"I counted again," Natalie said, voice tight with tension. "We've got five packs of crunchy noodles, three instant ramen, and maybe half a jar of chili oil left. All the buns and dried noodles are gone."
Claire pulled her blanket tighter, her hands trembling as she clutched her head."Crunchy noodles… That stuff doesn't even fill you up!"
Natalie stared at her hard. "Claire, I don't think this storm is ending. Like, ever."
Claire blinked, then slowly turned to stare out the frost-covered window.Beyond the frozen glass, snowflakes kept falling.Ten straight days.Nonstop.
The second floor had completely disappeared under the snow. Going outside? Not happening.The streets in the distance were lifeless. No sign of rescue. No snowplows. No city trucks. Nothing.
A cold pit of despair settled in Claire's stomach.She whispered, "What if it never stops? What if this is just… it?"
Tears welled up in her eyes. She choked out, "Natalie, what do we do? We're going to starve to death…"
Natalie bit her lip, hard."What about Zach? Does he still have any food?"
Claire shook her head slowly."I already tried. I even pretended I was finally ready to date him. But he's completely dried up. Said those two packs of noodles he brought over last time were his last meals. He's practically a skeleton now. No way he has anything left."
Natalie clenched her fists. "There has to be someone else. I mean, look at us—we're hot. If we try a little harder, there's got to be some guy out there willing to fall for us."
Claire gave her a sharp look. "Are you out of your mind? No one's handing out food like it's candy anymore. People are treating supplies like gold."
"Even if we threw ourselves at someone, you think they'd have the energy? In this cold?"There was a flicker of something pained in Claire's eyes.
She didn't tell Natalie, but she'd already tried that route.
She had tried flirting, teasing, even hinting she was "open to negotiation"—but she set her bar too high.Six feet tall minimum. Government job. $100k a year. Good family background. A future.
But now? Even the seventy-year-old grandpa next door had told her, "You should've come two weeks ago. I might've had a fighting chance back then."
Natalie went quiet. Her heart pounded with dread.She always figured, in the worst-case scenario, she could fall back on her looks.But clearly, subzero temperatures had killed libido just as fast as it killed hope.
Then suddenly, a name popped into her head.
"Claire," she said, her voice sharpening. "What about your loyal little puppy? Your number one fan?"
Claire immediately knew who she meant.Her lips pressed into a thin, stubborn line.
"That loser? Unless he crawls over here and begs for my forgiveness, I'm not talking to him."
She had messaged Ethan a few times before, hoping to bait him into playing the white knight.Instead, he sent back photos of gourmet meals—lobster, steak, red wine—just to rub it in her face.
He didn't chase after her.He didn't flatter her.He didn't worship her anymore.
Claire was furious.
She had vowed he would come crawling back to her someday.Begging. Groveling. Licking her feet.
She would never, ever stoop low enough to message him first.Her reputation as a high-class queen bee had to be preserved.What if some rich guy came along and she'd already burned that image?
Natalie tried a gentler approach."Come on, you know he's got food. That guy was hoarding like crazy back when things were still normal. Even now, I bet he's got way more than anyone else."
Claire hesitated.She remembered the photos—prime cuts of steak, fresh pasta, imported wine.Her stomach twisted in hunger.
"…But the last time I talked to him, he totally brushed me off."
Natalie rolled her eyes. "That's because he thinks he's not good enough for you. You pushed him away, remember? Maybe he finally gave up."
Claire snapped, "That's his own fault! He was just some middle-class nobody pretending to be rich. I wasted so much energy on him!"
Natalie smiled slyly."Yeah, but now? Now he's the perfect backup."
"That's what backups are for, right? You keep them around, and when you need them—boom! They're ready to go."
"Just toss him a little smile. Give him a drop of hope. He'll come running back, and once he does? You can take whatever you want."
Claire stared off at the swirling white outside the window.A backup, huh?
She wasn't ready to admit it, but her stomach growled its own opinion.
And Ethan Cross…Well, he'd always been easy to control. Hadn't he?