"No, no, sorry about that. We got a bit overexcited earlier but no harm done. Everything's fine now."
Amy looked skeptically at her neighbour. She tilted her head casually, trying to see past him into the flat, and he unsubtly leant against the door frame to stop her.
"I'm sure that's true," she politely lied. "But I heard a lot of yelling and what sounded like fighting. I'm sure I'm just being paranoid but if I could actually see Hannah... Well, I'm sure I'd feel a lot better."
The two of them had moved into the flat next to Amy's last month and she had only met them a couple of times. Hannah seemed nice enough but something about Marcus had immediately rubbed her the wrong way. Even so, she hadn't expected to hear screaming coming through the wall that evening.
"Fine," he said, sounding like he had come to a decision. "Fine. Yes. Come on in."
He stepped back, opening the door wide and gesturing for Amy to enter. It suddenly occurred to her that, in her rush to help, she hadn't actually told anyone where she was going, not even a text to her boyfriend. Too late now, she supposed. She swallowed her fear and stepped inside.
"Hannah's through in the living room. She's just watching TV."
Marcus pointed the way and closed the front door behind her. Amy heard the click of the lock. She stepped through from the little corridor into the living room and saw Hannah sitting there.
At first, she was relieved. From the ruckus she'd heard earlier, she had half-expected to find the poor thing sprawled on the floor. But then she noticed the dishevelled hair and the state of undress and the strange vacant expression on her face.
"Uh... Hannah? It's Amy from next door. Sorry, Marcus let me in and... uh... are you okay?"
The other woman kept staring blankly forward, giving no outward sign that she had noticed Amy was there at all.
"Is she...?" Amy trailed off, unsure what she was about to suggest.
"Like I said, she's watching TV."
As soon as Marcus mentioned it, Amy's gazed flicked involuntarily over to the screen on the wall, following Hannah's gaze. Sure enough, the TV was on. It was showing... something. Amy had never seen anything quite like it.
A swirling mass of colour flickered and pulsed in front of her eyes. Every time she tried to focus on one part, it shifted and changed. Her rational mind told her it was random and yet she couldn't stop herself from staring, focusing, trying to find a pattern.
"It's her favourite show," continued Marcus. "Even if she sometimes loudly pretends otherwise."
Amy didn't understand what he was talking about. She couldn't remember why she was here. But none of that mattered. The beautiful light was filling her mind, leaving no room for anything else.
"It was my own fault for letting her go so long without watching. She started to think for herself again. I won't make that mistake twice. Anyway..."
Dimly and distantly, Amy felt hands reaching into her pockets, pulling out her keys and her phone. Then there was a rough shove against her chest, forcing her down on to the couch next to Hannah. Neither woman reacted, even as the motion jostled some drool out of Hannah's mouth and down her chin.
Marcus checked his watch, carefully keeping his gaze away from the direction of the screen.
"Five more minutes on the eraser... Then an hour of programming... Call it two for Little Miss Busybody's first time..."
He nodded to himself and smiled. Even with this interruption, he was going to have plenty of fun tonight.
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