Eve Read Free Page B

was sitting in the sun on the green bench outside the building with her year-old little boy beside her. She spent a lot of time outside; her father was always yelling at her because the baby was too noisy.
    “A little.” Rosa was her own age, sixteen, and had been in her homeroom at school before she had gotten pregnant and dropped out. Eve had always liked her. She was a little slow, but that didn’t matter. She had a good heart and was always smiling, something that wasn’t common in Eve’s world. In fact, she had too good a heart. She’d been a target for every guy in school because they could con her into anything. Including getting pregnant with adorable Manuel, who she loved more than anything in the world.
    Eve stopped by the bench and stroked the baby’s dark curls. “Hey, hot stuff,” she said softly. “How you doing?”
    Manuel was gurgling and batting his long eyelashes at her. She had once told Rosa that he should be doing commercials for mascara. He was a plump, rosy-cheeked child, and completely enchanting.
    Eve chuckled. “I think he’s doing fine. Is he still keeping you awake teething?”
    “Yes, it doesn’t matter,” Rosa said as she adjusted the baby’s Braves baseball shirt. “He’s worth it. Doesn’t he look cute in this shirt you bought for him? Say thank you, Manuel.”
    “No big deal. It only cost me fifty cents at Goodwill.”
    “But he’s so cute in it. Like a real baseball player. I’m trying to teach him to say thank you. He said it yesterday.”
    Manuel beamed up at Eve. “Mama.”
    “I don’t think so,” Eve said.
    “He calls everyone mama,” Rosa said. “Even my papa.”
    “He’ll get it straight soon.” She dropped a kiss on his head and opened the gate. “See you, Rosa.”
    Rosa nodded. “I saw your mama a few minutes ago. She looked real pretty.”
    “Sandra always looks nice,” Eve said as she started the four-block walk to the bus stop.
    “Eve.”
    “What?” Eve glanced back over her shoulder.
    “Watch out.” Rosa’s gaze was fixed on the alley at the end of the block. “I saw Rick Larazo and Frank Martinelli and some of their gang around earlier this evening. Rick looked … wild. I think he’s on something bad.”
    “I always watch out,” Eve said. “You keep away from them, Rosa.”
    “They don’t do anything but call me bad names.” Rosa cuddled her baby closer. “They can’t hurt me, but I don’t like them talking like that about Manuel. He didn’t do nothin’. It was all my fault.”
    “It wasn’t your fault.” That wasn’t true. It was Rosa’s fault for trusting and believing and for being born in a world that victimized the innocent and the weak. “It was just something that happened. It can work out. You take good care of Manuel and look through that GED pamphlet I gave you. You’ll get your diploma, then you can get a good job.”
    She shook her head. “I’m not smart like you, Eve.”
    “You don’t have to be smart. You just have to want it enough. Look, Rosa, we don’t have to be like our parents, living hand to mouth, falling into the same traps, making the same mistakes. We can dig ourselves out of here.” She could never understand why that desire wasn’t there in the people around her. It had always been a burning passion with her. But she didn’t have time to argue with Rosa at that moment. “Study for that GED. I’ll talk to you later. See you.”
    Her pace quickened as she kept a wary eye on the dark cavity of the alley as she passed it. She had been attacked more than once by scum hiding in that cluttered dimness.
    This time she was lucky.
    Evidently Rick Larazo and his gang had moved on and she didn’t have—
    A scream.
    Rosa.
    Eve whirled.
    Dear God.
    Rick Larazo, Frank Martinelli, and two other boys were in front of the housing development.
    Rick had taken the baby away from Rosa and was holding Manuel over his head. She was trying desperately to jump up and reach him. Frank Martinelli was