to shake him back into consciousness his eyelids didn’t flicker.
My finger trembled as I punched in 999, and told them I needed an ambulance fast. Then I slumped to the floor beside Paul, as if I could protect him from anything that might come at him through that door.
The ambulance arrived and I had no explanation for what had happened to Paul. All I said was that I’d left him with my aunt and came back to find him like this. A police car pulled up behind the ambulance and Sergeant Ross stepped from it.
‘I thought that 999 call was from this address,’ he said. He explained to the paramedics, as if I wasn’t there, that I had been at the hospital earlier. ‘An unexplained accident.’ I could almost see the inverted commas.
And now, another unexplained accident. The paramedics looked at me, looked at my arm.
I couldn’t stop myself from babbling out. ‘It was Sister Kelly. She haunts this house. She did it all.’ I regretted it as soon as I spoke. Now they would think I was crazy.
Sergeant Ross let out a long sigh. ‘You’re saying a ghost did all this?’
The paramedics shared a knowing smile. ‘You should hear some of the things teenagers tell us. Ghosts, vampires, zombies. You name it, we’ve heard it.’
Sergeant Ross looked into my aunt’s room. ‘Your aunt doesn’t look so good, does she?’
‘I’ve been trying to get a doctor all day.’
And then a terrible thought came to me. Did Sergeant Ross think all of this was my doing? If they thought at the hospital I had been self-harming because I wanted attention, it wasn’t a giant leap to believe that to get more attention I had done something to Paul, to my aunt.
‘What’s wrong with him?’ I asked as they were getting ready to carry Paul out to the ambulance.
‘We’ll have a better idea when we get him to the hospital,’ one of them told me.
‘Do you know where the boy lives?’ Sergeant Ross asked me. ‘We’ll have to inform his parents.’
I gave him the address. ‘He has a mobile. His home number might be there,’ I added.
Sergeant Ross fumbled in Paul’s pocket and took out the phone. He looked at me. ‘I’m also calling a doctor to have a look at your aunt.’
And for a second my heart lifted. At last, a doctor was coming to see Aunt Belle.
Chapter 30
‘So, the truth now. What exactly happened here?’ Sergeant Ross and I sat in the front room as we waited for the doctor. ‘And please, no more of this, “It was Sister Kelly’s ghost who did it.”’
What was the point of telling the truth? ‘I had an accident with the knife,’ I sighed. ‘I was making a sandwich. Paul arrived just when it happened and he insisted I go to the hospital. He said he’d stay here with my aunt and when I came back he was like . . . how you saw him.’
There, I thought, did he prefer that version? Was that more acceptable?
‘You found him lying in the hall?’
‘He was in the other bedroom.’
‘So, why didn’t you just leave him there. Why drag him into the hall?’
Well, I wasn’t going to lie about that. I looked straight at him. ‘I don’t like that room.’
His face creased into a smile. ‘That will be the haunted room then?’ He stood up. ‘Mind if I go in? I’ve always wanted to see a ghost.’
‘You can laugh, but you’ll see, the door won’t stay open . . . and it’s ice cold in there.’
He pushed open the door and I stood back as he stepped inside.
I waited for the door to swing shut. Then he’d see. He’d know I was telling the truth.
The door stayed open.
‘Doesn’t feel cold to me at all,’ he said. He turned to me.
‘She’s sly,’ I murmured.
‘A sly ghost?’
He came back into the hall. ‘So you dragged him out here.’
‘Paul’s parents will tell you there’s something in this house. Paul’s mother saw something in that room too.’
‘Oh, I will be talking to them,’ he said, as if it was a warning.
After that, we sat in stony silence until the doctor
My finger trembled as I punched in 999, and told them I needed an ambulance fast. Then I slumped to the floor beside Paul, as if I could protect him from anything that might come at him through that door.
The ambulance arrived and I had no explanation for what had happened to Paul. All I said was that I’d left him with my aunt and came back to find him like this. A police car pulled up behind the ambulance and Sergeant Ross stepped from it.
‘I thought that 999 call was from this address,’ he said. He explained to the paramedics, as if I wasn’t there, that I had been at the hospital earlier. ‘An unexplained accident.’ I could almost see the inverted commas.
And now, another unexplained accident. The paramedics looked at me, looked at my arm.
I couldn’t stop myself from babbling out. ‘It was Sister Kelly. She haunts this house. She did it all.’ I regretted it as soon as I spoke. Now they would think I was crazy.
Sergeant Ross let out a long sigh. ‘You’re saying a ghost did all this?’
The paramedics shared a knowing smile. ‘You should hear some of the things teenagers tell us. Ghosts, vampires, zombies. You name it, we’ve heard it.’
Sergeant Ross looked into my aunt’s room. ‘Your aunt doesn’t look so good, does she?’
‘I’ve been trying to get a doctor all day.’
And then a terrible thought came to me. Did Sergeant Ross think all of this was my doing? If they thought at the hospital I had been self-harming because I wanted attention, it wasn’t a giant leap to believe that to get more attention I had done something to Paul, to my aunt.
‘What’s wrong with him?’ I asked as they were getting ready to carry Paul out to the ambulance.
‘We’ll have a better idea when we get him to the hospital,’ one of them told me.
‘Do you know where the boy lives?’ Sergeant Ross asked me. ‘We’ll have to inform his parents.’
I gave him the address. ‘He has a mobile. His home number might be there,’ I added.
Sergeant Ross fumbled in Paul’s pocket and took out the phone. He looked at me. ‘I’m also calling a doctor to have a look at your aunt.’
And for a second my heart lifted. At last, a doctor was coming to see Aunt Belle.
Chapter 30
‘So, the truth now. What exactly happened here?’ Sergeant Ross and I sat in the front room as we waited for the doctor. ‘And please, no more of this, “It was Sister Kelly’s ghost who did it.”’
What was the point of telling the truth? ‘I had an accident with the knife,’ I sighed. ‘I was making a sandwich. Paul arrived just when it happened and he insisted I go to the hospital. He said he’d stay here with my aunt and when I came back he was like . . . how you saw him.’
There, I thought, did he prefer that version? Was that more acceptable?
‘You found him lying in the hall?’
‘He was in the other bedroom.’
‘So, why didn’t you just leave him there. Why drag him into the hall?’
Well, I wasn’t going to lie about that. I looked straight at him. ‘I don’t like that room.’
His face creased into a smile. ‘That will be the haunted room then?’ He stood up. ‘Mind if I go in? I’ve always wanted to see a ghost.’
‘You can laugh, but you’ll see, the door won’t stay open . . . and it’s ice cold in there.’
He pushed open the door and I stood back as he stepped inside.
I waited for the door to swing shut. Then he’d see. He’d know I was telling the truth.
The door stayed open.
‘Doesn’t feel cold to me at all,’ he said. He turned to me.
‘She’s sly,’ I murmured.
‘A sly ghost?’
He came back into the hall. ‘So you dragged him out here.’
‘Paul’s parents will tell you there’s something in this house. Paul’s mother saw something in that room too.’
‘Oh, I will be talking to them,’ he said, as if it was a warning.
After that, we sat in stony silence until the doctor
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