Chapter Twelve

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Nancy and George felt very helpless when they looked up and saw their best friend, Bess Marvin dangling from the open window three floors up. The young girl had lost her balance while waving and fell right out of the window, to only by the grace of God to grab hold of the edge of a long thick curtain. With no time at all to call for help, all the two girls could do was dart upstairs and try to pull her back in quickly. Every minute seemed like an eternity, as they raced through the large mansion. "God let us get there in time," said Nancy, as they ran up the grand staircase.

"SOMEONE HELP ME! I CAN"T HOLD ON MUCH LONGER! MY GRIP IS SLIPPING!" Bess yelled in sheer terror. She made the huge mistake of looking down and suddenly, her head started to spin uncontrollably. "Oh no! I'm going to die before I even got a chance to meet my soul mate and get married!" Bess thought exclaimed.

Minutes later, both girls reached the door to the bedroom only to see the curtain rod give under Bess's weight. Both dashed over to save their friend! George, the athletic track star made it to the window first just, grabbing the end of the curtain before it could disappear. Unbelievably, the curtain ripped due to the strain upon it sending Bess plummeting downward towards a premature death!

"NOOOOOO!" George screamed feeling hopeless. Time seemed to come to a standstill for Nancy, as she went towards the window. George sunk down to the floor and curled up into a ball.

All they could hear was Bess screaming bloody murder as she fell. To their surprise, they heard a man grunt loudly, instead of the horrible sound of Bess hitting the ground! Nancy reached the window and stared down in shock at Bess. She had landed right on top of some strange man! Nancy teared up feeling thankful to see Bess alive! "Oh, thank God!" said both girls.

"GIRLS I'M ALIGHT! WELL, THE BEST A GIRL COULD BE FALLING FROM SUCH A HEIGHT, BUT ALIVE!" Bess yelled as she tried to stand up on her own.

When both girls were gazing down at their friend, the man got up to his feet and waved at them, before he helped Bess toward the door. Nancy recognized him at once. It was her boyfriend, Ned Nickerson! She had been dating this dreamboat for over a year and was sweet on him. Who wouldn't be with his tall height, cute dimples, dazzling blue eyes, and warm welcoming smile?

Nancy was awestruck for a few moments before she managed to shake it off. Turning towards George, she said "We better go check on Bess. She might be hurt worse than she is letting on." "Sure, whatever you say, Nancy," replied George, as she raised her eyebrows, teasing. The teen could tell that Nancy could barely hide a smile. Ned always made Nancy so giggly and giddy. She often wondered if she would one day find a guy that would have that effect on her. But on to the important task at hand, checking up on her cousin Bess!

When they came down, they spotted that Bess was sitting in the middle of the couch beside Ned. She looked a little roughed up, but otherwise alright. All three girls gave each other a big hug. Ned quickly moved over to a chair to give Nancy room to sit down beside her friend.

"How do you feel Bess? That was a pretty bad fall you had!" George asked worriedly.

"Don't worry about me girls! Ned caught me right before I hit the ground. I will most likely have some bumps and bruises but nothing worse than that."

"Ned, you saved her? But wait why are you here?" asked George as she turned towards him.

"Well you see, I tried to call Nancy the other night, only to talk to her father instead. He told me of your trip and since I am visiting one of my cousins in town for a few days, I decided to drop by and surprise my sweetheart," he answered while winking at Nancy.

In response, Nancy moved over and sat on the arm of his chair to be closer and gave him a kiss on the forehead. Then she asked, "So it was you I saw when we first dove through town! But how did you end up in the backyard? Was it all the screaming that led you there?"

"Yeah, that is exactly what happened. I had just pulled up in my car and walked up to the front door. When I heard someone screaming like crazy! I ran around back to see what was wrong and got there just in time to see Bess falling! Luckily, I was close enough to dash over and catch her, but my legs give way from the strain and we both ended up on the ground anyway."

"Thank you, Ned, you are my hero. I hope catching me didn't hurt that bad." Bess added as she slightly pouted feeling a little embarrassed about the fall.

"Nah, I've been hurt worse than that playing football before. No worries Bess" he said with a slight chuckle putting on a tough guy act.

Suddenly an idea popped into Nancy's mind. "With all the excitement, we forgot all about investigating what happened when Bess fell! We need to check the office right now!" Nancy exclaimed as she headed upstairs followed closely by the others.


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