Fix Me, Fix You: A Jesse Pinkman Story

Chapter Twenty-Nine

The house was quiet for once. Jesse sat at the kitchen table, twirling the foil wrapper from a Hershey Kiss between his fingers, indulging in a sweet nighttime treat as he waited for Jolie to get out of the bathtub. Lucy and Lia were already tucked into bed, the house was already cleaned up, and it wasn't even nine o'clock at night yet.

Though it was nice to have a calm moment of silence, Jesse wasn't truly fond of it.

He appreciated the noise now. The sound of family. The sound of happy children. The sound of laughter and fun. He wondered how much he would appreciate those sounds and this new life if he didn't have such a dark past. In an odd way, he found himself thankful for his old life. He learned lessons, fought hard for his new life, and became a better person. Maybe he wouldn't have learned those lessons without his shitty past. Maybe he wouldn't appreciate how good his life is now.

It was strange how he went from despising his past to appreciating it for how it brought him to his current point in life. It only served as more proof to how much he had grown.

The approaching sound of tiny bare feet slapping against the wood floor pulled Jesse out of his thoughts.

"Hey, are you eatin' chocolate?" Lucy asked accusingly as she made her way to the table.

"Maybe," Jesse answered carefully as he watched her climb into the chair adjacent to his.

Lucy held out her little hand expectantly.

Jesse chuckled at her sassiness but shook his head. "No way. It's too close to bedtime and your aunt would kill me. But nice try."

Slowly but surely, she sunk her head and stuck out her bottom lip then glanced up at Jesse with pitiful big blue eyes. Jesse sighed, knowing he was putty in the little girl's hands but also that she should not be having chocolate so close to bedtime. Nevertheless, he eyed the hallway behind her to check for any signs of Jolie.

"Do not tell your aunt, okay?" He compromised, or rather caved in.

Instantly, Lucy's eyes brightened and she nodded with a wild look in her eyes as Jesse unwrapped the chocolate and placed it in her hand. He tossed another piece in his mouth as Lucy started to devour hers. Once her piece was gone, she held out her hand again.

"Last one," Jesse warned yet handed her two pieces.

Like two peas in a pod, they sat at the table, chewing their chocolate in silence when Jolie stealthily appeared in the doorway.

"What are y'all doing?" She asked with a hand on her hip.

With wide eyes, their jaws froze, and they whipped their heads up toward the incriminating voice simultaneously.

"Nuh'in," Jesse muttered with a mouth full of chocolate as he tried to quickly chew and swallow.

Jolie pursed her lips.

"Lucy, what are you eating?" She asked her niece.

"Uh. Nuh'in," Lucy mimicked Jesse's muffled answer.

Nervously, Lucy glanced over at Jesse, who noticed chocolate smeared on the corner of her mouth.

"Aw, Luce," Jesse laughed as he swallowed his bite and wiped the chocolate off her face with the pad of his thumb. "Everyone knows you gotta get rid of the evidence."

"Sorry!" She peeped.

"Now you have to brush your teeth again, Lucy," Jolie sighed, glaring at Jesse as a subtle warning. "Come on."

"Aw!" Lucy protested verbally but stood up and obliged.

"Night, Luce," Jesse called sheepishly.