When She Cries

*Noelle's P.O.V.*

Matt woke me up at about six. I groaned, not liking to wake up early, especially when I hadn't had any sleep the night before.

All my bags were packed, but I grabbed a separate bag and put a few things he didn't know about in it.

"Ready?" He asked, smiling as I walked towards the front door. I took one last look around the house, silently saying good-bye, before walking out towards his rental car.

I hated flying on planes. This was my first time on one, and I didn't like the idea of it; it scared the shit out of me. Knowing that you could die at any minute didn't make it any better.

Luckily, I had slept through the whole thing. Again, Matt had woken me up and we walked off the plane.

We went to retrieve our bags, when a blond called out to Matt. She ran over to him as he picked her up in his arms and kissed her like there was no tomorrow. I looked away, trying to keep an eye out for my bags, not really feeling comfortable watching to couple.

"Noelle, I'd like you to meet my wife, Val," Matt said, catching my attention.

"Hey, Noelle," Val said happily. Did they ever stop smiling? I smiled softly, trying to be polite, I didn’t really know what else to do.

I went to grab one of my bags when I saw it, but Matt caught my arm. "I got it, you go get in the car with Val." I knew he was trying to only help, but I flinched when he touched my arm.

The ride to the house was quiet. I looked out the window, remembering the familiar scenery.

As a child, I had grown up in Huntington. I remember always going to the beach with Mom and having fun making sand castles and playing in the water. I never noticed how much I missed the ocean.

"This is us," Matt announced as we pulled up to a house. It was a simple, two story house, with a nice front yard. It seemed inviting.

"I'll show you around while Matt gets your things," Val said as we got out of the car.

"I can get my own bags," I said, unsure.

"No, go in with Val," Matt said, nodding towards the now open front door.

I followed Val in as she showed me around. It was a lot nicer than I had thought. I could tell Matt had a lot of money, because there were many expensive things around his house. What did he do for a living?

"And this is your room," Val said, as we reached the end of the tour.

The room was spacious, with a huge bed and other things. Something that caught my eye the most, was the bay window. I had had one back home, before Clarissa had come and I had to move down to the basement.

I walked over to it, and noticed that I had a perfect view of the ocean.

"We live about two blocks away from the beach. So, it's not much of a walk if you ever want to go down there," Val said, trying to make conversation.

I nodded and smiled softly, before sitting in the window and looking out. I felt bad for being so quiet. She was really nice and only meant well, but I just wasn't in the talking mood.

"Well, I'll let you get settled in." She closed the door behind her, and let me get lost in my thoughts.

I must have stared out at the gleaming waters for about an hour. Just watching them gave me the urge to dance.

I got up and looked out side my bedroom door to make sure no one was upstairs, before closing the door and walking over to my bags. Val and Matt were out back, so the coast was clear.

I pulled out my iPod and iHome, before setting them up. I then walked over to the bag I had packed this morning, and pulled out my shoes.

I put on a song, and got lost in the music.

Isn't this nice? My own worst enemy taking control of things
Now is the time, this is the melody, this is the symphony
Now hear my cry, there's no words beneath
There's no in between, there's no alibi to make this right
No behind the scenes, everything you see is what you get

Don't fight the world outside
It's changing me, changing me
To whom I'm afraid of
I can't confide in anything
The crowd will not rest tonight

If you look twice
The second time you might fail to recognize
Look through my eyes
Maybe a part of the old me is left inside

Now hear my cry, there's no words beneath
There's no in between, there's no alibi to make this right
No behind the scenes, everything you see is what you get

Don't fight the world outside
It's changing me, changing me
To whom I'm afraid of
I can't confide in anything
The crowd will not rest tonight, the crowd will not rest tonight

Finally I can hold the key, but the clock is still ticking, clock is still ticking
I can't see
What does all this mean when the lock is still missing, lock is still missing

Finally I can hold the key, but the clock is still ticking, clock is still ticking
I can't see
What does all this mean when the lock is still missing?

The world outside
It's changing me, changing me
To whom I'm afraid of
I can't confide in anything
The crowd will not rest tonight

The world outside
It's changing me, changing me
To whom I'm afraid of
I can't confide in anything
The crowd will not rest tonight, the crowd will not rest tonight

The song ended and I stopped dancing. I looked up and saw the door open, with Matt standing there, staring at me.

My breath hitched in my throat as I scrambled to turn off my iPod and take off my shoes, throwing them beneath the bed.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, looking at the floor.

"Where did you learn to dance like that?" He asked, walking in.

"I won't do it again, I promise... Please don't hurt me," I whispered the last part, closing my eyes tight, waiting for the impact.

I heard his foot steps get closer, and tensed up. "Hey, look at me," he said softly, cupping my chin in his hand. I slowly, cautiously, opened my eyes to look up at him. "I would never hurt you. Why would you think that?" I averted my eyes from his gaze, backing away slightly. "That was amazing, by the way. You're an amazing dancer." After I still didn't answer him, he let out a deep breath. "Well, why don't you go ahead and come down stairs. Val and I are starting dinner." I nodded, and followed him down stairs.

"I hope you're hungry. Matt's making enough to feed an army!" Val laughed as she pulled out some lettuce and put it next to a bowl.

I went over and started to make the salad. They both looked at me, shocked. "You don't have to help, you can sit down and relax if you want," Matt said, putting his hand on my shoulder.

Again, I flinched away from his touch. "It's okay, I'm used to making dinner," I said softly.

"Well, it will be nice to have the help," Val said, getting a few other things out of the fridge.

I silently helped her in the kitchen, as Matt in and out of the house, working with the barbecue.

I was leaning against the counter, drinking some ice tea, when there was noise coming from the front of the house. "In the kitchen, guys!" Val called out. I looked at her confused, then wearily watched the kitchen door.

Four men, and what I assumed as their girlfriends, walked through the door. They were all like Matt, but one caught my eyes.

The glass I was holding, shattered to the floor, as I looked up into those same blue eyes my mother forbid me to ever see again. All the times I got in trouble for looking at his picture, before she finally took it from me and burned it.