Give and Take (poly) (bxb)

One

Now

Blood.

Thick and hot.

It runs and pools around my body. My limbs swim in it as my screams and trembles send shallow vibrations. A fish not quite out of the water yet but sitting atop the surface, needing nothing more than to sink in further. The pain reminds me of life and death all at once but makes me prefer the latter.

I was shot.

My shoulder, the stranger sent the bullet into, is throbbing in convulsion, leaking in agony. I'm surrounded by blood and evildoers. The black in the night sky, the dimness of the few flickering lights, tell me that this is all there is.

This is the end.

Then

"But it's late!"

"It's only a few blocks away and you'll be back on this side of town before it gets too dark."

I look behind my boss, Teo, a round Italian man who always seems to have some kind of food stain on his clothing regardless of what time of day it is. Out through the window and at the blending purples, blues, and oranges of the evening sky. It'll be pitch black in five minutes.

"Fine." I grab the bag of pizzas and head outside for my bike.

"Oh and Mia!" Teo calls before I can let the door close behind me. "I'll have everything locked up by the time you get back so here take this too."

I think fast and catch my homeschooled-high school senior-heavy backpack he was aiming directly at my head. "Gee thanks."

It's a serious balancing act. My bookbag and all of the pizzas have to weigh around 50 pounds combined. I myself more than twice that. Each turn I make down these darkening streets has me thinking my entire bicycle is going to tip over and leave me splayed out on the concrete. Nonetheless, I push the pedals especially hard, knowing good and well I shouldn't be out this late when it's this dark. Especially not on this side of town.

I have never gone this deep in before.

Rosco's Pizzeria sits right in the middle of everything. Brookhaven, which is where I live, and Brookbottom. Brookhaven is home to parks, elderly couples, and private schooled privileged teens. The grass is greener and the birds sing louder. The nights are quiet and peaceful while the days are quiet and cheerful. It's a place where families want to raise their children and old people want to spend their last moments.

Brookbottom, on the other hand, is the opposite. They don't get nearly as much of our business as the former but on the rare occasions that I have been unlucky enough to deliver here, I've seen amazing things I would have never witnessed otherwise on my side of town. Gangs selling mysterious substances, scantily dressed women on cold evenings- I've even heard gunshots once. The types of things I've only seen in crime movies only these things were real. These things stuck with me long after I had seen them. Tucked away into a small bin of interesting experiences at the back of my mind, forever to be remembered. If I were not so sheltered, it probably would've invoked more fear than fascination. After all, I knew the danger was there but I couldn't help myself. And here I am all over again.

I ride past, broken streetlights, a gas station with more loiterers than gas pumps, and a group of feral looking children before reaching my destination with an eerie screech from my bike. It's screaming at me to get the hell out of here as soon as possible.