Chapter Text
At home in Albuquerque, today seems slow and boring since I’m home alone. Honestly, I like having your own privacy for once. My Dad is who knows where and my brother Walt Jr, well now Flynn is at Uncle Hank’s home with Mom for dinner. I didn’t go since I had an acting shoot to go to, ads for Saul Goodman yet again. I do modelling and acting as my job and get paid decently for it. I’m not famous or anything but it’s a passion so it doesn’t feel like a job.
The job ended way quicker than I expected, so I got the home to myself.
I’ve been really suspicious of my Dad recently. He’s been taking a lot of time off work, barely in the home anymore. Me and Flynn are so tired of it, I can tell Mom is too.
So I started investigating his room. Well it’s his and Mom’s so she probably would’ve noticed something if I didn’t but it’s worth a try.
Nothing, of course.
I search all around the house for at least one clue. That’s when I saw the vent half opened in the baby room. I peeked inside and saw… cash? Just pure cash? A lot! Dad please don’t be a stripper or something that would be so embarrassing. I opened the vent and peaked my head fully in. Jeez, full of cash… but it might not be Dad’s.
Then I hear a knock at the front door? I jolted up and banged my head at the top of the vent.
“Ouch!” I scoffed and shook my head.
I headed towards the door and peeked through the window, a silhouette of a guy around young twenties so my age just nervously tapping his foot. What the hell could he want?
I hesitantly pushed open and leaned against the doorframe. My right hand in my hair rubbing where my head got hit.
“Yo..” The man in front of me looked immediately stunned to see me and stood up right, like he wasn’t expecting me at the door. He wore baggy dark jeans with designs of white wings attached to them. A skull shirt and a black beanie.
His blue eyes stared right at me like he forgot why he was there for a second.
“Uhh.. right! Emergency lady! Bald man lives here, yeah?!” He suddenly goes back into panic mode after losing his train of thought.
“Who’s asking?” I asked suspiciously looking him up and down.
“I.. I used to be his student, it’s private, just help me out here?” He scratches at his beanie nervously.
It clicks to me, this junkie guy and the stacks of cash in the vent. They’re doing something fishy.
“Huh…weird he never mentioned you.” I say looking right in his eyes.
He nervously fiddles with his hands. “Trust me on this, yo? The man can tell you himself.”
“Sorry this is all fishy..” As I go to close the door he stops it with his hand.
“Please I’m begging lady-” I interrupt him and just say what he wants to hear.
“He’s not home.” I see the man stomp the ground to my words but suddenly his phone beeps and he looks down at his phone, I presume my Dad texted him something that settled his panic and sighs and mutters something.
“Problem solved?” I asked, tilting my head. “Uhh…Uh yeah.” He nods and scratches his neck looking at me. “Sorry if I freaked you.” He says softly looking up at me.
“It’s fine…” as an awkward silence falls between us, Jesse wing is left leg away to begin walking away.
“Wait… can I get your name?” I tilt my head as he turns back around. “Uh…. It's Jesse.”
I respond with my own name and he nods.
“Cool…cya.” Jesse does a polite smile and turns back around, as if he needs to get away from the area fast.
“Hold on, you were in a rush to get inside now a rush to leave?” I chuckle and look at him confused.
“Well uh, you’re Mr White’’s daughter right?” As he says that I smirk at the use of mister for my Dad.
“Yeah, so?” I ask as he responds. “I don’t think he wants me near his daughter like at all.”
“Fair point…” I nod, he could tell I was curious about him.
“My bad… for all the confusion, but you should probably forget about me.”
As I watch him watch away. I can’t seem to get him out of my mind.
Later that night, My Dad came home late at 1am while everyone was asleep. Everyone but me, I want answers.
I sat at the couch seeing my Dad enter, he looked a bit startled and came over.
“Hey sweetie.. How’d the ad go today?” He sat down beside me.
“Oh uh, it went quick, but when I came home a guy my age named Jesse was really panicked and looking for you until he got a text from you.. What was that about?”
My Dad sighs and puts his hand on my knee. “I told your Mother about this… I didn’t want to tell you but you’re a perceptive girl.”
He hesitated looking down.
“What is it? No need to sweet talk me. I'm twenty two.” I hate when he tries to downplay me as just a girl.
“Right right… I’ll just say it, Jesse has been selling me pot. It helps calm me down with the stress of cancer but you can not let anyone know! Especially not your brother.” He puts his hand on his head looking a bit vulnerable for revealing this to me.
“So is that cash in the vent, money for the drugs? How did you get so much?” I ask, looking at him looking for a straight answer.
“Listen to me. You think I’d risk my family over a few ounces of pot? No. That cash is insurance, for you, for your mother, for your brother. Do you understand? Sometimes I have to make choices you wouldn’t like but they’re the right ones.”
“Then why is it in pure cash?” I responded back.
“Because cash doesn’t ask questions.”
He exhales sharply through his nose, eyes flicking away for a second as if the answer should be obvious.
“Hospitals, insurance companies, they bury you in paperwork. Every dime gets tracked, taxed, delayed meanwhile I’m sitting here, losing time I don’t have. Cash is fast. Clean. Nobody delays cash.”
He leans forward a little, softens his tone almost fatherly again.
“Look, sweetheart… I know it looks strange. But everything I’m doing- everything is to make sure you, your mother, your brother… that you’re taken care of. That’s all this is.”
"That makes sense.. but.. Jesse he seems... interesting doesn't he? How could you use your old student like that? He seems polite in his weird way."
His eyes linger on hers just a beat too long, that mix of guilt and control that makes him both convincing and deeply unsettling.
“Using him?”
Walter gives a short, humorless laugh, shaking his head. “Jesse Pinkman was never exactly a model student. The kid needed direction. Without someone paying for his pot, he’d probably be rotting in jail right now.”
He folds his arms, a defensive gesture disguised as composure.
“I’m not using him. I’m… giving him a chance to do something useful. Maybe for the first time in his life.”
His tone softens just enough to sound paternal again.
“And polite?” He almost smiles. “You give him too much credit. He’s… rough around the edges. But there’s potential there. Just needs the right influence.”
“But he seemed scared to stay talking with me? He said you wouldn’t want him around me? Why?”
“He said that?”
Walt’s expression tightens for a moment before he forces a small, uneasy smile.
“Well… Jesse has a tendency to exaggerate. He’s not exactly a reliable source of information.”
He rubs his temple, then meets her eyes.
“I just told him to keep his distance, that’s all. He’s not… the kind of person you need to be spending time with. The world he moves in- it’s messy, dangerous. And after everything I’ve been through lately, the last thing I want is you getting caught up in that.”
His tone turns quieter, almost pleading, but there’s steel underneath it.
“So if he seemed scared, good. Maybe he finally listened to me for once.”
The next morning came way too early. I didn’t get much sleep since my mind kept replaying everything from last night. The cash in the vent. Jesse at the door. My dad’s weirdly calm explanation that somehow made everything sound worse.
I tried to shake it off, made some coffee, and scrolled through my phone. One missed call. Saul Goodman Productions.
Great. Another “urgent” reshoot probably.
After a few minutes of staring at the number, I called back.
“Hey sweetheart!” Saul’s voice practically yelled through the receiver. “Tiny issue - we need a quick pickup shot. Won’t take ten minutes. You’ll get your check too, promise.”
I sighed. “Sure. I’ll come by.”
The drive in my pink car to Saul’s office was hot and bright, the kind of Albuquerque heat that makes the sky look bleached. His office building looked even uglier in daylight, like a cartoon that never got colored in.
I parked, fixed my hair in the mirror, and headed inside. Francesca gave me a fake smile from behind the desk.
“Saul’s with someone right now, sweetie. Just a sec.”
“Of course he is.” I muttered and leaned against the wall.
Then the office door opened and I froze.
Out walked Jesse. Same skull shirt, same nervous energy. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw me.
“You again?” he said, almost under his breath.
“Small world.” I crossed my arms. “Are you following me or something?”
He rubbed the back of his neck, eyes darting around the lobby like he wished he could disappear into the wall.
“Yo, nah, I just… had some business, alright? Didn’t think I’d see you here.”
I tilted my head. “Business with Saul Goodman?”
“Yeah, kinda. He’s my… lawyer.” He muttered that last part like he was ashamed to admit it.
Before I could say anything, Saul popped his head out of his office, grinning like a used car salesman.
“Well, look who’s in my lobby! my two favorite clients! Don’t tell me you two already know each other?”
“Unfortunately,” Jesse mumbled.
Saul looked between us, amused. “Well ain’t that just adorable. Jesse, go outside and leave, yeah? I gotta make the young lady look like a star again.”
Jesse hesitated, glancing at me once before shoving his hands in his pockets. “Yeah, sure. Whatever.”
He started to leave, but I called after him. “Hey, Jesse.”
He stopped in the doorway, half-turned.
“Yeah?”
“Don’t worry,” I said softly. “Your secret’s safe.”
For a moment he just looked at me like he didn’t know whether to trust me or bolt.
Then he nodded once. “Cool… thanks.”
As he left, Saul clapped his hands behind me. “Alright superstar, let’s make you look like you’ve been defending Albuquerque’s finest scumbags since ’03.”
But I couldn’t focus on any of it. My mind was still at the door, with the boy who looked scared of my father’s shadow.
After the shot is done an hour later Saul notices Jesse’s phone left on his desk.
Saul lets out a heavy sigh, spinning Jesse’s cracked phone between his fingers. “Unbelievable. The kid can remember every slang term for drugs but can’t remember to take his damn phone.” He’s halfway to picking up his office line. “Guess I’ll have Mike drop it off before he-”
“I can do it,” I interrupt quickly.
His hand freezes mid-air. He looks up at me, eyes narrowing with amused suspicion. “You can do it?”
I nod. “Yeah. I don’t mind. I’ve met him before.”
He leans back in his chair, lips curling. “Oh, you’ve met him before, huh? Now we’re gettin’ somewhere.” He taps the phone against his chin thoughtfully. “Well, that changes things.”
“I just figured it’d save you the trouble,” I say, trying to sound casual.
Saul gives a low laugh. “Sweetheart, the day I mind a pretty girl offering to run errands for me is the day they put me in the ground.” He pauses, pretending to think it over. “Alright. But you’ll need his address.”
I tilt my head. “You’re really gonna give me that?”
He grins wider, leaning forward on his elbows. “Normally, no. Confidentiality, legal mumbo jumbo, client privilege, all that jazz. But… for you?” He reaches for a sticky note, scribbles an address, and slides it across the desk. “Let’s just say I’m feeling generous.”
I pick up the note, and he keeps talking, voice low and teasing. “Tell him Saul says hi. And if he asks why I sent such a beautiful delivery girl, tell him it’s just good customer service.”
I can’t help rolling my eyes, pocketing the note and the phone. “You flirt with all your clients’? Or am I that special?”
He grins, unbothered. “Only the ones who make the office feel like less of a dump.”
I shake my head, already walking for the door. “You’re unbelievable.”
“Hey,” he calls after me, pointing a finger with that mock-serious lawyer charm. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”
Time to pay this mysterious Jesse a visit.