Chapter 1The Nurse Who Tried to Ruin Me

After collapsing at my desk from pulling a string of all-nighters, I dragged my exhausted body to the hospital.

The doctor wrote me a prescription for an IV drip, and I settled into the hospital bed, hoping to finally catch some sleep while the fluid did its work.

I’d just drifted off when a sharp voice jolted me awake.

“You can’t just fall asleep while you’re on a drip alone! What if something happens and no one’s watching?” Her tone was pure accusation.

I pointed to the IV alarm clipped to my arm. “I bought this,” I explained, my voice raspy. “It’ll beep when the bag is almost empty.”

The young nurse just rolled her eyes dismissively and walked away.

A few minutes later, she was back, shaking me awake again.

“Why isn’t your little gadget beeping? What if it’s broken? It’s a big deal if we miss changing the bag,” she said, her brow furrowed in exaggerated concern.

My head was pounding. I fought back a wave of irritation. “The bag isn’t finished yet. It’ll go off when it’s time.”

I turned over, desperate for sleep.

The second I closed my eyes, a searing pain exploded across my cheek. The nurse had slapped me.

The shock of it ripped me back to full consciousness. She was smiling, a smug look on her face. “Since you trust this alarm so much, why don’t you sign this?”

“Once you sign,” she said, shoving a piece of paper at me, “anything that happens to you during this drip has nothing to do with me.”

* * *

I had fainted at my desk after powering through several sleepless nights to finish a project proposal.

My boss, panicked, had rushed me to the hospital himself. He even gave me his blessing to go straight home and rest after the drip, knowing I had to face our demanding client tomorrow.

The infusion room wasn’t quiet, but I was so sleep-deprived that the low hum of voices was a lullaby. After one last check of the blueprints I’d brought with me, I finally let my eyes close.

I was deep in a dream when a piercing voice shattered the peace.

“Hey! You can’t sleep while you’re on an IV, not when you’re here alone!”

My eyelids felt like they were weighted down with lead. I tried to open them, but they wouldn’t budge.

“Hey! What’s wrong with you? Didn’t you hear me talking to you?”

“Don’t pretend! I know you’re awake. I saw your eyelids twitch!”

The voice was a drill boring into my skull. Even a corpse would have been woken up by now.

I finally managed to pry my eyes open. A young nurse was standing over my bed, hands on her hips, looking down at me like I was something she’d stepped in.

“I knew you were faking,” she sniffed. “Making me call you all those times. What, you enjoy the feeling of being waited on?”

I recognized her. She was the one who had set up my IV. It had taken her five tries to find a vein. I hadn’t said a word, but she’d been the one with tears welling in her eyes, as if I were the one bullying her.

I sighed, my throat raw. “Is there a problem?”

Honestly, I had no idea how someone with her attitude became a nurse. Even if I wanted to feel “waited on,” a hospital would be the last place I’d choose. Who enjoys being in a hospital?

She gave a slight roll of her eyes. “What’s your deal? Coming in for a drip and not even a boyfriend to keep you company? And then you just pass out. What happens if the bag runs out?”

Her voice was high and loud. The room fell silent. Everyone turned to stare at me, as if not having a boyfriend here was some kind of capital offense.

Being woken up like that after finally finding a moment of peace was starting to piss me off. Still, I kept my anger in check and asked in the calmest voice I could manage, “Don’t you have nurses who make rounds? When the bag is empty, someone will come change it, right?”

This wasn’t my first time getting an IV. On previous visits, there were always nurses keeping an eye on things. You didn’t need a chaperone. That’s why I’d told my boss he didn’t need to have a coworker stay with me.

At my words, the young nurse’s thin eyebrows shot up.

“Easy for you to say. Can’t you see how many people are in here? How am I supposed to take care of everyone by myself?” she snapped. “Just because you paid for the drip doesn’t mean you can act like a queen and expect us to serve you. Nurses are people too. A little consideration would be nice. We’re not your personal maids, you know.”

I wanted to tell her that staffing was the hospital’s problem, not mine. And I wasn’t dying; if I needed a personal maid, I wouldn’t be hiring a nurse.

But as I opened my mouth, a wave of nausea hit me. I clamped it shut to keep from throwing up.

That just seemed to encourage her.

“Hey, you look old enough to know better. You’re not considerate at all. No wonder you don’t have a man here with you.”

She then muttered under her breath, “No boyfriend, not even any friends? I can tell you’re not a very popular person.”