A couple of weeks later, . . .
Helga was again woken by the feeling someone was watching her. But when she looked around the room, no one was there. It creeped her out enough that she got out of bed and looked into the hallway. Steven's room was closer to her's, being just across the hallway. She practically leaped across the hallway and opened his door, not even bothering to knock. Like her room, it had a small lounge area that lead to the bedroom. She went to that closed door and knocked.
"Steven," she called, knocking again a little louder. "Steven."
The door opened and she went red immediately when she realized he had no clothes on at all. His hair was tousled, and he was looked at her with bleary eyes for a moment, before suddenly realizing what was going on.
"Helga?" he asked confused.
"I think someone was in my room," she blurted, trying not to look down there.
"Someone was in your room?" he asked, waking up almost instantly. "Just now?"
"No, it felt like someone was in my room watching me," she repeated. Without realizing what she was doing she looked down, then up again. It was then that Steven realized as well that he was wearing no clothes. He closed the door and after a few moments of bumbling around, opened it again. He was wearing boxers.
"Maybe your just feeling a bit paranoid, with all that has been going on around here," he said, trying to pretend like Helga hadn't just seen him in all his naked glory. And it was glorious. Helga snapped herself out of that train of thoughts.
"No, I've had this feeling before" she said. "A few times. Once I even heard my door close."
Helga saw the alarm cross his face, then vanish. "Olga was probably checking up on you. And you were on pain relief for a while. Drugs can play tricks on your mind."
"I'm scared though," she said. "What if there really was someone in there?"
"There's only five people in this house, Helga. Me, you, your sister, Cally and Colin," he told her. "And none of use are going to be sneaking into your room."
"But-"
"No buts. Look, you can stay in here the rest of the night if you like," he said, motioning to his couch. Helga looked at it, then at him.
"I'd rather be in the bed with you," she said. Steven looked at her shocked. "That way, I could use you as a shield if someone broke in. You could get murdered while I ran to safety."
Steven laughed nervously. "Gee, thanks," he said.
"Your welcome."
. . .
One year. She had been living here for one year now. One year since her parent's passed away. She sighed and rolled over. She didn't want to get out of bed. Finally her sister came in and opened her curtains.
"No sense dwelling about it," she said, looking out the windows. Helga got up and had a look, too. Colin was walking around the perimetre of the fence.
"What's he doing?" Helga asked.
"Some of the security cameras aren't working," she said. "Steven has him out fixing them. Now get up. Steven and i are taking you out for breakfast."
Helga got up and went into her bathroom to have a quick shower. When she came back she was surprised to see her sister still standing at the window watching Colin. Her lips were pursed and her eyes small and suspicious looking. When she realized Helga was watching her, she smiled. "Hurry up."
Helga was beginning to think something was wrong with her sister. She would go through periods of absolute meanness, then like a switch, would be nice and caring. The only thing really keeping Helga still was the idea that some creep was out there, prowling, and could grab her. As much as she didn't like where her life was right now, she didn't want to die!
"How come the camera's weren't working?" Helga asked.
"The screens were broken," Olga told her. "I think . . ." she stopped when she saw Colin entering the house. Helga stopped behind her and watched him look up at them with a smile.
"All fixed," he said, then made his way into the kitchen.
"You think?" Helga whispered. Olga shook her head, and continued down the stairs, leaving Helga curious as to what her sister had to say.
. . .
Helga sat at the computer, while her sister sat nearby. Steven was on another, working from home. They had decided that Helga would be better doing correspondence, than them having to drag some poor soul all the way out there. Helga knew it had been a struggle. The school system had been reluctant to let her do her last year at home. When exam's came, she would have to go in to do them. There was no way around it. The idea made Helga nervous. Something in her was changing, she could feel it.
The other day she was waiting for Steven to come give her a driving lesson when she saw that it looked like the gates were open. She had looked at the keys, then hopped in the car, and started the engine, thinking this was the perfect time to just drive away. But the idea of leaving sent anxiety coursing through her body, and she had switched the car off, and sat back, taking deep breaths to calm herself. She had gotten control of herself before Steven got into the car.
Steven and she were spending a lot of time together. Olga was frequently unwell, and Steven had finally had enough and called a doctor in to see her. Helga didn't even know doctor's did home calls anymore. He had sent Olga for blood tests. Helga found herself feeling anxious about that, too. What if something were seriously wrong? When she was on her own she would go to the pool and swim. It seemed to become the only thing that helped. Steven was the first to notice all the time she spent in the pool. But something about having her head under water at the moment, was just . . . she couldn't even explain it.
"You know, I walk in here now, expecting to find you've turned into a mermaid," he joked. Helga swam over to where he was standing. He took a step back, and she knowingly smiled.
"Are you going to join me?" she asked, smiling at him. It was a strange smile she could feel on her face. One she found would grace her mouth when he was around. One she used to wear when she teased Arnold . . . but the feeling behind it had changed. Everything in her feelings was starting to change. Steven looked down at her for a moment, before stripping off his top and diving in. Helga spun around to watch as he came back up and made his way over to her. He swam close and blocked her in with his hands on either side of her head against the pool wall.
"What game are you playing, Helga?" he asked. "And do you know the rules?"
"I don't know what your talking about," she said, before going under and around him. He stayed there for a moment, before turning towards her.
"I'm not a little boy, Helga," he told her. "It may be cute and fun when your kids, but it takes on different meaning when your older."
They stared at each other from across the pool, before Helga swan toward him.
"Do you like me?" she asked.
"You know I do, or I wouldn't spend so much time with you," he told her. She'd reached out and touched his chest.
"Why do you and Olga sleep in seperate rooms?" she asked. Steven grabbed her hand and gave it a tug until she was close. Then he leaned forward and whispered in her ear.
"She complains I have an insatiable appitite."
Helga's heart was beating so fast she thought it was going to fly up her throat and out her mouth. Her breath quickend.
"Is that why you sleep with other women?" she asked. "Because Olga complains?"
She could see Steven thinking something over. He loosened his grip on her for a moment, then seemed to make a decision. Leaning towards her he caught her lips with his. He was rough, and when he pulled away from her, it felt like he'd taken all the air in her lungs with him.
"I won't say no to you," she said quietly.
"I know," he said. He kissed her again, a little more gently. She could feel the affect she was having on him, and the effect he was having on her . . .
"Steven!" they heard Colin call out. Helga dipped under the water and moved away from him, over to the side of the pool.
"Colin, what can I help you with?" he asked.
"Your wife's test results are back," he told him. "The doctor is on the phone now."
"I'll be right there," Steven said.
. . .
Thanksgiving was a month away. It would be her second one there. Olga had been treating her like an equal. They had sat down and printed out invitations to a Thanksgiving Party, and decided on a menu.
"Olga?" Helga asked, while looking over catering options. "Why and when did you have your ovaries removed?"
Olga looked at her surprised. "How did you know about that? Mommy was still pregnant with you when that happened."
"Steven said something to me once, saying how much you wanted children, but couldn't and I asked why," she admitted.
"Ovarian cancer," she told her.
"Isn't that what older people get?" Helga asked, shocked. Olga shook her head.
"Apparently not," she said. "There's been cases of baby girls being born with issues."
"Babies!" Helga exclaimed.
"It's not recommended, because it sends you into early menopause," she told her. Thinking back, Helga wondered if that were why Olga was always seemingly such an emotional mess. "But sometimes it can't be helped. They left the rest in, so I could always carry if I wanted to, but I had that removed a few years back, too. What was the point after all?"
"What about a surrogate?" Helga asked.
Olga sighed. "I've read too many stories of that path going wrong, of the surrogates deciding to keep the babies. Enough talk about this please?"
. . .
Her sister had gone to an appointment in town and Steven was avoiding her, which made her feel even more awful. What had she done wrong? She knew she shouldn't have let him know that she had feelings for him. The day before the party she decided to go for a walk around the property. But she was going to stay away from the fence line. She really had to force herself to go out, and once out in the crisp air, considered going back in.
"No," she mumbled to herself. "I have to go for a walk. I have to get used to being out of the house." So she forced herself to walk forward. Looking around she decided again to go into the maze, to find her way through on her own. It didn't take going in far for all noise to be lost. The high hedges cut off any noise that didn't come from above. She looked up at the overcast sky and shivered. She realized that if she did get lost, or call for help, no one would be able to find her. She had asked for a phone and her sister had shot her down with "Who would you call?". The switch had been flipped and her sister was back to being mean and cold. Helga had never felt so alone now that Steven was avoiding her. Her eyes stung, and she stopped and sat down.
What had happened to that strong, independent, opinionated Helga G. Pataki that had ruled her classmates with fear? Even though she had gone quiet and studious. she still had an attitude on her. Had she never had to hide her feelings from Arnold, is this what she would have been like? Instead of angry, and defensive, would she have been malancholy and openly sensitive? Man, she would have been dog meat if she had been, thinking back onto the way her peers were from childhood up.
Then a big fat rain drop hit her face. "Great," she grumbled, turning around to look at a hedge. There was one of three sides. Stupid, stupid! she thought. She had kept right on walking, not taking notice of her surroundings. The rain started to fall a bit more. She looked down at her converse sneakers, capri pants and cardigan combo. What. An. Idiot! she berated herself. She put her right hand against the hedge and followed it . . . or was it supposed to be her left hand? Wait . . . was there an order? She started to panic, then realized that would be a bad idea. Calm down, Helga ol' girl, you'll get out just fine. You just have to remember what the trick Steven told you was . . .
But she couldn't. She hadn't even really been paying attention to what he was saying. Looking at her watch she saw that she'd been wandering around in here already for little more than an hour. How did you do that? It's not like it was really, really big. Maybe a football field length and width wise? Come to think of it, that was pretty big. For a moment she was impressed, until panic started to rise up in her again. She shook her head and continued following where the hedge led her right hand. Dead end. So she tried her left this time. Dead end.
"Oh crap." she said. "Where the hell am I?" How could i be so dumb? She continued on her way, coming to dead end after dead end, until one dead end she found she wasn't alone. She couldn't have kept her scream in had she tried. It rose from the bottom of her lungs and raced up her throat and out in such a rush she lost vision for a moment and thought she would pass out. She had never screamed so loud in her life, and was pretty sure t would have cut through a hundred mazes to make it to ears outside. She stumbled back when she stopped and threw up.
She'd just found a body. She was lost, in a maze, with a body!
She passed out.
. . .
She woke to shaking. She was being carried by someone. Opening her eyes she looked up to see Steven pale and scared looking. She was soaked and wet. She leaned her head against his chest. Had she had a nightmare?
"Colin, call the police!" he shouted as they entered the house.
"Why?"
"Just call the damn police!" he shouted at him.
Steven rushed Helga upstairs to her room. When they got to her room he laid her on the couch and went into the bathroom and ran the bath. Helga was coming around when he came in to check on her.
"I'm cold," she said, her teeth chattering.
"Shock too, no doubt," he said, moving forward and taking off her cardigan. "Shit, Helga, are you okay? What am i asking, I'm not even okay."
She stood there as he stripped her down to her underwear, then went back to check on her bath. She heard him turn off the taps and come back to her.
"You need to get out of your underwear and have a bath, warm up," he told her. "I need to go check on the call."
He left in a rush, slamming her door behind him. She went into the bathroom and stripping off her underwear hopped in the bath. He'd put bubble bath in there. It smelled of lavender. After about ten minutes Steven returned.
"I'm not sure we'll be having that party now," he said, looking at the floor.
"Why?" Helga asked.
"The body, Helga," he told her.
"Oh, right," she said, feeling numb. "I want to get out."
"Wash your hair," he said, sitting on the edge of the bathtub. "Warm all of you up. The police are on their way here, and will no doubt want to speak to you."
Helga nodded, suddenly feeling like she was going to be sick again. She looked up as Steven dipped a cup in her bathwater, brushing her thigh, and closed her eyes as he poured it over her head.
"You have sick on your face," he said, wiping it with a face cloth. "What were you doing in the maze, Helga?"
"I just wanted to walk, have an adventure," she told him.
"We told you not to go in there," he said. "What if the culprit was in there, too? Christ."
Helga watched as he ran shaky hands through his hair. She looked down. He was so damn sexy. Seriously? You just found a body, and your thinking about how sexy your brother-in-law is? She took the cloth from him and wiped herself over, then stood up without thinking. She remembered Steven was there when he wrapped a towel around her. Then it flooded back. That poor girl, lying there naked, barbed wire wrapped around her neck, eyes open but colorless, body seeming purple and blue. A sob escaped her, and Steven wrapped his arms around her. Helga wrapped her arms around him and buried her face into his chest and cried.
"Let's get you dressed," he mumbled into her hair, then kissed her head. Helga looked up at him and him down at her, before she went on tiptoe and kissed him. When she pulled away he shook his head. "Not now. Too much." He let her go and left her standing there, feeling confused and conflicted. And rejected again. When she went into her room, she put on sweatpants and an old t-shirt, then went into the lounge part where Steven was sitting there, thinking. He looked up at her, then held out a hand. She took it and he pulled her down onto his lap and kissed her again. She kissed him back, both seeming desperate to just forget what they had both just seen. Knocking drew their attention to the door and Colin's voice called trough that the police had arrived and wanted to speak to them both.
Pulling away from each other, both silently went to the door.
"Give me a minute more," he said. "I need to calm down."
Helga having felt what he meant, nodded and left the room and followed Colin down to the dining room. She recognized the woman cop, but she had a different partner with her this time.
Then the questions began . . .