Blood on the Snow, A Lost Life

low. The pie, once a symbol of our shared future, now sat on the table, cold and untouched, a monument to a love that had never truly existed. Years of self-denial,

ted from my grandmother, into his fledgling tech startup. I put my own design career on hold, sketching logos and user interfaces for his company, working late nights fueled by cheap

ayal. It was a vacuum, cold and absolute. I was a fool, a willing participant in my own heartbreak

hilling certainty, that the life I had hoped to nurture inside me, the ti

test. My vision was swimming, but a single, clear thought cut through the

n coat doing little to ward off the biting Aspen chill. The old woma

wn." She paused, her eyes softening. "But

rumpled wad of cash across the counter. "One ticket. A

buy you a ticket, then cancel it at the last minute, just so he could surprise you, drive you wherever you wanted to go." A nostalgic smile touched her lips. "He was so lovesick, that boy. Once, he di

stmas. He had shown up on my doorstep, frostbitten and exhausted, clutching a single red ro

sweet, now felt like poison. That boy, the one who shoveled snow for my happiness,

one who sees me, the real me. If I ever lose her, I lose everyth

reminder of the life slipping away. The bus ticket felt like a heavy stone in my han

It looks like it costs more than this whole station. Don't let anyone tell you what you

ast birthday, a symbol of his newfound wealth, but hollow, meaningless. I

r stood there, his hair disheveled, breath coming in ragged gasps. Hi

rushing hug. His scent-expensive cologne, a hint of desperation-filled my n

into tiny pieces. He held my face, his thumbs tracing the

was silent, numb. Inside, a cashmere scarf was draped over the passenger seat, and the faint, sweet

ersistent pain that echoed the emptiness inside. Carter, oblivious

r she needs to find her own way. That you're my world, Haven. You always have been." He paused, reaching over to

oo weary for words. He didn't notice. He just kept driving, talking about their future