Chapter 2- Sunday 10am

Hanna groaned as her alarm clock buzzed at 10am that morning. Not that the alarm clock was needed; she was awake already. In fact she had hardly slept at all.

For hours, she had lain awake, mulling things over in her mind. Who had sent the note? Was it the same person who had requested the connection halfway along the canal? And, most importantly, why? Why her?

At 3am, her brain had finally had enough and conveyed the message that it was time to sleep. Just as she was drifting off into her uneasy sleep, however, there was a high pitched screech from outside.

There was no mistaking that laugh. Her parents were home, and as always, they were hammered. They’d give no thought to anyone else as they made their way up the stairs, laughing and shouting. Sure enough, her parents could be heard stumbling up the stairs, the key scraped in the lock and the door opened.

“Oh John, I’m so horny”

“God”, thought Hanna, “my mum must be really pissed”

She heard them both go into their bedroom, clumsily, and collapse on the bed. Drunken giggles could be heard from her mother as they began foreplay. Trying to block it out, Hanna turned over. But the noises got louder, and more disturbing. Gasps and moans could be heard, and yells of pleasure. Disgusted, Hanna put her pillow over her ears. Eventually giving up, she decided that her only option was to try to get to sleep as best as she could, and try not to be too disgusted, as her parents made love next door.

The frolicking next door seemed to stop around 5am, and Hanna finally managed to drift off into an uneasy sleep.