The Siren at the Museum (The Girl Who Sang #1)

Chapter 21

The children's ward security guard almost turned her away until he recognized her last name, but he still scanned her wristband to verify she was a current patient before he let her through the doors. The nurses were skeptical of her ability to maneuver around the beds with their attachments and peripheral machinery, and Luz herself shared some of that concern. She made sure to lurk in the hallway until one of the night nurses had checked on the children in their rooms, to see if any were still awake. Only one room had a lamp on, which Luz felt was a sign, but as it turned out that patient was asleep while another child was lying awake in the dark.

The nurses invited her in and introduced her to Juliette, a young wispy blonde girl with sunken cheeks and a ghastly pallor. Her pale green eyes were dim and glassy, and Luz paused at the unsettling memory of Amity under Odalia's thumb. Then she smiled wide and sat down on the chair a nurse had placed beside the girl's bed. "Hola Juliette, my name is Luz," the brown-haired girl said as she laid her crutch on the floor, and let her backpack slip off her weak shoulder.

"Hi," the little blonde replied, her voice as fragile as her features.

"I've been having trouble sleeping lately," Luz said as she pulled a few paperbacks out of her bag, "and I thought, why not hang out with the cool kids?" She grinned as the ghost of a smile stretched across Juliette's face. "I have some books here, and I would love to read one of them to you if you want." The little blonde's glazed eyes widened slightly, and she gasped in delighted surprise. A great fist grabbed Luz's heart and clenched at the sound.

"To be completely honest, I... I only had a few books with me that you might enjoy," Luz said, holding out three for Juliette to see, "I'll have to have my mama bring some more from home." She smiled, and the little blonde tried to smile back. She chuckled, "Not sure if you're in the mood for a spooky story, but I've got Coraline by Neil Gaiman?" Juliette gave the softest shake of her head. "No worries, querida, esta bien. I have two others: the Runaway Robot by Lester Del Ray, and the Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary." Luz could see the first book didn't catch the girl's attention, which would break Eda's heart—her step-mama loved the Runaway Robot. But as soon as the word 'mouse' had crossed her lips, the little girl's face lit up.

Luz put the other books aside, and said, "Okay, the Mouse and the Motorcycle." She made a show of fanning the book's pages and clearing her throat, and she thought she heard the hint of a giggle. "Wait, querida, do you need anything before we begin? A drink, or...?" Juliette shook her head and mouthed a no, and Luz gave her a tender look. "Alright. Chapter one, The New Guests... Keith, the boy in the rumpled shorts and shirt, did not know he was being watched as he entered room two-fifteen of the Mountain View Inn. Neither did his mother and father..."

Neither did Luz know she was being watched from the doorway by her mother's co-workers, one of whom recorded a video for several minutes as Luz did her best to make the little sick girl feel special. Juliette had dozed off after an hour, and when Luz finally made her way to the nurse's station, she had the nurse record a video message for the little girl where she promised to return the next night to continue the story.

As she rode the elevator back up to her floor, she knew her mother had been telling her the truth. Her arm and leg had ached and burned and throbbed the entire time she was reading to Juliette, but focusing on the story for the little girl's benefit had helped her ignore some of her discomfort—and she couldn't be sure, but she had a feeling that she might have been a comfort to Juliette as well. She had a wide smile on her face as she crutched back to her room, even if her nurses were scolding her for disappearing without so much as a note.