my long-distance boyfriend ghosted me then convinced me to get back together and fly out to see him he took me to his house then kept me hostage with no food or water for 4 days I was in a long-distance relationship until the day my boyfriend Tim blocked and ghosted me I didn't hear from him for a month but then he randomly reached out and Begg to get back together he sent me a plane ticket to visit him and I gave in when he picked me up from the airport he asked if I wanted to get
back together and In the Heat of the Moment I said yes he drove me to his house and as I was introducing myself to his parents I Got a notification warning me of a hurricane the next morning it started and Tim woke me up by shaking me and ordered me to come downstairs when I did he his two brothers and sister and his parents were holding a binder they each read from this binder detailing why we shouldn't be together and then he broke up with me but that wasn't it he said that due to the
hurricane I must stay inside for safety but because I am not family I won't be given anything that included food water and even a bed as apparently these were Essentials for them the cherry on top was that the hurricane was only scheduled to end in 4 days time that first night after the breakup was like something out of a nightmare the hurricane was raging outside the wind howled so loudly that I could hear it echoing through the house the windows rattled but inside it was worse I had no choice but to sleep on the floor
in the living room they didn't offer me a bed or even a blanket I used my jacket as a pillow and wrapped my arms around myself to stay warm the hardwood floor was cold and hard and every time I shifted I could feel the ache in my bones my stomach growled I hadn't eaten since the night before but I wasn't allowed in the kitchen Tim had made that very clear I tried to wrap my mind around how it had come to this how did the man who had once told me he loved me so much
now stand there and break up with me in front of his entire family then humiliate me and literally leave me to starve despite my mind racing I tried to sleep I curled up into a ball hugging my knees to my chest in a desperate attempt to stay warm but it did nothing the worst part was there was no escaping it I couldn't just get up and leave I was stuck there trapped with these people who had made it painfully clear that I didn't belong just when I thought I might finally fall asleep the sound of
the hurricane outside tore through the silence a deafening gust of wind slammed against the house rattling the windows so hard I thought they might shatter I jerked awake my heart raced as the storm roared outside the wind howled like a wild animal and for a moment I forgot where I was the cold bit at my skin and I could feel the fear creeping in again I lay there trembling I was too cold too hurt and too angry to rest by the second day the reality of the situation Hit me hard I woke up with a
sore back from the floor and an emptiness in my stomach that I couldn't ignore I could hear them in the kitchen laughing and chatting like everything was normal Al while I was in the living room out of sight out of mind it was like I didn't exist to them anymore Tim didn't even glance my way when he walked past me to go outside to check the storm damage by afternoon the hunger had become unbearable I couldn't remember the last time I'd felt so desperate for food my stomach achd twisted and Nod in a way that
made it hard to even think straight I felt weak and light-headed and every minute that passed only made the pain worse I had been too afraid to sneak into the kitchen I stayed out of sight as much as possible but when Tim stepped away from the others to check something on his phone I couldn't help myself I walked to him cautiously I begged him to give me anything I told him that I hadn't eaten and how weak I felt he barely glanced at me his eyes were still fixed on his phone I told you you're
not welcome here anymore he muttered I told him that I was starving and I just needed enough to get through the day he finally looked up for a moment I thought I saw a look of guilt on his face but it vanished as quickly as it had appeared he sighed heavily as if I was nothing more than an inconvenience then he told me that I would have to figure it out on my own and reminded me that they needed the supplies for the storm I stood there stunned feeling the sting of his words like a
slap in the face my mouth was dry and my stomach clenched even harder but there was nothing left to say he turned his back on me and walked back to his family without another word that night after everyone had gone to bed I made the decision to sneak into the kitchen I was terrified of getting caught but I didn't have a choice I needed to eat I crept down the hallway as quietly as I could my heart pounding in my chest the house was eerily quiet except for the sound of the wind and rain outside
when I got to the kitchen I opened the pantry and grabbed a couple of cans a can opener and a bottle of water my hands were shaking as I did it and I felt like I was committing a crime just as I was about to leave the floor creaked I froze holding my breath but after a few tense moments I realized no one was coming I hurried back to the living room my heart still racing and began to eat in silence I sat in the dark opening the can as quietly as possible the metallic pop
sound was deafening in the house I ate quickly barely tasting it it was the most miserable meal of my life baked beans and a can of cold chicken soup the water felt like a blessing every moment I feared being caught when I was done I couldn't keep the evidence with me I knew that if anyone saw the empty cans or the bottle it would only make things worse so I gathered everything up and crept down the hallway moving as silently as I could the trash can in the kitchen was too risky instead I carefully pushed
the back door open the wind From The Storm still howling outside and slipped out into the yard the ground was soaked and the rain still fell in a steady drizzle but I didn't care I crouched down by the side of the house behind the bushes and buried the cans and bottle beneath some leaves and mud I wiped my hands on my pants and tried to calm my racing heart before heading back inside the wind roared and for a moment I stood there in the dark feeling the cold rain on my skin until I went back
inside and even though I had to sleep on the cold living room floor again that night I felt a little bit better with a full stomach the next morning I tried to stay out of sight as much as possible I didn't want to deal with Tim or his family and I certainly didn't want them to see me in this state but around midday I was caught Tim's sister saw me sneaking back from the kitchen with one of the cans I had grabbed the night before she didn't say anything at first she just stared at me
I could feel the humiliation burning in my cheeks but later when no one else was around she slipped me a small packet of crackers and whispered don't let them see you take anything else it was a tiny act of kindness but in that moment it felt like the world she then told me that I could come to her room to get any Essentials I needed as long as no one else saw me I muttered a quick thank you before she walked away despite the help I still felt completely isolated I knew she wasn't on my
side none of them were and even though she gave me the crackers it didn't make up for the fact that I was essentially abandoned in this house on the third day the the storm was still going but it had calmed down enough for me to step outside briefly I needed fresh air to break the suffocating atmosphere inside the house the sky was still dark and the wind was harsh but it was better than staying cooped up in the living room I walked around the yard trying to clear my head and figure out what I was
going to do once the storm passed there was no way I could stay here any longer when I went back inside I thought I was in the clear but as soon as I walked through the door I found Tim in the kitchen while his back was turned I looked at the sister's room door down the hall I had noticed earlier that her bedroom door had been left slightly a jar when I passed it and I made a plan I would sneak in and see if she had anything that I could take without being caught carefully
I moved down the hallway past the kitchen my heart pounding as I inched closer to her room Tim's voice echoed faintly but I couldn't focus on what he was saying I was too preoccupied with getting what I needed and getting back without being seen my hands were shaking as I gently pushed the door open wider stepping into her room as quietly as I could my eyes darted to the bedside table and then to the small dresser but I didn't see anything useful I could feel the Panic Rising again but then near the closet I spotted
a small stash of food probably some canned goods she'd set aside for herself along with a thick folded blanket I grabbed a couple of the cans tucking them under my arm and then I took the blanket it was soft heavier than anything I had in the living room and I clutched it to my chest carefully I made my way back down the hall when I reached the living room I crouched down beside the couch and discreetly slid the cans and blanket underneath it hiding them from view I'd come back for them later once everyone was
asleep later when the house was quiet and the storm outside drowned out the sound of my movements I would finally have something to eat just as I was getting up from behind the couch Tim asked me what I was doing and I said that I thought I had dropped my earring but I found it he looked at me suspiciously and before he could say anything his sister came to the rescue she said that their parents needed him for something that instant and he left I breathed a sigh of relief later that night as I was
silently eating the food I had gotten from Tim's sister Tim came into the living room I didn't hear his footsteps behind me from the sound of my own eating he saw me with one of the cans of soup I'd taken earlier and I could immediately tell by the look on his face that things were about to get bad he asked what I was doing and I froze with the can of soup in my hand he said that that was their food and that I wasn't allowed to take whatever I wanted he said they needed it
for the storm I tried to explain that I hadn't eaten and that I didn't have a choice he told me that I had a choice and I made it he said I should have respected the fact that they were nice enough to give me shelter during the storm after the breakup and that stealing their food was crossing the line they had a pantry full of food that would have lasted them well after the storm had passed yet he still seemed mad he called me selfish and said I was taking from his family when they had
already been stretched thin from the hurricane I told him that there was plenty of food to go around and that he was just treating me like this out of spite I couldn't take it anymore I could feel the tears forming in my eyes but I refused to cry in front of him I said the next morning that I was leaving and he said I should have left the minute I knew things were over I stayed up all night in fear of what he would do to me now that he knew that I had eaten their
food the next morning the hurricane had finally calmed down enough for me to leave I booked the first flight I could find and packed my things I didn't say goodbye to Tim or his family I just grabbed my stuff and got out of there as fast as I could I couldn't believe what had happened it felt like I was escaping from a prison I thought that would be the end of it but a few weeks after I got back to New York Tim showed up at my office I was at work trying to put the
whole ordeal behind me when I saw him walk in he had this smug smile on his face like nothing had happened I couldn't believe the audacity he walked up to my desk and started talking like we were still on good terms he said he'd been thinking things over and wanted to try again clear the Slate between me and him I was speechless how could he even think that I would want to be with him after everything he'd put me through and after what he and his family had done I told him to leave but he
kept going on and on talking about how he'd made a mistake and how we should give things another shot eventually one of my co-workers noticed what was going on and called security they escorted him out of the building but I was still shaking by the time he was gone I couldn't believe how delusional he was that was the last time I ever saw Tim I blocked his number deleted him from all my social media and moved on with my life looking back I can't believe I ever gave him a second chance but if there's one
thing I've learned from all of this it's that when someone shows you who they really are believe them the first time