Dakota and Charlie both held their breath as they peered out of the small crack between the door and the frame. Time stood still as they watched a masked man with a menacing machete creep past the closet and into the next room. Their breath escaped in a moment of reluctant relief as Charlie leaned over to Dakota.
“I think we need to split up,” she said in a hushed voice.
“Are you serious?” Dakota’s eyes nervously flicked back and forth between Charlie and the crack. “Have you ever seen a horror movie? Splitting up will just let this guy pick us off one at a time.”
She put her hand on his shoulder. “No, I’m talking about our relationship.”
There was a beat of silence as Dakota’s frantic gaze fixated on Charlie. “What?”
“We both knew that this was coming,” she said as she crossed her arms.
“Is this really the best time to do this?”
“I just wanted to make it clear in case we make it out of here.”
The two stared at each other. They could hear the criminal opening doors on the other side of the house.
* * *
Freddy hesitantly reached for the door handle. In one quick burst of energy he opened the kitchen cabinet and screamed, “You can’t hide from me.” He let out a disappointed sigh when he realized that there was nobody in there. Suddenly, he heard aggressive whispering coming from the another room. He creeped into the living room and found that the source of the sound was inside of the closet. With bestial vigor he ripped open the door.
“I treated you like gold, you just never treated me the same,” Charlie whispered, eyes directly on Dakota.
“You think you treated me like gold? Don’t make me laugh.”
“How about those expensive shoes I got you for your birthday?”
“Material gifts are not equivalent to golden treatment, Charlie.”
Freddy, unnoticed, slowly closed the closet and walked out the front door leaving the muffled murmur behind him.