Paul stood up straight and flexed his jaw. His face was sore, but it didn’t hurt as bad as it should’ve from the blows Von’s punk-ass friends caught him with. The worst of his injuries was the bump on the back of his head, but there was no skin broken. The three battered men glared at him menacingly, but he matched all their stares. Von was nodding his head as if to tell Paul it wasn’t finished yet. Paul nodded back, and cracked him in the jaw. The others moved for Paul, but the sound of the armed man clearing his throat froze them.

“You a real punk-ass nigga, Paul!” Rhonda said, rubbing her cheek. “This is the last muthafucking time you’re gonna put your hands on me.”

“Eat shit and die, you lowlife bitch!” he spat as he passed her. The crowd parted like the Red Sea when the strange duo passed. Paul looked over his shoulder at Rhonda and saw a look in her eyes that could only be described as pure hatred. He chuckled to himself, thinking how he fixed her and her little boyfriend, but Paul had no idea of the lengths that a woman scorned would go to for revenge.

“One day your sister is going to make me kill her,” Paul said, pressing the first-floor button of the elevator as if he hadn’t done it five times already.

“Paul, I don’t even know why you keep feeding into it when you already know how she is,” Kelvin said.

“I’m telling you, I can’t do this anymore,” Paul declared.

“My dude, you’ve got to start using your head,” Kelvin told him. “Rhonda is gonna be the way she is for the rest of her life. I mean, I love my sister, but sometimes I feel fucked up for those kids. P.J. is lucky enough to have two parents, so don’t deny him that by letting her bullshit get you into trouble.” The elevator stopped on the fifth floor and Kelvin stepped off.

“Where the hell are you going?” Paul asked.

“I left something down here earlier that I gotta pick up. Be easy, my nigga.” Kel hit Paul with the peace sign and let the elevator door close.

Paul got off the elevator on the first floor, glad to be free of the piss-smelling box. He hit the lobby door and stepped out into the cooling night air. Rhonda had pissed him off beyond belief and a brisk walk was just what he needed. Paul had just made it to the mouth of the projects when a police car cut him off. Two officers, one chubby and one thin, got out and approached him from opposite sides, both keeping their hands close to their weapons.

“What’s going on?” Paul asked nervously.