Paul waited until P.J. and Sheila were out of the house before addressing the situation at hand. “Listen, big boy,” he said as he turned to Von, “I don’t know what kind of arrangement you and my son’s mother have, but when it comes to my seed, don’t put your mouth in that,” Paul said in a deadly tone.

“Fuck you think you’re talking to?” Von swelled up. “Son, I eat niggaz food for a pastime!”

Von smiled triumphantly, but his moment was short-lived. Paul fired a right hook that snapped Von’s head back and sent spit flying on Reese. Before Von could recover, Paul followed with a left to the side of the head. Von tried to fall, but a knee to the gut kept him on his feet long enough for Paul to lace his boots with an uppercut. Von bounced off the wall and slid down on his ass.

“No the fuck you didn’t!” Rhonda shouted, charging Paul. She got within three feet of him and received an open-hand slap that busted her lip.

One of Von’s boys caught Paul from behind with a jab to the back of the head. Paul quickly shook it off and fired with a right and a left, landing both on the man’s chin. Another cat came rushing out of the bathroom with a knife in his hand. Paul caught his arm in a vise grip and twisted it, elbow facing up. With a downward strike, Paul popped the joint loose. By then, Von had recovered enough to bash Paul in the back of the head with a beer bottle. Paul staggered, but kept his feet under him.

Using the moment to his advantage, Von swooped in. He hit Paul with a barrage of punches, not really allowing him to get his bearings. When Paul finally did manage to get a good shot off, Von’s boy who had caught the two-piece rejoined the fight. Paul was backed into the corner, trying to fend off multiple attackers. Von had just pulled his razor when a clicking sound halted everything.

Kelvin stood in the middle of the living room with a nine pointed at Von. “It ain’t even going down like that, my dude. Not in my niece’s and nephews’ house. Party is the fuck over.”

“Kel, how you gonna side with this nigga over me?” Rhonda barked.

“Rhonda, it ain’t about taking sides. It’s about you allowing niggaz to disrespect where my little ones lay their heads. This is some real chickenhead shit.”

“Fuck you, Kel! Since you wanna side with this piece of shit, you can get the fuck out, too!”

“You a’ight, my dude?” Kelvin asked Paul, who nodded. “Let’s get up outta here.”