Page 102 of The Pain We Nurture

They were all crammed into the primary bathroom where Vanessa was helping with Johnathan’s costume. He dressed up as the Mask and required a lot of green makeup, causing Colin to threaten him with a renovation bill if the green shit didn’t come out of his vanity. Johnathan hit Colin across the shin with his expensive cane, causing Olivia to roll her eyes at Vanessa, mumbling “billionaire problems.”

The men gave a narrow-eyed gaze at them instead of fighting each other.

Olivia donned a woman's costume version of Chucky the killer doll, complete with the wild hairstyle that took a whole can of hairspray to accomplish. Vanessa dressed up as Anne of Green Gables with a straw hat and basket of books. Colin chose to step out as Robin Hood, and he topped off the look with an expensive bow and arrow set.

Colin smiled when Olivia slowly raked her gaze down his form with a seductive look in her eyes. He knew he looked devilishly handsome, and her approval did much to stroke his ego.

Allison was dressed as Pippi Longstocking, and Olivia was currently braiding her hair. With a small smile on her face. Colin knew she was thinking of her mother at that moment. And in a quick motion that no one noticed, he snapped a picture of them together.

They took a golf cart instead of walking, mindful of Allison’s illness, and the huge distances between properties.

A couple that lived on a property a few homes over wanted to take a picture of Johnathan and Olivia. Colin got a kick out of Johnathan raising Olivia over his head as she brandished her fake bloody knife in the air. She screamed with terror; afraid he was going to drop her.

After taking another snapshot of them all posing together as their respective characters two hours later, they made their way home in the golf cart.

They made out like a bandit with candy, tossing it all on the kitchen island and divvying up the proceeds. Colin disappeared to the patio to start the fireplace and heat lamps, and Vanessa disappeared to put Allison to bed.

Johnathan, Colin, and Olivia went upstairs to shower off their costume makeup and get changed into comfortable pajamas before reconvening on the patio. Each of them spreading out on the plush patio couches. Colin noticed that Johnathan and Vanessa were getting rather cozy, and she was leaning back on his shoulder. They shared the Hermes blanket from Colin’s lounge.

Olivia leaned back completely on Colin as he stroked her damp hair. He wished she’d let him blow dry it before they went back downstairs, but she didn’t want to keep them waiting. They made her in charge of picking a slasher movie, as she dressed like the most violent character to dress up as. She rather reluctantly picked a scary one, not wanting to seem like a chicken. Colin noticed Vanessas’ side eye and small smirk before she burrowed deeper into Johnathan and the blanket.

They both watched as Vanessa sighed contentedly, sipping from a glass of wine and taking a small bite of candy. Olivia looked at the baby monitor she’d set up for Allison, making sure it was turned up before the movie started. She took a big swig of her mixed vodka drink, turning her head to make sure Colin was okay before she got comfortable. He noticed she was already pretty inebriated.

Johnathan silently motioned for Colin's attention, prompting him to check his phone.

Hey bro, do you mind if I stay over, and Vanessa and I use one of the spare bedrooms again? -J. Dawg

Colin glanced up sharply.

Bro, I will fucking kill you if you damage my room again. The shit cost nine grand to fix the damn room. And that’s not even counting getting a new bed! -C. Kent

Johnathan flipped him off secretly as he texted him back on his phone.

Why are you acting like you don’t like spending money, bro? Besides, I paid you back, didn’t I? -J. Dawg

Colin rolled his eyes, jostling at Olivia’s slight jerk, her elbow digging into his ribs. He grunted softly, waiting for her to settle before he tapped out a response.

Whatever man, can you just keep Vanessa quiet this time? You know what, just use the guest house please. And don’t touch ANY of my equipment. We will keep an eye on Ally tonight. -C. Kent

Johnathan nodded his head slightly in response.

Colin put the phone down as Olivia suddenly gasped and jumped so hard she almost tipped her whole drink on him. He caught her to him in surprise, glancing over at Vanessa, who was laughing her ass off at them. Her gray eyes sparkled in delight as Olivia suddenly started crying, making him look at her in alarm. He turned furious eyes on Vanessa.

“You’re literally not going to sleep for the next three years,” Vanessa gasped, gulping down her wine. “She’s terrified of scary movies,” she giggled, leaning back again against Johnathan with a self-satisfied smirk.

“I wasn’t expecting us to sleep much anyway,” Colin said as he grinned down at Olivia. The comment broke through the fear momentarily and made her smile.

“And you can’t send her to my house when you can’t get her to sleep, either,” Vanessa shot over at him, grinning wickedly.

Such a lovely big sister, Colin thought, shaking his head at her.

Turns out, Olivia was a big baby and had curled up into a ball on top of him by the end of the movie, her arms wrapped hard around him. Her face was buried as deep as she could get in his neck, not able to get any closer. Colin didn’t mind. He got to feel her boobs squished against him, content to lose sleep for that.

They finished the night watching a rom com show to calm Olivia down and get her mind off the movie. At the end, they bid Vanessa and Johnathan goodnight, and snagged the baby monitor.

Colin waggled his eyebrows suggestively at Vanessa, causing her to blush deeply and hurry down the stairs to the guest house quickly. Johnathan followed closely behind.

Olivia and Colin brushed their teeth together before crawling in bed, and he chucked with amusement when she moved all the way to his side. She ended up sleeping almost under him and making him balance on the edge of the mattress. Colin tamped down the slight irritation, kissing her head as he silently moved to her other side. Settling in the middle of the bed, spreading out but keeping close.

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