said, leaning into the mirror and reapplying some lip gloss.
It was pouring at lunchtime, so the boys decided to play indoor soccer. Jennifer went along to support Darren, and Caitlin and I found an unused classroom and sat in two desks at the back. The rain had been falling all day and now it ran in torrents down the windowpane. The glass was all fogged up on the inside, distorting the greenery beyond.
“Caitlin,” I started.
“Yeah,” she replied, not looking up from her soggy sandwich, which she was opening up and peering into in disgust.
“I…”
“Come on; spit it out.” She paused. “Do you know what that is?” She opened her sandwich wide and put it up to my face. I wrinkled up my nose and took a little sniff.
“I’m not sure. Um … cheese, maybe?”
“Well, I’m not risking it.” She threw the sandwich back into the aluminum foil, picked up her apple instead, and took a big bite. “You were saying?”
“Adam.” I paused, thinking where to go from here. “What’s the deal with him?”
“Even after everything we’ve told you, you’re still besotted with him,” she said with a faint smile.
“I’m not besotted .”
“Oh, come on, Meg, be honest with yourself. You are and have been since your first day here. It can’t have escaped your attention that he is fairly taken by you as well,” she continued.
“If he really liked me, he’d ask me out. Anyway, that’s not what I want to talk about. I’ve been thinking—”
“I hope you didn’t strain yourself.” She laughed.
“Seriously, Cait, listen to me. Ever since you told me about seeing that light in the water I’ve been racking my brain trying to remember what happened. I don’t remember a light, but I vaguely remember a warm, floaty feeling.”
“You think there’s something to what I saw?” she asked, leaning toward me.
“There might be. Remember the dancing moths down at the equestrian center? I couldn’t explain that either. Then today there was the incident with the dog and the bus. I think there are too many coincidences with the DeRíses. What’s their story? I mean, they’re not exactly your straightforward, run-of-the-mill family, are they?”
“Far from it. I don’t know all the details, but apparently their parents died in some tragic car accident years ago. They were orphaned and had no other relatives, so an old family friend took them in. They moved around with him for a couple of years and then settled here in Kinsale at the Killeen estate, which has been in their family for generations. That estate has been shrouded in mystery since … well, forever. You’ve heard the stories. And there was the hex that everyone talks about.”
“I haven’t heard that one.”
“Really? Well, the Killeens used to be the big landowners in the area. At some point, the locals began to resent the land charges they were forced to pay, and then in the summer of 1842 something happened over at the big house and darkness descended on their lands. Literally. Clouds rolled in off the sea and settled over the entire estate. The land turned brown and everything started to die. It was like a plague. The crops failed and the ‘sickness’ radiated out farther and farther until the whole of coastal West Cork had been affected. The townspeople believed the Killeens had hexed their land and town as punishment for their insubordination. But who knows how much of that is true… It was around the time of the Great Famine, and they may have just been looking for someone to blame.”
“Wow. Imagine trying to shake that kind of association.”
“Yeah, that’s got to suck. But honestly, they do nothing to endear themselves to the locals. When they first moved here three years ago, we were all a little bit in love with them. Rían was, like, sizzling hot, and Adam was swoon-worthy, but they were absolutely obnoxious and shunned anyone who tried to make friends with them. Áine was more approachable, but she always lurked
It was pouring at lunchtime, so the boys decided to play indoor soccer. Jennifer went along to support Darren, and Caitlin and I found an unused classroom and sat in two desks at the back. The rain had been falling all day and now it ran in torrents down the windowpane. The glass was all fogged up on the inside, distorting the greenery beyond.
“Caitlin,” I started.
“Yeah,” she replied, not looking up from her soggy sandwich, which she was opening up and peering into in disgust.
“I…”
“Come on; spit it out.” She paused. “Do you know what that is?” She opened her sandwich wide and put it up to my face. I wrinkled up my nose and took a little sniff.
“I’m not sure. Um … cheese, maybe?”
“Well, I’m not risking it.” She threw the sandwich back into the aluminum foil, picked up her apple instead, and took a big bite. “You were saying?”
“Adam.” I paused, thinking where to go from here. “What’s the deal with him?”
“Even after everything we’ve told you, you’re still besotted with him,” she said with a faint smile.
“I’m not besotted .”
“Oh, come on, Meg, be honest with yourself. You are and have been since your first day here. It can’t have escaped your attention that he is fairly taken by you as well,” she continued.
“If he really liked me, he’d ask me out. Anyway, that’s not what I want to talk about. I’ve been thinking—”
“I hope you didn’t strain yourself.” She laughed.
“Seriously, Cait, listen to me. Ever since you told me about seeing that light in the water I’ve been racking my brain trying to remember what happened. I don’t remember a light, but I vaguely remember a warm, floaty feeling.”
“You think there’s something to what I saw?” she asked, leaning toward me.
“There might be. Remember the dancing moths down at the equestrian center? I couldn’t explain that either. Then today there was the incident with the dog and the bus. I think there are too many coincidences with the DeRíses. What’s their story? I mean, they’re not exactly your straightforward, run-of-the-mill family, are they?”
“Far from it. I don’t know all the details, but apparently their parents died in some tragic car accident years ago. They were orphaned and had no other relatives, so an old family friend took them in. They moved around with him for a couple of years and then settled here in Kinsale at the Killeen estate, which has been in their family for generations. That estate has been shrouded in mystery since … well, forever. You’ve heard the stories. And there was the hex that everyone talks about.”
“I haven’t heard that one.”
“Really? Well, the Killeens used to be the big landowners in the area. At some point, the locals began to resent the land charges they were forced to pay, and then in the summer of 1842 something happened over at the big house and darkness descended on their lands. Literally. Clouds rolled in off the sea and settled over the entire estate. The land turned brown and everything started to die. It was like a plague. The crops failed and the ‘sickness’ radiated out farther and farther until the whole of coastal West Cork had been affected. The townspeople believed the Killeens had hexed their land and town as punishment for their insubordination. But who knows how much of that is true… It was around the time of the Great Famine, and they may have just been looking for someone to blame.”
“Wow. Imagine trying to shake that kind of association.”
“Yeah, that’s got to suck. But honestly, they do nothing to endear themselves to the locals. When they first moved here three years ago, we were all a little bit in love with them. Rían was, like, sizzling hot, and Adam was swoon-worthy, but they were absolutely obnoxious and shunned anyone who tried to make friends with them. Áine was more approachable, but she always lurked
Similar Books
