Here's Your Letter

Chapter Two

Jerry and Angel were in Angel's room, listening to some music and just chilling out. Jack led Jasper and Freddy into the room and quickly introduced his older brothers. Jerry was the first one to greet the new kids.

"Hey, nice to meet you, what's your name?" He said, jumping to his feet. Jasper took a step back, as if he were seizing Jerry up. Finally he seemed satisfied and answered.

"I'm Jasper and she's Freddy." Jasper said, nodding towards his sister. Jack and Jerry had enough sense not to burst out laughing at her name, but apparently Angel didn't. Jasper glared at him until Angel finally calmed down.

"Freddy is a guy's name, and she is defiantly a girl!" He said, chuckling to himself. Jasper went to walk forward, obviously keen on giving Angel a thrashing, but when Freddy's hand gripped his a little harder he stopped. Even though she was staring above their heads like she was the only one who existed, it was obvious that she actually was paying attention.

"Do not make fun of her!" Jasper said in a low, threatening voice. Angel didn't say anything until both Jerry and Jack gave him a look.

"Okay, I'm sorry, I won't do it again." Angel muttered, deciding that it was easier for now to just give in. Jasper didn't look convinced, but he nodded grudgingly, letting Angel off the hook for now. There was a long awkward silence, Angel glaring at Jasper, Jasper glaring at Angel, Jerry and Jack both looking at the door uncomfortably, and Freddy still staring above their heads.

"Well, let's go see your rooms." Jerry said finally. Jasper nodded, not taking his eyes off of Angel. He followed Jerry as Jerry left the room, still holding onto Freddy's hand to make sure she followed.

"This is Freddy's room." Jerry said, clearly uncomfortable about calling a girl by a guy's name. Jasper nodded and tried to lead Freddy forward into the room. For a second, Freddy looked lost, and struggled to get away from Jasper, as if she couldn't remember who he was.

"Freddy relax, it's just me, Jasper, you know me!" Jasper said softly, still holding his sister's hand. Immediately Freddy calmed down but she had a confused look on her face, as if she were saying, "Of course I know who you are, why wouldn't I?" Jerry, Jack and Angel all exchanged puzzled looks.

"Come on, once she puts her bag down, we'll go show you your room. It's downstairs." Angel said. Jasper froze and stiffened up, looking at them fearfully.

"Downstairs, why so far away, why can't it be up here?" He asked worriedly. Angel didn't know what to say, but Jerry was prepared for this. Evelyn had warned him that Jasper might not like the sleeping arrangements.

"These are the only two free rooms, all the others are taken. Don't worry; she'll be safe up here." He said. Jasper looked like he might argue but stopped when Freddy looked at him. It was the first time that Jack had seen her look directly at someone.

"Okay, fine, show me this room." Jasper said finally, sounding resigned. Jack got the feeling that some kind of silent conversation had just happened between the new kids.

"Okay come on, it's this way." Jerry said eagerly, leading the way downstairs. Jack could hear Evelyn in the kitchen again, which indicated that Tobias was gone. He glanced back to see how the new kids were going to react but they didn't seem to care. Jasper had a hard, angry look on his face and Freddy looked like she was in her own world again. Jack sighed softly and shook his head. These two were defiantly going to make the Mercer household interesting.

"Here's your room. You're going to have the entire basement to yourself, lucky you!" Jerry said as he led them all down into the basement. Jasper had a look of awe on his face as he dropped his bag on the bed. His room, one that he didn't have to share. Sure it was far away from Freddy, but still, it was a room that belonged to only him.

"Are you sure it's mine?" He asked suddenly, sure this was just some joke. Angel burst out laughing at the question.

"Of course it's yours, haven't you ever had your own room before?" He teased. Jerry groaned and looked away, knowing that Jasper was going to get mad. He was right.

"Yeah I did once, before my parents died! You know, I had an older brother who died too, you want to talk about that?" He asked angrily. Angel was taken back. He looked at his brothers for support, but they were looking everywhere but at him, acting like they were Freddy and oblivious to everything around them.

"Uh, no, that's all right." Angel stuttered finally. Jasper smiled but it wasn't a real smile. It looked as though he had practiced it a thousand times before in a mirror.

"That's what I thought." He said. An uncomfortable silence fell over them as no one knew what to say. Jerry was used to new kids being difficult, but this kid was just looking for trouble. And his sister, well she just came off as a total freak.

And as if to prove it, Freddy started whistling. Jack recognized it as the tune to Basket Case by Greenday. Jasper immediately let go of her hand and pushed her away, as if she were suddenly a stranger or something.

"Stop it Freddy, stop it!" He cried angrily, blushing as though his sister embarrassed him. Freddy ignored him, but did give him a pointed look. Jasper looked horrified and he turned away from her, as if that could make her stop. It didn't though, and Jack felt like laughing. He'd just been wondering if the girl was crazy, and it was as if she had read his mind. Angel couldn't believe that Jasper had pushed Freddy away, she was his sister after all!

"Well, we better go back upstairs so Ma can get a good look at you two." Jerry said, clearing his throat awkwardly. Jasper nodded, still refusing to look at Freddy. Freddy finished the song and shot Jack a knowing look. Confused, he just shook his head and started walking upstairs, everyone following him.

Dinner was almost ready, so Jack and Angel got busy setting the table and Jerry took over cooking while Evelyn could talk to Jasper and Freddy.

"Did you guys like your rooms? If you need anything, don't be afraid to ask, if the boys don't know where it is, I defiantly will." Evelyn said. Jasper nodded but didn't say anything. Freddy was standing next to him, her gaze fixed above Evelyn's head. Evelyn didn't seem to mind, which Jack found strange. Evelyn always liked for people to look at her when she spoke to them.

"Jasper, I want you to understand that you're safe here, nothing bad will happen to you or your sister, I promise you. I know you've probably heard this before but I mean it, I will not let anything bad happen to you." Evelyn said. Jasper continued to stare at her, but he found it hard to keep his face emotionless. He'd grown good at it, but there was just something about this lady that made it difficult.

"Camela that goes for you too, you are safe here." Evelyn said, turning to look at Freddy. The girl didn't even blink.

"Freddy, call her Freddy." Jasper insisted softly. Evelyn was a little bit surprised at the strange nickname, but she quickly nodded.

"Okay, Freddy it is. Come on, dinner is ready, you guys must be starving." Evelyn said. Jasper stared at her in surprise and glanced quickly at Freddy. She didn't look at him but she did give his hand a reassuring squeeze.

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"Do you ever talk?" Jerry asked Freddy as they were eating dinner. Freddy had seemed to listen to the conversation, but she hadn't bother contributing to it. In fact, she didn't even act as if she had heard Jerry.

"She doesn't talk." Jasper said simply, moving his potatoes around his plate. Jerry, Angel and Jack all looked at Evelyn expectantly.

"And she doesn't have to if she doesn't want to." Evelyn said. Jack was confused, had Evelyn fallen and hit her head or something? Since when was it okay for someone to just not talk? Jack's head was starting to hurt from being so confused.

"Is she mute?" Angel asked. Jack kicked him under the table and Angel cursed softly under his breath. Evelyn answered before Jasper could.

"Angel watch your mouth, and no, she isn't mute. She can talk when she wants to." She said, looking at Jasper, who was nodding in agreement. Freddy was staring at the light on the ceiling, but Jack thought that she looked a little bit uncomfortable. He hated it when people talked about him as if he wasn't there too.

"So what is everyone planning to do after dinner?" Evelyn asked a few minutes later. Jasper stiffened up, as if he hadn't expected for dinner to ever end.

"I was hoping to go call Camille." Jerry said, looking at the phone eagerly. Evelyn laughed and nodded, turning her gaze to Angel.

"I was just planning on watching some TV tonight." He said. Evelyn nodded and looked at Jack.

"I was just going to go for a walk." Jack said, sounding as though he was asking for permission. Evelyn looked delighted.

"That's a great idea! Jasper, Freddy, do you want to go with him?" She asked. Jasper immediately shook his head no. Freddy, on the other hand, looked away from the light and looked directly at Jack, as if she were studying him. It made Jack feel uncomfortable, but he forced himself not to look away. Finally, Freddy looked at Evelyn and nodded.

"You do? Well that's great; Jack can show you the neighborhood!" Evelyn said. Everyone was surprised, including Jasper. In fact, Jasper looked betrayed over the fact that Freddy had decided to join them in the real world.

"I'll come too then!" Jasper said quickly. Evelyn started to say something, but she stopped when Freddy sighed angrily. Everyone was surprised when she took a pen and pad of paper out of her pocket. Looking angry, she quickly scribbled something down and handed the notepad to Jasper. Jasper read it, his face getting sadder and sadder as he did. Finally, he put the pad of paper on the table in front of him.

"I'll stay here." He said sadly. Leaning forward slightly, Jack was able to read what was written on the notepad, even though it was upside down to him. It said, I'm not the one who needs protection, you are. Whatever that was supposed to mean.

Author's Note: Here's an update pretty quick, so I really hope you guys actually like this story. And Freddy's "condition" is actually real, I don't know if it's considered a disorder or not, but it's not just something I made up. Thanks for the reviews, one technically two!