WHEN THE DARKNESS COMES I NICK CLARK

Losing Touch

Losing Touch

Madison, Alicia and Nick sat around the coffee table, halfheartedly playing Monopoly, Madison's mind frantically elsewhere, when out in the hall, the front door suddenly flew open with a crash, making their heads snap up, Nick dropping all his cards.

"Maddie!" Travis yelled from the hall. "Maddie!"

Madison threw herself through the lounge doorway, crashing into the coffee table as she ran, only to find Travis standing in the hall, face strained, carrying a strange woman in his arms, one of her shoes missing, the left leg of her white Capri pants pushed up, revealing a mangled foot and ankle. Behind him stood two more strangers, a young woman and an older man, then Liza, Lourdes and Chris, all three looking like they'd been dragged through a hedge backwards.

Instantly, Madison took control, realizing this wasn't the time to start asking questions. "Upstairs," she said quickly, motioning Travis on, "I'll get the first aid kit." As she dashed into the kitchen, Travis and the strangers hastily made their way up the narrow staircase, Liza hard on their heels, but not before dropping a fierce kiss on each of her children's brows.

Leaving Chris to close the front door, Lourdes wandered dazedly into the lounge, only to find Nick muttering over the Monopoly board, straightening it to his specifications, his mother's careering into the coffee table having sent everything askew. Alicia glanced up, only to see Lourdes standing in the doorway, dark eyes wild and wide.

"What's with you?" Alicia asked coldly, leaning back in her seat, tucking a strand of brown hair behind her ear, the casual gesture sitting at odds with her red-rimmed eyes.

Lourdes just stared at her. "You were all playing Monopoly while we were out there?" she said incredulously, waving her arm agitatedly at the candlelit lounge, its comforting domestic cocoon the very antithesis of everything she and the others had just endured.

"I was the shoe," Nick announced, holding up a finger, looking proud of himself.

"You were the shoe?" Lourdes said in disbelief.

"Yes, I was, Mother Hen," Nick said, getting unsteadily to his feet, looking better despite his poor balance. "I made a rather splendid shoe, if I do say so myself."

Before Nick could react, Lourdes was suddenly on top of him, shoving him backwards, making him stagger. "You were a fucking shoe!?" she screamed, shoving him again, before launching a full-scale attack, Nick throwing his arms across his face to shield himself from her pummelling fists.

"Lo!" Alicia yelled, throwing herself between them, before shoving Lourdes back by the shoulders. "Back off! He's just had a goddamn relapse!"

Lourdes crashed into Chris, who had come into the room, flicking all the lights on, looking shocked at his sister's violent outburst.

"What the hell's going on?" Alicia demanded, stepping in front of Nick, protecting him from any further violence. "Why do you all look like hell!?"

Lourdes just stared blankly at her, shaking from head to foot.

"What happened out there, Lourdes?" Alicia said slowly, enunciating every vowel and syllable as she stepped forwards. "What's going on?"

"You were playing goddamn Monopoly," Lourdes burst out again, voice hysterical, "Monopoly" -

- "So you keep saying," Nick sing-songed sarcastically.

"Shut up," Alicia snapped over her shoulder at him. "Of course we weren't just playing Monopoly," she then fired at Lourdes, facing her again. "Mom's been going out of her freaking mind, and Nick was doing his usual projectile vomiting routine, whilst you were all God knew where. We had to do something to stop climbing the walls with worry - that's why we had the goddamn game out!" -