“That sounds terrifying,” Aoife exclaimed. “Do you think you’re being possessed?”
I exhaled heavily. “I don’t know. Maybe.”
“She’s not being possessed,” Jimmy argued, bringing his attention to me. “It sounds like you have sleep paralysis, Estella.”
I frowned at him. “Sleep paralysis?”
He nodded. “It’s a sleep disorder. You know, like narcolepsy or insomnia. People with sleep paralysis wake up and can’t move their bodies. Sometimes they feel like something’s pressing down on them or they have hallucinations. Have you been more stressed than usual lately?” he asked. “I know stress and anxiety can contribute towards it.”
“Um, yeah, I might be a little stressed.” Understatement of the century. What with Vee’s bullying at home, Sally’s bullying at school, worrying about Sylvia’s safety and trying to decipher what Noah was up to, my stress levels were through the roof. “Oh my God, I’m so relieved it’s not a ghost,” I said, making a mental note to visit the library at school on Monday and research everything I could about sleep paralysis.
“I’m almost certain it isn’t dangerous. It’s just a distressing thing to have to go through,” Jimmy said.
Aoife reached out and pinched him on the cheek. “Not only are you cute but you’re smart, too.”
He gave a small smile. “Falling down internet rabbit holes has its benefits.”
We reached the castle, and I heard faint music and laughter coming from inside. Kean and his friends were obviously in there already. Nerves fluttered through me as we made our way in and found the place crawling with teenagers. It was a good thing this place was far away from any neighbouring homes, otherwise someone would’ve already called the local Gardaí to complain.
We walked through an unlit passage, and a wave of dizzy headedness came over me. I stopped walking and brought my hand to the wall for balance. My throat felt tight, and my lungs constricted as a vision flashed before me. I saw a woman just a few yards away. She wore 19th century attire and had a distressed look on her face as she met my gaze then disappeared further down the passage.
“Estella, are you okay?” Aoife asked, appearing in front of me.
“Yes, I … I think I’m just a little tired,” I said, frowning. The woman I saw was the same one from my dreams, the one I always thought was Lady Maeve. Was I hallucinating? Maybe being in this castle was causing my imagination to get the better of me.
Aoife linked her arm through mine. “Come on. Stick by me. It’s dark in here, and it’d be easy to lose your way.”
She guided me into a room crowded with more teenagers. I spotted Kean and was about to shoot him a smile when I saw who he was hanging out with. He stood in a group of boys and girls, and Sally O’Hare was right next to him. She put her hand on his arm as she made some joke, and they all broke into laughter. Claire was there, too, several boys vying for her attention.
I gripped Aoife’s shoulder, and her eyes met mine. “Maybe this isn’t such a good idea. I’m not feeling so well.”
She studied me a moment, then looked around, spotting Sally and Claire. Understanding dawned. “Don’t let them stop you from having a good time.”
“It’s not that, it’s just … okay, so it is that, but I didn’t realise Kean was friends with them.” I said goodbye to my daydreams about attending his rugby matches and going on burger and ice-cream dates. If Kean associated with Sally in particular, then I didn’t want anything to do with him.
I noticed Jimmy didn’t look very comfortable either. My attention went in the direction he was frowning, where Kean’s other friends appeared to be snickering and pointing at him.
“Estella’s right,” Jimmy said. “I don’t mind leaving.”
Aoife eyed him. “Not you, too.”
“Hey Jimmy!” One of the boys called out. “Is she your beard?”
At this, Aoife scowled at the offending boy. “Fuck you. I’m his girlfriend.”
“Oh yeah, you’re definitely his beard,” the boy went on.
The other boys laughed in response, and I narrowed my gaze because Kean was laughing, too. Was the nice guy act a front?
I scowled at him, and he must’ve felt my anger from across the room because he suddenly noticed me, and his smile dropped. He came forward, reaching out, but I stepped well away from him.
“Estella, I’m so happy you came,” he said.
“I’m not,” I responded archly and gestured to Aoife and Jimmy. “Come on. This castle is full of arseholes.”
My friends didn’t argue, and we turned to leave.
“Hey, don’t go,” Kean pleaded, but it was too late. I didn’t want to be here after seeing Sally and Claire, and I certainly wasn’t sticking around after how horrible those boys were to Jimmy, who was incredibly loyal to Aoife and probably the sweetest person I’d ever met.