When She Cries

I lay on my bed, staring up at the ceiling, when I heard the front door open. "Noelle? It's Officer Nate, are you around here somewhere?"

I reluctantly dragged myself out of bed and up the stairs. When I got there, I froze in place.

Standing next to Officer Nate, was an over sized gorilla. I backed away slowly, only to end up against a wall. "It's okay, Noelle. Why don't we sit down?" Officer Nate said in a soft voice. I shook my head slightly, still looking at the huge man with tattoos.

"Hey, Noelle," the gorilla tried saying softly, and reaching out his hands, but I flinched away. I saw his face fall, but I didn't know why.

"Noelle, this is Matt." Nate paused, looking up at the gorilla named Matt, before looking back at me. "He's your father."

I looked at them, confused. "No," I said, shaking my head. "Connor was my father," I whispered, fresh tears coming to my eyes.

"Sweetie, your mom had you before she met Connor," Matt said softly.

I kept shaking my head as I was trying to find an escape. "You're lying!" I cried, before running back down to the basement. I slammed and locked my door, and stood against it, looking around my room.

These men were on crack! This wasn't true, none of it was true. Sure, Dad had gotten upset with me before and called me names, and told me I was never his daughter, but that was because I messed something up... Right?

The room started spinning as I tried to keep a grip on the world.

Soon, everything was black.

"I think she just passed out," a soft voice said. "I'm not sure, but she looks like she hasn't eaten much lately, she's really thin."

Who was this voice next to me? I slowly opened my eyes and looked around.

I was laying on my bed now. Suddenly, a small shift of movement on the edge of my bed startled me.

"Shh, it's okay, it's just me." It was Gorilla. How the hell did he get in here?! "How are you feeling?" He asked, going to push some hair away from my face, but I moved as far away from him as possible. He sighed, before putting a phone back up to his ear. "Let me call you back. Love you, too."

We sat there in silence for the longest time. "Why are you here?" I whispered.

I saw emotion flash into his eyes, but it was soon covered up with a smile on his face. "Because you're my daughter and you need a place to stay. I'm not going to let you go homeless or to an orphanage."

"You're not my father," I said, still not believing any of it.

He sighed, looking at the floor. "Officer Nate is getting the paternity tests taken care of. We'll know soon enough. In the mean time, you're coming to California with me."

I looked at him in disbelief. Yes, I had lived in California before we moved here, but why does he get to decided where I go?

"Don't I have a say in this?" I asked, on the verge of anger.

He looked at me sadly. "I'm sorry, Sweetie. There's no where else for you to go."

I glared at him, hoping to make an impact, before turning on my side and glaring at the wall.

He sighed, standing up. "Get some rest. We have to leave early in the morning... I guess I'll pack your things."

I stopped listening to him after he said there was no where else for me to go. I didn't like this. I felt like I was still being pushed around, even after my parents were gone.

Hopefully this wouldn't last for long.

*Matt's P.O.V.*

I closed the door behind me and walked into the living room to call Val.

"Is she any better?" She asked softly.

I sighed, rubbing the back of my neck. "Not really. When I told her she would be coming with me, she didn't seem too happy."

"You can't blame her, Babe. You're completely up-rooting her from her home, days after the accident."

"But, there's something else going on. I can't figure it out though... It's like, she's unsure about being upset."

"What?"

"Exactly my reaction... And it looks like she has bruises. Val, I don't know what to do."

"Just breathe, you'll be home tomorrow and we'll help you through this."

"Have you told anyone else?"

"No, I thought you would want me to wait."

"Invite them over tomorrow night so she can meet everyone."

"Are you sure it's not too early?"

I sighed again. "I don't know, but I have a feeling we're going to need all the help we can get with her."