Arnold tried to go to the next closest address and found that it was in complete darkness. He thought about trying to approach and check the windows to see if they were locked, then stopped when he saw a dog laying in the middle of the backyard. Arnold dug into one of the pockets in his backpack and took out a couple of small doggie treats and tossed one into the yard near the dog.

The dog perked up at the sight and couldn't resist checking it out, then gobbled it down without even tasting it. Arnold held out another and waved it back and forth, and the dog came right over to him. He gave him the treat and the dog chewed it this time and sat down to wait for another. Arnold took one out and lured the dog away from the backyard and into the nearby woods.

*

Katheryn woke up groggily and looked at the time. It was just after four o'clock in the morning and she eased out from under the blanket and sat up, held in her sigh so that she wouldn't wake up her husband, and slowly walked to the bathroom. She did her business and came back out, then had an errant thought. She had to check and see where Arnold was.

She walked over to her bedroom door and opened it just enough to slip out, then crept down the hallway and into the main part of the house. She made her way to the living room and when she peered around the edge of the door frame, she caught her breath. Arnold wasn't there!

Katheryn quickly walked back through the house, still careful to not make any noise, and she went to her daughter's room. She very slowly opened her bedroom door and peeked inside... then sighed in relief. Only one body sized lump was under the blanket. She closed the door and started to go back to her own bedroom, then she frowned.

Hold on. If he's not on the couch and he's not in Kelly's room, then where is he? Katheryn asked herself as she stopped walking. Several things went through her mind and then the obvious answer came to her. She walked over to the spare room and gently eased open the door to peer inside. She saw the tops of two blonde heads sticking out of the blanket and she put a hand over her heart. The poor dears. She thought. They've lost almost everything in their lives except each other.

Mollified that Arnold wasn't trying to sneak into Kelly's room, Katheryn carefully closed the spare room's door and went back to her bedroom. She climbed into bed and closed her eyes to try and squeeze in a few more hours of sleep before she had to wake up in the morning to make her husband breakfast.

What she didn't know was that Arnold had just come in through the back door in the kitchen and had seen her checking the living room for him. He quickly went to the spare room to his mother and slipped into her bed and under the blanket. He had spent too much time in the woods with the dog and didn't get the chance to try and get into the second house.

*

Annie had been grateful when Arnold had climbed into the bed in the spare bedroom. After everything that had happened that day, having a comforting embrace felt very nice. She also thought that the couch was a bit too lumpy for him to get a good night's sleep and she had welcomed Arnold with a hug and a quick kiss, then faced away from him. Arnold slid in close and put his arm around her. Annie drifted off to sleep, both happy and content.

*

Kelly thought she had heard her door open and looked to see if Arnold was trying to sneak in to see her. She would have to tell him not to do that while at the house, so she slid out from under her blanket and looked out into the hallway. She saw her mother's back and frowned.

What was she doing? Kelly asked herself and waited until her mother went into the bedroom. She quickly walked through the house to check on Arnold, now that she was up. When she reached the living room, she saw that the couch was empty. Mom thought he came looking for me. She thought and went back to her bedroom, then had the same thought her mother had. Hold on. If he's not on the couch and he's not in my room, then where is he?

Kelly came up with the solution immediately and peeked into the spare room. She saw the tops of two blonde heads and she smiled. She eased the door shut and went back to her room and climbed into bed.

Of all the places he could have snuck into, that was the safest choice. Kelly thought and went back to sleep. She was glad that none of them had to be up first thing in the morning and she was only a little disappointed that Arnold hadn't tried to sneak into her bed.

*

The next morning, Katheryn had breakfast made and ready for her husband. He ate quickly and gave her a kiss goodbye, and tried to leave the house in a hurry. He had another early golf date with the boss and he was the caddy this time, so if he wasn't there before the boss and had the clubs ready, there would be hell to pay.

“Have fun.” Katheryn said as she grabbed his arm at the last second before he stepped out the door.

“You do realize I'm sucking up to the boss, right?” Kenneth asked and his wife laughed.

“Knock him dead, then.” Katheryn said and he gave her another kiss and left. It took another hour or so for three sleepy heads to shuffle into the kitchen. “What are you doing up? You look exhausted.”

“You look chipper.” Annie said and plunked down onto one of the chairs at the kitchen table.

Katheryn gave Arnold and then Kelly a knowing look as they sat down at the table. “I'm just a little happier this morning.”

Annie saw the look and chuckled. “No, he snuck into my bed last night, not Kelly's.” She said, then she laughed. “Good lord, that sounded so dirty.” She shook her head. “We only cuddled and went to sleep.”

“That must have been nice.” Kelly said.

“Oh, it was.” Annie said and yawned. “It ended too soon, too.”

“Have a couple of toast and go back to bed for a few more hours, so you can enjoy your time together.” Katheryn said. “The toast should trick your body into thinking you ate a meal and your brain will want to sleep it off.”

“That...” Kelly yawned, too. “...sounds like a good idea.”

The three of them had two toast each, Kelly had strawberry jam on hers, and the three of them left the kitchen with the same shuffling gait they came in with. Katheryn waited until they were out of earshot before she laughed at their dishevelled states.

“You take him this time.” Annie said and pointed Arnold to Kelly's room.

“Annie...”

“Your mom thought he was in your room, so I'm sure she knows you're going to cuddle now.”

Kelly remembered waking up last night and seeing her mother checking on her.

“So, you better do it now before she changes her mind.” Annie said with a smile, then yawned again. “I really am still tired.” She said and went into the spare room and closed the door.

Kelly looked at Arnold. “Arnold, do you...”

“Yes.” Arnold said and Kelly took his hand and led him into her room. He didn't hesitate and took off his jogging pants and his t-shirt and climbed into bed. Kelly took a shallow breath and looked down at her shorts and t-shirt, then slipped the shorts off. She looked at Arnold's face and she slowly pulled off her t-shirt to reveal her breasts to him for the first time.

“Arnold... what... what are you thinking right now?” Kelly asked.

“You are the most beautiful creature in this world.” Arnold said, repeating the line he had used before the prom.

Kelly smiled and lifted the blanket, then she climbed into the bed and slid in close to him. “Arnold, you... you can touch them if you want.”

“Thank you.” Arnold said and kissed her instead. Kelly was a little thrown by that, since she assumed that as soon as she gave him permission, he would be all over her breasts. She didn't tell him that, though. She kissed him back and they made out for several minutes, then Arnold broke the kiss. He stared into her eyes for a few moments, then he closed his eyes and let out a sigh.

“Arnold?” Kelly said, hesitantly.

“Turn around.” Arnold said and kept his eyes closed. Kelly did so and he moved in close and put an arm around her. He pulled her in tightly, then slid his hand up to cup one of her breasts tenderly and left it there. He didn't rub it, or massage it, or even play with the nipple. “I love you.”

“I... I love you, too.” Kelly said as tears came to her eyes. She didn't fight them and she hugged his arm tightly and let the tears flow, because she imagined that his strong and warm hand held her breast as if it was a delicate flower and he didn't want to damage it. That touched her heart deeply, because the last time her breasts had been touched, they were treated so badly. “I love you so much.”

Kelly easily went back to sleep as she cuddled the man she loved and slept soundly.

*

Jake's mother woke up and groaned as she sat up. Her husband was dead asleep beside her and she didn't bother trying to wake him up. It was a Sunday and he was going to sleep in for as long as he possibly could. She didn't begrudge him that, either. He worked hard all week for their family, just so they could afford to send their son to college in the fall.

Their daughter was only a little jealous of that, since in a couple of years, she would be graduating high school and it would be her turn to go to college. Just like her brother, she had higher than average grades and they both had a good future ahead of them. The best part was that Jake's friend Brad was attending a different college and they were finally going to get him away from that bad influence.

Both she and her husband had been very relieved that the prosecutor was lenient for the charges against them and Jake only had to do community service and not jail time. It wouldn't impact his academic record much and it even gave him a bit more of a favorable look to help the community like he was. It was forced; but still, he worked hard and the supervisor's reports were exemplary.

Jake's mother turned off the alarm before it went off and left her bedroom. She knocked on Jake's door. “I don't care how long you were outside drinking. You get your ass up right this minute! Your supervisor is going to be here in an hour.” There was no answer, so she sighed and went to the kitchen. She decided to let him sleep for another ten minutes while she made a quick breakfast.

Scrambled eggs were the easiest thing, next to cereal and milk, so she quickly cracked open a few eggs into a bowl and added a bit of milk. She stirred it haphazardly and tossed it right into the cold pan and turned on the stove. She checked the time and nodded, then went back to Jake's room. She didn't knock this time and just went right inside.

“I said to get your ass up...” She stopped talking when she saw the bed was messed up and her son wasn't in it. “Ugh.” She grunted and left his room and walked over to the living room and opened the patio door. “You better not have stayed out here drinking all goddamned night!” She said loudly and stepped out onto the concrete patio... then she froze still at what she saw. “J-J-Jake?” She asked, barely above a whisper. “Jake?” She said normally, then she yelled. “JAKE?!?”

When Jake didn't move or even twitch at the sound of her voice, she screamed.

*

Kelly woke up when her cell phone rang. She immediately knew where she was, what she was doing and looked at the clock on her nightstand. That was a quick three hours. She thought and reached for her cell phone. “Hello?” She paused. “Oh! Yes, this is Annie Strickland's contact number.” She waited and listened. “That's wonderful. Thank you for letting us know. I'll tell Annie right away.” “Uh huh.” “Yes. All right.” “Goodbye.” She put her phone down. “That was the reporter. They approved the story and she's spread it all over social media to advertise it.”

“Mom should be happy.” Arnold said. “We need to get up.”

Kelly sighed. “I like being like this.”

“Your breast is soft and warm.” Arnold said and Kelly put her hand on his hand.

“Your hand is firm and gentle, and I love you for that.” Kelly said. “But, you're right. We need to get up and tell Annie the good news.”

Arnold let her breast go and Kelly let his hand go, then they got up and dressed. They left her bedroom and went to the spare room. Annie was sound asleep and they climbed into the bed with her. It was a tight fit with the three of them on it.

“A-Arnold?” Annie asked and opened her eyes slightly.

“And Kelly.” Kelly said with a smile.

“Bed's too small.” Annie said and reached up, then pulled the both of them down into tight hugs. “Now it's okay.”

Kelly laughed and tried to hug her back. Arnold's chest was in the way, so she half-hugged him and hugged Annie with her other arm. Arnold did the same and the three of them shared a group hug.

“You must have a good reason for coming in here and squishing me.” Annie said and let them go.

Kelly held out her phone. “The reporter just called.”

“They approved the story!” Annie said and Kelly nodded.

“It'll be in the paper tomorrow and she said she's blasted social media with advertisements for you.”

Annie chuckled. “I knew it was a good idea to tell her everything.”

“I was wondering why your interview took so long.” Kelly said.

“It was more like me just telling my story and her writing it all down.” Annie said. “I think she only asked two questions.”

Kelly chuckled this time. “You always give good and informative lectures.”

“Ha.” Annie said. “Okay, off the bed. I need to change. I can't roam around the house in my sleep clothes all day.”

“Why not? You do that at home.” Kelly said and stood up. “Dad's gone for the day again, too.”

Annie gave her a look of surprise, then she laughed. “All right, those are good points.”

The three of them left the spare room and went to the kitchen to have an actual breakfast. They debated waiting a couple of hours to get some food for lunch, then decided it was better to eat now and delay lunch instead. Skipping meals was not a good idea.

They sat down and ate and watched Katheryn puttering around in the garden, then went to the living room to watch some television. Kelly folded up Arnold's blanket and the three of them sat down.

“You take the head this time.” Annie said and moved down on the couch.

“What do you... oh.” Kelly looked down at Arnold as he laid on his back and rested his head on her lap and his feet on Annie's lap. “I can't tell if we're spoiling you or if you're spoiling us by doing this.”

“Don't overthink it. Just rub his chest and relax.” Annie said with a smile.

Kelly smiled back and did just that. Her cell phone beeped at her about an hour later and she checked it. “Oh, my god.”

“What is it?” Annie asked.

“That anonymous video I posted about Arnold getting assaulted in the game by Brad and his friends just reached a million views.” Kelly said, astonished.

“It what?” Annie looked at her in shock. “Did you just say that a million people saw it?”

“Not quite. It's been seen a million times.” Kelly corrected. “That could be a million people viewing it once, a hundred thousand people viewing it ten times, or...”

“Okay, okay. I get it.” Annie said with a laugh. “It must have just as many responses.”

“There's a lot, that's for sure.” Kelly said and scrolled down a little on her phone. “Just over twenty-two thousand.”

“Excuse me? You didn't just say twenty-two thousand, did you?” Annie asked and Kelly nodded. “That's ridiculous!”

Kelly chuckled. “If you thought that's impressive, then you're going to be blown away by this.” She said. “There's about twelve hundred requests for Arnold to play the game.”

“WHAT?!?” Annie yelled.

Kelly laughed as she scrolled through them. “Hmm... I don't see any of Brad's handles in here... or Kevin's. I think these are actual people that want him to play.” She looked at a few. “A few are offering bribes, party invites, and some just want to meet you.” She shook her head. “I never thought you'd become popular by someone trying to kill you.”

Arnold gave her a small smile and she leaned down to give him a quick kiss.

Kelly browsed through the comments and then gasped. “Arnold! You've got a developer's invite!”

“A what?” Arnold asked.

“You've become a game representative and people have been coming back to it in droves because of you.” Kelly said as she read the message. “They said you'll get exclusive content if you agree and access to any new projects that they... oh, my god.” She looked at Arnold with wide eyes. “You can be a beta tester!”