A Child of a Crackhead (7 page)

Chapter 12

Black Ice woke up in a panic. He could see where he was at. His throat and chest burned. He moved his hands to his face to feel tubes in his nose and mouth. He yanked them out. He yelled in pain. He looked around the room to notice he was in a hospital bed just as Rachel walked into the hospital room. She was followed in by a tall white man, a doctor. “Well I see you’re up.

That’s great.”

“What’s going on?” Black Ice asked in a faint whisper. His throat was very sore.

“Mr. Ice we had to pump your

stomach and throat. You had tiny pieces of glass that were ripping apart your insides.

You’re lucky your wife called 911 to get you to the hospital on time. If she would have waited any longer the glass would have cut your wind pipe so bad it would have stopped your breathing permanently. I’m not about to ask you how the glass got in your system, because I found traces of cocaine in your blood. Just be grateful to your wife.” And with that being said, the doctor turned his back and walked out of the hospital room.

“Thank you, Doctor Paul” Rachel said.

“You’re welcome young lady.”

Rachel walked over to Black Ice’s bed, “Baby, I’m happy to see that you’re up.

The doctor said you could leave in the morning.” Rachel placed a kiss on his lips.

Black Ice looked at his woman in her eyes. Time’s like these reminded him why he loved her so much. It didn’t matter how much he beat her or mistreated her. She was always there for him, even more the reason why he’s got to get her to smoke crack with him so he would never lose her. He felt that would keep her in his life forever. Little did he know Rachel would stay with him without being trapped for good or for bad, she just proved it by saving his life, but he was too blind to see it.

“Baby, how did you inhale all that glass?” she asked.

“I got an idea on how.” Black Ice flashed back to the evil smile he saw on his son’s face.

“Well, I hope you stop smoking that stuff and things will be different”. Rachel said.

“Oh things will be different.” He said in a sarcastic voice that Rachel didn’t catch.

“I love you and I will see you when you come home.” Rachel said while hugging and kissing him good-bye. She left the hospital praying that things would be different for her family. She hoped things would be different, but she just didn’t know how.

Chapter 13

The next day, Black Ice left

Brookdale Hospital. He walked up to the apartment and put the key in his door. When he walked in, he could see Rachel in the kitchen hot combing her hair. Once he reached the living room, he looked down to see Michael drawing a picture on the floor by the couch. Michael stopped drawing and glanced up at this father and went back to drawing his picture. Black Ice couldn’t believe his eyes. His son just tried to kill him yesterday and didn’t even break a sweat or look at all nervous when he saw him.

Black Ice thought that little nigga is evil, but he knew he could only blame himself. It was his own blood that was flowing through his son’s veins. But, then he thought fuck that, this little nigga tried to kill him and he was going to have to teach him a lesson.

Black Ice walked back into the bedroom and returned with his leather belt wrapped in his hands. Rachel looked at the belt and knew what time it was. “What are you doing?

You just came home from the hospital and you already want to start something.”

Rachel shouted.

“This has nothing to do with you.”

Black Ice said as he walked towards his son.

Rachel jumped up from the kitchen chair where she was hot combing her hair and ran in between Black Ice and Michael with her arms spread wide open trying to block his way. “Rachel, I’m only going to tell you once, move!” he yelled.

“What for?” she asked.

“This little nigga tried to kill me yesterday. It was him who put that glass in my pipe.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because I do, now move”

“No, my son wouldn’t have done

what you’re accusing him of.”

Michael looked up from the floor where he was drawing and watched his mother and father argue. He wished silently that his father did die yesterday. Just then Black Ice took the belt he had wrapped around his hand and put it around Rachel’s neck to choke her. “Didn’t I tell your ass to move?” Black Ice said while clenching his teeth. Rachel gasped for air and tried to swing her arms to get free of his grip, but it was no use. Black Ice squeezed tighter.

“Daddy stop, please, please stop!” Michael cried. At the sight of his mother’s arms swinging around like a dead rag doll. Black Ice’s grip was too much. As Rachel fell to the floor passing out from the clench around her neck, she thought ‘I gave him life and he is going to take mine away’.

Black Ice released his grip and watched Rachel body fall to the floor with dead weight. Michael crawled to his mother and put his hands on her face. “Mommy, mommy sit up” He cried. As soon as Michael said those words, he felt the belt go across his back.

“Your little ass wanted to try to kill me!” Black Ice questioned Michael as he repeatedly stuck his son with the belt across his little body. Michael cried and rolled up into a ball to try to protect himself.

“Mommy, help me!” he cried.

“You little fucker, I’m going to teach you to cross me!” Black Ice yelled. He beat Michael for a half an hour. Leaving Michael on the floor crying and covered in blood and more welts added to the previous beatings.

Black Ice returned to the living room looking at his son and decided that he wasn’t done with him. Black Ice walked in the kitchen looking for something else to beat his son with. He looked at the stove to see that Rachel left the hot comb on the oven.

Black Ice grinned and grabbed the hot comb by its handle making sure not to touch the hot part. He walked back in the living room to his crying son and bent down and grabbed his left arm. Michael was to sore and weak to put up a fight. Black Ice placed the hot comb on Michael’s arm. Michael screamed as loud as he could and tried to pull his arm away, but it was locked in his father’s grip.

The heat from the hot comb sizzled and cooked his flesh. It burned his skink deeply.

Rachel regained consciousness when she heard the blood wrenching screams her son let out. She looked up to see that Black Ice was holding he hot comb and pressing against her son’s arm. Rachel jumped up and pushed Black Ice with all the strength and energy she had. She made him fall over to the side. He released his grip from Michael’s arm and dropped the hot comb to the floor. She jumped on top of Black Ice and punched away with everything she had left in her. “Don’t touch my baby.” She screamed while swinging wildly at his face.

Black Ice punched Rachel in the temple knocking her right off of him. He got up and started to kick her in the ribs.

Black Ice was furious. While kicking Rachel, he wondered why he was having so many problems with his own family. He looked down and saw that she couldn’t take any more. He knew she wouldn’t be putting up a fight anymore. Black Ice picked up the hot comb for the floor and reached for Michael and again put in on Michael’s skin.

He grabbed his neck and started choking him. Tears were still running down Michael’s face as Black Ice moved the hot comb towards his face. “Mommy,” Michael said in a pleaded whisper. He couldn’t get all the words out as the grip around his neck grew tighter.

“No! Stop please. Don’t burn him anymore!” Rachel yelled while holding her side unable to move. She knew she had to think quickly and do something before Black Ice killed her son. “I’ll smoke that stuff. I’ll do it!” she shouted.

“What?” Black Ice asked as he

stopped burning Michael and turned to Rachel.

“I’ll smoke crack with you just don’t hurt my baby anymore,” she pleaded.

Black Ice eyes opened wide while he looked at Rachel. He couldn’t believe what he just heard. After months of beating his wife to get her to smoke crack, it took this to get her to change her mind. She wouldn’t leave him. “If you’re playing with me Rachel I’ll burn this little mother fucker so he wished he was dead.” Black Ice said while shaking Michael’s neck around like he was about to snap it.

“I’m not playing. I’ll do it. Please just let our son go?” Rachel said with tears running down her beautiful brown face.

Black Ice smiled a devilish smile and knew in his heart she would do it. She’ll be too scared that if she didn’t that he would hurt the little punk. He dropped the hot comb on the floor and released his hand from Michael’s neck. He looked at Rachel hold her side. He bent down and wrapped his arm around her and picked her up. He carried her to the bedroom. Michael screamed, “Mommy, don’t smoke that stuff!” Those were the last words Rachel heard before Black Ice used the heel of his foot to kick the bedroom door shut. He put Rachel on their queen sized bed and walked over to the closet. He removed the floor board to his stash and pulled out two brand new glass pipes and a big piece of crack, the size of a baseball. He covered the stash back up and walked over to the dresser where a small glass mirror was. He carefully removed the crack from the glass jar and laid it on the mirror. He picked up a razor and started to cut small pieces of the crack. He stuffed the new pipes full of crack and walked over to Rachel. “Take it.” Black Ice said handing her a glass pipe and a lighter. Rachel nervously brought the pipe up to her mouth and lit the end and inhaled.

“Don’t play stupid with me. You’ve seen me do it enough times. Rachel smoked the crack still in pain and in tears.

Chapter 14

For many years, Rachel had to stay away from drugs. Her mother used dope.

And when it got so bad for her, she left Rachel at Momma’s house one day. Her mother never returned for Rachel and never saw her mother again after that day she left her. Black Ice watched her like a hawk. She could feel him watch her as she placed the pipe up to her mouth. Her hand shook as she held the lighter at the end and lit the pipe. Rachel took a tiny puff, inhaling the crack smoke.

“Rachel, don’t fucking play with me.

Hit that shit! You better take a big hit better than that, bitch!”

Rachel did as she was told. She sucked on the glass pipe as hard as she could. The crack smoke rushed down her throat and into her lungs. She began to cough from the hard hit. Black Ice smiled his infamous devilish smile as he watched her cough up smoke. Rachel felt lightheaded, but with an instant jolt of energy. Her eyes opened wide and the pain she felt earlier all over her body was gone.

When Rachel looked up from coughing, Black ice looked in her eyes and saw the glassy look they had and he knew he had her. “Give me the pipe.” He said as Rachel passed the pipe to him. She prayed that the worst was over. Black Ice repacked the pipe with more crack and passed it right back to Rachel. “Hit it again.” He said. Rachel did what she was ordered to do. She hit the pipe again. They spent the whole night getting high together.

A month had passed; it amazed Black Ice how fast Rachel got hooked on crack.

She was smoking more than he was now.

Rachel smoked the entire crack up in the house. She couldn’t fight the cravings. She needed to smoke every minute of the day.

She lost a lot of weight. She went from 140

pounds to 90 pounds. She wore the same clothes every day. The tip of her fingers turned black from the heat of the glass pipe burning them. Her lips turned black too.

Michael watched as his beautiful mother started changing her looks from starting to smoke that funny smelling stuff.

She looked like a stranger to him. She no longer made sure that he was fed or that he was wearing clean clothes. She didn’t even pay him any attention anymore. Michael was forced to look after himself with his father running the stress and his mother locked in her bedroom getting high. She left him to take care of himself at the age of six.

That made Michael’s heart grow colder and hate his father even more. Michael lay on his pillow crying. He held in the tears. His stomach hurt and was in so much pain.

There was no food in the house for him to eat. His mother only cared about smoking.

She neglected to go shop for food. As Michael stomach growled, tears started flowing down his face and he prayed the hunger would go away once he fell asleep.

The next morning, Michael awoke to the smell of food. He opened his eyes and saw a bag on his dresser. He hopped out of his bed and ran to it. Inside there was a box with four chicken wings and fried rice from the Chinese restaurant. He knew his mother had gotten him the food. She’d be the only one to think about him once in a while.

Times like that, reminded him of why he still loved his mother so much even though she hasn’t been the same since she started smoking with his father. He quickly started eating his food to stop the hunger pains from his stomach making sure he didn’t miss a crumb. He ate so fast that he bit his fingers twice while eating the chicken and rice. He smiled and rubbed his little belly. He wondered what his mother was doing. He wanted to go thank her for the food she left him. But, he thought she was probably smoking that stuff again.

Michael got up and walked to his mother’s bedroom. When he heard screams, he listened carefully. It was his mother. He ran to the door of her bedroom and opened it. When he saw what she was hollering about, he knew she didn’t need his protection. His mother’s legs were up in the air resting on his father’s shoulders as his father humped and pounded away on his mother. Michael had seen this enough times before to know that his mother was in no danger. He closed their bedroom door and walked into the living room. He covered his ears to diminish the sounds that were coming from his parents’ bedroom.

After a half an hour, he blocked out the sounds all together. He sat on the couch staring at nothing. He thought to himself that when he gets older he would show his father while looking at the burn on his arm.

It had bubbled up and dead skin was already starting to peel off causing itching and pain with the air on his skin. Michael swore he would kill him one day.