The next day, Rock pulled Juju into his living room. “Look, I know you’ve been hangin’ out with Maggie. I ain’t got no problem wit’ that as long as the bitch continues to earn her quota. I want you to mind your business, though. Otherwise, ya ain’t gonna be too happy,” he said calmly.
“Yeah, Maggie’s cool, Rock. We hang out, but she still sees to her work just like me. We ain’t done anything to make you worry, and we ain’t plannin’ on doing nothin’,” Juju answered coolly.
Juju saw movement in the hall and looked over to see Seth walking with Thelma into the kitchen. For a few seconds, she fought her instincts to run after them. Rock noticed the change in her.
“Why are you staring at them? They ain’t none of your business. Like I said a minute ago, don’t even think about causing any trouble,” he stated and waited for a reply.
“Fuck, Rock. I said I wouldn’t. Can we get my dope? I’m losing customers standing here talking to you about this shit,” she said, acting frustrated.
Rock and Juju walked into the kitchen to get the heroin. He kept it in the freezer during the summer to keep it from melting. Juju stood beside him, watching him intently, knowing if he saw her look at Seth, who was sitting at the table, he’d be onto her. She followed Rock over to the kitchen table and sat across from Seth while he counted out bags. The boy looked at her, and she only dared to make eye contact once when Thelma pushed him off his chair and onto the floor because she heard his stomach growling.
Rock looked over at Thelma. “Come on, baby, why don’t cha give the boy somethin’ to eat?”
“When the boy can act like a human fucking being, that’s when I’ll let him eat,” she yelled back.
Then Thelma stood, hurried Seth outside, and chained him to the railing of the back steps. Rock watched, and for a brief moment, Juju thought she saw empathy in his eyes. Then he went back to counting out bags. When he was finished, Juju scooped the small dime bags into her backpack and headed toward the front door. “The streets are packed. I’m probably gonna blow through these bags fast, so I’ll be back later tonight or tomorrow,” she said.
Once outside, Juju sneaked around to the back of the house. She crouched low and kept her body against the building so Thelma couldn’t see her from the back window as she made her way over to Seth. “Here,” she said, putting two cheese crackers in his palm. She pulled a bottle of water from her backpack. “Cup your hand,” she whispered.
When Seth did this, she poured water into his hand slowly. He slurped it down as quickly as she was pouring it. “Eat the crackers and make sure to wipe your hands on the grass here,” she said, pointing next to him. “You don’t want bitch face to see that your hands are orange,” she cautioned.
“Where’s Aggie? Can you tell her to come and see me?” he asked in a frail voice.
“I’ll tell her I saw you, but she won’t be able to come here. Rock can’t find out I talked to you. Remember that!” she told him.
“OK, but will you tell Aggie that I miss her?” he asked.
“Yeah, I’ll tell her, buddy. Just hang on, OK? We’re trying to figure something out. We’re making a plan to get you away from here,” she said, wanting to leave him with hope.
Seth watched Juju until she disappeared around the side of the house. Then he shoved a whole cracker in his mouth and gobbled it so quickly that he practically swallowed it whole. He sat chained to the railing and thought about going to live with Maggie. It was the only peace of mind he knew.
As the weeks passed, Juju went to Rock’s every day. At the end of July, after a second trip to Rock’s house in the same day to pick up dope, she began to panic. It had been five days since she’d last seen Seth, and she was worried that Thelma had killed him. She didn’t tell Maggie because she knew it would only make her crazy. Finally, Juju asked Rock, “So where’s the kid? He ain’t been around.”
“What the fuck do you care?” Rock stated, confrontationally.
“I don’t. I was just making conversation. He’s usually around, or I see Thelma put him out back. I was curious, is all. Just forget it,” Juju said, trying to seem disinterested.
“He’s in the basement. His stupid white ass got sunburned out in the backyard. He looked like a tomato,” he snickered. “Damn skin was peeling, and he kept crying. I gave him some lotion and put him down in the basement ’cause I figured Thelma would beat the shit out of him if he kept up that cryin’ like a girl.”
“Well, is he OK?” Juju asked nonchalantly, her heart bouncing against her ribs so hard she was sure Rock would see it beating through her T-shirt.
“How the hell do I know? I put him down there a couple of days ago. I left him with water and a bag of pretzels. Haven’t seen him since,” Rock said, as he casually went back to placing small amounts of heroin into tiny bags.
Juju hesitated, and after several minutes, built up enough nerve to ask her next question. “Can I go down and see the kid? I have an idea.”
“Nah, you ain’t seeing him. But tell me about that idea of yours,” Rock said, annoyed.