The girl reached for the bottle, her face twisting with urgency.
“It is special water,” she insisted. “It helps when people are very sick.”
Brandon pressed the call button on the wall.
“Security,” he said through clenched teeth. “Someone came into my son’s room.”
Two nurses hurried in. One of them, a young woman with tired eyes, looked at the child with recognition.
“Ivy,” the nurse said. “What are you doing here again.”
From the hallway came a worried voice.
“Ivy. Ivy. Where did you go.”
A woman in a gray maintenance uniform appeared, her face flushed from panic. She rushed forward and took the girl’s hand.
“I am so sorry,” the woman said to Brandon. “My name is Denise. I work cleaning on this floor. She should not have come in. We are leaving right now.”
The girl pulled against her mother’s hand.
“I just wanted to help Lucas,” Ivy cried. “He is my friend.”
Brandon froze. “How do you know my son’s name,” he asked slowly.
Denise looked trapped. Her eyes darted toward the door.
“She must have seen the name on the chart,” Denise said quickly.
“No,” Ivy interrupted. “We played together at Sunny Steps. We built a tower with blocks and he made funny dinosaur noises.”