The world was freezing over, and my boyfriend, using a vacation as an excuse, wanted to bring his entire family to stay in my newly bought mountain cabin. His dad was a slob, spitting everywhere and wiping his nose with his hand. I tried to patiently explain proper hygiene, but his mom attacked me with a needle, saying I had no manners and didn't respect my elders. They kicked me out onto the porch, refusing to let me eat and telling me I needed to learn some manners. My boyfriend's younger brother played the nice guy, deliberately bringing me undercooked green beans, causing me to get food poisoning with violent vomiting and diarrhea. He then ratted me out to his family, saying I was trying to steal food and he had been so smart to catch me. My boyfriend wouldn't even listen to my explanation, calling me a manipulative bitch. They beat me and kicked me, not caring if I lived or died, and threw me out of the house, telling me to go find food. I froze to death, full of anger and resentment, right outside my own front door. I woke up with a jolt, staring at the TV screen showing a low-temperature warning. I grabbed my phone and called my boyfriend. This time around, I was going to make his whole family pay. 1 "The National Weather Service is predicting a major cold front coming in tomorrow, the strongest of the year so far." The familiar weather report played on the TV. A wave of heat rushed through me, my chest burning with rage. After a brief but intense bout of pain, I fell to the floor, gasping for air. I opened my eyes, exhausted, to find myself lying in the living room of my mountain cabin. Unlike the image I remembered, filled with trash and grime, the room was clean, with a soft, new sheepskin rug. I had been reborn, ten days before the disaster. My parents bought this cabin for me. It wasn't huge, one bedroom, two bathrooms, a living room, and a kitchen, but it was quiet and peaceful, with a gorgeous view of the mountain stream through the massive picture windows. My parents were always busy with work, so they tried to make up for it with material things. They bought this place because it was beautiful, secluded, and had all the latest amenities. I came up here for vacations and to relax whenever I could. But little did they know, it would become my tomb. The hunger I had felt before dying flooded my brain. I ran to the fridge, grabbed a chilled ham hock, and started stuffing it into my mouth, washing it down with a bottle of ice-cold Coke. I didn't even care about the cold air blasting from the refrigerator. Compared to the arctic freeze that had killed me, this was practically a sauna. Just as I was indulging in my newfound happiness, a familiar ringtone, his ringtone, made me instinctively hide the food. That sound was like the Grim Reaper himself, bringing back memories of my hellish life. Last time, my boyfriend, Chad, had called me wanting to bring his family to my place. ["Babe, I heard you bought a cabin up in the mountains. Can my family come stay for a few days?"] ["You know, my parents are getting older, and they want to take a vacation. They think hotels are too expensive and would like to come stay at your place."] ["You don't want to disappoint them the first time they meet you, do you?"] I had been so head-over-heels for Chad that I didn't think twice before agreeing. Looking back, I realized how messed up it was. How did he know I had bought the cabin? And how did he know the address? I had only told my best friend, Megan, who worked at the same company. We lived in the same apartment building, carpooled to work every day, and went out for drinks and movies on weekends. A couple of times Megan had wanted to come with me to the cabin, but it was my secret escape, so I always made excuses. Megan acted a little hurt, but she never said anything. Chad and I had gone to the same college. We ended up working in the same city after graduation. I was blinded by love. Thinking about it now, the warning signs were there all along. He'd show up at my office to take me to lunch. Whenever I got back to my apartment after lunch, Megan was always out. She’d make up all sorts of excuses for not being home. One time I was leaving to grab a coffee and overheard Megan on a voice call with a guy, and the voice sounded a lot like Chad's. She looked up and saw me and panicked. She stammered and said it was a friend from years ago. Looking back, their acting was terrible. Those two had been hooking up behind my back for who knows how long. 2 Now, remembering those times, I hated myself for being so clueless, for not seeing through their lies. Last time, to make a good impression on his parents, I paid for their tickets and even drove to the bus station to pick them up. I didn’t want them to get lost, so I made sure I got all of their dietary restrictions and preferences. I acted like a servant catering to a master, trying to make them happy. But that family of entitled jerks treated me like I was beneath them. They ate my food, used my things, and constantly criticized everything I did. If they were unhappy about something, they threw a fit. When the cold wave hit, they kicked me out of my own house because I didn't have enough food prepared for five people, they told me I wasn't allowed back until I found more food. No matter how much I pounded on the door and screamed for help, they wouldn’t open it. Meanwhile, they were laughing and carrying on like nothing was wrong. ["It doesn't matter how much money she has, my son tricked her. You have good taste, she is dumb enough to give him money and sex. You should marry Megan."] ["If we let her join our family, she’ll probably give birth to a dumb grandkid."] Outside, I shivered from the cold and from the anger that was building inside. Chad had been cheating on me with Megan all along. They just saw me as a walking ATM. I wasn't going to run away this time. I had been betrayed and tortured by the people I trusted the most, and I had died of starvation and exposure. They were going to experience the same pain. I forced myself to calm down and answered the phone, acting excited. ["Really? Your whole family is coming?"] My hand was shaking, my whole body trembling with rage. ["Don't worry, baby. I'll make sure your parents are happy!"] I heard faint praise in the background. ["My son is so awesome! Just like his old man! He can just pick up any girl and she'll provide for them."] I pretended not to hear it and kept up the perfect girlfriend act. ["When are you guys coming? I can't wait to meet your parents for the first time."] Chad, emboldened by his family's flattery and my obvious eagerness, became even more arrogant, sure that he had me completely under his thumb. ["We'll be there in nine days. You better be ready, you hear? My parents already think of you as their daughter-in-law."] I agreed, sounding like a dutiful wife. After hanging up, I grabbed a banana and pretended it was Chad. I chopped it into pieces. After releasing my anger, I mixed the chopped fruit with yogurt and lay down on the soft couch, watching trashy TV and eating. In this familiar, safe place, I drifted off to sleep. It was quiet and peaceful. I woke up when the sun filled the living room with golden light. The long-lost feeling of comfort made me wonder if the apocalypse had all been a nightmare. But then I looked at my phone, and saw the disaster warnings. My pain had been real. The cold wave was coming, bringing power outages, no running water, and freezing temperatures. This wasn't a joke. Luckily, I had nine days to prepare before Chad and his family arrived. This time, I wouldn't let them get away with anything. 3 The weather was getting colder, and the streets were mostly deserted. The supermarket was even quieter than usual; people weren’t worried and weren't stocking up. After all, the weather report only called for a cold front. Nobody expected an apocalyptic freeze. I grabbed two shopping carts and headed straight for the frozen foods. Every kind of frozen food imaginable – dumplings, soups, noodles – anything that was easy to cook. I also grabbed long lasting fresh vegetables. When I was a kid we would save vegetables like this to eat in the spring. Everything went into my cart. I didn't forget the snacks! Anything that looked good, I tossed into the cart. The cashier was in shock. If I hadn't been paying for everything and acting normal, she probably would have thought I was robbing the place. After buying about two months' worth of supplies, I told her I was throwing a big party and needed all this food. I paid extra to have the grocery store deliver it to my house. At the same time, I hired a construction crew to do some rush work on my cabin. The security system was already state-of-the-art. My parents had it installed because I was living alone. The main purpose of this construction was to install hidden cameras around the house. The most important part was the basement. I planned to live in the basement during the disaster. It had been built to shelter from storms, so it was very safe. The insulation was much better than in the main house. The basement would be warmer and use less energy. The basement had several exits, all hidden and disguised. Nobody would ever find them. If something went wrong, I could escape quickly. I didn’t care about the basement's looks; I just wanted it done fast. I moved all my furniture, toys, collectibles, and cosmetics down there. I also installed a space heater and a wall of monitors so I could keep an eye on everything happening in the house. The passageway leading from the house to the basement was specially camouflaged. Nobody would find it except me. 4 Nine days later, Chad and his family were supposed to arrive at the cabin. I lay back on the lounge chair in the garden, soaking up the sun. It would be a while before I saw it again. My phone rang. ["Where the hell are you?"] I made my voice sound confused and frantic. ["What's wrong, baby? Why aren't you here yet?"] I swirled the wine in my glass and lounged in the chair. ["Where's your house? The address you gave us is in the middle of nowhere! Are you messing with me, Megan?"] I bit back a laugh. ["Aren't you on Peach Tree Lane? That's where my house is."] Chad was livid. ["Are you crazy? You wrote PINE Tree Lane, which is half a mountain away from Peach Tree Lane!"] I heard a chorus of angry voices on the other end of the phone. ["What kind of idiot did you pick up? She can't even get the directions right."] ["Chad, when you get there, smack her a few times to teach her a lesson."] I ignored the angry accusations and pretended to be sorry. ["Oh, no! You need to turn around and come back! It's going to get dark soon and you'll have to spend the night on the mountain."] I hung up, leaving them stranded in the middle of nowhere. Knowing they had to hike for hours in the cold and damp mountains to find a ride made my dinner taste extra delicious. It was pitch black, and I thought they were going to be stuck in the mountains all night. Then the caretaker called. On the road to my cabin, I had built a small, temporary cabin and hired a caretaker to register all visitors. I paid an actor who doubled as a bodyguard. I expected this family to be a handful. When I got there, they were covered in frost, their noses bright red, shivering and stomping their feet. I couldn't stop the corners of my mouth from turning up. I almost burst out laughing. I lowered my head and put on a look of concern and regret, running to meet them to cover my glee. After composing myself, I looked at them with a face full of guilt. ["Aunt, Uncle! I was waiting for you all day! Why didn’t you call me when you got here?"] Chad saw me and came at me, his face red with anger. ["You stupid woman! How could you write down the wrong address? We've been hiking forever! I froze my ass off!"] The bodyguard had been waiting for this. He grabbed Chad's arm and squeezed it hard. Chad screamed. ["Who do you think you are, putting your hands on my boss?"] The bodyguard was huge, six-foot-five and 250 pounds. He had a deep voice and a menacing presence. ["If my boss loses a hair on her head, you and your family are done for in this godforsaken place."] The bodyguard stepped back and stood in front of me, staring Chad down. Chad rubbed his aching wrist, swallowed hard, and took a step back. I hid behind the bodyguard, looking upset. ["I didn't mean to do it! I'm not good with directions. I missed you so much! I kept heating up dinner, waiting for you and your parents to arrive."] Chad knew he couldn't lay a hand on me. There was dinner waiting. He grudgingly accepted my apology. ["It's a good thing you know what's good for you. Take us to eat. We've been starving."] I forced a smile and led them to the cabin. Because it was a family meal, I had the bodyguard take a break in the guardhouse. They hadn't eaten all day, and I didn't want to waste the special meal I had prepared.
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