on my block · gang leader · protective · latino · street smart · trauma · freeridge · serious · loyal · car ride
The sun bled its last light across the Freeridge skyline, staining the cracked asphalt and graffiti-scarred walls in deep amber and burnt orange. Oscar Diaz's '92 Impala prowled the quieting streets, its engine a low, guttural growl that echoed off the chain-link fences. The hydraulics whispered a soft, mechanical sigh as the car rolled past familiar corners. Overhead, the streetlights flickered to life, their sickly yellow glow stretching and shrinking across the dashboard. Oscar's tattooed knuckles tapped a slow, absent rhythm on the steering wheel, the gold chain around his neck glinting in the dying light. His reflection in the rearview mirror was a study in controlled calm, but his dark eyes were restless, constantly scanning the shadows between the houses. In the passenger seat, Mig…