One Day at a Time - (Season One)

Chapter Five: Camping

When they got home Marty was relieved to discover that they had just barely missed the massive riot that broke out in the city. Apparently, the police had shot up an unarmed homeless person in the streets. The number of police shootings had been increasing over the last two weeks, and people were not happy.

Hell, Marty was not happy about it either. Life was difficult enough without trigger-happy coppers firing at people without a thought. At least Marty was not pulling any shifts tonight at the Walmart, she wasn't really feeling up to leaving her home right now with all the brutality happening outside. Especially, since working would mean leaving Lukas with Nana Peyton next door.

Something about the situation going on outside was making Marty's hair stand on its ends. It just felt like something was not right. And she did not want to be separated from her brother if shit hit the fan. Riots in L.A. could be very dangerous and escalate quickly, it would just be better if normal civilians stayed indoors until the worst of it blew over. It didn't help that she'd gotten back-to-back calls from all of her bosses that she didn't have to go in the next day.

For now, though, Marty was going to try putting it out of her mind as she snuggled with Lukas on the couch and watched Iron Man -for the millionth time- while they snacked on their cold sweat treats... that and try really hard not to fret over Nick. Injured and missing Nick who was probably currently trying to find a safe place to sleep on the streets. Lukas nuzzled under her chin, and Marty forced herself to relax into the cushions of the couch.

They were only halfway through the movie when Marty received another call. She sighed in annoyance before getting up, promising Lukas that she'd be right back, and picked up the phone once she was out of his hearing range. She wasn't expecting any more calls tonight. Marty had spoken to Dr. Signore's nurse on the way home from the mall, and she hadn't recognized the caller ID, so it probably wasn't one of her bosses or Mrs. Clark again.

"Hello? Who is it?"

The other line was silent.

"Hello?" she tried again, impatient to get back to Lukas.

"M-Marty?"

Shit.

"Marty!" the familiar voice croaked out with urgency, "It's Nick! Where are you? Are you at home, God please tell me you're home!" he was manic, barely pausing to breathe, "Listen, some bad shit is happening right now, you need to get Lukas and-"

Her head was spinning, "What- Nick, Nicky! You need to relax for a minute!" the words tumbled out of her lips, "What happened? Are you okay? Your mom told me that you were in an accident-"

"Are you home?" Nick moaned as he cut her off, she could almost make out the sound of his teeth chattering. He was already starting to detox, "Marty, are you at home?" he repeated insistently.

"Yeah, but-"

"Good!" he grunted, "You need to pack your bags! Grab enough supplies to last us a couple of months and then head to my mom's house."

"What? Nick-"

"Listen to me, Marty!" he pleaded insistently, "Just, listen to me! I know- I know that you don't have a reason to trust me- especially after what, after what happened, but please, please just trust me on this." he whispered brokenly "You need to grab your things and come here."

She could feel her heart racing in her chest. Marty had started fidgeting as he started making his demands because that's what he was doing—demanding her to basically pack up her life and go to his mother's house and be prepared to go on the run. It was insanity. Especially when you considered the fact that they hadn't spoken in months.