Strange Sympathy: Chapter 9 - Aftercare Continued (backstory, Dave and Lauren's connection Strengthens)

**Strange Sympathy: Chapter 9 - Aftercare Continued (backstory, Dave and Lauren's connection Strengthens)**

Part 8 - https://www.reddit.com/r/BallbustingStories/comments/195alde/strange_sympathy_chapter_8_daves_flashback_daves/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3

*Author's Note: This chapter was really hard to write because it does a lot of heavy lifting to tie the series together. It was hard to get everything done: set things up for the future, establish more of a connection between Lauren and Dave, not stray too far away from the topic of ballbusting and keep things from getting too long. While the chapter itself is longer than most, it's broken up into little snippets of time so that nothing lingers for too long.*

*This is going to be much like the first Aftercare chapter. I put that flashback in the last episode so I wouldn't have two of these back to back. The next chapter will have more action.*



Neither of them could sleep. Dave was in too much pain and had a lot on his mind. Lauren didn't usually go to bed this early and her inner turmoil was gnawing at her. She was furious about what happened to Dave and fearful that something like this might happen to him again. After 30 minutes she couldn't take anymore. She was pretty sure Dave was still awake too.

Lauren was lying on her back, she turned her head toward Dave, he was lying on his back too but in the darkness she could hear him move his head and just make out in the faint, ambient light that he was looking toward her. She felt strange laying next to him like this. She barely knew him and here they were sharing a bed. She wanted to help him but she didn't know how. She wanted to talk to him about his past. She thought it might be easier in the dark.

She slid her hand under the covers toward him until she could just feel the side of her pinky brushing against his arm. She felt him grab onto her hand and hold onto it. Her heart felt heavy and she yearned to do something for him but she didn't know what to do. She rolled onto her side and started to stroke his arm with her other hand. Then she reached up and put her hand on his shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. She continued to hold his hand while he laid on his back but she snuggled up to his side.

Dave could feel her small warm, hand in his. The back of his hand was touching the leg of her sweatpants. Her face was nuzzled against his upper arm and her other hand was stroking the hair on his chest. Feeling her petite figure cuddling up to him and stroking his chest made him feel like a bigger, stronger man than he was. He wanted to lay on his side and hold her in his arms but the pain between his legs was too much. He hoped for many more nights where he could hold her while he fell asleep.

"Dave?" Lauren asked.

"Hmm?" he answered.

"Does this happen a lot?"

Dave hesitated, he thought he knew what she was asking but wanted to be sure. "Does what happen?"

Lauren paused, trying to find the right words. "How often are you abused by your ex and your family? It's happened twice in four days."

There was a long pause. Lauren gently squeezed Dave's hand. "No, it doesn't happen a lot anymore," he said.

Lauren laid there in silence, not sure what to say. She wanted to know more but she didn't want to push.

When Lauren didn't say anything Dave continued, "Before last Saturday it had been years since I'd been hit in the groin, alright? But when Candice and I were together, yeah it happened a lot."

"Did you ever try to defend yourself or press charges?"

"No, at the time I was used to the abuse because of my sister mostly. My mom would always let her get away with it but I'd get in trouble if I fought back. I never tried to get help because I was too ashamed of what was happening to me. I didn't want anyone to know about it. Plus Candice used to threaten to lie and say she hurt my balls because I tried to rape her if I ever tried to go to the police." Dave said, his tone getting more frustrated the longer he spoke, he hated thinking about all of this.

Lauren's heart sank hearing this. It was so much worse than she had thought. He hadn't just been abused by his ex wife but his mom and sister too. "Would you consider going to the police now?"

"No!" Dave said in a heated tone that startled Lauren a bit. Then in a nicer tone he said "Lauren please, I know you're just trying to help but please drop it OK? It's enough that you're here for me." He wanted to just ignore it like he always did, recover from the pain and move on. He appreciated Lauren's concern but he really didn't want her to push him to pursue legal action. It would be humiliating to have to report the incident to the police to begin with but knowing Candice, she would either deny the accusations or falsely accuse him of something to try to justify her behavior. He didn't want to have to dwell on this incident by fighting a legal battle. It would be too difficult for him to go through.

Lauren could hear how upset he was getting and decided to let it go. She was scared for him. She wished there was something she could do to protect him from this happening again.

"What's Candice's last name?"

"Addams..."

*Like the Addams family, that will be easy to remember.* Lauren thought to herself and then asked "And where does Candice work?"

Dave sighed and let go of her hand "Lauren... what are you up to?" He asked as he turned toward her slightly.

Lauren propped herself up on her side and grabbed onto Dave's hand, "I'm just wondering what she does for a living Dave. I'm wondering what someone who is capable of doing something like this does for a living." She placed Dave's hand on her breast, for just a few seconds.

Dave couldn't believe what was happening. He'd often thought about what it would be like to touch Lauren's chest. He felt so lucky to be able to do so now. The breast filled his hand and he loved the way it conformed to his touch as he groped it.

Lauren pulled his hand away. "So, are you going to tell me?"

"Huh?" Dave asked. He had forgot what they were talking about.

"What Candice's job is."

"She's a teacher" he said absent mindedly. His mind was still on Lauren's boobs.

Lauren shuddered at the thought of Candice being a teacher. She decided not to push too hard. Hopefully that would be enough information to go on to get started. She brought Dave's hand back to her chest. He cupped one of her breasts over her t-shirt and gave it a gentle squeeze.

This wasn't what she had in mind when she offered to help him if he ever got hit in the balls. She wanted to come over and jerk him off, make him feel better and be done in less than an hour. She didn't want to spend hours hanging out together and spending the night without having sex of any kind. She hoped it wouldn't happen again but she felt like it was important to be there for him now.

She snuggled back into Dave's side and let him fondle her until they both fell asleep.

-----

Dave's daughter Daphne awoke on Wednesday morning and checked her phone. She noticed a lot of notifications on a group chat between Candice, Candice's sister Jenna, Conner and herself. The only ones talking were her mom and Aunt.

Candice: I went to Dave's house last night and reintroduced his balls to my knee after all of these years. What a beautiful reunion.

Jenny: Just like the old days! What happened?

Candice: He said something I didn't like so I kneed him three times in the balls and left him lying on the floor. It was just like old times, he just stood there and let me do it!

Jenny: Did he cry this time?

Candice: Probably, I didn't stick around, though now I wish I would have. It would have been nice to take a picture of him clutching his balls on the ground. We didn't have camera phones back when I used to do it to him when we were married.

Jenny: I would love to see a picture... You should go back and bust him again.

Candice: I just might have to... I did tell him that if he ignored my calls I would go back there and teach him some manners. I hope he gives me the chance to do just that...

Daphne's heart sank reading this. She hated when her mother talked like this. She had never seen this happen to her father but she had awkwardly witnessed her mother relive certain moments with her female relatives over the years. While they thought it was funny, she loved her dad and was sad that he had gone through such pain. She had always had a high opinion of her mother when she was younger but as Daphne reached adulthood and started a family of her own, she had seen Candice's true colours glaring through the motherly advice she tried to offer.

Daphne: Is Dad OK?

Candice: Hell if I know. I'll give him a call and find out, see how good he is about returning my calls now...

Daphne felt a little scared for her Dad. She hoped she hadn't just made things worse. Now she regretted saying anything.

----

Dave woke up at 7:08 AM, 12 minutes before his alarm would go off for work. He noticed the pain in his testicles, it had improved overnight but he would have a hard time walking today. He glanced over at Lauren and couldn't believe how sexy she looked laying there in bed next to him, even if she was just wearing sweats and a t-shirt. He smiled to himself as he looked at her beautiful, sleeping face.

*I could get used to this* he thought to himself as he considered how wonderful it would be to wake up next to her everyday. If it wasn't for the circumstances in which she was there, he would have felt like the luckiest man alive.

He sighed to himself and wondered what the future would bring. Is she his girlfriend now? He never really knew what to think as far as he and Lauren were concerned. The last few days had been so surprising. He never could have guessed that his hot neighbor would volunteer to play with his nuts and jerk him off, there must be some sort of attraction, right? They hadn't even kissed and yet he felt like they had a very intimate relationship, closer than some of the women he had dated in the past. She seemed to care about him even if she liked to rough his balls up. She seemed eager to make him cum but she always disappeared after he came so he hoped maybe if he held her off for a while he could get her to stay longer. He wondered if she had to work today. Perhaps if she didn't he could get her to spend the whole day with him.

He grabbed his phone, turned off his alarm and emailed his boss to let him know he was taking a sick day. He lightly touched his balls and was relieved that they didn't hurt as much to be touched this morning. He hoped that later that night he'd be ready to let Lauren have her way with him.

He started to get out of bed when Lauren awoke. "Good morning Beautiful, I'm just going to brush my teeth and take a shower, you're welcome to hang out here if you want to. Do you have anywhere you need to be today?"

"I have to be somewhere at noon" Lauren replied, "but I can stay here until then."

Noon, that only left him a few hours with her, but he would try to make the most of it...

*RIIIIIIIING*

Dave jumped at the sound of the phone ringing as he always did because he thought it would be Candice calling. He looked at Lauren with a panicked expression.

*RIIIIIIIING*

He looked at his phone screen, desperately hoping that it was a scam caller. *Fuck!* he thought to himself as his pulse quickened and any of the desire he was feeling dried up. It was Candice calling.

*RIIIIIIING*

"Sorry," Dave said in a panic, "I need to get this or else I won't be able to think about anything else. Candice said she'd come back and bust me again if I didn't return her calls..."

*RIIII-*

"Hi Candice"

Lauren sat up and looked on, appalled. After all of the harm Candice had already caused and now she had Dave jumping to answer as soon as she calls him.

"Well hello David, it's nice that you are picking up my calls now, good boy. I guess you benefited from that behavioral therapy session I gave you last night." Candice's voice was overly cheerful and belittling.

Lauren could hear every word. She was seething inside. Dave noticed Lauren's tense body language and was a bit concerned about what she might do. He didn't want Candice to know she was there.

Dave sighed, "What can I do for you Candice?" he asked coolly.

"I'm just calling to see how you are doing after last night. Tell me David, how do your little cherries feel this morning?..."

As Candice was speaking, Lauren took a deep breath. Dave looked at her. She looked like she was about so say what was on her mind. He held his hand up and and gave her a pleading look and shook his head slightly. Then he brought his pointer finger up to his lips and slowly blinked at her.

"...Are they all red, plump and juicy? Just begging for someone to come and take great big..."

"I'm fine Candice thanks for your concern." He said stoically. He realized he had to act calm for Lauren's sake in this moment. She looked upset enough for the both of them. He was so touched that she could feel such passionate rage on his behalf, though he hated to be the reason that such a dark look was present on that beautiful face of hers. He thought about how she had fallen apart into an inconsolable mess the night before. He knew if he showed any sign of weakness right now it might break her. He had to be strong for her, which normally would have been tough but he felt that her feelings for him gave him the strength he required to remain calm.

There was a brief pause as Candice's tactic to make him squirm was derailed. He gave Lauren half a smile and winked at her. He reached out and held her hand and then grinned at her. Her look softened and he saw something in her eyes that he had never seen before but he didn't know what it was. It was like she she was seeing something in him for the first time... but the moment was ruined all too soon:

"Well, it was Daphne who was concerned," Candice snapped at him.

Dave scowled. He felt a pang of annoyance that Candice had told Daphne. He wondered who else she had told. He looked away from Lauren uncomfortably and sighed again, "Well that's sweet of her. Please tell her that I'm alright and that I love her okay?"

Lauren hugged her legs and looked down, wishing the call would end.

*"Tell her yourself I'm not your carrier pigeon!"* Candice screeched.

Dave jumped in alarm. His pulse quickened.

Lauren's head snapped up at Candice's outburst. It seemed like she was just looking for any reason to pick a fight. She felt so indignant about how Dave was being treated.

Dave quietly sighed and reached out and touched Lauren's arm and smiled at her again. While he found Candice's nasty response jarring, he felt a deep sense of pride that he wasn't letting her push his buttons. Normally he would have acted snide in return, producing just enough malice in his tone to let his disdain show without having to face severe repercussions from his ex wife. Normally he would have hated that she was telling him what to do but not today. Somehow having Lauren by his side gave him a sense of peace that laid across his emotional landscape like a big weighted blanket, tamping down the fear and anger that he'd normally feel in this situation.

"That's a great suggestion, I think I will. Will that be all Candice?" He asked in a bored tone.

There was a pause as Candice tried to think of something else to blast him with "I guess so..." she said quietly.

"OK well you have a nice day Candice!" Dave said, letting some excitement slip into his tone as he realized he was about to be free of this conversation.

*"FUCK YOU DAVE!"*

"Take care!" He said cheerily.

Dave hung up the phone and beamed at Lauren.

Lauren looked at him unhappily. "How could you act so calmly towards her after everything she's done to you?" she snapped indignantly.

Her outburst stung Dave a bit. He had dealt with Candice easily but it would be harder for him to navigate how to deal with Lauren, she was still such a mystery to him. He reached out and grabbed her hand and gently pulled it up to his lips. He folded her fingers and held her little fist in his hands. He slowly kissed the back of her hand and then held it up to his cheek. He remembered some advice he had been given by his therapist after his divorce.

His warm, slate grey eyes held her gaze for a moment, "She was trying to bait me into an argument Lauren. It wouldn't have done any good to be nasty back, that's what she wanted. She wanted to piss me off so I'd be rude to her and she could threaten me because she likes the sense of power she feels when she threatens me. Normally I would have taken the bait but this time I could be calm because you're here and everything feels right when we're together... I think it pissed her off more that I wasn't biting back." He gave Lauren a huge grin.

Lauren looked away feeling uncomfortable. There was something about the way he said *everything feels right when we're together* that gave Lauren a sense of unease. She sighed. "Yeah I guess it did. It's just nicer treatment than she deserved."

Dave's grin turned into a grimace. "It's best not to stir things up with Candice, no matter how she deserves to be treated."

"Sounds wise," Lauren said, looking down.

"I think I should give my daughter a quick call."

"OK well while you do that I think I'm going to go home and freshen up. Maybe I'll just come back this afternoon after my meeting, how does that sound?"

Dave was a bit disappointed at the thought that he wouldn't see her for the next few hours but he agreed that would be best. He wondered how long he could get her to stay tonight. He hoped his balls would recover by then.

----

The first thing Lauren did when she got home was brew a pot of coffee. As she ate breakfast she started looking for information on Candice. She was able to find her name on the website for the local school board, along with the school she worked at. It was a high school about 5 minutes away. The school website offered more information and a picture. Candace was math teacher. Lauren tried to find her on social media without success. She'd have to find out some more details from Dave.

Whenever she was worried about something she would go into research mode. She wasn't sure what she was going to do with the information she had on Candice yet but she felt like she was preparing for something.

She showered and got ready for her meeting.

----

It was late afternoon when Lauren made it back to Dave's house. She was a bit taken aback when Daphne answered. After Daphne talked to her father on the phone that morning, she had taken the day off work to visit him. She rarely got to see her dad even though she worked in the same area that he lived. She lived in a city 45 minutes away but didn't drive. Dave worked in the city she lived. Their commutes ended up being about the same with him being in the heavy flow of rush hour traffic and her being in the less busy direction in transit. Visiting on weekdays made the days too long and she was usually busy with her husband and daughter on the weekends. It meant they usually only saw each other on special occasions.

Dave had been hoping this would happen. He wanted Lauren and Daphne to meet each other and he didn't know when they would get another chance. Lauren had taken so long coming back that he thought Daphne was going to have to leave before she got there.

Dave had tried finding Lauren on social media before so he could learn more about her but he couldn't find her. He had tried looking for her again today so he could show Daphne how beautiful she was but he was unsuccessful. He had been dying to tell someone about Lauren but was afraid no one would believe him. She was such a catch to him. If she was as beautiful, self sufficient and sweet as he made her sound, it would lead one to believe what a girl like that would want with a man like him? This whole situation with her felt unreal to him. He wanted to make it feel more real to him. He thought if he could tell someone about her and prove she existed, that he could ground himself in reality. It wasn't until he could confirm that his head was grounded to reality that he could let his hopes for a future with her run wild.

"Lauren! I'm so glad you're here. Come in!" Dave called from the entryway. He beamed as Lauren entered and closed the door. He was so happy to see his two favorite women standing side by side. Petite, little Lauren, a cute little doll with her perfect proportions standing next to his daughter who was a bit taller than Lauren and had a stouter frame, like her parents.

Lauren smiled awkwardly, noting how much Daphne resembled Dave. They both had the same kind smile and medium gray eyes. She wondered which of her parents her personality was more similar to. She took a deep breath, "Hi Daphne, it's nice to meet you." Attempting to sound friendly.

"It's nice to meet you too! My dad has told me so much about you." Daphne said eagerly and smiled warmly at Lauren.

Lauren forced a bigger, more awkward smile. She felt anxious as she wondered what Dave had said about her. She glanced at Dave. She could feel him staring like he was expecting something.

Dave was cautiously watching the two women, noting Lauren's discomfort. He was a bit disappointed by how this was going. He had hoped Lauren would be more comfortable with his daughter.

"Am I interrupting? Should I come back later?" Lauren asked. Taking a step back and reaching for the door knob.

"No you should stay. I was just leaving to pick up my daughter." Daphne moved toward the door and Dave called her over for a hug. Daphne walked past Lauren and gave her dad a little thumbs up. She looked impressed. As he hugged her he whispered "Not a word of this to your mom OK?" Candice often tried to interfere with his relationships when she found out he was dating someone new.

Daphne nodded. She made her way to the door and then turned to face Lauren. She quietly said "It was so kind of you to be there for him last night. It's nice knowing that he has someone nearby he can call for help when he needs it." She reached out and squeezed Lauren's arm.

----

Lauren locked the door behind Daphne. She stood there facing the door with her head down. She squeezed her eyes shut and took a few deep breaths. She turned to face Dave.

"Are you upset that I told her?" He asked sheepishly.

"What exactly did you tell her?" Lauren asked with a cautious tone.

"Just that I called you last night and you came over and helped me feel better and we had dinner together."

Lauren walked over to Dave, "Did you tell her I spent the night?" She put her hands on his shoulders, looking up at him.

Dave stared down at her. He shook his head and replied "No, I didn't mention it."

Lauren took a deep breath, Dave smelled great, she could tell that he had showered while she was gone. Lauren smiled up at him. He smiled back. She reached down and brushed her hand against his crotch. "Did you tell her I inspected your testicles for damage?" Her smile widened into a devilish grin that made her gleaming eyes narrow into slits.

"No! Of course not." He reassured her.

Lauren giggled at Dave's reaction. He smiled down at her like he couldn't believe she had just asked him such a thing. He winced as Lauren rubbed her hand between his legs.

"Still sore from yesterday? or does Daphne take after the rest of your family?" Lauren said pulling her hand away.

Dave scowled at the suggestion. "No Lauren, Daphne isn't like that! She's a sweetheart." Dave said looking down, smiling to himself. "I'm just tender from yesterday."

There was a long pause as Lauren reached up with the hand that had been on his shoulder and caressed the side of his face, looking at him sympathetically. He awkwardly reached out for her. She let him clumsily grope at her until his stubby hands rested on her hips. He loved how small her waist felt. He looked at her lips and wanted to kiss her so badly. He started to lean forward.

Lauren pulled her head back and gave him a suspicious look. "What else did you tell her about me?"

Dave sighed, trying to stifle his frustration."Not much, just that you live next door and that you're caring and beautiful and I like spending time with you." He gave Lauren a sly smile and winked.

Lauren was relieved, "So nothing too personal then?"

"Well no, I don't know a lot of personal stuff to tell..." He said, moving his hands up, he put them around her shoulders, "But I'd love to get to know you better..." He pulled her close to him, pushing her shoulders towards him from behind. He wrapped his arms around her in a big bear hug, pinning one of her arms to her side. He enjoyed how small she felt in his arms. He wasn't very tall for a man but he felt tall when he hugged her. He loved feeling this way. He wished he could feel that way forever.

"Ooo" Dave let out a small cry as he felt Lauren's hand grasp his crotch. She gently pulled out of his hug and he looked down at her with his mouth slightly open and a nervous look in his eyes.

Feeling the palm of her hand laying against his limp dick was starting to stir some excitement within him. Lauren adjusted her hand so the tips of her fingers lightly skated across the front of his sweatpants just in the spot that covered the head of his cock as it limply protruded above his heavy, swollen testicles. The sensation felt strange to Dave, it sent shivers down his spine. He didn't know if he liked it, he just knew he didn't want her to stop touching him down there. She was touching him too lightly. He grabbed her forearm and gently pulled it closer to him and he tried to lean into her touch but when he did he jumped in pain as her fingers jabbed into his scrotum. He let go of her arm and grabbed his balls. He stood there hunched over in pain, looking down at the floor.

Lauren rubbed his shoulder sympathetically. "How about we get back in bed and take these pants off?"

A wide grin slowly spread across Dave's face. He wondered if she was talking about his pants or hers. He would be happy either way.


Chapter 10 https://www.reddit.com/r/BallbustingStories/comments/1acy652/strange_sympathy_chapter_10_flashback_the/