The Day the Streets Stood Still

by JaQuavis Coleman

  “Sean, you’re a boss. You don’t need to live like this. You’re the smartest m’fucker I know and look at you right now. I’m going to help you, but only because I know that the king still lives inside of you,” BG said with sincerity. Sean kept rocking; tears drained from the sides of his eyes as he listened to her words. He was a boss and he still knew it, but at that moment, he didn’t feel like it.

  BG walked out of her office for a minute and returned with a small bundle to set Sean straight.

  “This is the first and last time I will give you this poison. I’m not going to help you kill yourself with this shit. You came to me for help and that’s what I intend to provide,” BG said firmly, tossing the bundle at Sean. He snatched it up like a starving man being given food for the first time in years. BG looked at him and shook her head with a combination of pity and disgust. For the first time since she’d met him, she felt sorry for him. “Hit that and I’ll be right back. We need to talk,” BG said seriously. She left her office and when the door closed, Sean went about getting high for what he hoped was the last time.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Sean leaned over the side of the bed in BG’s guest room and threw up into the bucket on the floor for the sixth time in a row. “Agh!” Sean screamed out as another wave of pain shot through his lower back and abdomen. He was drenched in sweat and his legs stiffened to the point he was wracked with Charlie horses and severe cramps.

  “Cold turkey is no joke, but it’s the only way to do this shit,” BG said as she sat a big cup of ice chips down on the nightstand next to the bed and picked up the vomit bucket so she could empty it.

  “B . . . just give me one pack. Just one more,” Sean begged, barely able to speak. “I swear . . . it will be the last one. I can’t do this, B. I ain’t built for this shit.”

  “No. It’s been three days and you’ve made it this far. In a few more days you’ll be well enough to go to a place I set up for you,” BG told him. “If I give you a pack you’ll be starting from the door and that ain’t about to happen, King.”

  “Fuck!!” Sean screamed at her. “You don’t fuckin’ understand!” he cried out, kicking his aching legs like a toddler throwing a tantrum.

  “You can do all of that but I’m not getting you no H. The man I know you to be can kick this shit straight cold turkey,” BG said. “You’re doing just fine. Just trust me.”

  Sean wanted to jump up and punch her in the face, but he was too weak.

  “Fuck you! Fuck you!” Sean growled at her as he leaned over and dry heaved this time.

  “I know. I know. But you’ll thank me later when you get well enough to take the streets back,” BG said with confidence.

  After another three days of cold turkey withdrawals, Sean finally felt strong enough to sit up in the bed and put his feet on the floor. The sunlight was streaming though the blinds of BG’s guest room and for the first time in years Sean appreciated the sun, the trees and the blue sky outside. He didn’t feel 100 percent, but well enough to get up.

  Sean stood up for the first time and almost fell because his legs were so weak from not using them for so many days. He knocked a glass off of the nightstand and sent it crashing to the floor.

  “Damn,” Sean hissed, bending over to pick up the shards of glass.

  “Sean?” BG huffed rushing into the room. “You all right?”

  “Yeah . . . yeah, I’m good. I just hit the glass by accident,” Sean explained, finally looking up at her. Sean stared at her for a few minutes and he immediately felt ashamed of himself. BG was still gorgeous and flawless, standing there in her designer threads with her diamonds sparkling from her wrist, ears and hands. Time had been kind to her and she didn’t look like she had aged a day. Sean lowered his eyes, unable to hold eye contact with her, realizing he could barely stand, dressed in pajamas she bought for him with not one piece of jewelry of his own.

  “Leave that . . . the cleaning lady will get it up,” BG told Sean. “I’m so glad to see you up and about,” BG told him.

  “Yeah, I need a shower like nobody’s business,” he said with a halfhearted chuckle trying to take the focus off of his raggedy appearance.

  “That’s what I like to hear,” BG said smiling brightly. She was starting to see hints of her old partner shining through.

  BG provided Sean with toiletries, razor and a brand new plush Ralph Lauren bathrobe. When he first stepped into the shower, the water stung his skin like thousands of needles were stabbing him. Sean allowed the hot water to run over his battered and abused body, which seemed to revive him. As he stood under the shower stream, Sean couldn’t help but think about the last time he’d taken a shower with Sunny.

  “Wash my back,” Sunny said, giggling as Sean moved his naked body close to hers. The hot water rained down on them causing a steamy mist to develop between them. The entire scene was sexy as hell and made Sunny feel like a sex kitten.

  “I’ma wash ya front first,” Sean replied jokingly, reaching around from behind her so he could fiddle with her clitoris. Sunny leaned her back against his chest as the shower water washed over her breasts and face.

  “Didn’t I say no fucking this time? Huh? Huh?” Sunny chided playfully, lifting her arms, reaching back and cradling his head. “That’s all you wanna do lately.”

  “What you say don’t matter. This my shit and I take it when I want. Plus ain’t nobody tell you to be so fuckin’ sexy,” Sean said softly, kissing the back of her neck while his ever growing manhood pressed against her ass. “C’mere,” Sean instructed, gently turning her around.

  “Damn you so sexy when you’re dripping wet,” he whispered pushing Sunny against the shower wall. She lifted her legs so he could take her.

  “Mmmm,” she moaned as Sean entered her wet center. Their wet bodies slipped against each other making a loud, slick noise as their skin slapped together.

  “Ahh. Yes. Yes.” Sunny panted as Sean took her while the powerful shower water pelted them like a warm rainstorm.

  “I love you,” Sunny whispered, holding on to Sean like she never wanted to let him go.

  “I love you too,” Sean said for the first time since Sunny had been with him. Sunny opened her eyes wide and stopped his motion. She looked him in the eye in disbelief that he had finally said the three words she thought she’d never hear him say.

  “Yeah, I said it and I mean it, Sunny,” Sean assured her, finally letting his guard down and giving himself to her emotionally.

  “Aye! Sean! You a’ight in there!” BG banged on the bathroom door and called out from the other side. Sean jumped fiercely and looked around the steamy bathroom dazed as he snapped out of his reverie. He swallowed hard, realizing that he was alone in the shower without Sunny.

  “Yeah! I’m good,” Sean responded as BG knocked again. He put his hands up against the shower wall and let the water beat down on his head for a few minutes as he tried hard to get Sunny out of his mind. Sean was glad that the water streaming from the showerhead had washed his tears away.

  “Damn, nigga. I was scared for a minute. I thought you fell in,” BG was saying with her back turned as Sean stepped out of the bathroom.

  “I almost fell in,” he replied sarcastically, wrapping the plush bathrobe around his body. When BG finally turned around and laid eyes on him, her mouth involuntarily dropped open like she’d seen a ghost.

  “Damn all that? What? I still look that bad?” Sean asked, noticing her wide-eyed stare and agape mouth.

  “Um . . . no . . . um,” BG stammered at a loss for words as she stared at his newly shaven face and clear skin. They shared a long gaze until BG finally lowered her eyes. She felt something suddenly start throbbing in her pants. Sean looked like his old self and she was love struck by his gorgeous face all over again.

  “Damn . . . that bad,” he joked. “Shit I thought a nigga was looking better ’n’ shit.”

  “No. That good,” she whispered, too scared to let him know how she was really feeling.

&n
bsp; BG didn’t trust the at home cold turkey detox that Sean had gone through at her house. She didn’t think he would be able to fully kick his heroin addiction staying in the city, so she arranged for him to get a full detox at an exclusive holistic drug cleansing center in Los Angeles that most celebrities frequented when they were trying to kick the habit. There was a hefty price tag attached to the place, but BG didn’t care if it meant the old King Sean would be back at her side.

  “You know I ain’t with this shit, right?” Sean griped as he slowly walked up the steps of the private jet BG had chartered to fly them to L.A. “I don’t let nobody tell me where I gotta go, when I gotta go. I don’t give a fuck you chartered a jet or not,” Sean went on complaining like a grumpy old man.

  “I can tell the old you is almost back. Always tryin’a run shit. Well this time, I got this and you going where I say you go . . . chartered jet and all,” BG went back at him with a sassy tone.

  “Yeah, a’ight. If them niggas at this place start chanting or some other ill white people shit voodoo ‘drink a pig’s blood’ type shit, I’m straight out that bitch on the next thing smoking,” Sean told her flat out. BG shook her head at him, but she was smiling at the same time. This complaining, demanding, overbearing annoyance was the King Sean she remembered from back in the days.

  “Nigga, get on the jet and shut the fuck up,” BG said chuckling. “Damn you complaining more than a bitch right now.”

  Sean couldn’t front, when he walked inside of the spacious interior of the private G4 he felt like a king again. The inside was luxury at its best, but he also felt slightly ashamed that his first trip in a private plane was because BG set it up and not because he had moved up to that level on his own accord. This was what his life was supposed to be like before it got sidetracked with a heroin addiction.

  “Damn, cashmere blankets, personal Bose headphones and reclining seats . . . this shit boss,” Sean said admiring his surroundings. BG shook her head proudly. She still thrived off of Sean’s acceptance and approval, she just didn’t let him know it.

  “Help yourself to the food, too,” she said invitingly. “Shit I’m paying for it, might was well eat as much as possible.” There were trays and trays of gourmet cheeses, freshly baked breads and crackers and colorful assortments of fruit. There was also an assortment of high-priced liquors that Sean was eyeing.

  “Don’t even look at these shits,” BG scolded him, moving the liquor tray out of his reach. She wasn’t taking any chances with any substances and his recovery. Not until she was sure he could handle being clean and sober. Sean just shook his head, amused at how protective she was being over him.

  “This is how you are supposed to live, King,” BG said winking at him. Sean nodded his head up and down. He didn’t need her to remind him.

  “I’ll be back soon. Real soon, B,” he told her with confidence.

  They rode in silence for a few minutes before BG broke it. She looked over at Sean seriously, the scene so familiar that it gave her chills.

  “I just want to let you know that I took care of everything for her,” BG blurted out, finding no other way to ease into the conversation.

  “Who? What?” Sean asked, crinkling his eyebrows and nose as he stuffed a cube of watermelon in his mouth

  “Your lady. Sunny,” BG said softly. “I made sure she was put away with dignity for you. I knew it was what you would’ve done if you were good. No matter what I felt about her, I wasn’t going to let you live with leaving her in that fuckin’ trap house to get stepped over like yesterday’s trash,” BG continued. Sean lowered his head in shame and he suddenly felt a wave of nausea roll through his gut.

  “When you came to my office that day, after you hit that last bag and that H got into your system you were crying like a baby. That’s when you told me that she was dead off some bad dope and you had to leave her behind. I could feel the pain behind your words. I knew you were too sick to do anything, so I had my dudes pick her body up and I gave her a proper sendoff. Believe me, now, Sunny is finally resting in peace, King,” BG told Sean. She passed a sheet of legal sized paper to him. Fighting back tears, Sean looked at the paper. It was the itemized bill for Sunny’s service and burial. He looked up at BG with love in his eyes. He was grateful.

  “Thank you,” he said, his bottom lip trembling. It was all he could get to come out without shedding his hard exterior and letting the tears run. BG had love for him and that was real.

  Sean wasn’t feeling the holistic cleansing center in L.A., but he knew it was his only way back to his place as king of the streets. The real cold turkey process at the cleansing center was no joke, but Sean fought through it like a champ.

  BG came by and checked on him daily for the entire month he was there. Some days Sean gave BG his ass to kiss rudely, but other days, he was happy to see that he still had her in his corner. By the end of the program, Sean felt like his old self again and he was anxious to make some connections to build his empire back up.

  On the day of his release, BG pulled up in a brand new smoke gray Mercedes-Benz S550 and Sean’s heart jerked in his chest. It was the newer version to the Benz Fox had drove Sean around in so many times when he was younger.

  “Why you look like you seen a ghost?” BG asked Sean as he got into the car.

  “If you only knew,” he replied, almost whispering.

  “Damn you clean up nicely,” BG said, reaching over and rubbing her hand over Sean’s fresh low haircut. Sean flexed his head away from her.

  “C’mon, man . . . don’t be fuckin’ up my waves rubbing my head like I’m ya son ’n’ shit,” Sean said jokingly. They both shared a laugh. It had been ages since they’d done that. BG was feeling nostalgic, but she wasn’t ready to let her guard down with Sean again, just yet.

  “So what we gon’ do to celebrate your accomplishment, man?” BG asked.

  “Get our ass back on the G4 and get home. I got connections to make. I’m sure a lot of niggas gon’ be surprised to see that I’ve arisen from the dead,” he said, rearing back in the car seat. “I got a bunch of niggas I wanna see . . . personally.”

  “Nah. You don’t need to worry with all that revenge bullshit right now. We gotta celebrate while we out here in Hollywood, man. It’s all-star weekend and I got these,” BG said, reaching down into the middle console and pulling out two floor seat tickets to the NBA All-Star game.

  “C’mon, B, I think I just wanna kick back and chill . . . no crowds ’n’ shit,” Sean said reluctantly. “I really got my mind on rebuilding myself. First I had to do the body, but now that it’s done, I need to rebuild the name . . . the man.”

  “Nigga, please. You know you wanna see all those groupie chicks that be slithering around at the games and events looking for rich come-up dick. I bet it’s been a minute since you had some ass, too,” BG quipped, laughing. Sean looked at her strangely, then he busted out laughing too. He forgot how she could sometimes act as cool as one of his dudes.

  “Yo, one hun’ed I ain’t had none in a minute for real. At least some head from a bird would set me straight. I’ll probably come so hard the bitch’s head will blow off,” Sean joked backed. BG laughed raucously and put on an act, but inside, she wanted Sean for herself.

  “A’ight, I’m game to go, since you enticed a nigga like that,” Sean said. “As long as you front me some ends so I can get some threads. A nigga can’t catch flies without being the shit,” Sean said laughing.

  “Damn that line was corny as fuck!” BG yelled playfully. More laughter filled the car. It seemed like life was on its way to being good again.

  “This that premium shit right here,” Sean yelled to BG over the noise of the Staples Center crowd. “A nigga on the floor right up on the bench and shit,” Sean said referring to their floors seat tickets she had gotten. BG had been pulling out all of the stops to show Sean what he had been missing out on getting high. She was hopeful that the difference would make him never want to use drugs again.

  “You
know how I do,” BG joked. The Laker girls were performing their dance as a part of the pre-game show and as Sean watched the beautiful women move on the court, a small raucous group in the crowd across from him caught his attention. Sean stared for a few minutes, then squinted to get a better look. He could’ve sworn he saw a few familiar faces and just like that it hit him.

  “Yo, is that . . .” Sean started but before he could finish . . .

  “God . . .” BG completed his sentence. “Damn it’s been years since I’ve seen that nigga. I didn’t think he even left his compound out in Canada to get out ’n’ shit.” Sean said as he watched God and about eight goons. After a few minutes, God headed in Sean and BG’s direction. God and Sean locked eyes from a distance and neither man would turn away.

  “He’s headed over here, but he better not buck. I got people,” BG said to Sean.

  “God ain’t about shit,” Sean said. “He’s too big in the game to make noise at an event like this. That nigga ain’t about bringing heat to himself.”

  Within a few minutes God was at Sean’s side wearing a half grin, half sneer on his face. Sean stood up; he wasn’t going to let no man stand over him.

  “If it isn’t King Sean back from the dead,” God said, extending his hand for a gentlemanly shake.

  “What up, God? You good?” Sean said, nodding at his old connect respectfully.

  “I’m fantastic,” God replied. “I hope the same for you. I heard you been suffering from a lot of . . . how do we say . . . personal tragedies,” God said calmly feigning concern. Sean bit down into his jaw and his hands curled into fists at his side. Sean didn’t like to speak about the string of deaths that had shrouded his life lately. BG touched him in a show of her support.

  “I am really sorry for everything. I heard how they gutted and hung your poor grandmother, and how they shot up the car and caused your baby to die. And what happened to your old lady . . . her getting a bad bag of dope that took her out? All a shame,” God relayed calmly. Sean’s eyebrows went into arches on his face. He was kind of surprised God knew so much about his life, especially some intricate details other people didn’t know.