The Dopefiend

by JaQuavis Coleman

  Seven stepped out of the car, giving her time to change clothes and respecting her privacy. A few minutes later, Hazel stepped out of the car wearing a two-piece jogging suit that fit her perfectly. It hugged all of her curves and she looked like a new woman. Unlike Millie, the drugs hadn’t taken a toll on her body yet and she was still thick and shapely. She pulled her hair back tightly and her baby hair rested perfectly along her edges and she walked around the car, presenting herself to Seven.

  “How I look?” she asked as she held her arms out, feeling good about herself as she barely could stand without swaying. Seven didn’t even glance at her before answering.

  “You look okay,” he said unexcitedly as he started to walk toward the visitor’s entrance. Hazel shook her head in disappointment and then looked at her backside and how she fit in her pants. She then followed him in. Her heart began to thump rapidly once again, thinking about seeing Apple for the first in a long time.

  Thirty minutes later, they were through clearance and preparing to go into the booth to see Apple. Seven led the way as he looked for the booth D, where Apple was waiting. Seven smiled, something that he rarely did. Thick, five-inch glass separated them as Apple returned Seven’s smile with one of his own. Before picking up the phone, Apple smiled and stared in Seven’s eyes. He remembered when Seven was a youngster and idolized him. Apple always felt Seven was his son.

  Seven’s mother used to abuse drugs and even let her bisexual boyfriend have his way with him as she turned a blind eye to his pedophile ways. The stepfather sold heroin, so he had a hold on her that made her sacrifice her son’s innocence at an early age. Apple was the one who supplied Seven’s stepfather, Harold, with bricks of heroin. However, when Apple found out what was going on, he cut him off. Harold actually bragged about it one night while getting drunk with Apple. Apple quickly went into a rage and took Seven underneath his wing . . . after Harold mysteriously came up missing and, shortly after that, his mother died from a bad pack of heroin. Seven moved in with his grandmother and Apple kept up with him and always made sure he was okay.

  He told Seven that he was about to start a new beginning and gave him the name “Seven” because that was the age that his new life started. His former name was Fredrick. At that moment that Apple told him that, Fredrick was dead and Seven was born.

  Apple picked up the phone on the opposite side of the glass. “Hey, li’l man,” Apple said, still seeing Seven as a little knucklehead who was always following him around.

  “What up, Apple. How you holding up?” Seven asked.

  “I’m doing as well as I can do,” Apple answered.

  “I miss you, big homie,”

  “I miss you too. My friend who I introduced you to; is he treating you good?” Apple asked, getting straight to business, referring to the heroin connect that Apple set up for him.

  “Yeah, very good,” Seven said, giving Apple a small grin.

  “Good, good. You remember what I taught you, right?’ Apple asked.

  “Always,” Seven answered, referring to the advice he installed in Seven since he was a young boy. He would always say, “Play the game, don’t let the game play you.” Meaning to keep a low profile and get out of the drug game as soon he was financially able to. He didn’t want Seven to end up in the same place he was currently at. “But look. I don’t have a lot of time with you, so I want to show you something. It’s a surprise,” Seven said.

  “What’s that?” Apple asked in confusion as he rubbed his beard. Seven stood up and moved to the side as he hung up the phone. When he stepped to the side, Hazel stepped into view and sat down.

  Apple dropped the phone from his ear in total shock and let it dangle. He paused in admiration. He stared at Hazel in complete awe. She was the most beautiful girl in the world in his eyes. Hazel had grown so much since the last time he had seen her. Apple was as hard as they came, but when it came to Hazel he was soft. She was his one and only soft spot.

  Hazel took a deep breath and picked up the phone, sluggishly placing it to her ear. Apple stared at Hazel and gave her his charming grin, not believing how much she had grown. He hadn’t seen her since she last visited him when she was a little girl. His heart was fluttering like never before.

  “Hey, beautiful,” he said as he looked deep into his only child’s soul.

  “Hey, Daddy,” Hazel said as she noticed that Apple was getting older. The specks of gray in his beard displayed his age, but he was still as handsome as they came.

  “I love you so much. You hear me?” he said as he emphasized every single word. His voice began to crack as he talked. Hazel nodded her head as she half smiled. She had forgotten how close they were before he left her abruptly. She tried to be more attentive, but the effects of using the drug caused her eyelids to seem heavy and made her sway in her seat involuntarily.

  “I’ve been asking Seven to bring you up for a long time. He says he never could catch up with you,” Apple said as he began to look closer at Hazel, who had begun to scratch her forearms. She didn’t even realize that she was doing it. The aftereffects of the drug had her skin crawling and her eyes were bouncing around. Apple knew that look oh too well. For a brief second, he thought that he was looking at Hazel’s mom, Drena. Apple’s heart dropped as he didn’t want to believe that his baby had followed the footsteps of her drug-addicted mother.

  “I just be so busy, you know. Going to school and all,” Hazel lied, as she saw her father’s sudden mood change and couldn’t look him directly in the face because of her shame. Apple’s voice began to crack again as he fought tears back and smiled trying to conceal his agony.

  “Oh. What school are you going to?” he asked, playing along and knowing that she wasn’t in school. Apple was dying deep inside. He couldn’t believe that the rumors were true as he tried to keep a smile on his face, not wanting to spoil the visit by preaching to her. He had heard that his daughter had been using drugs but didn’t want to believe it. But now the proof was in the pudding and it was killing him softly. Seven had yet to tell him that Hazel had turned to heroin, but he knew Seven was only trying to avoid putting the burden of knowing on him while he was serving a life sentence.

  “Mott Community College,” she lied. She dropped out of the school two years ago during the first semester because of her growing drug habit.

  “I’m so proud of you, baby. You can be anything you want to be. Remember that,” Apple said, having to grin to stop himself from crying. A tear slipped down his face involuntarily and he quickly wiped it away, trying to keep his composure in front of Hazel. His bottom lip began to quiver, but Hazel didn’t notice it because she was so busy trying to avoid eye contact with him. Her eyes danced around and her drowsiness was evident. “Let me speak back to Seven before the time is up, okay, baby?” Apple asked as he put his hand on the glass. “I love you with all my heart and I always will. You are the best thing that ever happened to me, Hazel. You are the best part of me . . . my better half. You will always be my girl,” Apple added as he witnessed Hazel begin to nod.

  “Okay, Daddy. Love you,” she whispered lazily, with her eyes closed, before she got up and handed Seven the phone.

  Seven grabbed the phone and sat down, seeing the pain in Apple’s eyes. That pained look quickly turned into a sinister stare as Apple leaned in closer to the glass as if he didn’t want anybody to hear what he was about to say. Apple’s eyes were watery and blood red.

  “Seven. Listen to me and listen to me closely. That . . . woman . . . right . . . there, is all I have good left in this world. She is the best part of me and I refuse to let her do this. Listen! You get her off the streets, Seven! They’re not fa’ her. They’re not fa’ her,” Apple said as he shook his head from side to side. Meaning every word, he stared at his protégé with sincerity and a burning passion, never blinking once.

  Seven nodded his head in agreement, without saying a word. Seven had not seen Apple that hurt, nor had he ever seen him that angry. Seven knew that he owed Apple
the world and he was determined to get Hazel right. Hazel had always refused his help, but now he was not about to take no for an answer.

  “Make sure you bring her up here every month, when you come, all right? I love you, Seven,” Apple said before hanging up the phone and putting his fist to the glass, as if he was giving him a pound. Seven returned the gesture and placed his fist on the opposite side of the glass, matching his. They both paused for a minute and Apple was the first to get up. The guard who stood behind Apple approached him and escorted him out. Seven watched as Apple got escorted out of the visiting area and until he couldn’t see him anymore. Seven vowed to himself that Hazel would be his personal responsibility until she was clean. He owed Apple his life and wasn’t going to let him down in any way.

  “Let’s go, Hazel,” he said as he got up and grabbed her arm roughly, trying to snap her out of her nod as he led her out.

  On the car ride home, Hazel fell into a deep nod once again and subconsciously she thought about her father. She thought back to a time when it was good for her finally and then all her joy was taken away from her abruptly.

  Jay-Z’s classic album Reasonable Doubt played as Apple and Hazel bobbed their heads to the music in unison, both mouthing the lyrics word for word along with the rapper. Hazel was twelve years old and she and Apple were closer than close. She was his Bonnie and he was her Clyde. Hazel thought about how Apple was teaching her things, but in actuality Hazel was teaching him life lessons. He learned responsibility and how to be a father from her. It had been five years since her mother passed and life was good for the both of them. Apple figured that since Hazel was with him permanently, he would teach her about life, no holds barred. He didn’t lie to her about what he did, which was sell heroin, and they naturally became partners in crime.

  “Baby girl. How much is that?” Apple asked as he had on a doctor’s mask, sitting at his kitchen table, cutting the dope with lactose and his special blend which remains to be confidential.

  “We’re at thirty-two thousand dollars, Apple,” Hazel said as she put rubber bands around the G-stacks after she counted them. Apple had taught her how to count and put the money in “G-stacks,” which meant a thousand dollars in each rubber band. Hazel could count faster and more accurately than any adult he knew. At age twelve she was a “professional cash counter,” as Apple would say.

  “We almost there, baby girl,” Apple said as he glanced over at his daughter, who was in her pajamas counting money for him on that Saturday night.

  “Almost there,” Hazel repeated as she smiled and looked at her father. Apple had promised her that they would move to New York when he saved enough money to get out of the game. Hazel had a love for theatrical plays and the thought of being in New York was intriguing to her young mind. She always would see how New York looked at night on television shows and magazines. She admired the way the city looked when lit up, and the “glamorous life” was fascinating to her. Apple always told her “The Big Apple” was named after him and would tell her stories of how he used to go there to hustle when he was younger, and shut the strip down in an exotic car, with the thickest chain, and the flyest clothes. His stories about the city were legendary and instantly had her open.

  “Apple, do they have mime shows in New York?” Hazel asked as she remembered seeing an old movie that had mimes on the New York streets.

  “Of course, baby girl. I’m going to take you to the best mime show in New York! We are going to stroll down the streets and you are going to be rocking an expensive mink, baby girl! Them mufuckas better watch out for Hazel Brown!” he said as he temporarily stop cutting the dope and pulled down his doctor’s mask, showing Hazel his big smile. His comment made Hazel light up and her heart fluttered thinking about how fun it would be.

  For the most part, hustlers would have another woman count and rubber band their money for him, but not Apple. Hazel was the leading lady in his life and he didn’t trust anybody but her. Most people would consider Apple a bad father for involving his daughter in illegal activities, but in Apple’s eyes he was spending quality time with her. Hazel always loved to count Apple’s money, because she felt like she was a part of something. While the normal American family sat at dinner tables together every evening as a source of bonding, Apple and Hazel counted money and cut dope together on their Saturday nights. Occasionally they would play dominoes together. Apple would let her win every time, loving to see her smack the last domino on the table like a little gangster.

  About an hour later, Hazel was just about done counting Apple’s monthly take. She filled Apple’s duffle bag up so that he could go and see his connect to cop a few bricks of heroin. Hazel put $50,000 in the bag neatly and zipped it up. She took the rest of the money and put it in his safe, which was on the floor in her bedroom closet.

  Apple was finally finished cutting his dope with the lactose and went to the sink and washed his hands thoroughly, hoping that this would be his last flip. He looked at Hazel, who was returning to the living room and putting his bag and gun by the door for him, so that he could hit the highway soon. Apple never kept the clip in his gun while at home, so he would have to retrieve it just before he left.

  “I love you, Hazel,” he said as he looked at the love of his life. Since the day he began taking care of her, he really began to understand the meaning of love; the love from a father to his child.

  “Love you too, Apple,” Hazel said as she looked at him and gave him her famous smile.

  “Got a surprise for you,” Apple said as he dried his hands off with the dishrag and walked toward her.

  “Ooh, what is it?” Hazel asked excitedly as she clapped her hands together and jumped up and down cheerfully.

  “Close your eyes,” Apple said, smiling, going into the backroom and playfully tossing the rag at Hazel. Hazel lit up as she closed her eyes and waited to see what Apple had for her. Moments later she heard Apple re-entering the room.

  “Hurry!” Hazel said as the anticipation built. She then felt something being laid on her shoulders and she quickly opened her eyes. She saw the mink coat and went crazy. “Thank you, Daddy!” she screamed as she rubbed the fur and spun around in it. Apple smiled, feeling so good that he was making her happy. It was the first time that she had called him “Daddy” and it brought joy to his heart hearing that word come out of her mouth. The mink was a tad bit too big for her, but she didn’t care.

  “You’re welcome, baby girl,” he said as he watched her prance around in the coat excitedly. “That’s the same coat Princess Diana wore.”

  “Princess Diana? The princess?” she asked as she kept admiring the coat.

  “That’s right. But you’re my princess,” he said. Hazel couldn’t stop smiling and she ran over and hugged Apple tightly as she laid her head on his chest. Apple held his daughter and realized that he had to get out of the game and make a better life for her at that point.

  “One last flip,” he whispered as he thought about getting out of the game for good. “Okay, Hazel, I am about to get ready to hit the highway. You are going over to Ms. Johnson’s house for the night,” Apple said, referring to his elderly next-door neighbor who occasionally watched Hazel when Apple took trips to re-up from his Arabic dope connect, Hassan.

  “Okay,” Hazel answered as she faded into the back room and gathered her overnight bag. “Thanks again, Apple,” Hazel yelled as she admired herself in the dresser’s mirror. She looked so glamorous. She could imagine herself in the city of New York, walking through the park with her father protecting her, while mimes did their acts for her. The scene in her head was just like a movie. She felt on top of the world in that all-white mink coat. Nevertheless, that good feeling would soon turn into anguish.

  Later that night Apple was arrested while transporting two kilos of heroin on I-75. Hazel sat up and waited for her father, but he never returned. The next time she would see him would be at a prison, speaking through thick glass. That’s when Hazel’s world crumbled and the streets beca
me her parents. The streets raised her and her life would never be the same.

  Hazel snapped out of her dream, finally waking from her nod, and saw that they were almost near Flint. She smiled as she thought about how good she felt the night that Apple had given her the mink coat. It was the last good memory she had of him. That smile instantly died when she thought about what her life was like currently. She looked over at Seven and he seemed to be in deep thought, in his own little world. She looked at his strong jaw line and ebony brown skin and was starting to look at him in a different light. However, she flipped down the visor and looked in the mirror at herself. The bags under her brown eyes and her brittle hair confirmed that she wouldn’t have a chance with him. The drugs had taken a toll on her appearance and she was looking more like thirty than twenty years old. I got to get my shit together, she thought as she sunk in her seat and waited to be dropped off.

  Chapter Four

  “What the fuck are you doing, you bitch-ass nigga?” Hazel asked as she kicked and screamed while Seven forcefully carried her up the stairs that led to his apartment. He picked her small frame up with ease and her bites, kicks, and insults didn’t faze him as he thought about the task at hand. Once he pulled into his apartment complex and Hazel noticed that it wasn’t Millie’s place, she began to ask questions about why they were stopping there. He told Hazel that she was going to stay with him for a while and she instantly refused, so he took the matters into his own hands by forcing her.

  Hazel wasn’t thinking about anything but getting back to Millie’s spot so she could get whatever was left of Rico’s dope into her veins. Her body was itching for the good smack to tantalize it and Seven was hating on her high. “ Get yo’ damn hands off of me!” she yelled as a elderly black lady with curlers in her hair stepped out of her door to see what was going on.