Chapter 4
Heidi said, "Natasha, share the bed with me. Jack just finished a shift. He needs rest."
"Um, why don't we let Jack go home to sleep? We only need his signature for tomorrow anyway."
My parents had passed away long ago, so the signature for the surgery would need to be done by my boyfriend. But in my past life, Jack hadn't been at the hospital, and Heidi had signed the papers for me.
I was surprised after learning that since I had never expected the hospital to overlook it.
"No, I'm going out for a smoke to clear my head. It's almost 4:00 am. You get some sleep, Nat."
With that, Jack left the room but stayed just outside the door.
Heidi called out to him a few times, but when he didn't respond, she decided to just sleep in my bed.
…
I sat on the caregiver's bed, anxiously watching the door and trying not to let Jack notice I was keeping an eye on him.
Sleepiness hit me hard; before I knew it, I was drifting into a haze of drowsiness.
"Nat, come on, wake up and drink some soup!"
Through my foggy vision, I saw someone holding a bowl of greasy chicken soup while trying to force it into my mouth.
It was Heidi!
She wasn't giving up and still wanted to make me drink that awful soup.
I reluctantly drank two big gulps.
The doctor had said I couldn't eat or drink six hours before the surgery, but now I had the perfect excuse to delay it. If the nurse came and asked, I could say I had eaten the soup.
That would buy me more time to plan.
I endured the greasy taste and finished two full gulps, then feigned waking up and looking at Heidi in shock. I exclaimed, "Mrs. Diller! I'm not supposed to eat before the surgery!"
Fearing that two sips wouldn't be enough, I stared at her tearfully and helplessly finished the soup.
"If you want me to drink it, I will. I won't even go through with the surgery. I'll eat the rest too."
After finishing the soup, I intended to grab some of the meat, but there was no chicken meat. There were only chicken butts, heads, and feet.
Heidi must have had the patience to fish out all the unwanted parts from the pot to bring them to me, so in a twisted way, I had to admit she was taking this seriously.
I wiped the grease from my mouth and was about to continue pretending to be the victim for the nurse to see. However, as I stood up, I realized something was off.
The chicken soup had been laced with anesthesia.
No wonder Heidi had insisted on me drinking it. She was afraid I'd be too alert during the surgery, and Kate would screw up if the anesthesia didn't take effect.
It turned out that both of them were witches.
…
Summoning the last of my strength, I pushed Heidi aside and dashed for the door, clutching my throat.
The anesthesia was working far too quickly. It was dangerous, and I had to force myself to vomit.
I ran out of the room but didn't see Jack. Instead, I ran into the nurse from the day before.
"Help, I need my stomach pumped!"
I threw up as soon as I saw her, but thankfully, I managed to turn at the last second and vomited all over Kate, who had come to deliver food to Heidi in her white coat.
Kate was always so neat and clean. There was no way she would be the one performing my stomach pumping.
Luckily, my scene was so dramatic that the doctor on duty was completely freaked out and had me rushed to the operating room.
When I finally woke up again, it was already evening.
The nurse came in just in time and rushed over to check on me as soon as she saw I was awake.
"I swear, I've been a nurse for so long and have seen plenty of people sneak food before surgery. You're the first one to self-administer anesthesia before going into the operating room.
"If you were afraid of the pain, you could've told us. We could've asked the anesthesiologist to give you a little extra without charge. Not to mention you drank veterinary-grade anesthesia! If it weren't for our quick reaction, you could've just euthanized yourself."
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