The Way We Are

Lola wasn't half wrong, the large manor which had once felt so homely and welcoming, filled with smiling faces and friends, was soon resembling a long-abandoned mausoleum; the grounds which had been so trim, and well-kept were now overrun with tall grass, weeds and out of control hedgerows. Even the trees on the grounds seemed to have truly returned back to full on nature without someone constantly keeping an eye on them.

The long driveway which led up to the manor itself was kept clear of any wayward weeds or overlapping grass. Hank did still need to leave every now and then to collect supplies for the occupants of the house. But he didn't go out regularly, it was more he bought things in bulk to refrain from having to leave so often to go shopping. Lola did accompany him sometimes, but more times she stayed inside by gentle prompting from him; not because she had an aversion to going out, though she was hesitant, but because of Charles.

His withdrawn state had led to lethargy, which had then led to him raiding cupboards and helping himself to whatever drink he could get his hands on. Most times he was seen in a bit of a stupor, his eyes staring off into space as he relaxed wherever he had pretty much collapsed. Someone needed to keep an eye on him, Charles was aware to being basically babysat and had become quite jaded to it. Cynical even, not that he was ever overly rude, or even nasty to Hank and Lola, but it was quite an easy thing to see that he had come to resent them for how they were now treating him. It was like he couldn't be trusted.

It wasn't like Charles was going to go running out of the door and away from his home, though he could. As a byproduct of the serum, it gave him the ability to sleep, it allowed him to no longer hear the pained thoughts of so many, but it also allowed him to walk again.

Needless to say, this was a sudden surprise as it was Lola who discovered him raiding the fridge one morning. She was utterly confused; he was slightly hungover and wanting to eat something. Lola had turned out of the room and gone and found Hank, he for one also seemed a little confused that Charles was able to walk again. But he theoretically guessed something like this could happen. The serum had affects which were surprising, it was able to bring back things, while suppressing others. It wasn't so strange that something that could block out mutant powers, could make a paralysed man walk again.

So, it became a regular thing really, as regular as it could be when Charles decided to come slouching out of his room looking like he hadn't slept at all. His hair had grown quite long, dishevelled and slightly curled, he didn't seem to care at all about his appearance. It wasn't like he had to look clean and ready for the day, or people. Hence why he also never bothered to deal with the light beard which now adorned his face. The pyjama trousers, vest and dressing gown combination was his usual attire now.

Lola didn't mean to be rude, but she had sat with Hank one day while he checked the recorded reports of the news. The contraption he had been busying away with for months was finally operational, it did the job quite well and he was pleased with it. She had watched too while musing over the right way to say her thoughts, in the end she couldn't think of a subtle way. "You know, I saw homeless people in a better state than Charles." Lola said, though yes, some were so downtrodden and lost that they looked haunted, but some weren't. Some were on the streets because they had nowhere else to go, something had rendered them in an unsafe position to perhaps escape something else.

Hank had stopped what he was doing and looked at her then. He didn't disbelieve her, but he didn't know what she wanted him to do, or say. Any words they tried to speak to Charles were often met with a dry laugh, and a nonchalant wave of his hand. Charles did not want to listen. He was lost in his own bubble and head, any and all things which travelled through it were no doubt sad, and depressing; but they wanted to help, he just couldn't see that, apparently. Hank believed he would seek them out for their help when he was ready. They couldn't force help on Charles, it was just making him shy away from them more.