Isolation [Erik Lehnsherr]

Chapter Nine

The mansion was quiet, which Scarlett found unsettling. Sure, it was a big place, but Sean was normally loud enough that she could hear him almost anywhere in the mansion. To be fair though, he could just be passed out, she knew he'd stayed awake most of last night to take care of Charles. At the thought of the older telepath, she rolled her eyes. It was no secret that Charles' current situation annoyed her. The man had been depressed for almost five years now, and most of the time he was too drunk to even take care of himself.

    However, even Hank normally ventured up from his lab to check on Charles, and Scarlett hadn't heard from him either since breakfast. Though, she expected him to be coming up soon to give Charles his dose of his medicine that allowed him to walk. That's another thing that pissed Scarlett off: the fact that Charles was willing to give up his powers just so he could walk. It was stupid, and extremely childish of him.

    She desperately wanted the Charles back that she had first met. The Charles who never seemed to run out of positivity, who believed in the small group that had consisted of him, Erik, Hank, Sean, Rory, Scarlett, Alex, and Raven. The one who showed her how to control her powers more, and how to extend her telepathic abilities even more. She wanted the Charles back that had been there when she'd first discovered her telekinesis powers, and had told her that it wasn't her fault she'd given Sean a concussion. That was the Charles she missed more than anything.

    Lately, the mansion had turned into a prison of a sorts. Sure, she was able to leave freely, and if she really wanted, she could move out. But, this was still her home, and maybe one day she'd get Charles back, and the school would open up again. But for now, she found herself lonely more than anything. Sure, Sean and Hank were still around, but they were always busy helping out Charles, because they knew Scarlett herself wanted nothing to do with that mess.

    The two people that Scarlett was the closest to had left though. Rory'd been gone for nearly seven years now, off with Erik and Raven, trying to recruit other mutants to their side. They believed that mutants were the superior race, and didn't want to stay with Charles after Cuba. During all the letters that Scarlett and Rory had written to each other, Scarlett hadn't mentioned that she missed her best friend more than she'd thought she would. Sure, Rory and Erik had visited a couple times for the first couple years, but they hadn't shown up in years. The letters were the only thing that kept Scarlett knowing her best friend was alive, and safe.

Alex had been one of the first people to leave when the Vietnam War had gotten even worse. He'd volunteered to go, unlike the older students and most of the teachers, who'd been drafted. He was another one who sent her letters, although his weren't really as frequent as Rory's. That was okay though, because Scarlett understood he was fighting for their country. She was just relieved when she got his letters, because she was terrified for his life.

As Scarlett was thinking of letters, she realized she hadn't heard from Rory in about a month, which in itself wasn't all that odd. There'd been longer stretches, where Rory would be out in the field with Erik and Azazel, and trying to recruit mutants. From what Scarlett understood, that didn't work out more often than it did. Although, she couldn't be sure if what everything Rory was telling her was straight up true.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the abrupt ringing of the home phone. Scarlett got off the chair she'd been sitting in, and went to answer it, when she felt Hank's presence nearby. She stretched her mind out, trying to find him, to find him answering the phone for her.

Within a couple moments, she was in the living room with the phone, and there was Hank, talking on it. He must've heard her entering the room, because he looked up just as she entered, and smiled.

    "It's for you," Hank said, handing out the phone to her. Scarlett made her way to the phone, took it from Hank's stretched out hand, and answered it.