Darren laid the tea towel down on the draining board, folded his arms and fixed his gaze on Sarah. This was the first chance they’d had a chance to stop over the weekend. Grandma had fallen asleep in the big comfy chair in the lounge after a huge Sunday roast, and he and Sarah had been sent off to do the washing up. Finally it was all done. Everything had been washed and neatly stacked away.

“You’ve been very quiet the last couple of days. Are you still mad at me for not covering your back over that deadline you were working to?” Darren demanded.

Sarah leaned against the counter and sighed. “No, no. I’m fine. Just a little tired, I haven’t been sleeping well the last couple of nights. Ben turned up just after you phoned.”

“Ben! At the flat? How the hell did he find you there?” Darren was aghast. He really thought that her ex-boyfriend would have given up the search after he’d caught on to him during that earlier telephone conversation.

She shrugged, tiredly. “I have no idea. All I know is that the doorbell rang, I opened the door and there he was on my step.”

“Well? What happened? What did he say?” Was he really going to have to drag this out of her, bit by bit?

She looked in the direction of the lounge. “Aren’t we needed? Mum will be mad if we spend ages out here in avoidance mode.”

“Nah, Grandma will be out for the count for at least an hour, maybe more. When we stop hearing the snores resonating through the wall, we’ll know to go back in and be dutiful grandchildren again. Spill, sis.”

Sarah pulled up one of the breakfast bar stools and cast her mind back to that evening two nights ago, trying not to let the fear she had felt wash over her and render her narrative incomprehensible.

It had, of course, been a complete shock in those first few seconds after flinging open the door and finding Ben standing there with a smirk plastered on his face. So much so, that for a while she had just stood there and stared, not knowing what to do or say.

It was Ben who had broken the silence. “So, aren’t you going to invite me in? Dying to find out what your new place is like.”

“No, of course I’m not! I don’t know what you’re doing here Ben, but you should go away right now. I don’t want to see you again, I made that quite clear all those years ago and I haven’t changed my mind. Please leave.” She moved to slam the door on him, but he was too fast, jamming his foot in the doorway just before it closed. The action made her jump and she stifled a small scream.

“I’m not going until I’ve had a chance to talk to you. Come on, Sarah, what are you afraid of?”

She wanted to be able to say “you” but didn’t, choosing instead to lean all her weight on the door, knowing she didn’t have the strength to close it nor the strength to prevent him from pushing his way in. She eyed the door which led to her flat – could she sprint across, close the door and lock it before he got through? Okay, maybe the lock wouldn’t keep him at bay for that long, but long enough to call the police, surely?

Fortunately, she wasn’t put to the test as she heard footsteps coming down the stairs from one of the upper flats.

“What’s the problem here?” The stranger’s voice asked.

“I’m sorry… this guy… he just won’t leave me alone.” Sarah’s panic showed clearly on her face. This presumably helped him make the split second decision.

Motioning her to one side, he flung open the door aggressively. She didn’t wait to see what happened, but fled to the safety of her own doorway, only pausing to listen after she had turned the lock.

“Hey you. Clear off! It has been made quite clear by the lady that she does not want to see you and doesn’t want to let you in. This is private property and if you make any more attempts to access this premises you’ll have me to deal with, and if you’re lucky, the police. Do I make myself clear?”

She couldn’t make out the words of Ben’s reply from behind the door, but could tell from the tone and inflections that he was extremely angry.

The upstairs tenant continued. “My relationship with her is none of your fucking business, mate. Now are you going to leave or am I going to have to physically remove you from these steps?”

She waited a while, straining to hear something … anything, then jumped with fright when the door suddenly slammed. A few seconds later there was a gentle knock on her door. “It’s okay, he’s gone now. Are you okay?”

She turned the lock and cautiously peered around. “Yes… I think so. Thank you.”

“Look. I don’t know how long this guy has been hassling you for, but I think you should probably call the police. You can get some sort of injunction these days where they can stop him coming within so many yards of you. You shouldn’t have to live in fear.” He looked genuinely concerned and the fierceness he’d displayed earlier had all disappeared.

“Yes, you’re right. It’s just … it’s complicated.”

“Look, are you going to be okay? I need to go out now, and there’s always the possibility that he may be watching the front entrance from somewhere. Have you got a friend you could go and stay with? I don’t mind waiting for you to grab your things and escorting you to the taxi rank if that would make you feel safer?”

“That’s very sweet, but really, I’ll be fine. If he does call again I’ll be prepared this time. I’ll check every caller via the intercom in future, it was a bad habit going straight to the door in the first place. I really can’t thank you enough for what you did – I really don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t been there.”

He nodded acceptance of her thanks and left. Sarah closed the door with relief.

“…and that’s about it really,” she said to Darren, shifting slightly on the uncomfortable stool, “I’m none the wiser why he’s suddenly decided to show up after all these years, but the way he acted I’m sure he’s up to no good. I’m just glad my neighbour was in.”

Darren was aghast. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier? I could have … well, I don’t know… come and slept on your sofa overnight or something, in case he came back.”

“There didn’t seem an awful lot of point. Obviously, I couldn’t during the event, and by the time I had access to a phone again everything was over and there wasn’t really any need for you to come over. I knew I would be here over the weekend, which I think is safe enough. Ben’s hardly going to run the gauntlet of Mum, Dad, you AND Grandma.”

“Yeah… I think Grandma is the real deterrent, though.” Darren grinned wickedly at his sister. “Talking of which, I think we’d better get back in there. She’s bound to be stirring again soon and will want to regale us with tales of way back when.”

Sarah slid gratefully of the stool, her bottom was beginning to go rather numb, and followed her brother back into the lounge.

That evening, Darren gave her a lift back to her flat, waiting outside until she’d got inside the front door and turned to give him a wave. She was glad as it got dark so early now and her imagination was going overdrive just walking up the path to the door even with her brother watching her every step. She just hoped that she would be able to focus on her work properly so she would be able to meet her deadline. She couldn’t afford for him to throw her life into such disarray again.

The good samaritan neighbour was idly flicking through the post in the hallway as she entered.

She watched him for a moment, then quipped, “um, it’s a Sunday. I very much doubt the postman managed to bring anything for you today.”

He gave her an embarrassed little grin. “What can I say, it’s been a long day and I’m completely working on auto pilot. I was wondering why it was still all the junk that had been sat here all month. Do you think these people have actually moved away, or have just gone away on extended holiday?”

“To be honest, I’m not convinced some of them EVER lived here. By the way, I didn’t really get the chance to really thank you for the other day. It really was a very scary situation I’d got myself into, I’m just so glad you were in the right place at the right time.”

“My pleasure. Any time. Seriously, if he’s bothering again and you want someone to shoo him away, I’m in flat four. I’m in most evenings. It’s not often I get to play the knight in shining armour role! Besides, he looked like he was really bad news.”

His obvious concern for her well-being, this stranger who had just passed by at the right time, combined with a sudden wave of tiredness broke the pressure valve that had kept her calm since that first warning answer phone message, and she suddenly burst into loud gasping sobs.

“Oh shit. Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you cry. That was my reassuring voice and everything.” The neighbour patted her arm helplessly wondering what to do next. “Here, look… sit down on the stairs here.” He rummaged in his pockets hoping a clean handkerchief or tissue would magically appear despite the fact he’d never put one in there in the first place. “Hmm, some knight I am, I don’t even have a tissue on me. I’d offer you my sleeve, but even that’s a bit grubby.”

Sarah giggled a little between the sobs, rummaged in her handbag and pulled out a little packet of tissues, giving them a little triumphant wave in the air. Then she removed one and loudly blew her nose. Great, she thought, here’s this man being incredibly nice to me, and here I am, blubbering in front of him and probably looking a complete fright with puffy eyes and a snotty nose. Nice moves, girl.

Emboldened by the positive response to his very flimsy joke, he tried to keep the conversation going, even if it was a bit one sided at the moment. “You know, here I am, sharing this plush carpeted stair with you, and we haven’t even been properly introduced. I’m Philip, Philip Marks.” He held his hand out formally.

Pulling herself together and hastily transferring her snotty tissue to the other hand, she took his and gave a dainty handshake. “Very pleased to meet you, Philip. I’m Sarah, Sarah Lewis. So, do you sit on these steps comforting strange women often?”

Philip tried to look serious and failed miserably. “I try not to make too much of a habit of it. If I did, I’d be far more prepared. I’d carry tissues on me at all times, for a start.”

“I’m sorry. You’ve been really nice. I didn’t realise just how much all this had affected me. I’ve pretty much been in denial over the weekend with family responsibilities.”

“Want to talk about it?” He asked gently.

Sarah sighed, she needed to talk to someone about the situation with Ben. “It’s just … I don’t know quite where to start.”

Philip gave her an encouraging smile. “Try starting from the beginning.”