CREAKKKKK! The closet door loudly declared his presence.
Liam had been hiding in the Madeline's closet for over an hour and a half. Somehow he had avoided detection even as she had changed her clothes while standing so close to him he could have touched her soft skin and now after all that he was going to be caught by a hinge that needed oil?
He froze. He didn't dare to breath but his heart was beating so loudly in his chest he thought that alone would probably wake her. He was ready to rush to the door the moment she turned on the light to see what had made the noise. His legs tensed ready to run. But the lights didn't turn on. He listened as Madeline's breathing returned to the slow rhythmical pattern of sleep. He heard her turn on her bed.
He waited another couple of minutes until he was sure that she was asleep and slowly and careful he crept out of the closet. It was so dark in there, that even though his eyes had adjusted to the darkness he couldn't see anything. He had pushed her clothes back when he hid in there and now he was careful that nothing should fall to the ground and wake her. It was only a few strides to the door. Once out he would quickly be in the hallway and then down the stairs and away and it would be like he had never even been here.
He stepped out into the small pathway between the closet and the bed. He was almost there. On his tip toes he headed toward the door. He had forgotten however, what a mess her floor was and he stepped on a pair of high heel shoes that were lying in his path. He momentarily lost his balance and his right hand came down to brace himself, right onto Madeline's hip.
Madeline flinched at his contact and there was a momentary lapse where neither did anything out of shock. But then she jerked back and pulled herself away from him and loudly cried into the dark room, "Who is it? Who's there?" Liam had planned to run if he were discovered, but in that instant his instincts took over and his left hand came up to cover her mouth and quiet her. He didn't want her to wake the whole dorm up.
When his hand came to her lips, she pulled away further trying to get away and Liam followed her, climbing onto her bed. He pulled her hips to him and kept his hand firmly over her mouth. The whole time quietly going "Sh, Sh, Sh" to try to get her to be quiet.
If he thought though that that would calm her he was sorely mistaken. That just made her try all the more to get up off the bed and to get his hand off of her face. She bucked her hips and kicked her feet trying to pull away from him. The only way to keep her still was for Liam to put all his weight on her and even then he had to push down and hold her waist tightly. She was still struggling to call out, but Liam couldn't let her do that. He pushed his hand firmly against her mouth. There would be no way that he could get away if she were to make a bunch of noise. Surely others would come out to see what the commotion was. He kept his hand over her mouth.
Suddenly he felt a jolt of pain in his left hand. She was biting one of his fingers! It felt like she was going to bite right through. He didn't think he had ever felt anything so painful. Without thinking he slapped her hard across her face with his free hand. He had never hit a woman before. He had never even hit a man before. He wasn't the hitting type. But he had had to do something to free his finger from her teeth. He hit her hard. When the slap came down against her face there was a loud crack and then a whimper as she let go of his finger.
There was a moment of silence and then Madeline spoke quietly, "Please don't hurt me." She was almost in tears.
