She trudged along in the knee-high snow carrying wearing her purple plaid coat and tall Ugg boots. Her dark hair was curled and the fresh fallen snow was just beginning to stick in it. On her head, she wore a knit beanie that didn't provide any warmth, but she wore it for fashion purposes.
Despite her overall appearance, she was carrying two Wal-Mart bags stuffed with clothes and food. They were heavy, and starting to weigh her down in the thick snow. Still, she carried on though the darkest part of town towards the shelter. Every year her family made their annual trip down to the shelter a few days before Christmas. She could remember the days when her parents used to bundle up all three of their kids and walk them down to the old building. Since that time, her parents had died and her siblings had moved away, but she remained. Even in the snow, there was no reason not to walk to the shelter.

The streetlights flickered on the lamppost overhead. The shelter was only a few blocks away, and she wanted to make it their before sun down. She sniffled slightly because of the cold. It was amazing what lake effect snow could do to a city. Two days ago, there wasn't any snow and now there was more than enough.
"Can I help you with that, ma'am?" a familiar voice said from behind her. She stopped straight in her tracks. She almost smiled to herself as she turned around slowly. Parked on the street corner was a silver car, that was surely brand new, with a young man leaning up against it. He was smiling as snow fell in his brown hair. His clothing wasn't much warmer than hers was. A leather jacket and jeans didn't suit the cold weather, but his emerald eyes were warm enough for the both of them.
"I thought you weren't coming home for the holidays," she said. The Wal-Mart bags twisted on her gloved fingers as she tried to support their heavy weight. The man smiled and shoved his hands in his pockets.
"I couldn't find a reason not to," he said. She didn't feel like she should be happy to see him. It was his fault she was alone in this city in the first place. She turned on her heels in the icy snow and continued towards the shelter.
Just like she expected, he ran up behind her and tried to take one of the bags from her. She refused and continued on walking.
"We could just take the car," he offered, but she shook her head like a spoiled child. Her tousled curls jiggled under her knit cap.
"Mom and Dad always used to walk," she said stubbornly. It was a childish thing to say, but she missed her parents and nothing was going to change that.
"You're being ridiculous, Ashton," he said. She smiled when he said her name. It was just like old times.
"I'm the ridiculous one? I'm not the one that left. I'm not the one that didn't say good-bye, Will. " she said angrily. Tears tried to push their way into her eyes. She wasn't going to cry. She didn't want to cry. She had cried too much over him.
"I'm sorry, alright? It's just something came up. It was really important," Will said. She refused to look at him. He couldn't tell if she was crying or not.
"You abandoned me two days after my parents died to go to New York City for a job interview. That's what was more important than us," Ashton said. She wasn't crying, but she was mad. Really mad. This was going bad.
"I got the job." Will managed weakly. This didn't help at all. She was only getting angrier. Her small face tightened as she glared at him.
"I can see that," she said pointing to the fancy car sitting on the edge of the road. They hadn't even walked fifteen paces from it. Will rolled back on to his heels. Ashton wasn't going to budge on this.
"I was stupid to think you would have forgiven me. I was horrible to you," Will said. He turned his back to Ashton and started walking towards his car. He didn't take his eyes off the ground. He came here hopeful and excited to see Ashton, but it had ended in disaster. She had moved on, and she was stronger.
"Will," her voice said suddenly. Will picked up his head. She was standing right behind him. Her Wal-Mart bags sat in the snow. She didn't look angry anymore. In fact, she was smiling. With curiosity, Will turned to face her.
"I forgave you two seconds after you left. That's what you do when you love someone," she explained. Will's eyebrows scrunched together, and he shook his head with confusion.
"Then, what was all that yelling about?" he asked. Ashton smiled pulled on her knit cap.
"That was to make sure you never did it again because the next time I might not be able to forgive you," Ashton said. Will couldn't help, but smile. This was exactly like her, and it felt good to have Ashton back. The next thing Will knew her lips were pressed up against hers. He missed kissing her. The city couldn't replace that. He wrapped his arms around her waist as the snow fell on her cold lips.

They broke apart and smiles spread across their faces. Will shoved his hands back into his pockets, but she stopped him by graving one of his hands.
"Come on, those bags aren't going to get to the shelter by themselves!" Ashton said excitedly. She pulled him towards the bags, and the each picked up two or three in each hand. Then, two lovers walked off into the snowy eve with smiles frozen on their faces