[Charles was quiet for a long moment, and it was probably that fact - that he knew everything about Erik and he knew next to nothing about him - that eventually tipped the scales in favor of actually talking about this instead of just changing the subject or refusing to say anything.]

Alright. [He still takes the time to consider his next move, and figure out what the hell he actually wants to say, because honestly, he hasn't really ever talked about this with anyone. Not even Raven. They'd both known about it, but they'd never really talked about it, he'd never really just said it out loud like that, because it was easier to just ignore it and pretend it wasn't happening, and get the hell out of the house.]

My father passed away when I was young, and she wasn't ever quite the same afterward. She started drinking when we moved to New York, but she didn't start doing it heavily until after she married my stepfather.

[He hesitated another moment before moving his knight, trying to box Erik in to take his bishop, and he still wouldn't look up at his friend, his voice conversational. It was awkward talking about it, or complaining at all about his life when he knew, comparatively, he didn't have a leg to stand on when it came to terrible childhoods.] I used to try to hide it from Raven. And she was never violent or anything, just... sad.