Letters in the Refuge

Chapter 5

*gasp* BERRY! *slaps self on the back of the hand* First you write absolutely nothing for the fic for just about 2 months, and now you put swearing in it? I can't believe you! At least the dang thing progresses.

Yea, obviously TW for a tiny bit of swearing. Sorry *cringes*

It's around nine in the morning, and the crip is sleeping at the end of my - our, I guess - bed, after waking up enough to satisfy Coleman. He looks so peaceful when he's asleep. He still looks like he's in some pain, but significantly less than when he's awake. And at least when he's asleep I don't have to listen to him groan constantly. I get enough of that with the twins.

A tap at the window pulls me out of my thoughts. Tenpin is in the basement for some reason or another, so the window is my responsibility.

I carefully climb out of bed, as to not wake the crip. I walk over to the window, and see a bespectacled boy on the fire escape.

"Whaddya want," I say in a low voice.

"Do ya have a boy here named Crutchie? He should've gotten 'ere 'bout two days ago?" the boy says.

"The crip?" I ask.

The boy cringes, but nods. "Probably."

"He's sleepin' right now, but I'll see if he can come."

I turn away from the window and walk back to our bed. I hate to have to wake him up, but Speckles wants to see him.

I climb halfway up, and shake him. He groans.

"Ey, you got a visitor. You'se up ta seein' 'im?" I ask him.

"Who is it?" the crip asks.

"A kid with spectacles."

"Specs," he whispers with a smile.

Huh, I wasn't far off with the name.

"Friend'a yers?" I ask.

"Uh-huh. He's a newsie with me."

Great.

"Can ya get up?"

He shakes his head.

"It hurts too much. I tried when you was asleep."

I inwardly groan. Dang crip could've gotten himself hurt worse, or even killed if he fell off that bunk. Why can't he have some sense?

"Kay. I'll tell 'im ya can't come ta the window," I say. "Anything ya want me ta tell 'im?"

He nods.

"Tell 'im ta tell the boys ta not give up. They'se gotta stay strong if we wanna win," he says.

I nod, and walk back over to the window as he lays back down.

"He can't get outta bed," I tell 'Specs', "but 'e wanted me ta tell ya ta tell the boys ta not give up. They'se gotta stay strong if they wanna win."

The boy nods, and starts to leave.

"Letters!" I hear from across the room. Specifically from my bunk.

"Hold on," I tell the boy, and rush back over to the crip.

"Can ya give this ta Specs if 'e hasn't left yet?" the crip asks me, and holds out a folded piece of paper.

I sigh. "Sure," I say.

"Tell 'im it's for Jack, kay?"

"Okay." I glance at it, and I can tell it's the letter that he wrote last night that kept me up.

I walk back to the window yet again, but when I'm almost there I hear footsteps outside the door, and a key in the lock.

"Shit," I mutter under my breath. "Get down. Now!" I whisper loudly to the boy outside the window.

I lean sideways against the bars on the window as the door opens, revealing Coleman and Pockets.

"Don't know how ya keep escapin'," Coleman grumbles as he shoves Pockets to the floor, "but if ya wanna keep outta the Refuge, ya gotta stop pickin' pockets!"

Coleman slams the door shut, and Pockets scrambles up from the floor.

"Heya, Letters. Howya been?" he asks, looking at the floor.

"Oh, save it," I say. "You'se better take Coleman's advice if ya wanna stay outta 'ere."

"Yea, I know. But I can't help that pickpocketin' is the only thing I'm good at."

I groan and turn back to the window, Speckles is standing up.

"Oooh! A visitor," Pockets says.

"Fer the crip," I say, and the boy cringes again. Kinda funny how I can make him cringe at the drop of a hat just by saying 'crip'.

"'e wanted me ta give you this," I say to Speckles. "'e said it's fer Jack."

"Okay," he said, and turned to leave.

"Ya might wanna be careful gettin' outta 'ere," Pockets says. "Snyder might have bulls outside 'cause 'e's scareda me bustin' out again," he says with a smile.

"Thanks... "

"Pockets."

"Thanks Pockets," Speckles says, and finally leaves for real.

I walk back to my bunk, drowning out Pockets as he recounts his adventures outside. I climb up, careful not to bump the crip.

I thought he was asleep, but he sits up.

"Didja give it ta him?" he asks me.

"Yup," I say, popping the 'p'.

"Okay," he says, and lays back down.

That letter must've been pretty important to him if he sat up just to ask me about it. It just seemed like a bunch of sap in word form to me when he wrote it. Well, it's not important now.

What's important now is me taking a nap!

And there you go! What happened with Specs (Speckles lol) at the Refuge!

Hope you liked this chapter :)