“Look at how many slaps in the mouth Rita gave you, and you still ended up pregnant before we were out of high school,” Reese pointed out. “Rhonda, those kids need more than a slap in the mouth. They need to know that it’s not normal behavior to sit around and wait on the mailman to bring them a check. Instead of trying to beat niggaz in the head and trying to figure out how to get Paul back, you need to take a more active roll in what’s going on in your kids’ lives.” By the look on Rhonda’s face, Reese could tell she hit a sore spot. She hadn’t meant to come across so harsh, but it needed to be said.

Rhonda thought about blacking out and punching Reese in the face, but if she did that then she would know she had struck a nerve. She looked at Reese coolly and said, “You know what? I might get a check from the state, and yeah, my kids might even be a little rotten, but dammit, I got my self-respect. You’d never catch me letting a bunch of dirty-dick niggaz like Don B. and his crew taking turns stretching my pussy out and walk away empty-handed. Instead of trying to preach to me, you need to be down at the clinic making sure your ass is all right.”

Rhonda’s words hit Reese like a physical blow. Her mind had almost blocked out what had happened at the hotel, but Rhonda had reopened the wound. No one knew that she had been burned, but the statement hit too close to home. Of all the girls she hung out with, Rhonda was the best at getting under her skin.

“Rhonda, you’re crazy foul,” Reese said, getting up and heading for the door.

“That’s right, bitch, run away like you always do,” Rhonda called after her. “One day you’re gonna come across a problem that you can’t run away from and then what’re you gonna do?”

Reese ignored Rhonda and held back the tears that were trying to fall. Rhonda was speaking out of anger, but her words were ringing very true. Things were coming up left and right that were complicating the hell out of her life. Since she’d been a little girl, she always ran from her problems or acted as if they didn’t exist. At some point in her life, she would have to take a stand. The fact that she was now pregnant and had no idea who the father was told her it would come sooner than later.