I gave him my address and phone number.
"Alright, ma'am, I've radioed a police car in your area, and they're heading your way now. Stay on the line, and I'll help you through this. What's your name?"
"I'm Vivienne, Vivienne Andrews."
"Vivienne, I'm Arnold Barnes. Alright, what I need you to do while you wait for the squad car to arrive is to stay calm firstly. I know that's much easier for me to say than for you to do, but try to stay in control of your emotions."
"I'm trying, I'm trying..."
"Good, that's good, Vivienne. Now, is there a room in the house in which you can lock yourself? Any place that's got a lock on the door, like a bathroom, anything like that?"
"Um, yeah, yeah, the bathroom next to my bedroom."
"Go straight there and lock yourself in there. If there's anything like a chair or something you can take to stack against the door handle to prevent the door being forced open, bring it with you. As long as it's not a chair with wheels, alright? No office chairs, just a regular old wooden chair, if you have one. If not, just go straight to the bathroom and lock it up."
"There's, uh, there are a few wooden chairs in the kitchen. But that means I'll have to go downstairs and get one, and the man is trying to get through the front door, which is near the kitchen."
"Alright, forget the chair then, we don't want to put you at risk here by potentially having you downstairs if he does get in. Just go straight to the bathroom and lock yourself in there."
"Okay, okay, I'm doing that. Hang on."
I ran back to my bedroom, headed into the bathroom and then locked the door.
At that moment, I heard the front door open.
"Oh no, oh no," I whispered into the phone, my voice hoarse with urgency. "He's in the house, he got in, and the cops haven't arrived yet!"
"Stay calm. They're close; they're a few blocks away. You should hear the sirens any minute now, and when the intruder hears them, he'll probably run. Just stay in there and keep quiet, and stand away from the door if possible."
That's when I heard a voice I hadn't heard in years – a voice that sent shivers of dread snaking down my spine.
"Alicia! Hello, Alicia... I know you're in here, so don't waste time hiding. Come out; I just want to talk..."
Simon was shouting from downstairs, so at least he wasn't close. When were the cops going to arrive?! Every second counted here.
"Is that the intruder?" asked Arnold. He could obviously hear the shouting from the phone.
"It is, yes."
"Who is Alicia? Is he looking for someone specific who lives in the house with you?"
I was in too much of a state right now to explain the whole story to this guy, so I just cut it real short.
"I'm Alicia. I changed my name to get away from him," I whispered into the phone.
"You know the intruder then?"
"Yes. He's a stalker I currently have a restraining order against. He has made repeated threats against me."
"Come out, come out wherever you are!" shouted Simon in a mocking tone. "I'm starting to get angry now, Alicia, and you know how I get when I'm angry. You know how... unhappy I can be when I'm angry."
Just then, the howling of police sirens pierced the air. Finally, they had arrived.
"You stupid little whore!" he roared. "Calling the cops, huh? Well, now I'm really unhappy, and you're going to pay dearly for this when I do find you!"
I heard heavy footsteps moving quickly down the stairs – it seemed he was fleeing.
"I think he's leaving," I said to Arnold.