Different {Harry Styles}

Chapter 37: Christmas Time

FIRST OF ALL; I'm so sorry that it took me this long :( Enjoy! :)

*Melanie's POV*

Christmas Eve. It once was my favourite time of the year, although we're celebrating the birth of Jesus. Eating dinner with our small family. Laughing. Smiling. Telling stories. Telling jokes, which made everyone laugh even though they weren't funny at all. 

Christmas Eve is the one time of the year that I wish I could go back to. We were happy. For one time we were all happy. Ben wasn't that old yet, so he doesn't remember the coziness that time of the year. We didn't have that much, but we didn't need anything more. We didn't want. 

It once was.. my favourite time of the year. But after my mom died, Christmas Eve had become the most painful night of the year. Seeing families all happily together, knowing that you will never have that again. Hearing all around people making plans for Christmas Eve. What they will eat, where they will celebrate the holidays. 

Christmas is so much more than a feast in honor of Jesus. It has become a feast in honor of the bond of family. It's the one time in a year when people don't want to be an individual. It's the one time of the year when people want to belong somewhere. And yet so many people are alone. 

Until yesterday noon, I didn't have any plans for tonight. It was just gonna be gran, Ben and I eating some chicken and watching a movie. Until yesterday noon. Until Devon brought up his "amazing" idea to spend Christmas Eve with his family. Of course I refused. Spending Christmas Eve watching a happy family reunion isn't really something for which I'm about to cheer. But due to my gran who had got a call from Devon we're going to that stupid party tonight. Of course I was mad at gran, but I didn't want to disturb her happiness, so I agreed. 

Of course Devon only wants me to be there, so that he can check up on me. He's scared I'm gonna sink in my own mind, not willing to come out of my bed. Simple said: he's scare I'm getting depressed. 

After we went to that police station we got on a dead end. We sure as hell couldn't face Ricarl alone, if he even owns the police. Of course I wasn't happy about that ending, I searched for other ways. But a girl like me, and a boy like Devon of course couldn't handle it on our own. 

I don't understand why Devon is that worried about me. I mean I handled myself pretty well the last years, so why couldn't I handle this? I'm pretty good at staying strong. 

"Melanie! Are you up already?!" I hear my gran screaming from downstairs. Although she's screaming, I can hear the excitement about tonight in her voice. 

"Gran, it's not even eleven in the morning! You know the feast is in at 8 in the evening right?" I smile. The only thing that has changed since the visit is me not getting up in the weekends before noon. 

"Melanie just get up please! I just don't want you to spend Christmas Eve in your bedroom."

"It's called Christmas Eve for a reason grand-mo." 

"Just come down Melanie. Christmas Eve is hard for us all okay? Ben needs you!" She shouts. The day is already starting great. 

I decide to obey her and get out of my bed. I decide to go straight to the kitchen, without changing. Ben is watching TV and gran is doing the dishes. They both had their breakfast already. I grab a bowl and put some cereals together with some mile in it. 

"Good morning Melanie." My gran greets me, still a bit grumpy. 

"Good morning. Is it okay if I'm going to eat this by Ben?" 

"Yeah sure, hunny. Just clean it up when you're finished, will you?" I nod and place myself next to Ben. He's watching some funny cartoon which I still can appreciate. We both laugh at the funny parts, they're not even that funny. It just feels good to not think about everything going on in my life. It feels good to just think about the silly story on the television. It feels good to see Ben laugh.