The Dopefiend

Book 2: Dopeman

by JaQuavis Coleman

Genres: African American Urban

Synopsis

JaQuavis Coleman chillingly chronicles the life and crimes of Harlem resident Hazel Brown as she rises to the highest highs and spirals into an inevitable, devastating downfall.

Hazel has nothing and no one in her life; the only thing she "owns" is an insatiable addiction to heroin. Her addiction brings her to the slums, where she quickly learns the tricks of surviving-of hustling and getting her street smarts. She'll do anything to feed her habit, even if it means robbing and conning and selling her own body. Yet no matter how much heroin she does, the pain that has cut deep within her never goes away.

The Dopefiend is a story so intimate and compellingly written, you'll feel like you're walking in Hazel's shoes.

A Blackstone Audio production.

Release date: August 15, 2012

Publisher: Urban Books

Print pages: 240

Sample

“Yo, when I catch you . . . I’m going to kill you. I put that on everything,” Rico whispered under his breath as he stood completely naked with both of his hands up. His head was cocked to the side as Millie held a blood-filled syringe to the side of his neck, almost piercing his skin. Rico was being held up in the backroom of a dope house and he couldn’t believe what was happening; he had just got caught slipping. He clenched his jaws as tightly as he could, displaying his anger as the veins formed in his temples. Millie, on the other hand, was smiling as she thought about how her plan had worked perfectly. She had caught Rico slipping and now the only thing on her mind was shooting some of Rico’s good smack into her veins. Millie was almost twice his age and had outwitted him. Rico’s young sixteen-year-old mind fell for the okey-doke.

“Yeah, yeah. Save all that talking for somebody else. Hazel, check in his back pockets too,” Millie instructed as she watched Hazel rummage through Rico’s pants that were sprawled out on the floor along with his other clothing.

“I can’t believe this shit,” Rico spat angrily as he rolled his eyes and hated himself for being so naïve to Millie’s game. What he thought was going to be a ménage à trois with a couple of dopefiends, ended up being a robbery. He watched as Hazel nervously looked through his pants and coat pockets searching for his bundles of heroin. Hazel continued to search frantically while frequently peeking at Rico to make sure Millie had him under control. Millie had Rico in a chokehold and wished that Hazel would hurry up, because she was growing more nervous by the second. Millie told Rico that the syringe was filled with her AIDS-infected blood, but that was far from the truth. Well, at least Millie hoped that she didn’t have the deadly disease.

“Got it!” Hazel yelled as she held up the small bundles of heroin that were inside the inside pocket of Rico’s down coat. She held the dope up in the air as if she had found a hidden treasure. Hazel also grabbed the wad of money that Rico had in his pockets and quickly stood up. Hazel stuffed the money and dope in her bra and headed for the back window. Before she reached the window she saw Rico’s gun on the dresser and she grabbed that too.

“You got everything?” Millie asked as she shook nervously while still having a firm grasp on Rico. He only stood five feet four inches and weighed a buck thirty at the most, so Millie was in complete control.

“Yeah, I got it. Let’s go!” Hazel said as she put one foot out of the window and sat on the windowpane with half of her body inside of the house, waiting for Millie.

“Hurry, pass me that gun,” Millie ordered as she held out one hand so that she could get it. Hazel placed the gun in Millie’s hand and could barely place it in her palm because she was shaking so badly. Millie finally got the gun and took the syringe from Rico’s neck. She then pointed his own gun at him. She slowly walked backward until she reached the window. Rico just watched her as he kept both of his hands up and watched them escape. He had a small grin on his face as he thought about how he would kill both of them when he caught up with them.

Millie quickly jumped out the window along with Hazel and they took off running full speed down Wood Street. The sounds of their feet crunching the snow and their heavy breathing were the only sounds at the early hour. They tried their best not to slip on the icy streets as they hauled ass. They heard the voice of Rico yelling as they cut through houses and finally got out of earshot from him. They dipped into a low-key spot that they had used a couple times before. It was a boarded-up house that only a few other fiends knew about. For some odd reason, the electricity and the water were still on in the house, which only worked as a plus for them. It was their warm, secret get-high spot.

They came in through the back door and without even catching their breath they both headed to the small, dusty table that sat in the middle of the floor. They both took a seat in the old wooden chairs as Hazel reached into her bra and pulled out the dope. Millie quickly sat the gun down that they had gotten from Rico and rubbed her hands together, knowing she was about to get a treat. Millie’s eyes lit up as she began to feel the tingling sensation in her arms, pure anticipation for the good smack that she was about to inject into her body. Both of their stomachs were bubbling and agonizing pains shot through them as their bodies craved the drug. Millie had even caught the runs earlier that morning, jonesin’ for the drug. Hazel gripped her stomach and slightly bent over trying to get the pain to subside. “Hurry, Millie,” Hazel begged.

Millie grabbed the spoon that was on the table along with the dope. She poured the dope into the spoon and the strong odor from the heroin filled the air and only made them more impatient. The smell slightly resembled vinegar and it was like heaven for their noses. Hazel watched closely as Millie set them up. Hazel never “set-up,” she always let Millie do it. Millie was ten years Hazel’s senior and had had much more experience than her, so it made sense.

“You smell that? This that Lady Luck right here,” Millie bragged as she gently thumped the baggy. Lady Luck was the latest, top-of-the-line heroin in the hood. “Rico always got that good shit on deck,” Millie stated as she never took her eyes off the dope and smiled in awe, similar to a small child. She opened a second pack and poured that into the spoon also. She then gave Hazel a bottle cap.

“Go put some water in that, Hazelnut,” Millie said, calling Hazel by a nickname she had given her when she was younger. Hazel snapped out of her daze, grabbed the cap, and quickly headed to the kitchen to put some water in it. She quickly returned and Millie pulled a syringe out of her pocket and soaked up the water through the needle. She quickly squirted a small amount in the spoon. She then raised the spoon up, while Hazel held a flame underneath it. They both watched as the drug melted into the water and began to bubble. Both of their hearts began to race as they were about to get their breakfast, a.k.a. the first shot of the day. Once the contents were fully melted, Hazel quickly grabbed the belt that was on the table and wrapped it around her right arm. She tightened the belt around her arm and placed the leather in her mouth to maintain the tightness while also freeing her left hand. Hazel began to smack her forearm with two fingers repeatedly, desperately searching for a vein. A big, green vein finally began to form in Hazel’s forearm and she smiled as the belt was held secure in between her teeth.

“It’s too hot. You gotta wait,” Millie said as she held the spoon up and slowly shook it.

“Fuck that. I’m good. Let me hit that,” Hazel pleaded as she pulled out her own syringe and placed it in the spoon. She sucked up the heroine and immediately placed the needle to the bulging vein that had formed in her forearm. The sizzling sound of the metal touching her skin sounded and her skin began to blister, but Hazel didn’t care that she was burning herself. She just wanted to feel the “magic” of the drug. Hazel slowly injected the smack into her veins and her body became limp as her eyes rolled in the back of her head. It seemed as if she was having a sexual orgasm by her body movements, but it was the euphoric effect that heroin had on a woman. Hazel began to nod off and Millie quickly took the belt from around Hazel’s arm so that she could get her fix.

“This shit is . . . .” Hazel mumbled, but before she could even tell Millie how good it was, she nodded off completely.

Smack! Smack!

Millie was about to smack Hazel across the face for a third time, but Hazel opened her eyes just as she raised her hand. “Wake up, Hazel! Rico is outside looking for us!” Millie said as she grabbed up Hazel by the collar and sat her upright. Hazel had been slumped down in the chair for the last thirty minutes, nodding.

“Wha . . . What?” Hazel asked in confusion as her eyes shot wide open and looked around. She had to snap back to reality, not remembering where she was at for a moment.

“Let’s go out the back. He is outside asking people questions,” Millie said nervously as she scrambled to get the needles off the table. Millie then walked over to the front door and looked out the peephole. She saw Rico’s motorcycle parked on the curb. He was talking to another junkie and the junkie pointed at the house that they were currently in, tipping Rico off. Rico pulled out a gun and walked toward the house.

“Oh, shit! Let’s get the fuck out of here!” Mille ordered in an exasperated whisper as she grabbed the gun and dope, stuffing them into her oversized purse. Hazel quickly jumped up and they headed toward the back door. Just as they reached the back door, they heard Rico kicking in the front one.

“I’ma blow yo’ head off,” Rico yelled as he saw them fleeing out of the back of the house. Millie and Hazel darted out the back of the house and into the backyard. Rico was coming through the house ready to blast. Not only did they hit his pockets by robbing him, but they also bruised his ego, which brought out the worst in a man. He was furious.

“Come on, Hazel,” Millie urged as she climbed and hopped over the fence like an Olympic athlete. Although Millie was in her early thirties, she moved like a youngster, especially while she was being chased. Once Millie cleared the fence, Hazel tried to climb it, but her high was still peaking and it was causing her to move slower than usual. She struggled up the fence and Millie was on the ground hurrying her.

“Come on, Hazelnut! Get yo’ ass over that damn fence,” she hissed. As Hazel tried to hop over, a loud gun blast erupted and Hazel could hear the bullet whiz past her shoulder.

“Bitch, I’ma kill you,” Rico said as he held the smoking gun in his hand. He aimed and prepared to fire again, but it was too late because Hazel had cleared the fence.

As soon as Hazel’s feet hit the ground, they both took off. Hazel and Millie ran full speed down Avenue B, trying to get as far away from Rico as possible. They cut through some yards and hopped a couple more fences as they sprinted until they ran out of breath.

“You think we lost him?” Hazel asked eagerly as they both rested their hands on their knees and leaned against the brick wall of Dort Elementary School.

“Yeah, we shook him,” Millie said as she rested her hand on her chest. “I’m getting too old for this shit.”

“You okay?” Hazel asked as she looked at Millie who was having hard time breathing.

“Yeah, I’m good,” Millie responded. Hazel looked at Millie, the only female who she had ever trusted. In fact, Millie was more like a mother figure to Hazel, always having her back and was the only family she had left. Although Millie was a dopefiend, Hazel looked up to her. Matter of fact, Millie was the one who introduced the drug to Hazel at the tender age of sixteen. That was something that Millie painfully regretted every day.

“Let’s catch a cab home,” Millie said as she began to walk toward the main road called North Saginaw Street. Hazel followed closely as they made their way onto the main street trying to flag down a cab.

“One of these mufuckas better stop, shit!” Millie said as she reached into her bra and pulled out a box of Newport cigarettes. She put one in her mouth and it dangled from the right side of her mouth as she squinted one of her eyes and she lit it up. She took a deep pull and tapped her foot against the ground nervously. Just as a cab began to slow down, a black tinted truck pulled up behind them. Hazel instantly knew who the truck belonged to because of the twenty-four-inch rims. It was Seven.

“Damn, there go Seven,” Hazel grumbled as she tried to turn her head to hide that she was high. Seven parked behind the cab and jumped out. He had stubble on his face but it was lined up perfectly. He wore his hair so low that it looked bald, but he kept it perfectly lined also. His cowlick grew in the front of his head and it resembled swirls just above his hairline. Seven sported a Sean Jean leather coat that looked like it just came off of a Macy’s rack.

“Let’s go, Hazel,” he said in his usual calm, low voice. He always spoke so low people usually had to concentrate on his lips to understand him. He walked around the car and onto the sidewalk where Millie was holding the cab door open.

“Hazel, get in the car,” he demanded.

“I don’t want to just leave Millie,” she said in protest.

“Millie, I will take you where you need to go,” Seven said as he looked at Millie.

“Cool,” Millie said as she slammed the cab’s door and thought about the cab fare she would be saving by hitching a ride with Seven. A seasoned dopefiend such as Millie cut financial corners as much as possible.

Hazel hesitantly got into the car, wishing that she never had run into Seven. Millie knew that he was going to throw a wrench in their plans to get high all day.

He acts like he is my man or something, Hazel thought as she sat in the car and crossed her arms, frustrated. Millie hopped in the backseat proudly as she lit up a cigarette and rolled down her window. Just as Seven was about to get into the truck, he saw Rico pull alongside of him on his motorcycle.

“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 her. . .