm definately going to have to keep you around."
Helga smiled and leaned into him. They stood like that for a while. Helga was glad that the high fence kept out the worst of the cold.
"What's that?" Arnold asked, pointing to a weird tent like structure.
"Dad's yurt," she said. "It's like a man-cave to him or something. Only he goes there to get time out, rather than drink beer and make a mess."
"Oh kay," Arnold said slowly, pulling away from her. She felt the cold on her back, and he must have felt it on his front because a split second later hew as back. She laughed.
"Cold?"
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"So you make dinners and freeze them?" Arnold asked. He was sitting on the couch under a blanket.
"Yeah, that way I can just pull them out, warm them up and boom, dinner done," Helga told him, sitting down by him and getting under the blanket. They had pulled the couch out into a "bed" and were sitting with their legs out in front of them, and a blanket on top. "I spend all day Sunday cooking a weeks worth of meals. It's also easy on dad."
Arnold watched her in the candlelight. It was a romantic setting, sort of. The music wasn't, but the lighting was. There was no TV, no computer, and both their phones had gone flat from use, so there was no risk of distraction from each other.
"So, have you heard from your mom?" Arnold asked tentatively. Miriam was a touchy subject at the moment.
"No, but we heard from a psychiatric hospital," she said. "She walked out in front of a train, but some guy pulled her off the track before the train ran her over. Clipped her ankle though, and broke it."
"Wow," Arnold said. "So what's going to happen?"
"Bob's leaving her there, says it's the best place," Helga said quietly, resting her head on his shoulder. He was so warm. And he smelled good. She felt those familiar urges she used to get when she was with Torvald. She pulled away, feeling ashamed of herself.
"What's wrong?" Arnold asked.
"Nothing," Helga lied, shaking her head. "Just, I'm getting tired."
"No, something's wrong," he said. "Was it about your mom? Because I'm sorry to bring her up."
"It's not that," she said harshly. "I just-"
Helga stopped. How could she tell him she was turned on by him? That she felt like . . . felt like . . . "a slut", whispered a nasty little voice in her head. She could feel her breathing getting labored. She was starting to panic.
"Helga?" Arnold asked, sounding worried. She saw him get up and felt him take her hand. "Helga?"
His voice sounded so far away, she felt like she was going to be sick.
Arnold was starting to get worried. She had gone white as a sheet and her breathing was short and fast. When he grabbed her wrist he could feel her pulse beating fast. Then she sounded like she was struggling to breath, and tears came to her eyes.
"Helga!" he yelled at her. This couldn't happen. Not now. There was no way an ambulance could get to them. He pulled her down next to him on the couch. She looked dizzy, like she had hit her head hard. He cupped her cheek and turned it to face her. "Helga, it's okay, I'm here."
He sat her in front of him, having her face him, and put his hands on her shoulders.
"Breathe Helga, in, one, two, three, four, hold, one, two, three, four, out, hold," he kept repeating over and over again. He demonstrated what he wanted her to do, and slowly she seemed to be copying him. It was also for his benefit as well as hers. He was scared. He'd never seen anything like that before. It took a little while but she finally seemed to calm down.
For Helga she felt tired, and a little nauseous.
"What was that?" she asked, tears finally coming from her eyes. "What was that?"
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