“Li’l Man! Come here!” Rah said as he waved him over. Rico looked around and then hesitantly stepped off of the post and toward Rah’s car.
“What’s up, big homie,” Rico said as he slipped his out-of-sight hand toward the gun that was tucked in his waist.
“Yo, you saw that bitch Millie ’round here today?” Rah asked as he checked his rearview mirror.
“Naw, not today. I haven’t seen her in a couple of days. What, you wanna trick with her a’ something?” Li’l Rico asked without thinking. Rah instantly frowned up and got offended.
“Listen, li’l nigga, I don’t have to pay for pussy. And I’m the one asking all the questions, feel me?” Rah said sternly as he looked into the youngster’s eyes. Li’l Rico nodded his head and broke eye contact, not wanting any trouble with Rah.
“But check this out. I need a favor.”
“Yeah, what up,” Li’l Rico said as he thought he was about to earn some stripes and move up on the hustlers’ totem pole.
Rah reached into his cup holder and pulled out a pack of dope, Lady Luck to be exact. It was wrapped in a small, red rubber band. “I want you to give this to Millie when you see her. Tell her it’s some new shit that you want her to check out for you. Understand?” Rah said as he checked his rearview mirror again and dropped it in Li’l Rico’s palm.
“Okay, I got you,” Rico said as he also took a look around and then dropped it in his pocket after receiving it.
“Make sure you remember. Give her the one with the rubber band around it.”
“Red rubber band. Gotcha,” Li’l Rico said.
“And this is another rubber band . . . for you, of course,” Rah joked as he pulled out a wad of money that was wrapped in a rubber band.
“Cool,” Li’l Rico said calmly as he took the money and walked away. Rah pulled off, smiling. It was done. Millie’s life was on a countdown. She had a rat poison-laced pack of dope waiting for her. She would feel karma in its deadliest form in due time.
Just as Rico anticipated, not even thirty minutes later he spotted Millie walking to the store. He smiled as he approached her. He had a special delivery for her.
Hazel hurriedly packed her bags, not knowing her next move. She could still smell the stale scent of blood throughout Seven’s apartment. The trail of Seven’s blood to the room she was in made her get flashbacks to the horrible acts that were committed only days before. She stuffed her clothes in garbage bags and had no idea what her next move was. Seven had just broken her heart. She never meant to be the cause of all the drama, but he never would understand that. For all that Hazel knew, Millie might not have had anything to do with the robbery.
“Damn!” she yelled as she carried the bags out the door. She stuffed them into her trunk and almost forgot her certificate from Insight. She rushed upstairs and grabbed the certificate, stared at it, and knew that if she had gotten herself clean, that she could do anything. With or without Seven.
Hurt and heartbroken, she left and headed to the only place she knew she had left: Millie’s home.
Chapter Twenty-one
Hazel pulled into the projects and parked her car near Millie’s spot. She took a deep breath and griped as she thought about what she was going to say to Millie when saw her. She hadn’t been dealing with her and now Hazel was running back to her and asking her to take her in. Hazel had saved up about $1,800 from working at Insight, but that was all that she had to her name.
“Here goes nothing,” Hazel whispered as she grabbed her bags of her belongings as she prepared to go to Millie’s door. Hazel purposely left all of Seven’s gifts to her in his house, not wanting to take them with her. Seven had hurt her feelings so bad and Hazel couldn’t understand how Seven could be so cold to her after they had established such a close bond. Her hands began to shake, feeling scared and lonely without Seven. She had been depending on him for the past few months and without him she felt inadequate. If he knew it or not, he was her strength and now without him she was weak.
“I’m so sorry, Seven,” Hazel whispered as she didn’t fully understand why he shunned her. Hazel stepped out of the car and headed to Millie’s.
Millie sat at her kitchen table with a belt wrapped tightly around her arm and a needle in her hand. She had just gotten a free pack from Rico and although she didn’t want to take it, she did; giving into the temptation. Although she had flushed Mouse’s pack down the toilet, minutes later she had stumbled upon a free pack of dope. It seemed inevitable for her to shoot dope into her veins on that given day. It was as if the pack that Li’l Rico had given her was a special pack when Millie saw it. It was neatly packed and a red rubber band was around it, as if the pack was calling her name with a golden ticket to ecstasy. She set the needle down and smacked her arm trying to get a vein to show. After a couple of smacks a big, green vein presented itself and Millie picked up the needle. She placed it to her skin, almost piercing it, and . . . Knock, knock, knock.
“Damn,” Millie whispered as she was interrupted. She quickly put her needle under a towel that sat on the table and unwrapped her arm. She stormed to the door and found Hazel on the other side, holding a bag. She had tear-filled eyes.
“Hazelnut, what’s wrong?” she asked as her irritated frown formed into a concerned look.
“He doesn’t want me anymore,” Hazel said as she broke down right then and there, crying.
“Come in, baby,” Millie said as she opened her arms, welcoming Hazel. Hazel fell into Millie’s arms and hugged her tightly.
“He thinks you set him up. That guy Mouse came and tried . . .” Hazel said, trying to get the words out before she began to hyperventilate.
“Shh. Calm down. I would never do that,” Millie lied, not wanting to admit what she had done.
“I know. I tried to tell him that you would never do anything like that but he wouldn’t listen.”
“Well, you know you have a home right here. Fuck that nigga. You got me,” Millie said as she guided Hazel in and onto the couch. Millie walked to the door and got Hazel’s bag and put it in the room. “Your room is just like you left it. Don’t worry about it,” Millie said as she walked back into the living room and took a seat next to Hazel, throwing her arm around her and caressing her as Hazel cried on her shoulder.
It hurt Millie, knowing that she was the cause of the domino effect that left Hazel miserable. Millie instantly wanted to make Hazel feel better.
“Hazel, you just need to give him a little time to cool off. That man loves you. Men are like that; when they get mad they push everything and everybody away. When emotions enter . . . reason leaves,” Millie said, dropping jewels to the young girl who cried in her arms.
“He didn’t seem like he was just mad. He looked at me like he hated me,” Hazel said as she looked at Millie, wiping the tears from her cheeks.
“Just give him a little time. He’ll come around, watch. Tell you what. How about I go to the store and get some of that banana split ice cream that you love so much. Shit . . . ice cream always makes me feel better,” Millie joked, trying to get Hazel to smile. Hazel wasn’t smiling but Millie was determined to change that. Millie smiled, knowing that she finally had gotten her girl back. Millie quickly got up and put on her jacket as she headed for the door. She was so into helping Hazel, she had forgotten about shooting the dope. Millie smiled as she walked out of the apartment, feeling so good that Hazel was back around.
Only minutes after Millie left, Hazel cried as she put the belt in her mouth, jerking her neck so that she could tighten it around her arm. The pain and sorrow that Seven caused her drove her to surrender herself to dope once again. “I loved you, Seven. How could you?” she mumbled out of her clenched teeth. She took the laced heroin-filled needle that Millie had left on the table, and carefully injected it into her vein. The drug slowly crept up her vein like a snake in a field of grass. Instantly Hazel’s eyes rolled in the back of her head and the good feeling that she had missed for so long re-emerged, giving her a relax
ed and orgasmic feeling. That feeling soon became a burning, painful one as foam began to volcano through her mouth and a drip of blood came from her left eye. Hazel’s body jerked wildly and she fell out of the chair, landing on the hardwood floor while beginning to go into convulsions and shaking violently. Sadly, she was experiencing her untimely death.
In the last moments of her life, she stopped shaking and had a quiet, calm experience as she thought back to a time when she was a little girl. She thought about Apple and how he described New York in the dead of winter and how beautiful it was. She imagined herself walking through a park with an all-white mink coat on, walking toward a bridge. She looked back at Apple, who was admiring the mime do his precise and astonishing act. Hazel then imagined herself climbing onto a bridge’s rail and holding her arms out like a bird as the cold New York weather flowed through her fingers. Just before Hazel took her last breath in reality, she jumped off the bridge in the scene playing out in her mind; flying free as a bird. Hazel was finally free. She was finally at a place where she would experience no more pain. Hazel Brown was dead.
Millie came through the door smiling, about to tell Hazel how she was going to start Insight the next day. Hazel was her motivation to get clean for good.
“I was thinking, I’ma really do it this time,” Millie said, coming in with a bag full of goodies for them to eat. Millie was so busy talking and putting down the bags she didn’t see Hazel on the floor with her eyes open, staring into space, and lifeless.
“Hazel! They didn’t have banana split so I got strawberry. Naw, I’m lying . . . I like strawberry and only had enough to buy one pint!” Millie yelled, thinking Hazel had gone in the back and couldn’t hear her. “Hazel,” she yelled again, but this time turning around. Millie looked down and saw Hazel sprawled out on the floor with the needle in her arm.
“Hazel? No, no, no,” Millie said as she looked at the syringe sticking out of her forearm. Then Millie looked at Hazel’s eyes and saw that she wasn’t blinking . . . or breathing. “Hazel!” Millie yelled as her heart dropped into her stomach. The blood drained from Millie’s face as she felt like she couldn’t breathe. She quickly dropped to her knees and cradled Hazel’s head. Millie shook Hazel and tried to give her CPR, but it was to no avail; she had gone to the other side. “Noooooooo!” Millie cried as she wept with her dead Hazelnut in her arms, rocking back and forth, holding her baby.
Chapter Twenty-two
Six days later a small memorial service was held for Hazel. Millie, along with a couple friends of Hazel from the Insight Center, attended. The entire Insight staff was also present and some of its patients were there to celebrate the life of their fallen peer. Millie sat in the back row inside the church, struggling with the loss of her only loved one and also the pains of heroin withdrawal. Millie had cried for the past week straight and when she found out that Hazel died because of rat poisoning, she instantly knew that it was meant for her. The guilt of knowing that she was responsible for killing her baby Hazel weighed heavy on her soul and revenge was number one on her priority list. She knew that she had to go to see Rico to get answers, but for now she had to bury her love, Hazel. Millie was expecting to see Seven there, but he never showed. Little did she know, Seven was also overwhelmed with guilt. He had ordered the death of Millie, but killed Hazel instead.
While Millie cried in the back, the doors of the church opened and all eyes went to the man with the apple mark on his face. It was not guessing; everyone knew it was Hazel’s father, Apple. He was escorted by two uniformed guards and he was still handcuffed as he made his way down the aisle, teary-eyed and hesitant. Although his eyes were watery, his face had a look of rage. Apple knew that his daughter had been slipped a hot shot from Rah, and Seven was the cause of it.
Apple slowly approached the casket; he stopped just short of his daughter and looked at the guards. “Come on, fellas. Show my baby girl some respect,” Apple whispered. In so many words, Apple requested the guards to let him see his daughter’s body without being escorted by authorities. The guards looked at each other and agreed to grant Apple’s wishes. Apple slowly walked up to the casket and looked at his angel, lying there, breathless. She barely looked like herself. Her face seemed as if it were hard as stone and she had a smug expression on her face with heavy makeup on. The tears began to flow as Apple’s hands and knees shook uncontrollably.
“I’m so sorry, baby. I’m so sorry. It’s all my fault. I should have never left you. It’s . . . all . . . my fault,” he said, breaking down and burying his face in his hands. He bent down and kissed his daughter’s forehead. Apple gave her a long kiss goodnight and turned and walked toward the exit; he couldn’t stand it anymore. He couldn’t stay and watch Hazel get put in the ground, so he decided to say his good-byes at that point and not stay for the entire ceremony. Just as he got to the last row he felt a hand pick up his. It was Millie.
“Apple,” she whispered with tear-filled eyes. “I’m Millie,” she whispered as she looked deep into his eyes. “I was there . . .” Millie said just before Apple put his finger on his lip, signaling her to stop talking.
“Come see me,” he simply said as he gently pulled his hand away from her and exited. He knew that Millie was there with Hazel at the time of her death, and he wanted to talk to her to ask her about his only daughter’s last breaths.
Apple walked out of the courthouse and he saw a tinted truck. Somehow he knew it was Seven.
Seven sat in his truck solo, with watery eyes, not having the courage to pay his respects to Hazel, knowing he was the cause of her untimely demise. He watched Apple coming out of the church and his heart dropped, not knowing what to say to his mentor. How could he explain that he accidently killed Hazel? How? Seven clenched his jaws tightly and stared at Apple coming toward him. Apple looked at the window as if he was staring straight at Seven. Seven’s heart began to beat rapidly and he saw Apple quickly break loose from the two officers and rush to the car.
“Seven! Seven!” Apple yelled, approaching the car. Seven rolled down his window, exposing his pained face.
“Apple,” Seven said, trying to explain that it was an accident. Apple finally approached the car breathing heavily, while the guards were rushing to get him.
“Seven, how could you? I raised you! I held you down and this how you repay me? I asked you to protect my baby, not kill her!” Apple yelled as white film formed in the corner of his mouth while tears flowed. Seven tried to say something but nothing came out. As the guards approached Apple, they grabbed him and put him in the handcuffs, but Apple never took that sinister stare off of Seven. Just before the officers pulled him away, he spit into Seven’s face. “I hate you nigga! I made you!” Apple yelled as he got forcefully pulled away and stuffed into the backseat of the police car.
Seven slowly wiped the spit off of his face and gripped the pistol the sat on his lap. He could have busted Apple for disrespecting him, but he couldn’t. Seven was so hurt that his hero had just told him that he hated him. His Superman had just been taken away from him. Seven had never been so heartbroken in his life. Nothing he could do could right his wrong and he would have to live with Hazel’s death on his shoulder forever. Seven shook his head from side to side and watched as the police car pulled away. Things would never be the same. Seven breathed heavily and a single tear rolled down his cheek and onto his gun. “I’m sorry, Hazel. I never meant this to happen to you,” he whispered to himself as he started up the car. The single event had just turned him cold. He quickly channeled his pain into anger. Seven waited in his car for over an hour and waited to see the funeral workers act as pallbearers and escort Hazel’s casket out.
The sight was overwhelming for Seven and he released a rare tear, hurting inside out. He pulled off as the men began to toss the dirt over her casket. He couldn’t stand the sight, knowing that he was the cause of it. Seven thought about killing Millie, but he knew that it wouldn’t do any good. What was the use of killing a dopefiend? Seven wished he had been t
hinking like that a week earlier. If he had been, Hazel would have still been alive.
Millie watched as they threw dirt on Hazel’s casket. Millie knew that a piece of her had died that day and she was determined to make someone pay. All the sorrow she had been feeling the past week was slowly altering into anger. Millie’s gripped her aching stomach as the withdrawal pains made it almost impossible to stand, but she stood tall for Hazel. Millie had vowed to never put another drug in her body. Her drug use and influence had made a beautiful girl’s life end far too soon. Millie knew that it was she who was supposed to be getting buried rather than Hazel and that was the hardest thing for her to accept. The fact that she started Hazel on the drugs made it that much worse. Millie was about to make someone pay. The old Millie was dead and she was determined to get to the bottom of the situation. First, she knew that she would have to go and see Apple, giving him an explanation.
Chapter Twenty-three
“I’m about to cum!” the woman yelled as she bent over the chair with her legs parted widely. She was totally nude, except for the six-inch heels that she wore at Mouse’s request. Mouse watched the rippling effect in the woman’s behind as he stroked her from the back at a rapid pace. Mouse was sweating heavily and the sex was so good that it had him lightheaded and wobbly.
“This is so good,” he whispered as he gradually slowed down, feeling faint. “Damn,” he mumbled, never having sex that made him feel so woozy. Little did he know it wasn’t the sex that had him feeling tired; it was the pill that Toya had secretly slipped into his drink. Seven and Rah had convinced Toya to take one for the team and set Mouse up. At first, Toya was irate that Rah would ask her to have sex with another man, but the $25,000 that Seven had placed in her hand made her see things their way real quick.
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