Chapter 17: Everything Falls Apart

The day starts off with Bilinda and Brittney discussing their stunning  brood. They want to add at least one more baby to the mix, but decide to hold off on that until their pseudo-twins are older. Three babies in the house would be utter chaos, and no one has the will to NOT go crazy 

With everyone busy with their jobs, school and baby duty, their once beautiful garden is getting to be an eyesore. Bilinda told Zak to start helping with the gardening more often. Having the fresh fruits and vegetables provides extra income as well as fresh ingredients for Bilinda to cook with. Zak has been stuffing his feelings down for a little while now. Everything is starting to build up inside and he feels nothing but hate. Not pure hate, but he's beginning to get fed up with having siblings and having a stepmother. He's also secretly quit going to his counseling sessions. But he figures he's already gotten everything out of it he could, so why should he keep going? Of course he's been a bit more on edge since he's quite going, but Zak hasn't thought the two could be linked

After Zak went to school and Brittney went to work, Bilinda thought it was the perfect day to go to the park. While there, she ran into a very pregnant Fiona. Bilinda was stoked to soon become an Aunt, and she couldn't keep her hands off of Fiona's growing stomach

The two decide to head on over to Fiona and Upton's house. Once they got acquainted with talk of the baby, Bilinda noticed that today of all days was Fiona's due date. Since Bilinda has had children, she asks if she can stay the night. When Fiona gets into labor, she'll know what to do. Semi-jokingly, she said that Upton will probably freak out and be of no help to Fiona when the time comes

Fiona laughed that they were both on the same page. She said she was going to ask Bilinda to stay over since having an experienced woman would help her out exponentially

Back at the Monohan homefront, Brittney is sitting on couch at 11:00 p.m., looking out the window. Zak hasn't made it home yet. Brittney is aware that Zak gets out of work at 7 and Zak usually makes it home by 8. 8 was three hours ago, and she's starting to get a bit worried

Brittney called Bilinda's cell phone with two pieces of news. First, Brittney told Bilinda that Bilinda's cousin Maylin had called. Bilinda's uncle Declan had passed of old age. Second, Zak has never made it home. Bilinda tried to be strong with both pieces of news. She and her uncle Declan were close and they'd often talk on the phone with one another. And of course, she was worried for her son.


Once she hung up the phone with Brittney, Bilinda collapsed in Fiona's arms. She was sad about her uncle, but she was terrified about where her son could possibly be. So many wild thoughts were rampaging through her mind. What if he was in a car accident on his way home from work? What if someone kidnapped him? What if someone jumped him and beat him into a coma or something? Could he be just another rebellious teenager, staying out with friends? Whatever the case may be, she can't help but let her imagination get the best of her. Bilinda omits the news about Zak as she doesn't want to worry anyone. He's only been gone for four hours, he still has plenty of time to show up

Since it's starting to get very late, everyone in the Nagi house turns in for the night. Reluctantly, Bilinda gets a bit of sleep. Then, at four in the morning, Fiona goes into labor. And like Bilinda predicted, Upton is a wreck offering little to no help for Fiona

Bilinda drove Fiona to the hospital to deliver the baby. At 7 in the morning Fiona was released from the hospital with a baby boy, Antwan in tow. Bilinda was happy to have been there for the birth of her first nephew

When Bilinda dropped off Fiona and the new baby at their house safely, Bilinda decided to go on home herself. On the drive home, Bilinda realizes it's been nearly 24 hours since she had last seen her son. As Bilinda was walking through the door, the phone was ringing. Her heart started beating faster. The only time they were called on the house phone was when they would receive bad news about a family member or friend. She somehow managed to answer the phone. It was the school. They were calling to ask why Zak wasn't in school today

Even though this wasn't a death call, it still panicked Bilinda. If Zak wasn't at school, where could he possibly be?