“When I leave, act like I’m dead because I’ll never mess with any of you again. Y'all no longer have a momma.”

From the rage that littered her eyes to the fists balled at her sides, it was obvious that I’d hit a nerve. I knew it. What I’d done was intentional, but I was unprepared for what was to come afterward. This wasn’t a chick off the streets who had no ties to me. No, the woman in front of me was supposed to be my mother. However, she never acted like it. Her responsibilities were mine. I’d learned that long ago. But that wasn’t the way things were supposed to be. I needed her to be a mother, needed her to teach me, needed her to care. But I would never get either one of those things, and I was fine with that.

At 16-years-old, I, Akira Alexander, am left to fend for my siblings and me all on my own. And although I think I know everything, I don’t know a thing, but I’m determined to make sure we never go without. Young and naïve, those are two words that describe me to the fullest. Being that I’m motherless, I have no one to tell me right from wrong or give me the game, so I have to learn through trial and error. And boy, do I have a story to tell. In my world, money is the answer to all my prayers, but I soon learn that not all gifts or saviors come from God. Sometimes the devil comes in the form of a man to offer you a world of riches, and a lifetime of pain.

Who looks after the little black girl who’s lost and all on her own with responsibilities piled high to the sky? Who is going to love her? Who will teach her all that she needs to know? Who defends her? Who cherishes her and teaches her how to love? Will those closest to her forgive when she makes mistakes, or will she lose them for the sake of that old, mighty dollar?