It's All About You

December 8th 2015

December 8th 2015

"But Joe, we spent last year with your family," Meri whined. They were getting ready to start some activities outside and they were arguing. Joe had just got back from his tour and arguing had not been on his list of things to do.

"I don't want my dad to be alone on Christmas day, Meri!" Joe insisted. Why didn't she get it?

"Why can't he spend Christmas at Zoe's house?" Meri asked her boyfriend.

"Because Zoe and Alfie are going to Alfie's parents this year," Joe explained.

"Exactly! Because they spent last year with your parents! Why can't we do the same as them?" Meri asked angrily.

"You don't even have parents Meredith!" Joe shouted. He hadn't meant to say that... Meri felt tears prickling behind her eyes and tried to blink them away.

"I want to spend Christmas with my brother," she said softly.

"Well I want to spend Christmas with my dad. So if you're so desperate to be with Jim, go by yourself! I don't care!" Joe argued.

"Fine, whatever Joe! Maybe I will. At least he won't remind me that I don't have fucking parents!" Meri yelled. She turned around before Joe could say anything, and stormed out of their hotel room.

...

Joe and Meri avoided each other all day. It was quite easy, since they hadn't been put on the same team for the activities. And hardly anyone had noticed. Apart from Zoe and Louise. Zoe was on Joe's team and Louise was on the same team as Meri. Zoe decided to ask her brother about it because he looked angry and kept glancing at his girlfriend.

"Joe?" Zoe asked softly. Joe instantly turned his camera on so Zoe wouldn't ask him anything personal. Zoe sighed and turned it off. "Joe... is everything okay?"

"Yeah, course it is. Why wouldn't it be?" Joe replied, laughing.

"Have you and Meri had a fight?" she mumbled. Joe stared at his sister. How the hell did she know? "You have, haven't you?"

"No," Joe lied.

"Don't lie to me. What was it about?" Zoe insisted.

"Nothing Zoe. It's none of your business," Joe snapped. Then he went over to talk to Lucy so Zoe would drop it. From where Meri was standing, she looked over at Joe talking to Lucy and couldn't help but feel jealous.

Lucy was so much prettier than her and way funnier... a lot better for Joe than her... she didn't blame him for wanting to talk to her. Louise tapped her on the shoulder.

"Talk to me," Louise ordered. Meri shook her head and looked away from Joe and Lucy... she really wanted to apologise for being an arse, but couldn't. Because Joe had hurt her. "Yes. I am all ears. This bloody thing is killing me,"

"Exercise?" Meri smiled.

"Exactly. It's bloody awful," Louise joked. "But, yes, talk... words, I shall give you advice,"

"It's nothing, don't worry about it," Meri tried.

"Not gonna work, Chapman. Boy problems?" Louise asked. Meri looked at her. "Right, so brother or boyfriend?" she continued.

Without meaning to, Meri glanced at Joe joking around with Lucy and saw Zoe walking over to them. "Boyfriend," Louise realised. "So, what did you do? Did you have a fight? Did he propose?" Louise joked.

"Joe didn't propose, Lou," Meri sighed. She was glad about that actually. She was pissed off at him at the moment.

"So you had an argument. What about? Was it major?" Louise asked.

"Louise, it's nothing, seriously. It was just a silly fight," Meri lied. Louise shook her head. "We were just arguing about where we're going for Christmas..." she said eventually.

"Tell me more," Louise said.

Meri rolled her eyes. "Joe doesn't want his dad to be alone, which is fair enough, but I was being a bitch and kept insisting that I wanted to spend the day with Jim... we just... things got heated... that's all," she said.

"So you don't actually want to spend the day with Jim?" Louise asked.

"Well, I'm not fussed. Because ever since our mum passed away, Christmas was never something I cared about... but Joe made it special... so I want to spend the day with him. I don't care where we go. But now he's told me to go to Jim's by myself," Meri explained sadly.

"He obviously didn't mean it, Meri. Like you said, things got heated," Louise tried.

"Yeah... so heated that he yelled that I didn't even have parents," Meri mumbled.

"And bingo. That's the root of this problem, isn't it?" Meri nodded. "He didn't mean that,"

"Yeah, I know. Of course he didn't. I asked why his dad couldn't spend Christmas with Zoe, he said because they were going to Alfie's parents and then I said why can't we take turns," Meri said. "This day was supposed to be really fun... I haven't seen Joe for ages and I just... ruined it... I always ruin it," she added with a sad expression.

"No you don't. You can make up," Louise tried.

"No Louise. Because I know I was a bitch but he upset me. Joe should be the one to apologise... but I know he's not going to because he doesn't think he did anything wrong," Meri replied.

Louise looked at her sympathetically. "I'll be back in a second," she said quickly. Then she started walking over to Zoe and Joe.

"Where are you going?" Meri called. "Louise, wait!" she insisted desperately. But Louise was having none of it. She was going to enlist Zoe's help to get Jeri to make up.

Zoe smiled and hugged Louise as she walked over. "Meri talked to you?" Zoe asked. Louise nodded and they stood huddled together away from the rest of Zoe's team.

"They were arguing about where to go for Christmas, it got heated, Joe told Meri to go to Jim's alone, then she asked why your dad couldn't spend Christmas with you and he said because you guys were going to Alfie's parents, Meri said they should take turns and..." Louise started to explain.

"Joe said something insensitive about Meri not having parents," Zoe finished, closing her eyes in frustration. Why was her brother so stupid sometimes?

"Yep... she knows he didn't mean it but won't apologise..."

"She didn't do anything wrong though," Zoe said.

"Well, according to Meri, she doesn't actually care where they spend Christmas, as long as they're together. Because Joe made Christmas special for her again. But she said she was being a bitch by asking to spend the time with Jim. Joe didn't want your dad to be alone..." Louise explained.

"Right..." Zoe answered, looking at her brother. He was on the quad bike now, and everyone was cheering him on. "Joe's feels angry and upset. I can tell,"

"I think everyone can... and with Meri. She's being so quiet. She just wanted to have a nice day with him, because she hasn't seen him for weeks," Louise agreed.

"They'll be okay... it's not a major argument or anything..." Zoe persuaded herself.

"No, exactly. It's just a little bickering. You and Alfie bicker all the time," Louise assured her.

"Yeah... we do. But we always make up because it's always over silly things," Zoe said.