When She Cries

*Elle's P.O.V.*

I was sitting at the bar in the kitchen, just staring down at the counter top. My mind was racing through so many possibilities right now, and I didn't know what to do.

There was no way I was mad at Dad or Val, this was just nature taking it's course. Was I hurt that they hadn't told me sooner? Yes. Would it have changed all this progress that I had made and still was on the path of making. I really don't know...

I was so deep in my thoughts, that I wasn't pulled out of them until there was a bowl of vanilla ice cream set in front of me. I looked up to see Zacky with a small smile, and another bowl in his hand. "Looked like you needed some," he said softly, taking a bite of his.

"Thanks," I said, returning the smile.

"You want to tell me what's running through your mind right now?"

I sighed, spinning the spoon around the bowl. "I don't know, everything's jumbled up right now."

"Well, how do you feel about the party?" I knew he was slowly going to build the conversation up, just so he didn't hit me with it full force.

"It's good to see everyone, even though I feel like I don't know half the people here."

He nodded. "Are your feet feeling okay?"

I nodded. "They're fine."

After a few minutes of silence, he sighed, placing his bowl down. "Tell me who you're really feeling, Elle. About the whole baby thing." He looked right into my eyes, knowing I wouldn't be able to lie.

I shook my head. "I think my feelings are really mixed up right now. Part of me is happy for Dad and Val because they deserve to have a baby together. But another part of me is worried about what's to come. I feel like things have finally settled down and gone back to normal, but now they're being flipped upside down again. And, I don't want to seem like a little spoiled bitch and say that I don't want them to have this baby. I would love to have another sibling, maybe this one will be totally different then from what I had... Just back to the part that I'm worried and I don't want to lose my dad." I felt a single tear drop, but I quickly wiped it away.

"You aren't going to lose your dad, Elle," he said softly, walking over to me and pulling me into his arms.

"But he can come to his senses and realize that I'm just some kid that he had with a past fling, and not want me. He's going to be happy with his child that he had with his wife." I pulled away from him, getting down from the stool. "I'm just the bastard child that he didn't know for almost seventeen years," I mumbled, before walking up to my room.

This day wasn't going as planned, and I felt bad for hiding up in my room. But I just couldn't bring myself to go down there and face everyone. I was afraid of the reality that I would have to face.

*Zacky's P.O.V.*

After talking to Elle, I went out back to find Matt and talk to him. I wasn't too worried about her doing anything out of character, because I knew she would fight that urge. But it was still in the back of my mind that she could snap back into her shell that we had spent so long of trying to coax her out of.

"I think it might be a good idea if everyone went home," I told him softly once I found him.

"I've tried getting them to leave, but they want to make sure everything's okay. They're just as concerned as we are."

I shook my head, sighing. "It's going to get too claustrophobic. I know they mean well, but now isn't the time to have them all around." He looked at me wearily. "You take care of Val for now, I'll clear everyone but the guys and girls out."

"Alright," he agreed, going back over to his wife.

After about an hour of arguing with all the family and close friends, Jimmy and I finally had everyone cleared out. There was no getting rid of Papa, though. He was as stubborn as a mule, but that's the great thing about Papa. He never gives up on anything or anyone.

Johnny was upstairs trying to talk to Elle through the door while Brian was comforting Michelle. She felt horrible about the out burst and felt like everything was her fault.

"How is Elle?" Val asked after we walked back to her and Matt.

"We talked for a little bit in the kitchen, before she went up to her room. I think she'll be okay after you guys talk everything out," I said, mostly to Matt.

Papa had been stuck in thought for a while now, but suddenly popped out of it. "I was talking to Elle earlier," he said, randomly. "It was right before she went to talk to you, actually," he said to Matt.

"What did she say?" Matt asked. I could see that he was hoping it was a good thing.

"Well... We were actually talking about her dancing."

Jimmy gave him a confused look. "She hasn't talked about dancing for a long time. What made her bring that up?"

Papa shook his question off. "I had asked her how she had been doing, emotionally more than anything. When she started talking about her feelings, I mentioned a journal, but she said that she had always gone about venting through dancing." He had all of our attentions by now. "That's when I told her she should try that out, slow at first just to see how things were. She didn't give me a set in stone answer, but I could tell she was thinking about it."

Matt ran his hand through his hair. "And now she's probably having second thoughts."

"I think it's something else," I said, suddenly jumping in. "When we were talking, the only thing she was afraid of was abandonment."

Matt looked at me like I was on crack. "How could she even think that?"

"You have to remember where she came from, Matt. When Nat was pregnant, bad things happened," Jimmy said, sighing.

"She also thinks that since she's just the bastard child of you and Nat, that you will love her less when the new baby is born."

"Because she thinks since Val and I are married that I'll love the new baby more," he said, connecting the dots.

I nodded. "Exactly."

For some reason, I knew Elle was going to pull through this. How long it was going to take her, I didn't know. I was going to help her to see that Matt and Val, or any of us for that matter weren't going to love her any less when the new baby arrived.

I also don't care what it takes me, I'm going to get her to dance again. It's her life, and nothing else she does makes her as happy as dancing does.

She'll realize that soon enough.