A Phone Call Away (Part 6)
A Phone Call Away Part One
A Phone Call Away Part Two
A Phone Call Away Part Three
A Phone Call Away Part Four
A Phone Call Away Part Five
Jesse held the phone to his ear, but that didn’t stop his hand from trembling.
“Mike?” he half-sobbed.
“Kid, what’s wrong?”
“He told me. Mr. White told me you were dead,” Jesse said, taking deep breaths of relief. Mike couldn’t be dead if he was on the phone.
“Ah Jesse…”
“He said…he said that when he brought you your bag you got into an argument and…h-he shot you.”
Silence on the other end.
“Mike? Is that try? Did he shoot you?”
Mike sighed heavily over the phone.
“Yes Kid, he did. But I’m not dead. How could I be talking to you if I were dead?”
“No,” Jesse said softly, sinking back down onto the couch. “They didn’t believe me about your phone calls…”
“I’m not surprised. They think I’m dead.”
Mr. White says he and Todd put you in a barrel. That your body was in the trunk when I came by the office to check…”
“Jesus…first off, that’s not true. Kid, listen to me. I’m right here. Do I sound like a ghost to you?”
Jesse sniffed. “No…but you could be a hallucination. I could be high right now…or crazy.”
“Jesse, are you using again?”
“No…well…yes, but just the weed.”
“When’s the last time you smoked it?”
“The first time yu called…”
“And how many times have I called since then?”
“Like…24…25 times.”
“See? I’m not a drug-induced hallucination. Now unless you’ve gone all ghost whisperer since I left, I highly doubt you can communicate with the dead.”
“Then maybe I’m just crazy.”
“The fact that you consider that a possibility pretty much rules it out, Kid.”
“You’re alive?” Jesse asked point-blank.
“Yes.”
“How can they think you’re dead, Mike? They seem pretty damn certain. Like, they were planning to have me institutionalized certain…”
“Jesse…Walter’s a stubborn idiot. He just can’t stand the idea that he’s been so wrong for this long.”
“Tell me what happened…” Jesse asked, a hint of a whimper in his voice.
Mike sighed heavily. Clearly, he had never intended to tell Jesse about any of this.
“Jesse, after the argument with Walter I got into my car, checked my go-bag and saw that my gun was missing from it. I turned to the window, but it was too late. Walter had reached it and he shot me through the window.”
Jesse made a loud whimper-like sound.
“Kid, no, it’s okay. I’m okay,” Mike soothed. “It’s mostly healed now. I’m alright, you understand?”
“Yeah,” Jesse breathed, though his heart still ached and his chest was still clenched.
“Now after he shot me, I stepped on the gas and stupidly drove into a tree-“
“Mike, you just got shot! ”
“I know, but still…not one of my prouder moments,” he said dryly. “Anyway, I climbed out of the car and made a break for the river. You know the one off-“
“I know,” Jesse said hollowly.
“Right well, I knew my only chance was to get far enough under that Walter wouldn’t see me, so I did my best not to splash and sunk in. I stayed under as long as he could, but luckily when I came up for air Walter was headed in the opposite direction further along the shore. I went back under and started swimming across the river.”
“”And…and you swam all that way…with a gunshot wound?” Jesse asked, somber and skeptical.
“I didn’t have to go long, Kid.”
“How did he not see you?”
“It was pretty late in the day. It got too dark for him to keep looking.”
“But your money…from the bag…” Jesse murmured, trying to piece it all together.
“Had to leave it.”
“So you were eating out of trash cans and stuff?”
“Nooo…I called in some favors managed to scrape by, I’m okay now, Kid. I didn’t want to worry, like you’re worried now.”
“Mr. White tried to kill you,” Jesse said in awe. “He really did.””
“I don’t think he planned-“
“Doesn’t matter!” Jesse snapped, standing from the couch. “That asshole! And he wasn’t even gonna tell me you were-“
“I’m not-”
“I know! It’s just UGH,” Jesse exclaimed. “He can’t keep getting away with shit like this!”
“Jesse,” Mike said warningly. “Forget about it. It’s done…I’m alive…and I’m waiting on you, Kid. So I can be with you again…unless you’ve changed your mind.
Jesse’s rage extinguished.
“I haven’t! Mike, more than ever…I need to get away from him…I need to be with you.”
“I need you too, Jesse,” Mike admitted.
Jesse was stricken suddenly by how quickly Mike had worn down from discouraging him from even thinking about leaving to almost begging him to see him. Mike was lonely, falling into the kind of despair that his phonecalls had saved Jesse from. Jesse couldn’t let his anger at Mr. White keep them apart.
“I won’t do anything stupid about Mr. White,” Jesse promised. “I’m going to see you…be with you…no matter what.”
A Phone Call Away Seven
A Phone Call Away Part Two
A Phone Call Away Part Three
A Phone Call Away Part Four
A Phone Call Away Part Five
Jesse held the phone to his ear, but that didn’t stop his hand from trembling.
“Mike?” he half-sobbed.
“Kid, what’s wrong?”
“He told me. Mr. White told me you were dead,” Jesse said, taking deep breaths of relief. Mike couldn’t be dead if he was on the phone.
“Ah Jesse…”
“He said…he said that when he brought you your bag you got into an argument and…h-he shot you.”
Silence on the other end.
“Mike? Is that try? Did he shoot you?”
Mike sighed heavily over the phone.
“Yes Kid, he did. But I’m not dead. How could I be talking to you if I were dead?”
“No,” Jesse said softly, sinking back down onto the couch. “They didn’t believe me about your phone calls…”
“I’m not surprised. They think I’m dead.”
Mr. White says he and Todd put you in a barrel. That your body was in the trunk when I came by the office to check…”
“Jesus…first off, that’s not true. Kid, listen to me. I’m right here. Do I sound like a ghost to you?”
Jesse sniffed. “No…but you could be a hallucination. I could be high right now…or crazy.”
“Jesse, are you using again?”
“No…well…yes, but just the weed.”
“When’s the last time you smoked it?”
“The first time yu called…”
“And how many times have I called since then?”
“Like…24…25 times.”
“See? I’m not a drug-induced hallucination. Now unless you’ve gone all ghost whisperer since I left, I highly doubt you can communicate with the dead.”
“Then maybe I’m just crazy.”
“The fact that you consider that a possibility pretty much rules it out, Kid.”
“You’re alive?” Jesse asked point-blank.
“Yes.”
“How can they think you’re dead, Mike? They seem pretty damn certain. Like, they were planning to have me institutionalized certain…”
“Jesse…Walter’s a stubborn idiot. He just can’t stand the idea that he’s been so wrong for this long.”
“Tell me what happened…” Jesse asked, a hint of a whimper in his voice.
Mike sighed heavily. Clearly, he had never intended to tell Jesse about any of this.
“Jesse, after the argument with Walter I got into my car, checked my go-bag and saw that my gun was missing from it. I turned to the window, but it was too late. Walter had reached it and he shot me through the window.”
Jesse made a loud whimper-like sound.
“Kid, no, it’s okay. I’m okay,” Mike soothed. “It’s mostly healed now. I’m alright, you understand?”
“Yeah,” Jesse breathed, though his heart still ached and his chest was still clenched.
“Now after he shot me, I stepped on the gas and stupidly drove into a tree-“
“Mike, you just got shot! ”
“I know, but still…not one of my prouder moments,” he said dryly. “Anyway, I climbed out of the car and made a break for the river. You know the one off-“
“I know,” Jesse said hollowly.
“Right well, I knew my only chance was to get far enough under that Walter wouldn’t see me, so I did my best not to splash and sunk in. I stayed under as long as he could, but luckily when I came up for air Walter was headed in the opposite direction further along the shore. I went back under and started swimming across the river.”
“”And…and you swam all that way…with a gunshot wound?” Jesse asked, somber and skeptical.
“I didn’t have to go long, Kid.”
“How did he not see you?”
“It was pretty late in the day. It got too dark for him to keep looking.”
“But your money…from the bag…” Jesse murmured, trying to piece it all together.
“Had to leave it.”
“So you were eating out of trash cans and stuff?”
“Nooo…I called in some favors managed to scrape by, I’m okay now, Kid. I didn’t want to worry, like you’re worried now.”
“Mr. White tried to kill you,” Jesse said in awe. “He really did.””
“I don’t think he planned-“
“Doesn’t matter!” Jesse snapped, standing from the couch. “That asshole! And he wasn’t even gonna tell me you were-“
“I’m not-”
“I know! It’s just UGH,” Jesse exclaimed. “He can’t keep getting away with shit like this!”
“Jesse,” Mike said warningly. “Forget about it. It’s done…I’m alive…and I’m waiting on you, Kid. So I can be with you again…unless you’ve changed your mind.
Jesse’s rage extinguished.
“I haven’t! Mike, more than ever…I need to get away from him…I need to be with you.”
“I need you too, Jesse,” Mike admitted.
Jesse was stricken suddenly by how quickly Mike had worn down from discouraging him from even thinking about leaving to almost begging him to see him. Mike was lonely, falling into the kind of despair that his phonecalls had saved Jesse from. Jesse couldn’t let his anger at Mr. White keep them apart.
“I won’t do anything stupid about Mr. White,” Jesse promised. “I’m going to see you…be with you…no matter what.”
A Phone Call Away Seven