1896 - 24 years old
"Just hang in there, Mom! Please!" Helen spurred Lotus on, one hand grasping the mare's mane while the other held onto her mother's arm. The past three years were spent living with a tense, rocky relationship with her mother.
Helen didn't cease her heists, hitting other locations such as Strawberry and the Van Horn trading post. She had yet to venture further south, but today her hand was forced. Despite her mother's age and health condition, she refused to use the money Helen would steal for them.
She had attempted to hold a job as a seamstress in Annesburg, much to Helen's protest. However, she would return home looking more tired each day - and looking sicker.
It wasn't long before her mother became ill again, and it had been much worse than the first bout of sickness. When her mother had suddenly collapsed, Helen did not hesitate to race her to a doctor. She had heard of a city called Saint Denis that was known for its skilled doctor.
She raced through the city as fast as she could, following a lawman who was escorting her. "Mom? Are you okay?" Helen asked, glancing over her shoulder. Her mother remained silent, causing Helen to panic, but luckily the lawman came to a stop.
"We're here!" he called. Helen leapt down from her horse as the lawman rushed to her mother's side. She barged into the doctor's office, loudly yelling, "I need help!" A man appeared from a hallway, looking at the lawman in bewilderment as he carried in Helen's mother.
"Bring her to my office - quickly!" Helen allowed the lawman forward as they followed the doctor into another room. He set Helen's mother down in a chair and left without another word, but Helen didn't care.
Her eyes were glued to her deathly pale mother, who lied motionless on the reclined chair. "What are your names?" the doctor asked. At first his question fell upon deaf ears, making him nudge her impatiently.
"Names, girl! I need your names!" She was startled out of her trance, and she stared at the doctor. "Matthews...Helen and Bessie Matthews."
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Family in Shambles
FanfictionShe had been going it alone for three years, since her mother had passed away. She had been learning to survive and doing what she NEEDED to do to survive, no matter the consequences. She knew how to lie low and hide from the law, and she became a v...
