Shatter

Chapter Nine

Friday, December 21, 2026

Sylvia

I stared at the snow that was falling outside of the window. I was almost entranced by the rhythmic pattern. I remembered when Scarlett and I would stand by the window during the winter along with our mom, contemplating if there would be a snow day. It almost seemed impossible that more than a year had passed by since Scarlett had died.

I decided to head to the mudroom and try to do something, anything that would take my mind off Scarlett. I slid on my new coat that Yvaine had bought me for my birthday, and a hat from Autumn when I had turned seven. I creaked open the door and peered out at the smooth layer of thick snow. Ever since Scarlett had died, I had decided to drop out of college and stay with my mother for some time. Right then, Mom was out for a business trip with her colleagues, relaxing somewhere in Hawaii. She would be back just in time for New Year's Eve.

I stepped out in the cold and shut the door behind her. Snow crept under my pants as I stood on our driveway, staring at the white snow amongst the black sky. Some stars glittered in the distance, symbolizing hope for the future. I breathed in the chilly air and crouched down to make a snowball.

Suddenly, a familiar car roared up in the driveway, ice crunching under its tires. I frowned as I watched Ash get out of his car. "Ash? What are you doing here?"

Ash exited the car and walked up to me, stopping right in front of the snow. "Your friends told me you had no one with you for Christmas. I know you don't celebrate...but I can't let you be alone, can I?" After what happened with Mara, Ash and I had become acquaintances and bonded over the pain that Scarlett's death had caused.

I smiled at him as I brushed my curls away from my face. "Thanks, but I'm fine. I think I want to spend this Christmas alone."

Ash raised an eyebrow. He was wearing a sleeveless black vest on top of his dark green hoodie. "Well, would you mind if I could crash at your place for Christmas? If you didn't remember, I don't have any family members left." I swallowed as I remembered Mara's painful scream and Ash's hopeless expression. Despite how cruel Mara had turned out to be, she was still his sister.

"Yeah, you can crash. Want to head inside for some hot chocolate?"

"Hell yeah." He grinned at me before picking up a meatball of snow and lobbing it at me. I laughed as I dodged it.

"Come in the snow, you wimp. Afraid to get your pants wet?" Ash rolled his eyes before marching in, flinching at the sudden coldness. I bent down and created a snowball, the coldness seeping through my fingers. As I threw it towards Ash, I smiled as I remembered the memories of Scarlett and I having snowball fights. I remembered Scarlett's signature "snowball" where she would create a huge ball of snow and make me lie down as she scattered it above me. Whenever we had time, she would keep going until I was completely buried besides my head.

"I'm going to do something to you that me and Scarlett used to do together to honor her. I'm going to take a lump of snow, and you scatter it on me, okay?" Ash nodded as I laid on the freezing snow. As shivers shot through my neck, I had a feeling I was going to be sick later on. But I wanted to do this so badly it hurt.

After Ash had prepared the snowball, he slowly started to scatter it over me. I stared at the falling snowflakes, sticking out my tongue to catch some. My voice caught in my throat as my heart started to ache.

"For Scarlett," Ash mumbled as the last few snowflakes fell on top of me. I smiled back at him, knowing that I would remember this bittersweet moment forever.

"For Scarlett."