I let him go and went on to the bedroom I was sharing with Rosie. She was reading her magazines, but looked up when I came in.

“It’s going to be soooo boring here,” I said, throwing myself down beside her. I reached over to my bag and grabbed a packet of sweets from the journey, offering them to Rosie before taking one for myself. “I can’t believe we spent all those hours travelling only to 85end up in Scotland. We could have been somewhere really hot and exotic by now.”

“I like it here,” Rosie said, turning another page of her magazine.

“You would.” I sighed. “Seeing as it’s both spooky and weird. I’m tired. I’m going to bed.”

I gathered up my things and went to the bathroom. The pipes rumbled and creaked overhead once again as I brushed my teeth and got changed into my pyjamas. When I returned to our room, Rosie was still reading her magazine, engrossed in a story about the Bermuda Triangle. I hoped she wasn’t going to stay up too much longer because the light was disturbing the bluebottle that had become trapped in there with us. It droned endlessly as it kept up a steady search for an exit, bumping against the walls and shuttered windows, and even buzzing into my hair a few times so that I had to bat it away.

“Goodnight,” I said, as I got into my sleeping bag.

“Night.”

The blow-up mattress wasn’t particularly comfortable, and the pillow smelled damp. I thought the noise from the fly and the things Cailean had told me would keep me awake, but I must have been 86more worn out than I thought because I fell asleep almost at once.

It was pitch-black when I woke up a little while later. With the shutters barring the windows, there wasn’t even the soft glow of moonlight shining through the glass. For a disorienting moment, I wasn’t quite sure where I was. But then the distant roar of the sea filtered through to me from outside, and Bird Rock and the lighthouse came flooding back. Everything was fine. I was sleeping on the floor with my sister. I couldn’t see her, but I could hear her breathing right beside me.

I realized she must be awake too because at that moment she reached for my hand and gave it a squeeze. It was a bit muggy in the room with no windows open, and Rosie’s hand was clammy. I squeezed her hand back, and we stayed like that for a few minutes before I started to get fidgety and wanted to roll over. I tried to extricate my hand, but she tightened her grip – not just a little but a lot.

“Ow! Rosie, cut it out.”

I snatched my hand away, but then a voice spoke 87from the doorway.

“Did you say something, Jess?”