Chapter 19: Feelings Hurt

The sweetly adorable pseudo-twins have aged into toddlers
Minco:

Nita:

Brittney adores motherhood. She was very enthusiastic about seeing them age into precious tots. Seeing them grow up, she wanted to teach them every possible thing she could. She grabbed Minco and started teaching him how to do everything he could grasp, while she had Nita play with toys that would help her brain development. There's no doubt Brittney had high hopes for these two

While those three were in the room of learning, Bilinda went to check the mail. She noticed that there was an envelope in there addressed to her from Zak. Bilinda realizes it must be important, but she's pressed for time right now. Between teaching the twins and working her long shifts at the Bistro, she hasn't the time at the moment. Bilinda decides to wait until she has a day off, which isn't for about a week or so.


Zak had seen his mother walk in the house with the mail, and he decided to wait a few hours to see if she had read what he had written. Since Bilinda hasn't approached him about it, he knows she hasn't even opened it. Jumping the proverbial shark, Zak assumes the worst and thinks that his mother couldn't care any less about what he has to say. If she did, she would have read the letter already. Thinking this is fact, Zak feels incredibly hurt, and he is feeling like he is screaming so loud with his behaviors, but no one can hear, or at the very least, no one cares. 


In an act of impulse, Zak called his job and quit

He loved his job. He really did. He made good money and he was one of the best workers there. But Zak wants more free time. He quits in the hope of having his mother not being aware, so he can stay out and be alone during his normal work time. At the same time, Zak wants his mother to know. Maybe then she'd pay attention. She knows how much he loves his job, surely him quitting would make her think something's wrong. Then again, maybe not. 


Bilinda is working late tonight at the Bistro and Brittney has a graveyard shift. Zak patiently waits for Bilinda to arrive home. Once she does, he asks if he could possibly sleep over at a friends house

Bilinda is hesitant at first and starts thinking about it. In her mind, she feels like Zak has been alright with the rules and somehow tells him to go and have fun. A thought in the very back of her mind is disagreeing with the decision

Getting in his car, Zak knows he's not going to any sleepover. He's going into town. Where, he's not sure yet. But he wants a night out on the town to somehow think of how he's going to survive in his house. There's so much he's not happy with. He's a desperate guy looking for any sort of answer to his life

Driving around for a bit, Zak somehow decides to go to the club Aquarius. This place does have some significance. This is where his father Carl used to work at as a bouncer. It was here where Bilinda had met him, and eventually became pregnant with Zak. 
Zak was pondering a lot of things. Why did he somehow end up at his fathers old work place? He's not too sure. There's still things about his father he wished he knew. But, he's gone. Maybe his former workplace could fill in some of the blanks

Zak walked in and made his way to the second floor of the building. He introduced himself to a bartender who said she used to work with Carl 

They started shooting the breeze about Carl. Nothing specific, but it was more about his father than he had ever known living with the guy. According to the bartender, Carl was always a jerk who would inflate his own ego whenever he could. He boasted about having lines of women wanting him, but his fat bank account had more or less to do with that than Carl himself. His personality wasn't what anyone would ever want. Zak had experienced the ego thing first hand. With all of the parties and women, Carl would often kick Zak out to their makeshift garage or to someones house. Having a child was "cramping" his party style. How fantastic.


This conversation was depressing Zak a bit. Not being much of a juice drinker, Zak figures one or two couldn't hurt 

The Aquarius was nothing but a downer of a place. Being bored and frustrated, Zak decided to call it a night and go home. Yeah, he told his mother that he was at a friends, but he would say that friend got sick or something. That had to work.


When Zak arrived home, Bilinda said she had some urgent news to tell him. Since she didn't even ask why he came back home, Zak had assumed that they were going to talk about what he had written. Sadly, Zak was mistaken. Bilinda told him that Brittney's father, Mortimer Goth, had finally passed on and he left her the Goth Manor. They were going to be moving into it the next day, and she told Zak that he had better hurry up and pack his things. The movers would be there bright and early for their things

Zak didn't want to live in the Goth Manor. He loved the house that they were in. The disappointment showed on Zak's face, but he complied with his mother and quickly packed his things 

Early the next day, the movers packed most of their furniture and took it over to the Goth Manor. They still had a few boxes, but they could drive the rest over themselves. Once the house was locked up, they were on their way to their new house. 


Once there, the family started unpacking their things. Zak was pretty quick with his room. He tried to make it as close to his previous room as possible, he wasn't one for too much change all at once 

Bilinda and Brittney were working on the toddler's nursery. They got the biggest room in the house, and they were going all out on a nursery where they had room to play and have fun. 
Minco's side:

Nita's side:

Decorating the nursery was a huge job that took nearly all day. Winding down from a long and busy day, Bilinda lied down on her bed. Suddenly, she remembered Zak's letter. She dug through her important papers in a box, and she finally found it. Eagerly, she opened it and began reading the words

Bilinda's eyes were taking in the words very carefully. She didn't want to skip over anything he had to say. During the entire reading process, Bilinda couldn't help but feel so much empathy for Zak. She realizes she's been putting him on the back-burner too much lately. Yeah, he was older than her other two children, but Zak was still a child himself. He still needs love and attention. Tomorrow, Bilinda is planning to have a heart-to-heart conversation with him. Hopefully, he'll be there when she wakes up.