Chapter 5 : Trouble Man

"Did you hear about the Midnight Cowboy!?"

"I heard that he—"

"—my cousin Delores said—"

"—he's SO dreamy, like—"

"—I heard he kills people—"

"—pero, better than—"

"Veronica…Veronica…? HEY Ronnie!"

"I'm awake!"

My eyes are blurry, tracking the streaming neon lights of Nines.

I must have fallen asleep after my shift at Open Palms Retirement Home.

Half of the reason why Nana Bet could stay was based on my continuing employment there, it helped to clear away a good portion of her housing cost. However, good was still "too much" with my student loans, my apartment, and any debt my parents still had. Which was…a lot.

I wasn't treading water so much, as I was trying to fight the currents so I wouldn't drown. I yawned, stretching to crack my back, dressed in my own pair of scrubs shaded a nice berry magenta, my favorite color. Shit, I was never going to make it through my sets for tonight if I kept nodding off.

"Sorry," I covered my mouth in fear