The Dopefiend

by JaQuavis Coleman

  “Bitch, where my shit?” Rico asked as he clenched his teeth and had a murderous look on his face. Seven frowned up and followed Rico’s eyes as he stared at Millie with hate. Rico had spotted them a block away and couldn’t catch them before they got into Seven’s car, which was their safe haven.

  “What’s the problem, li’l nigga?” Seven asked coldly as he looked back at Rico as if he was crazy.

  “These bitches just robbed me!” Rico spat and he reached into his waist about to pull out his gun.

  “You better calm yo’ ass down,” Seven ordered as he swiftly put his hand on Rico’s, stopping him from pulling out his gun. “You already know,” Seven confirmed, referring to Hazel’s affiliation with him. Rico knew that Seven had loyalty to Hazel and he quickly calmed down, not wanting a problem with Seven. Seven is the one who supplied him with his dope and Rico didn’t want any friction with the man who he looked up to. Plus, Rico didn’t want any problems with him, being that Seven was the one who the whole block had shooters for days.

  “I’m just saying, Seven. They robbed me for my dope about an hour ago!” Rico said, getting louder with each word. “I want my shit back now!” he said as he began to breathe hard. Seven looked into Rico’s eyes, letting him know they were not on any friendly terms, and then looked at Hazel.

  “Did y’all clip my man?” Seven asked as he looked into Hazel’s eyes, knowing that she wouldn’t lie to him. Hazel’s heart was beating rapidly as she took her eyes off of Rico and looked into Seven’s. She nodded her head to confirm what Rico had said.

  “Fuck that li’l nigga,” Millie shouted from the backseat, pointing at Rico wildly, and feeling real brave because Seven was around.

  “Millie! Calm down,” Seven said coldly as he shot a cold stare at her and instantly made Millie’s mouth close.

  “How much they take from you?” Seven asked as he looked back at Rico.

  “About five hundred in dope and three hundred in cash,” Rico lied, doubling each figure.

  “And that’s why you bitching?” Seven asked as he frowned up his face and blew Rico off by waving his hand at him. Seven grabbed his phone and dialed up his partner Raheem, also known as Rah-Rah.

  “Rah, youngin’ about to come through. Hit him with a quarter of something,” he said just before he hung up the phone. Just like that, the problem was resolved. “Go to the spot and pick up that package. Stop getting caught slipping, li’l nigga. If you let yourself get ‘got,’ you deserved it,” Seven preached as he got into the car and rolled down his window. “Don’t even let bitch come out yo’ mouth when you referring to Hazel, got that?” Seven asked rhetorically, not expecting an answer from Rico.

  “Thanks, Seven,” Rico said while he held his hand out, only to get ignored by Seven as he pulled off.

  “What about me, Seven? He called me a bitch too,” Millie asked teasingly while cracking up laughing in the backseat. “That li’l nigga was shook. Did you see his face?” she said as she clapped her hands together thinking about the frightened face Rico had made when standing in front of Seven.

  “I didn’t pay him back on your behalf. If Hazel wasn’t involved, I woulda’ fed yo’ ass to the wolves. Believe that. I told you not to be having Hazel caught up in your little bullshit!” Seven barked in a low, stern tone as he maneuvered his truck down North Saginaw Street. He looked over at Hazel and knew that she was high by the way she was acting. She avoided eye contact with him and stared out of the passenger-side window as if she was in a trance.

  Trying not to think about her putting needles into her arms, Seven brought up the reason why he was out looking for her that morning.

  “I have been circling the block, looking for you all morning. Your father’s visiting day is today. I’m on my way upstate to see him. I really want you to come with me. He’s been asking about you,” Seven said.

  “Not today, Seven! Damn!” Hazel said as she grew tired of having the same argument with him.

  “You need to go see that man. He loves you to death and you can’t hold him down during his bid? You say that every time I ask you to ride up there with me. That’s your father,” Seven said, reminding her.

  “Yeah . . . some father,” she answered sarcastically as she thought about how he left her abruptly, just like everybody had done her entire life. Seven looked in his rearview at Millie who was in her own world. Seven couldn’t see why someone who was as pretty as Millie could be a straight-up dopefiend. The drug had made her look older than what she really was, but you could still tell that she was a naturally beautiful woman. With her smooth, dark skin and full lips, she resembled the singer Lauryn Hill. Her kinky twists were on point and to the untrained eye, you would never be able to tell that she was a bad heroin addict. Her small, slim frame still made her a hot commodity for the dope boys around the way. Seven shook his head as he thought about the evil that women do. He wanted so badly for Hazel to break away from her, but no matter how much he told Hazel that Millie was bad business, she clung to her.

  After a fifteen-minute drive, Seven pulled into the Carpenter Road Projects where Mille lived, a subsidized apartment complex that the government owned.

  “Thanks, playboy,” Millie said as she opened the door and stepped out. Hazel opened her door too, but Seven grabbed her arm and made her stay in the car. “You are going with me this time, Hazel. I’m not taking no for an answer,” he said as he loosened his grip, not wanting to grab her too tightly.

  “Okay, damn!” Hazel said as she folded her arms tightly. “I’ll be back later,” Hazel said as she looked at Millie. Hazel was mad, because she wanted to finish off the dope packs that they had stolen from Rico. She knew for sure that they would all be gone by the time she got back. Fuck, she thought as Millie closed the door.

  “All right, Hazelnut. Love you!” Millie said as she walked toward the building with a peace sign held up. Seven pulled off, heading toward Jackson, Michigan to visit Hazel’s father and his mentor, Apple.

  Chapter Three

  Hazel looked over at Seven as he drove on I-75. The smooth road and the effects of the drug had her drowsy. Hazel acted as if she hated to be around Seven, but actually she liked it. Seven was just twenty-four years old, but had the wisdom of an old head. Seven was a man of few words, but when he did speak, it was with power and conviction. Seven was all that a woman could want. He was young, very intelligent, attractive, and a certified hood nigga in every sense of the word. She knew Seven was out of her league and the only reason he cared so much about her, was the fact that she was Apple’s daughter. Before Apple went to jail, he took Seven under his wing and treated him as a son. Hazel stopped staring before he noticed and looked out of her window.

  “I hear you the man now. Look at li’l Seven. You all grown up now. Pushing heavy weight,” Hazel said in a slurring voice with her eyes closed. The heroin still had a hold on her and was making her talk slowly and carefree. Seven glanced over at her and shook his head, not even wanting to respond to her.

  “Look, get some sleep on the drive up there. You need to shake that shit off before Apple sees you. Look at you. You high as hell,” he said, almost disgusted at her, while never even glancing back at her.

  The mention of Apple’s name made her think about when she first moved in with him as a young child. She closed her eyes and thought back when she was only seven years old . . . .

  Hazel stared out the car window and watched as the unfamiliar houses briefly appeared into her view as she bypassed them. She was too young to understand the extent of what had just happened and unbeknownst to her, her life would never be the same. She had just seen Drena, her mother, lying in a casket, and witnessed her get put in the ground with dirt over her. At the age of seven, she couldn’t understand why her mother was getting taken away from her. Apple, her father, tried his best to explain to her that she was “with God now,” but that explanation still didn’t enlighten Hazel’s naïve mind.

  “You all right over there?” Apple said as he glan
ced over at Hazel. Hazel briefly looked over at her father and nodded her head. She quickly went back to staring out of the window as Apple maneuvered his cocaine-white Lexus down Hill Road. Apple tried to figure out the best way to figure out his next move. He had just been placed in a difficult situation. Although Hazel was his daughter, she was somewhat a stranger to him. Of course he took care of her financially, but he had barely seen her in all of her seven years on Earth. Hazel’s mother was a dopefiend who Apple had slipped up and gotten pregnant while tricking with her as a teen. When Apple found out that she was pregnant he immediately denied Hazel. But once Hazel was born, there was no denying that she was his child. Apple had a mocha skin color and a big birthmark on his face. The mark was under his left eye and resembled an Apple, which is how he got his nickname. Hazel came out of her mother’s womb with the same exact features. Her birthmark was a tad bit smaller than Apple’s, but it was clear that she was his daughter. She was the female version of him. Apple would occasionally stop by and give Drena money for Hazel, but that was it. He never spent any quality time with her and didn’t embrace what responsibility came with fathering a child. Apple always was disappointed at himself for getting a dopefiend pregnant and tried his best to keep it short and sweet with her. Not wanting to be reminded of how careless and foolish he was for slipping with Drena, Apple had no relationship with his daughter. Nevertheless, now that Drena was gone, his hand was forced. He had to be a father to Hazel.

  Apple is what you called a hustler in every sense of the word. He ran packages up and down I-75, similar to FedEx, but the only difference was that Apple was moving raw heroin instead of packages. He wore the latest fashions and kept a thick, gold rope around his neck long before rappers made it famous to the world in the early ’90s. Now that he had a daughter to take care of, he was lost. He didn’t want to take her, but Drena had no family and he was the only option left. Apple did care for his daughter, but he knew that his current lifestyle wasn’t fit for taking care of a minor. He was only twenty-five and in his prime. He had just met an out-of-town connect and was about to start making major paper, then this came.

  Damn, what I am going to do with this girl? I don’t know shit about kids, he thought as he maneuvered the car on the road. He glanced over at Hazel and just realized how innocent she was and how much she was going through. She had just lost her mother and he began to feel guilty for not wanting anything to do with her before.

  “Hazel,” he called. She looked over at him with her big brown eyes and long eyelashes while remaining silent.

  “What do you like to do?” he asked as he gave her an uncomfortable smile. Hazel shrugged her shoulders and began to look out of the window once again. She was confused and the only thing she knew was that she missed her mother. Hazel was the one who found Drena in the bathroom with a belt wrapped tightly around her arm and a syringe sticking out of it. At first, Hazel just thought her mom was asleep, but after two days of no response she called the police. It seemed like Drena knew that her habit would catch up to her one day. Drena had always told Hazel if she ever couldn’t wake her up to call 911. Hazel did exactly that, but this time Drena didn’t come back . . . She was gone forever.

  Apple pulled into the small house that he was currently residing in. It was a two-bedroom brick house that he had inherited from his grandmother. He rarely stayed there because he was always on the move, but it was home to him. It was on the outskirts of Flint in a small, quiet town called Grand Blanc. He rarely let anyone know where it was because he never wanted karma to catch up with him and meet him at his front door. He made an exception for his longtime girlfriend, Tammy, who stayed there at times. He threw the car in park and took a deep breath as he rested both hands on the woodgrain steering wheel.

  “Okay, this is it. This is where you are going to be staying from now on,” Apple said as he hit the unlock button, grabbed Hazel’s small bag, and stepped out of the car. Hazel stepped out of the car also and stared up at the house in admiration. Although the house wasn’t very big, in her eyes it was gigantic. It was a much bigger house than what she was used to with her mother. Hazel felt a hand on her shoulder; it was Apple.

  “Come on, Hazel,” he said as he walked alongside Hazel to the house. Once they got into the house, Hazel smelled the weed aroma as soon as she stepped in. She was familiar with the smell of weed at an early age. Drena had always had company over and they would smoke marijuana, along with many other drugs of their choice. Apple noticed the smell too and instantly knew that Tammy was in the back lighting up.

  “Tammy!” he yelled as he closed the door and put Hazel’s book bag by the door. “Sit down right here and I will be right back, okay?” he said as he grabbed the remote off of the coffee table and turned it to the Cartoon Network.

  “Okay,” Hazel said as she sat on the couch and stared at the TV.

  “Oh, she does talk, ” Apple said sarcastically to Hazel as he smiled and handed her the remote control. Those were the first words Hazel had said to him all day. Apple faded to the back and left Hazel alone in the living room. Hazel looked around the foreign place and felt scared. She had never been away from her mother for more than two days, but since her death a week ago, Hazel was tossed into a situation that was traumatizing to a young mind. She had been staying with a neighbor until the day of the funeral where she was handed over to Apple. She didn’t hate Apple, but she didn’t like him either. She didn’t even call him “Daddy.” Drena called him Apple, so Hazel addressed him in the same manner, not knowing any better.

  Hazel began to hear arguing from the back and with her nosey nature, she listened closely.

  “What the fuck you mean? You brought the dopefiend’s baby up in this bitch?” Tammy yelled with passion.

  “You better calm down, ma. What am I suppose to do? She’s my daughter!” Apple yelled back in protest. Tammy was uncomfortable with the fact that Hazel was there in the house. She always resented Apple for having a baby by Drena. Not to mention, Tammy was infertile and never could have a baby by Apple. She wanted to be the first one to birth his child, but his mishap with Drena messed that plan up. Tammy always resented Apple for that and she knew that if she had his baby, she would always have him. However, that was a feat that she couldn’t perform.

  “Take her to her relatives, shit! You know how much I went through with you when I found out Drena was pregnant and now you bring that little bitch up in here?” Tammy yelled.

  “Watch yo’ mouth, ma!” Apple said in a low but stern tone between his clenched teeth.

  “Fuck that!” Tammy said as she put out her blunt in the ashtray and stood up. She put both of her hands on her wide hips and snapped her head back. “You are going to have to pick, Apple. It’s me or her. I ain’t the one!” she griped, getting more and more heated with every word. Jealousy had taken over Tammy’s thoughts and all she saw was raging red. Apple couldn’t believe that Tammy was giving him an ultimatum. Tammy had held him down since he was seventeen years old and although she got on his nerves at times, he did love her. Apple looked her up and down and admired her wide hips and slim waist. He loved the way her green eyes complemented her light skin and the way her hair resembled the short style of the singer Rihanna. He knew that she was dead serious and he was going to have to pick. Apple broke his silence and smirked.

  “Tammy, you know I’ma pick my baby girl,” he said, mentioning the nickname he would always call Tammy. He walked over to Tammy and gently placed his hand on the back of her neck.

  “I’m glad you see things my way, baby,” Tammy said as she smiled and looked into her man’s eyes, knowing that she had charmed Apple into ditching his own daughter. She wanted Hazel out and out fast. She leaned in to kiss Apple, but he turned his head, making her lean into air. His grip got tight around Tammy’s neck and he directed her straight to the door and into the living room toward the front door.

  “My baby girl . . . Hazel. Get out, bitch, and respect the lady of the house,” he said as he opened t
he front door.

  “What the fuck you mean!” Tammy asked, not believing what she was hearing. Apple was throwing her out. “Hold up Apple!”

  Apple glanced at Hazel who was looking at what was happening. Hazel had a small smirk on her face because she was glad that he was throwing Tammy out. Although she was young, she understood that Tammy didn’t want her there.

  “Tell this bitch bye, baby,” Apple said as he looked at his daughter.

  “Bye, bitch,” Hazel said in an excited voice and with a big smile on her face as she gave Tammy a quick wave good-bye, obviously rubbing it in. Apple couldn’t help but to chuckle at his witty daughter as he pushed Tammy out and slammed the door closed. He walked over to the couch, heavily breathing, and sat next to Hazel. He put his hand up and gave Hazel a high-five. Maybe this is going to work, he thought as they smiled at each other. They began to watch television together and laughing at Tammy who was kicking and screaming on the other side of the door. From that day forward, it was on. Apple and Hazel would eventually become inseparable.

  Hazel snapped out of her dream and sat up, noticing that they were pulling up to the gated community known as Jackson Correctional Facility. She watched as a guard who sat in the booth leaned out of the window, asking Seven who he was there to see. Once Seven gave the guard the name of her father, he directed him where to park and opened the gates. Hazel’s heart pounded rapidly as the nervousness built up in her chest. She hadn’t been to see her father over the past years, not wanting him to see her in her current state. She was ashamed that she was a heroin addict. Heroin was the very reason her father was in jail, but not for using it . . . he sold it.

  “I didn’t tell him, if that’s what you’re thinking,” Seven said as if he were reading her mind. “Get yourself together before we go in here,” he instructed her as he looked at her wild hair and chapped lips. Seven reached into his backseat and pulled out a Macy’s bag. “Here you go. I’m pretty sure this is your size,’” Seven said as he dropped the bag in her lap.