13. Mile High Talks
Olivia’s entire body shook uncontrollably as she swiveled her hips on top of him. She”d been riding him endlessly, secretly eating up the feel of his crushing grip on her hips as she screwed their flesh together. She threw her head back and gasped, feeling a hot bead of sweat roll down her spine and she clawed her nails into his chest as she locked her muscles against her impending orgasm.
”No!” she gasped as he reared forward and latched hard onto her straining nipple. She let out a little shriek, feeling herself gush wetly on him. Her hearing faded slightly, replaced by a ringing sound. ”No Colin, no!” She tried to jerk away and then pushed at him, failing to loosen his latch on her breast. She shuddered as her sex tightened up, spasming on his thick length. Colin groaned, the sound vibrating through her nipple down to her clit. ”Oh God I”m going to pass out!” she whimpered, beginning to push in earnest against him now.
The ringing in her head became louder and she felt her world tilt on its axis as he grabbed her arms hard and rolled them fast so she was underneath him, her legs spread wide as he bounced off her pussy unrelentingly. The bed was squeaking in protest and the sheets had long since half torn off the bed in their passion for one another. Their joining was messy, and she wouldn”t have it any other way.
”The hell you are,” Colin growled, shoving back through her sensitive tissues, making her keen and cry out for mercy. He settled himself on top of her and licked up her cheek before grasping her head and holding her still. ”Now I know you”re young and we have sixteen years between us, and though it turns me on so fucking much that I”m older than you, I still have so much to teach you,” he punctuated his statement with a deep grinding thrust that had her eyes rolling into the back of her head. ”What I”m not going to tolerate is temper tantrums, much less one that lasts thirteen fucking weeks. So, until I am fucking satisfied you”ve learned your lesson, you better be letting me know you are paying attention, baby. And God help your ass if you don”t stay present. So if you pass out, I”m just going to wait until you come to and then fuck you a different way, until my ego is appeased. You feel me?”
Olivia gritted her teeth and groaned through this orgasm, feeling it work its way torturously from the inside out. She barely had the energy to flinch as he tilted his head down and latched onto her neck, biting her hard and sucking the vulnerable flesh into his mouth.
”You and your fucking ego can go straight to hell,” she bit out, knowing she was goading him.
He let go of her neck and she screamed as he yanked her leg up and delivered ten harsh slaps to her ass, making her clench around him harder.
”If I”m going to hell, then you best believe I”m dragging you with me.”
***
A few hours later, Colin disengaged from a barely conscious Olivia and yanked his clothes back on. He went into the little bathroom off the bedroom and washed his face and hands, not wanting to smell too much like sex when he went out front. He went back into the bedroom and pulled the covers higher over her now sleeping form, and pushed her now red hair away from her face. Earlier, he’d thrown her into the little shower and followed her in with the hair dye strip boxes, ignoring her protests for privacy. He’d be damned if she was going to miss any spots.
He just wanted the brown shit gone.
He’d also made her pee on all the pregnancy tests, his harsh look daring her to defy him as he held out a test one by one, crowding her in the bathroom to make sure she peed on all of them, not giving her any privacy. She saw some of the coldness leave his eyes as they all showed up negative. Not much, but some.
Colin closed the bedroom door and walked to the front where the seating area was, ignoring Jonathan who was on his laptop with his ear pods in. He went to the drinks cabinet and poured himself a healthy scotch. Turning and taking a seat perpendicular from Jonathan who’d taken out his ear pods and was giving him a rather assessing look.
“What?” Colin snapped. His eyes flashed as he returned the look, tilting his head back and ignoring the burn as the alcohol went down. He rubbed his aching chest.
Shit,he thought. He hurt everywhere, and his dick was still hard. Not to mention he was still incredibly pissed about Jonathan’s interruption earlier. He knew that he was responsible for that, having almost leapt off the deep end several times in the last few weeks but the man really couldn’t think he’d hurt Olivia. Not really. The woman held his soul in the palm of her hand.
“Vanessa said to leave something of Olivia for her to rip apart when we get home bro. Can you lay off for a little bit?” Jonathan said, his eyes turning back to his computer when Colin threw him a wry look.
“Fuck that. Vanessa can have what I let her have,” Colin said, flinching as he took a rather big gulp of the scotch. “How much longer until we land? I’m losing track of time,”
“Nineteen more hours. We’ve been in the sky for five,” Jonathan replied, his eyes boring into Colin’s. “You’re not even ashamed, are you?” he said, taking a drink of his own whiskey and leaned back in his seat, getting comfortable.
Colin’s lip curled. “Why should I be? She’s my wife,” he snarled across the seat at him.
“She’s not your property.” Jonathan raised an eyebrow.
Colin stiffened. They differed in opinions, and in Colin’s viewpoint, he damn near owned her, and she owned him. Jonathan knew that.
“All I’m saying is, you might want to actually talk to her about the reason why she left before you screw the poor girl to death.” Jonathan nudged. “Bro, we still have to get home and stop by my house. Vanessa wants to see her, and Allison needs to see her.” He held up a hand, halting Colin’s reply.
“No, I don’t want to hear it. I just spent a fucking week in China with you looking for her. I’ve lost millions and you have lost hundreds of millions in the last fourteen weeks. We’re stopping by my place first. Get your shit together and let’s get back on track!” Jonathan’s voice came out hard.
Colin narrowed his eyes at Jonathan. “We’ll go to your house, only because of Ally,” he bit back in a reply as he signaled for the stewardess. “Can I have something to eat please?” He requested of her rather rudely, suddenly starving. He’d barely eaten since they’d got to China. He had been so adamant to find Olivia.
“Yes, sir. I’ll have it to you shortly,” the brunette said, her eyes flickering down his form greedily, lingering on his tattoos before she turned to head to the front of the plane where the small kitchenette was.
Jonathan watched her walk away. “Whew, that woman wants you,” he teased, trying to lighten the mood. “She wanted to put you on a plate for herself. If only she was aware of your particular brand of kinky.” He chuckled, ignoring Colin’s filthy stare aimed his way, unimpressed. He poured himself some more to drink.“You ok bro?” Jonathan asked, closing his laptop and placing it to the side, giving Colin his undivided attention.
“No,” Colin snarled back. “I’m going to fucking tell her after she wakes up. Get it over with. Will you stay please?” he said, not wanting to show weakness but really seeing no other alternative. He didn’t want to risk her running again. And what was she going to do? Parachute off the plane? He knew she was talented, but he doubted she could pull that stunt off.
His chest ached and he felt like he’d aged ten years in just the three months she’d been gone.
“Of course, man. Whatever you need. Probably best to get it out the way because I can’t say what’s going to happen to Olivia when Vanessa gets her hands on her,” Jonathan said, his eyes softening towards him. The stewardess put a plate of roast beef carrots and potatoes in front of both Colin and Jonathan and disappeared. Colin ate and sat back, staring contemplatively out the window.
At some point he and Jonathan both fell asleep.
***
A couple hours later, Olivia woke up and moaned, just lying there, feeling like she’d been hit by a truck. She had no clue how long Colin had been fucking her, but it exceeded any other time they’d done it before. She shivered as she sat up, wincing at the pang in her vagina. The man was a machine and was single mindedly focused with all his fury on her, intent on nailing her to the plane.
She brushed her red hair out of her face, rather relieved to see her color was back to normal, she’d hated being brunette.
Getting up, Olivia disappeared back into the bathroom, seeing a towel and a linen dress laid out on the small table. She hissed as she got back into the shower, wincing as the water felt like needles against her sensitive skin. She worked diligently to wash the smell of hard sex, sweat, and Colin off her body before rinsing thoroughly.
Then she washed a second time just to make sure. She was embarrassed that her husband just railed her like a whore for the security officers, his personal assistant, and Jonathan to hear; she didn’t want them smelling her as well.
Olivia brushed her hair and left it wet, pulling on her bra, not finding any underwear.
Well then, she thought, her eyebrows raising. Her stomach growled and she bit her lip, eyeing the door that led to the rest of the plane. She frowned, not knowing what she was facing when she went out there.
She got out the phone Colin provided her and scrolled through it before remembering that she was on a plane and couldn’t use it. Wobbling over to the door, she cracked it, seeing the small hallway and another powder bathroom. She tiptoed barefoot to the end and spotted Jonathan reading a book, facing her, and Colin was in a chair across from him with his back to her, asleep.
Olivia waved, getting Jonathan’s attention. Walking further in, she sat at a little table nearby and waited for him to join her.
“Hey,”she said softly, tucking her hair behind her ear and giving him a small, shy smile as he settled into the seat next across from her.
“Hey,” Jonathan said, his dark eyes assessing her. He wisely didn’t say anything about her appearance or said anything about him interrupting her and Colin earlier.
“Is there any food on this plane,” Olivia whispered, “I’m starving.”
Jonathan nodded and smiled as he signaled for the stewardess. “Yeah, what do you want? We have roast beef or chicken and rice?”
“Chicken and rice please,” she mumbled, wanting something not so heavy on her stomach. The only way to solidify my place as the most fucked up wife ever hall of fame is to throw up while Colin is fucking me. No thank you. She poured herself a cup of sprite and sipped it, trying to calm her nerves. Her eyes slid to Colin who was still sleeping peacefully.
“That’s the most peaceful I’ve seen him since you’ve left,” Jonathan said quietly, seeing her gaze on Colin. “I’m sorry I walked in on you two like that…I just wanted to make sure you were ok,” he admitted, stunning her.
She winced.“Did he tell you what I found? Why I left?” she said, needing him to understand she wouldn’t just abandon her family without good reason.
“I know what you found. I know the whole story, Ukhat. I was there through it all from the beginning.”
Olivia glanced down at the table, taking a deep breath and trying to steel her resolves. “Jonathan…can I trust this man? He had so many pictures, almost like he was stalking me from the beginning. And then the newspaper clippings of that family? He knew how my mom and dad died. I feel so fucking foolish,” she paused for a second and then took a gasping breath. “He made me love him and then broke my heart. I felt so blindsided,” she whispered as a hot tear slid down her cheek.
“Olivia, I’m sorry you had to find out the way you did. I can only imagine how awful you must have felt. How betrayed. And I know we all have to handle things in our own way. I don’t judge you for leaving, I hope you realize that,” he ran a hand through his thick black hair and took a deep breath before continuing.
“Yes, we were all incredibly upset, and there was a lot of damage control that needed doing, especially with Allison. But trauma doesn’t make sense. We know this. Everything’s happened so fast for us all I think, that we’re trying to find our own way to navigate life. It’s hard and won’t always be perfect,” he gave the stewardess a smile as she set the food down in front of Olivia. She said thank you and tucked in, eating heartily.
“Marriage isn’t perfect, but you do owe it to him to let him explain himself. Everything isn’t always what you think. He wasn’t stalking you. In the beginning, I think he was trying to feel you out because you wouldn’t give him the time of day for anything, and he’s not used to not getting his way. He followed you to try and figure out if you were in a relationship or gay and whether or not he had a chance,” Jonathan chuckled at Olivia’s cough.
“But then he quickly saw that something was wrong, and wanted to help but didn’t know how to approach you without being so direct. You know Colin, he just barrels through with solutions,” he smiled at her kindly.
Olivia nodded and they continued to talk quietly about Allison and her liver transplant and how she was doing until Colin suddenly stirred. He always rose before her; she never got to see him when he arose for the day. She saw the change happen gradually. He sat up and stretched his arms, the muscles even thicker than before, giving them a little shake. His face which was relaxed in slumber, hardened and chiseled itself into the man that she knew. He took a second to check his watch before standing and turning, seeing her and Jonathan at a table behind him.
His eyes hardened as they landed on hers and she glanced at the tabletop shyly, feeling ashamed of herself. She’d put everyone through so much. She felt her cheeks pinken as he came around to sit in the chair next to her. He leaned back, crossing his ankle over his knee and extended his arm to slide behind her back in the barrel seat she was in.
“Five more hours until touch down. I hope we all got enough sleep. We still have Vanessa to deal with and I don’t know about you two but I’m going to need several drinks to handle that,” Jonathan quipped, getting up to refresh his drink and make them their own. He came back cradling three glasses in his big hands before setting them on the table.
“Did you eat?” Colin said softly to Olivia, sliding her drink towards her cautiously, almost as if he was worried she would throw it on him. Her green eyes flickered to him, almost dark with the plethora of emotions that were on her face.
“Yes,” she whispered, blinking back tears. How can I love this man? “Did you?” she asked back softly, seeing Colin nod his head yes in response. Grabbing her drink, Olivia tossed a healthy amount back and winced as she sucked on the lemon that was on the side of her glass, grimacing as she felt the burn spread.
“We need to talk,” Colin said, his own face reflecting his worry and emotion.
Olivia jerked in her seat facing him. Licking her lips, she took a quick breath before she began to speak, her words coming out more rapidly than she cared for them to. “Colin, I don’t hate you. I know that I was upset but I didn’t mean it when I said it,” she said softly, wanting to lean into him but not ready to give him that yet. “I just felt so betrayed,” Olivia’s face broke as she looked away, hiding herself from him on a pained whimper.
She cried harder as his hand settled on the back of her neck. Jonathan pushed a tissue into her hand and she whispered thank you. Pressing the napkin to her eyes, she wiped her nose feeling like a wreck, physically now and not just mentally.She sagged in relief as Colin turned his eyes onto her, softer now.
“I didn’t mean it either, Olivia. I was just so mad. We thought you were dead, baby. Until the money started coming. Then the fury came right along with it. I’m sorry that you felt like you had to run instead of coming to me. I wanted to try and tell you so many times, I just didn’t know how to without losing you. But then I lost you anyways, except I couldn’t even give you my side of the story. I know what you found looked really bad. But I have that stuff as a reminder of my pain, and what I work so hard for,” Colin said, his voice coming out rough and hollow.
“Is it because I’m a redhead? You thought by picking me and pulling me into this fairytale life that you would be absolved? I mean, what exactly was it?” she whispered, unable to meet his eyes, not wanting him to see into her soul when he broke her heart further.
Apparently there was still enough soul left there to shatter.
“No baby, I think it was just a lucky coincidence. Fate. I really was out there about to end it all when I saw you. It was almost like the heavens decided that it was time for me to move on, and they made my ultimate blessing look like the source of my torment. Because that was a sign. And I needed something obvious because nothing was helping,” Colin replied. Olivia was aware of his eyes on her profile, but she wasn’t quite ready to face him.
“True, I’ve almost had this man committed more times than I care to talk about. He was doing okay for a while but began to spiral with the guilt that was eating at him,” Jonathan chimed in, clearing his throat, and sitting back further in his seat.
“What happened, Colin? I need to know,” she said, finally turning her eyes onto his. She slightly recoiled at what she found there.
“Will you leave me again? If I tell you?” he said hoarsely, his hands fisted hard, turning his knuckles white. She leaned forward and placed her hand onto his thigh.
“No,” Olivia said honestly. She loved him, even though what he was about to tell her was probably going to destroy her mentally. “I think we’re stuck with each other. You just drug me back from one of the most obscure places on earth,” she gave him a small smile, feeling his thigh tense.
Her smile faltered as he turned in his seat to regard her with eyes that looked tortured, bleak, desperate, and absolved. She gulped a desperate breath of her own, feeling her lips quiver as she waited for his next words.
“Baby if you don’t want me anymore after I tell you this, you can go. You don’t even have to pay me the money back,” he said, his voice coming out hollow. She briefly wondered if he really even meant it.
Ouch, Olivia thought, feeling her heart crack further. She didn’t want him to say that; she never wanted him to give her an inkling that he’d ever let her go.
Olivia took a deep breath. “Colin, were you drunk when you hit them?” she asked, letting the words linger in the air around them. Jonathan took a deep drink of his whiskey and leaned forward, gazing at the two of them intently.
Colin stared at her for a second. Because how could he tell her this without talking about his mother. The one person he’d never wanted to talk about again. His face tightened.
“No. No, I wasn’t,” he said, his voice coming out gruffer than he intended. He glanced over at Jonathan, who nodded his head encouragingly at him. Colin turned his eyes to the table in front of him, momentarily steeling himself to set his secret loose. His hand shook as if the physical action would be enough to keep the mental grip on his internal torment. He turned his eyes back to Olivia’s, finding a small measure of comfort that she was still staring at him in the face.
“It was late, and storming. I was driving home from a friend’s house. I had just delivered his money from selling his supply of coke, and had gotten my cut,” his eyes were tight on hers. She stared back, not even wanting to blink, surprised that he used to be a dealer.
“My mother had been in treatment for health problems, and I was selling drugs to help my father pay for her hospital bills. Sounds rather familiar, doesn’t it?” he said quietly. She nodded her head, her eyes widening.
“It was around the time that modern cell phones were just coming out, and they were still the little Nokia phones, with the keypads that you had to press multiple times to get one letter out. Well, my father had texted me to let me know that my mom had suffered a heart attack and was being rushed to the hospital. I was reading the text message and began driving too fast to rush to be by her side when I hit the car with the family inside. I didn’t see the stop sign through the rain in my haste and t-boned them going ninety miles an hour. The mom and dad, teenage daughter, child, and baby all died on sight. I don’t know how I made it,” Colin whispered, blinking back his own tears, breathing hard. Not wanting to relive that moment.
Oh My God, Olivia thought, her eyes holding his in disbelief as something flowed between the two of them and her head bowed under its force.
Olivia’s heart finished shattering. Feeling it painfully splintering to pieces, she scooched closer, placing her lips on his forearm. She looked startled as a tear splashed on his arm; she was crying.
“I killed five family members that night and wound up in a room at the same hospital that my mom died at just hours later. I couldn’t even say goodbye because I was strapped to so many machines to monitor my brain activity. I was so close, but couldn’t even say goodbye. I lost my father shortly after too. His whole life ended up turned upside down by grief, and he moved to another state,” he paused and scrubbed a hand down his face.
Colin took a deep breath before continuing.
“I had to move in with Jonathan. I haven’t seen my dad since before my mother’s funeral. I know you saw the picture of me next to her casket. I had to arrange it myself with Jonathan and his family’s help. My father abandoned me before the funeral and didn’t even say goodbye. He made sure to call me a killer before he left. Apparently, mom was doing ok after her heart attack, but when the nurses told her that her son got into an accident, killing an entire family and I was laid up in a nearby room, she’d had another fatal one. It was my fault.” Colin’s body tensed and he looked away from both Olivia and Jonathan, unable to face either one of them as he struggled to get a handle on his emotions.
Olivia felt her jaw drop as her stomach flipped. Her hand went to cover her mouth and she let out a shaky exhale. Her grief turned into rage and she bared her teeth as she felt herself turn red. She started trembling, her blood pressure shooting through the roof.
“No!”she gritted out so violently both men slightly jumped. “I refuse to let you believe that. That’s a sick man who would turn his back on his son like that! To pick up the pieces by yourself? To call you a killer when it wasn’t even your fault! Heart attacks happen. Cancer happens. Fucking liver disease happens!” she almost screamed this last part, and Jonathan and Colin both reached for her at the same time, slightly alarmed by her outburst.
‘No! Let go of me. Tell me tell me you don’t think you killed your mom. Tell me!” Olivia implored, reaching forward and grasping both of his arms in her hands, clutching hard. He turned red eyes to her, his pain plain as day on his face. “Baby please…” she whispered now, digging her nails into his skin.
God I’ve been so blind. How did I not see this pain?she thought sadly.
“It doesn’t matter, I killed that family, and my mother died shortly after she found out. Facts are facts Olivia,” he said harshly. His eyes were back to being hard, and he was closing himself off once again.
Olivia shook her head, feeling like she was underwater. She was back in that pool, feeling like it was her drowning instead of Allison. She gasped and sat back in her seat, her eyes widening. “Wait…your dad abandoned you. Do you feel like…” she turned eyes full of heartbreak onto him. She felt nauseated, truly scared she was going to be sick. She blinked, feeling a lone tear slide down her face.
“Allison. Do you think I abandoned her?Have I been fucking triggering you this whole time with my situation?” she half whispered, her eyes bouncing back and forth between Colin and Jonathan.
“Wow…this has taken quite a turn,” Jonathan said ruefully, sitting back in his seat and folding his arms tightly.
Colin remained quiet, unsure of what to say. He hadn’t expected the conversation to go this way. He kept his eyes on the table in front of him, unwilling to meet her eyes.
Olivia leaned back and took a deep breath, thrusting a hand through her hair. “Oh my God we’re so fucked up. This is so fucked up. You can’t even answer my question,” Olivia whispered, her eyes staring unseeingly at his chest. She began to cry silently. “What do we do?” she asked. Her green eyes imploring, looking over to Jonathan who looked just as stricken. Her friend who usually had all the answers was suddenly mute.
“I can’t say that’s made me exactly comfortable, that my best friend is raising Allison,” Colin offered as politely as he could, carefully meeting her gaze. Her mouth tightened.
Colin felt his hands shake as his blood pressure spiked. Tightening his fists, he desperately tried to ward off the looming panic attack, thinking this was too much to pick through in one conversation.
“You know why,” she suddenly hissed, slapping a fist into her palm sharply. “Do you think this is easy for me?” she said louder, her eyes flashing as she leaned forward in her chair.
Colin suddenly moved, his fist thumping into his chest hard. “It’s not just YOU anymore! Allison should have been OURS,” Colin suddenly yelled, his eyes snapping on hers and narrowing. “And yet I have to listen while she calls him daddy!” his eyes flashed angrily at her as he pointed a finger at Jonathan, who was now sitting back and pouring more whiskey into his tumbler, still remaining quiet because what could anyone say to that?
Olivia let out a little sound and placed her hands over her mouth, curling her knees up to her chest in the seat. Her eyes went wide.
Colin was so angry, a vein was beating in his neck. He leaned forward even closer.
“What exactly is it that you want me to say to you, huh? How the fuck is it supposed to make me feel?” he gritted bitterly, getting in her face. “I have been going there every week keeping up your Sunday visits and making excuses, torturing myself staring into her green eyes that are just like yours, telling her excuse after excuse about where her Aunt Ollie is while she calls me Uncle,” he leaned back in his chair slightly, trying to control his temper. “It is one thing, to have a child who is five years old, who barely carries memories from that time in their life, and compare them to a teenaged boy almost in their adulthood. I have to remember every fucking thing. I don’t have the luxury of forgetting a single thing. I had a mother who loved me, who died. And a father who is alive and wants nothing to do with me. There’s no fixing that, the damage is done, we can’t compare these two scenarios at all. But we can fix this, and you won’t even entertain the idea,” Colin breathed deeply, leaning forward once more, further into her space. “So you’re motherfucking right I can’t answer your question. This conversation is over,” he said as he pushed up from the chair and left to go into the back room, slamming the door.
Olivia sat back in the chair, stunned. Jonathan said nothing, sitting there looking just as tortured. She broke, her face crumbling as she drew her knees tighter, wrapping her arms around her legs and sobbing. Jonathan got up and sat next to her in the empty seat, pulling her into his chest as she cried.
“Ollie, it’s going to be okay. We’ll get through this Uhkat.”
Olivia shook her head. ”I don”t know Jonathan. I know I was hurt but I acted like a child. I don”t even know why he”ll want me after this. I don”t even know why he still wants me.”
”Olivia, Colin loves you. He meant every vow he spoke with you the day you two got married. You will get through this but you”ll have to acknowledge that it”ll take time to build back trust together,” Jonathan said softly, reaching forward to squeeze her hand. He let her cry on him for as long as she needed until she wore herself out.
They spent the next four hours in silence, not speaking to each other.
***
The three of them were still silent after Colin’s raw outburst as the hired driver took them to Jonathan and Vanessa’s new home straight from the tarmac. They’d bought a huge mansion about ten minutes away from them.
Olivia was tense, not even able to take in the beautiful property as the car slowed to a stop. She took a second to wipe her tears, her heart beating wildly at the thought of reuniting with Allison and her sister.
She hesitantly followed Colin out of his side, stepping onto the intricately laid drive with ivy growing between the slats. She startled as she heard a loud slam and a “Where is she?”
Vanessa.
Olivia’s eyes widened as her sister rounded the corner of the drive and half flew down the pathway underneath archways of white climbing roses, her bulging tummy leading the way. Vanessa was crying and visibly shaken, her bare feet padded loudly on the stone as she came closer. Olivia stood stunned, wringing her hands in fear as she came up to her.
She cried out as her head snapped sharply to the side before her sister yanked her to her harshly, maneuvering around her big belly. Vanessa was sobbing.
“You’re such a fucking asshole Ollie! We thought you were dead you bitch,” she bit out. Olivia winced, her cheek stung, and Vanessa had her hands in her hair and was pulling her to her by the strands that she swore Colin had ripped out when he was stripping her hair of its dye.
“I’m sorry Nessie,” she half whined, her whole body now smarting from all the abuse over the last twenty-four hours. “I was just hurt big sis,” she said, relaxing into her arms. Suddenly, she felt a kick on her stomach and she pulled back gasping.
“Nessie,” she whispered, placing her hands tenderly on her sister’s bump. She squealed with excitement as she felt the kick again.
“I know, he’s very active!” Vanessa said, her spark back in her eyes.
“A boy?” Olivia said, a dreamy expression on her face. “I’m going to be an aunt,” she whispered, crouching down to put her face into Vanessa’s belly.
“I’m going to spoil you rotten, you little thing. Just you wait!” she said, wrapping both of her arms around Vanessa’s tummy and squeezing tightly.
“I’m going to get Allison,” Colin said, his face tight as he walked away toward the side entrance that led to the couple’s mudroom and kitchen.
Jonathan came up next to them and put his arms on both of their shoulders and pulled them in for a hug. The big guy was such a softy.
Too bad Colin isn’t,she thought.
Just then, he came out with Allison in one arm. Olivia’s heart tugged as Allison screamed so loud and pushed against Colin when she finally saw her, that Colin had to dip quickly to settle her on the ground before he stood up again, his brown eyes flashing slightly as they met hers in a silent recognition of his words to her from earlier.
He meant what he said on the plane.
Allison crashed into Olivia so hard, screaming with excitement and clawing at her, that they both fell back to the pavement. Olivia had to make sure she kept her legs pressed together to not betray her lack of underwear, feeling her dress slip up her legs. She pulled the little girl to her as she felt more tears fall down her face.
“Tee Tee! Tee Tee!You won! You’re back!” Allison pulled back slightly, straddling Olivia’s hips and placing her hands on either side of her cheek. “Tell me all about the monster! Was he scary?” she said seriously, her brows furrowed, and a serious look graced her face. Olivia gaped at her and glanced over at Colin, Vanessa, and Jonathan who were all standing next to them, looking slightly amused.
“The monster?” she asked with raised eyebrows, trying to dig for a clue.
Colin squatted down next to them, placing his hand on Olivia’s back. His upset at her on the plane dissipated as he concentrated on the little girl in front of them. “Aunt Ollie defeated the monster! Your daddy and I were able to go get her, as she was then set free,” he said rather seriously, his hand coming out to ruffle her red hair.
“Uncle Colin told me all about the monster and how you had to leave to keep us all safe! And every Sunday he would come and tell me stories about your conquests!” Allison said breathlessly, her excitement was evident.
“And I knew you were getting closer to beating the monster, because daddy said we were able to move into this house because you were getting closer to defeating it and being able to come home!” Olivia turned sharp eyes to Jonathan before looking back at Allison.
She was unsure of what her face looked like.
“And then you sent a bunch of money and now we have three horses outside that I can’t wait to show you! And then I got a liver so I knew it was going to be any day that you came back! And now you’re here! You’re back. I love you, Ollie. You did so good! But can you not go away anymore, I missed you so much, I cried a lot,” Allison pressed her lips against Olivia’s and then snuggled up under her chin. “You’re so wonderful, first you save me from the water, and now the monster. You’re so brave, Tee Tee. Don’t leave me anymore,”
And that was it.
Olivia broke down crying so hard that Jonathan had to take Allison into the house and distract her while Vanessa and Colin tried to get her off the drive. But she was having a breakdown and didn’t want them to touch her, their soothing touches somehow making it worse.
“I can’t be a mommy, I can’t!” Olivia pleaded to Vanessa, gripping her arms hard enough to leave bruises. “I can’t, I can’t!” And that’s all she remembered before blacking out. The stress of the last twenty-four hours blanking her mind, leading her into the safety of nothingness.