The door opened again, and Robert quickly wiped his face, expecting a nurse. Instead, a small girl, maybe six years old, walked in. She was wearing simple, worn-out clothes—a faded t-shirt and jeans. Her dark hair was messy, as if she’d been running. In her hand, she held a gold-colored plastic bottle, the kind you’d find at a dollar store.
— “Who are you?” Robert asked, confused. “How did you get in here?”
The girl didn’t answer. She walked straight to Pete’s bed, climbed onto the stool beside it, and looked at the boy with an expression far too serious for her age.
— “I’m going to save him,” she said, twisting the cap off the bottle.
— “Hey, wait!” Robert jumped up, but the girl was already splashing water onto Pete’s face. “What are you doing?!”
He pulled the girl away from the bed, grabbing the bottle from her hand. Water soaked the white sheets and the pillow. Pete coughed slightly but stayed asleep.
— “You need to leave,” Robert ordered, hitting the call button for the nursing station. “How did you even get into this wing?”
— “Pete needs this water,” the girl insisted, reaching for the bottle. “He’ll get better.”
— “You don’t understand!” Robert was nearly shouting. “Go, before I call security!”
Two nurses rushed into the room.
— “What’s going on?” one asked.
— “This girl burst in and threw water on my son,” Robert explained, still holding the plastic bottle. “Get her out of here.”
— “Lily!” a woman’s voice called from the hallway.
A woman in her mid-thirties, wearing a hospital cleaning staff uniform, hurried in.
— “Lily, what have you done?”
— “Mom, I just wanted to help Pete,” the girl said, her eyes welling up.
— “I am so sorry,” the woman said, taking her daughter’s hand. “She wasn’t supposed to be in here. We’re leaving.”
— “Wait,” Robert stopped the woman. “How does your daughter know my son’s name?”
The woman swallowed hard.
— “I… I’ve worked here for five years. Sometimes I have to bring Lily with me when I can’t find a sitter. She must have seen the name on the door or…”
— “No,” Robert interrupted. “She spoke like she knew him. Like they were friends.”
— “I do know him,” Lily said, pulling away from her mother. “We played together at Mrs. Gable’s daycare. He’s my friend.”
Robert felt his heart skip a beat.
— “What daycare?”
