Chapter 98: 98 Home Again

During the rest of the week, Annie and Kelly did their best to make the practically new house feel like home again. All the little touches that people sometimes didn't notice, were added all over. The only thing they didn't have, were photos in picture frames.

Kelly wasn't going to stand for that.

After a quick visit to her parents, she found a few copies of slightly older photos of herself and one of her as a little girl. She rode the bus to the local pharmacy that had a photo lab and chose a few pictures she had taken with her cell phone to make into actual photos. She bought a pile of various and inexpensive frames and spent Friday afternoon assembling them. She also bought the wall mounts for a few of the larger ones and took her haul back to Annie's house.

“Your parents really missed you that much? It's only been a few days.” Annie joked at how long Kelly had been gone.

“I was only there for half an hour.” Kelly said as she walked down the hallway and into the living room. Before Annie could ask her what she did while away all that time, she placed the two large plastic bags of picture frames she had made onto the couch beside her.

“What's all this?” Annie asked and look into the first bag... then gasped. “Kelly!”

“I bought a few different things to help hang some up; but, I don't know which ones you want to do that with or how, so we'll have to figure it out and put them up together.”

Annie closed her eyes and tried not to cry. “Kelly, why didn't you tell me you were doing this?”

“I wanted it to be a surprise.” Kelly said.

“But... it must have been expensive...” Annie opened her eyes and started to count them.

“Not really.” Kelly said. “It's only a few dollars for the larger ones and under a dollar for the five-by-sevens. The frames were dirt cheap, too.”

“You don't have the money to afford all of this.” Annie said before she could stop herself. “Kelly, I'm sorry! I didn't mean...”

“It's all right.” Kelly said. “I was saving up for that game Arnold bought for me. When he gave it to me as a present, I had a bit of spending money.”

Annie stood up and took her into a hug. “Kelly, you're the best.”

“You better believe it.” Kelly said and hugged her back.

“You're so modest.” Annie said and they both laughed. “I hope you bought a hammer to hang these.”

“A hammer?” Kelly asked when Annie let her go.

“The old one had a wooden handle and had to go.”

“Oh, damn.” Kelly said. “Can I get a ride to the hardware store?”

“I think I can drive a friend anywhere she wants to go.” Annie said. “Let's go.”

After a quick trip to the hardware store, Annie bought a hammer with a metal handle and they came back and chose the best pictures to hang on the wall. It took a surprising amount of time to hang a few pictures in the hallway and several in the living room, then they spread the smaller ones around on the fireplace mantle, on the shelves, and even put one on the end table beside the telephone.

“Doilies!” Annie said suddenly and ran across the room.

Kelly didn't try to stop her laugh as the frantic woman dug into the bags of linens they had yet to spread around the house and pulled out a large handful of the white frilly things.

“Stop laughing and get moving!” Annie said and tossed half of the stack to her, then they both put them under the pictures and on shelves, then on the end tables and the coffee table. They even put them on the arms of the couch and chair. “Ahhh, that's better.” She said and grabbed Kelly's arm and sat down.

“It's almost back to normal.” Kelly said.

Annie nodded. “Only a few more touches and all we'll have to do is break the furniture in.”

“Tell me you bought a big furry blanket to put on the couch!” Kelly nearly yelled.

“Second bag on the bottom.” Annie said and Kelly retrieved the big furry blanket that felt like a plush toy. Annie moved out of the way and they spread it over the main part of the couch, tucked it in to hold it in place, then sat back down.

“Oh, yeah.” Kelly said and slowly rubbed her hands over the plushy softness. “That's the stuff.”

Annie snorted and then laughed, and Kelly joined in. It was the small simple things in life that meant the most sometimes.

“Kelly, thank you.” Annie said and took her hand. “You're a miracle.”

“Annie, I... it was nothing.” Kelly said and blushed.

“Yes, just like everything else you do, it's meaningless.” Annie said with a smile. “You horrible, horrible person.”

That made Kelly laugh and she lost the blush.

“That's better.” Annie said. “Come on. Let's get the chair covered and put the new sheets and blankets on the beds.”

“What about towels and things?” Kelly asked.

“I stole a pile from your mother's linen closet.” Annie said with a grin and Kelly laughed again.

*

The next morning, Arnold rode the bus into town. Kelly had told him that they had a busy weekend planned and that he should bring extra clothes. Since they couldn't do much of anything in their own town because of the community service workers and potentially violating their own restraining order, they decided to go one town over after breakfast to enjoy the weekend there.

It wasn't like there was much more to do there, since the town wasn't much larger than theirs; but, it was more fun because it was unfamiliar and because there were no worries about running into people that they didn't want to run into. They had a great time and even stayed at a nice hotel for the night. They only needed one room with double beds, mainly because it was similar to Arnold's dorm room.

Annie was happy that she had her son nearby and she didn't begrudge Kelly being so snuggled up to him. She was a great girl and she didn't take advantage of him. That was a precious thing in her eyes and she was all for them taking their relationship forward. She rolled over to face away from them to give them the illusion of having some privacy.

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Kelly was so snuggled up to Arnold because she was feeling particularly horny today. She knew he wouldn't do anything until she asked, and that turned her on even more. His patience with her was such an aphrodisiac for her mind that the more he refrained from taking advantage of her, the more she wanted him to.

She didn't say anything and took his hand and put it under her baggy t-shirt, then she moved his other hand and put it between her legs. Her underwear was soaked through, because he let his hands rest where she put them and didn't squeeze, rub, or otherwise show that he was touching her at all.

It drove her a little crazy.

“Arnold.” Kelly whispered into his ear. “Play with me a little.”

Arnold did so and rubbed her nipple between his fingers and rubbed her between the legs only slightly. The stimulation sent Kelly over the edge immediately and she twitched a little from it and started to lightly pant. Arnold's hands stopped and she was both grateful and upset, because he only did exactly what she said and didn't push her to do more than what she was ready for.

“Arnold.” Kelly whispered again, then his finger slipped inside of her. “Hnnnn.” She bit her tongue to stop her moan before she let it out, then Arnold's mouth was on hers and she couldn't think anymore as his finger explored her down below and his tongue explored her mouth. All she could do was react with her body and it reacted a lot. Her nipples became engorged and swollen with blood to the point of pain and he moved his hand away from the nipple and massaged her breast.

Kelly finished again and this time, her whole body twitched and she trembled a little. Arnold stopped kissing her and removed his finger from her, then stopped massaging her breast. He looked into her eyes and she had them half-closed and had a huge smile on her face. He gave her a brief kiss and she only moved her lips slightly in reaction. Arnold put his arm around her and the two of them drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, Kelly was in a wonderful mood. “This is going to be a great day!” She said and sat up. “Hey, wake up! We've got stuff to do!”

“Ugh.” Annie groaned from the other bed and looked at the clock. “Go back to sleep, dammit. Nothing's open this early.”

“Huh?” Kelly looked over and saw it was just past seven in the morning. “Oh, sorry.” She said and slipped out of bed and looked at Arnold. He was staring at her and she smiled at him, then leaned down and gave him a quick kiss, then whispered. “I'll give you a better kiss after a shower.”

“Okay.” Arnold said and climbed out of bed as well and walked by her, then he started to strip off his clothes. Kelly stood there and watched him until his underwear hit the floor and she flashed back to the night before and him having his finger inside of her and she felt warm all over at the thought.

“A-Arnold.” Kelly whispered.

“Well, come on.” Arnold said and took her hand and pulled her into the bathroom, then Kelly stood there like a deer caught in a car's headlights with her mouth open slightly in surprise as Arnold stripped her off. When they were both naked, he looked into her eyes. “I love you. We won't have sex until you're ready.”

Kelly didn't react, even when he turned the water on in the shower stall and he pulled her in with him. He lathered himself up and then did the same to her, made sure she was clean all over, then cleaned himself. He stepped out and grabbed a big towel and dried her off, then covered her with it. He did the same with himself and then led her out to the room.

Arnold opened her bag and pointed, then he grabbed his backpack and pulled out a new pair of jeans and a stylish shirt that Annie had picked out for him. He picked a new pair of underwear and then dropped the towel and dressed, right there in front of her. When he was done he looked at her and she stared right back at him.

Kelly stood there as Arnold dug into her bag and pulled out a skirt and a nice blouse, then a tiny pair of panties and a frilly bra. To her surprise, he pulled off her towel and then slipped the bra up her arms and hung it on her and covered her chest. He picked up the panties next and knelt on the floor and held them for her. She was too stunned to refuse and stepped into them.

Arnold pulled them up to her hips and adjusted them to fit properly, then he stood up and walked around her. He clipped her bra into place and picked up the blouse to put it on her like a coat, then he walked around her and buttoned it up. When he picked up the skirt, once again Kelly stepped into it wordlessly and he pulled it up to her waist. He walked around her again to put the tag at the back and then zipped the little zipper to secure it in place.

“Arnold.” Kelly whispered. “How did you know how to do that?”

“Mom.” Arnold said.

“He's seen me dress a lot since he was a child, because I always tried to keep a close eye on him.” Annie said and sat up. “I think that's one of the reasons why he doesn't really react when he sees lingerie.”

Kelly readily accepted that, because she imagined Arnold growing up and seeing his mother wearing bras and panties all the time. Not only would he be desensitized to seeing them, it would be difficult for him to get sexually excited over it, just because someone else is wearing them.

“I guess I better get up, too.” Annie said, regretfully. “I'm going to crash hard into bed tonight.” She said and stripped off to her underwear, grabbed another pair and a bra similar to the one she wore, then she walked over to the bathroom and closed the door.

Arnold put his dirty clothes back into his backpack after transferring his money and keys to the new jeans and then slung the backpack over his shoulder. Kelly took the cue and put her used clothing into her bag as well and they waited for Annie to come out of the bathroom. She came out wearing her underwear and bra and walked by them again and went to her bed and picked up her bag.

“We're visiting the parks and the waterfront today, right?” Annie asked and Kelly nodded. “I'll take your lead and wear a dress.” She said and pulled out a neatly folded cloth dress. Kelly was surprised, because the folds were exactly where the pleats in the cloth were. When Annie flicked it and fluffed it out, you couldn't tell where it had been folded.

“That was neat.” Kelly said and ignored the fact that the bra and underwear Annie wore were only half the size of hers in coverage, even though Annie was more than twice her age. No wonder Arnold's been desensitized to it. She thought in amusement. He has a great looking mom that's confident in herself. She looked at Arnold as his mom put on the dress and remembered his comments about standing in the hallway at the dorm in his underwear. Now I know where he learned to be confident in himself.

Annie closed her bag and Arnold picked it up and took Kelly's bag, too. The three of them left the room and went downstairs to the main desk and checked out. They left the hotel and loaded the bags into the trunk of the car and Annie drove them to the park.

*

Detective Tanner had made several casual drives by the Strickland house during the week, just to see what was going on, then recorded the details of the car in the driveway. When she had passed by this morning, the car wasn't there. On a whim, she stopped at a payphone and made a call to the college. She found the dorm building that Arnold was staying in and called the main desk.

A woman answered the phone. “Hello! This is Dorm Mother Doris. What can I help you with today?”

“Hi, Doris. I read the newspaper a few days ago and the front page story was eye catching.” Detective Tanner said. “I was working and couldn't call until now, and I was wondering if Arnold Strickland was doing okay.”

“You're the third person to call and ask about him today.” Doris let out a chuckle. “I don't suppose you want to leave your name and I can tell him you called?”

“Oh! Um... no. I'm just... a concerned citizen.” Detective Tanner had been thrown off her game by the unexpected response. Two other people called about him? Who are they?

“Just like the other two. They wouldn't leave their names, either.”

Dammit! No names. At least I didn't have to try and worm that out of her. Detective Tanner thought. “So how is he?”

“He has a lot of people here that care about him and we're taking good care of him.” Doris said. “I'm sure if he knew who you were, he would thank you for worrying about him.”

I doubt that. Detective Tanner thought. “I'm glad to hear that.” She said. “I meant about him being taken care of, not thanking me.”

Doris laughed. “Are you sure? He can be quite charming when he thanks people.”

I can imagine. Detective Tanner thought and the image of Brad's body flashed through her mind. “I better go.” She said. “Even if he doesn't know me, can you do me a favor and give him a hug?”

“I'll do that as soon as he gets back.” Doris said. “Goodbye.”

“Goodbye.” Detective Tanner said and hung up. “He's not there.” She said, then her frantic search began. She drove all over town looking for him or the Strickland's car, and didn't have any luck. There was no possible way for her to put out an APB, or an All Points Bulletin on either him or the car without a good reason.

With no other recourse, she decided to work backwards. Instead of trying to follow Arnold to his next victim, she would follow the potential victims instead. She wasted the rest of her day off by following Kevin and Michael as they worked in the park back in their home town, which was nowhere near where Arnold currently was. She even missed him coming home and getting the bus back to the college.

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