The bell hanging over the door ran as Callie stepped into the antique shop. Cecily walked in behind her. The angel had been kind enough to bring her to see Charlie. What she’d seen of him in her dreams wasn’t enough for her at the moment. She really wanted to talk with him since she’d not seen him for three days now.

She was wearing blue jeans with a blue tank top on with a picture of a sunset on the front. Hair was let down like normal and curled under at the shoulders. Hazel eyes rested on Mr. Jenkins who was standing behind the counter. She smiled at him and walked over to stand next to it.

”Is Charlie home?” She added something else rather quickly. ”Oh and thank you for bringing me clothes the other day.” The clothes she was wearing right now was actually a pair he’d brought her.

Mr. Jenkins nods. "He's upstairs." he tells Callie as he points up. Cecily gives him a polite nod before wandering around to look at the furniture.

”Thanks.” She heads up the stairs and knocks on the door before opening the door (assuming it’s unlocked). ”Charlie?” She peeks around the door before walking in to see where he was.

Charlie is in the kitchen sitting at the small table with tub of some sudsy substance fullof old piano keys. He seems to be cleaning them. He looks up. "Did you manage to get any rest?" he asks her.

She smiles as she sees him cleaning keys at the table. Stepping in she closes the door behind her. ”Yes. I’ve been resting a lot.” Heading over to the table she leans down and hugs him for a moment before sitting down in the chair across from him.

He hugs her back. "Is everything okay?" he asks her setting aside what he's doing and getting up to wash his hands before sitting back down with her.

”Yeah. Everything’s fine.” She looked down at the table for a moment. ”Well….why did you come back to Cecily’s? Erik said you were staying away because of him. Why?” Hazel eyes looked back up at him as he sat back down.

"Callie, don't push this right now." he says quietly.

Eyebrows furrowed and she looked down at the table again. ”I’m sorry.” She didn’t mean to upset him, but the subject obviously had.

"You don't need to be sorry Callie, I should. How are you?" he says softly.

”Confused.” She brought a hand up to rested her had in the palm of and placed her elbow on the table. ”Why should you be sorry?” Her voice was almost a whisper as she spoke.

"I've not been a very big help to you lately. that's why I'm sorry, it isn't your fault though, it's mine, and for that I'm sorry, but that part alone. What are you confused about?" he asked her.

She just looked at him for a moment in silence. ”Why do you think I’m mad at you?” Erik had told her that Charlie had thought she was mad at him for some reason that day on the beach after that had spoken with one another. She could never be mad at Charlie. So why would he think that?

" I don't think you're mad at me. I did, but I know you're not, sometimes I let things make me paranoid. Is that what you were confusedabout?" he asked sounding slightly guilty.

”Only a little.” She was on the verge of tears at this point. It seemed to be all she was doing lately between the nightmares and feelings that she’d never felt before were all jumbling up. ”What I’m confused about you won’t talk to be about it.” A tear escaped her eye and fell down her cheek.

A very guilty look here. "there's so much I haven't taught you, it's really hard to explain, mostly I'm selfish. I don't want to stop being selfish either." He says and he hugs her. "Shhh, it's not you, I swear, it's just me, shhhh." he kisses the top of her head the way one does when soothing a small child.

She’s crying more now by the time he starts hugging her and kissing her on the forehead. ”I don’t understand.” She’s resting her head on his chest as she clutches to his shirt with one of her hands. ”What does being selfish have to do with this?” Pleading was evident in her voice. Pleading for everything to make sense to her.

"Now I'm not sure wht you mean." he says. He still hold her whiel she clings to him. "I need a better idea of what you're trying to ask me." he says hoarsely. "Plese don't cry, Callie, You're safe, you don't have to hurt anymore." he sooths hoarsely.

How can she explain it better when she’s not sure herself? ”I can’t help it.” She was talking about the crying part. ”It seems to be all I do lately.” Now Charlie could interpret that in all sorts of different ways, but it was mostly because of what had happened the other night with the surprise of seeing her mother (which of course she was still in some shock from) and why Erik and Charlie couldn’t be around at the same time.

”I do hurt Charlie. It hurts me that you don’t come see me. I have to come find you.”

"I know that, but I'd hurt you more if I came. Don't let me worry you so much, it's not worth letting me spoil your happiness." he tells her. Because if he was completely out of the picture he's pretty sure she would be with Erik.

”Why? Why would it hurt me more if you came?” She pulled away from where she was and looked up into his eyes.

A heavy sigh, "You know sometimes people don't agree about things.....and I don't like Erik and you do. Don't let me screw that up for you. I'd just rather not be around him, butI know you do want to be around him Callie. That's okay, but please just don't ask me to." he says looking into her eyes. And it hurts him to say it, because it's going to hurt her.

She felt like she’d just been sucked into a black hole and was never going to escape it again when he said he didn’t like Erik and never wanted to be around him. A sick feeling was welling in her stomach and a knot form and felt like it was squishing her insides together. The way she was feeling about what he said was definitely evident in her eyes as she looked at him. She wasn’t sure what to say. Her voice decided to leave her at that moment leaving her with nothing. That’s the way she felt though, empty. Empty that she couldn’t have both. The only two people that ever cared about her and what happened to her. If Charlie hadn’t come into her life she would still be stuck with her mother most likely until the day she finally was murdered by her. And then Erik has been helping take care of her and give her feelings that she thought she’d never feel before because of what she was. And now Charlie was telling her she couldn’t have both? It didn’t seem fair. How could such a beautiful world be so cruel to her?

”Why? Why are you making me chose?” Her voice was almost inaudible as she spoke finally.

"I'm not asking you to chose, but if you want to interpret it that way I'll mkae it easy for you.....I just don't want to deal with him. You can drop by and visit or call me.....or if you decide not to...." he shakes his head, he's crying too.....he doesn't feel empty though, it just burns, it all burns.

She couldn’t help it. Callie pushed away and stood up walking backwards away from him with a really hurt look in her face. He was crying to which only made her continue crying more.

”Are you saying you don’t want me here anymore? That you assume that I’m staying there now and forever? How could I ignore you? You….you take care of me. Nobody ever did that for me before I found you.” Her face is red by this point from the crying and the horrible feeling still stirring in her stomach. It made her feel light headed from everything that was going on.

"Callie I jsut want you to be where you want to be, and I realize that might not be with me. I don't want to put you in a damned tug of war though, I won't do that...." He sets his glasses on the table and tries to stop crying for her sake.

She just looked at him still. His form was blurry because of all the water in her eyes from the building of tears. ”What if I don’t know where I want to be either? I know I want to be with you. But I want to be with Erik to.” She slumps to the ground and leans against the back of the couch crying into her palms.

”He said we love one another. That love only meant for two. And I think I feel the same. But why is it only meant for two? Why can you not be loved as well Charlie? Why?” A lot of it was muffled do to speaking into her palms but she couldn’t help it.

He gets up and takes her back into his arms. "There are different kinds of love, you must know that. I do love you, but it's not the same sort of love......It makes me feel like my chest is tight, and it's hard to breath, my head hurts and All I can think about is doing right but what I teach you about the world.... so that you're safe because I know I can't be with you every minute of everyday, and I know that you are going to find someone.....that loves you inn that special way that only two people can.....But you and I don't share that....don't let that confuse you. I probably love you more like your mother should have....the love you're talking about is.....the sort of love two people have when they know they want to be togethr and start a family and simply be with each other because they simply belong together.....and no matter how much I love you, I could never replace that. Even if I don't like him and don't want to be around him, doesn't mean I don't want you to be if he's that special to you." Charlie says while he hugs her. It all still just burns.

She listened quietly and remained silent for some time as he held her in his arms. ”Why does love have to hurt so much?” From all the different sensations that Erik had told her and now Charlie tells her. Plus the feelings she had told Erik about the way she felt around him. Love hurts is what she deduced from just what everyone was saying.

"Because it's bittersweet.....it doesn't alway hurt though, the physical aspects do, but it isn't just how it makes your body feel, it's also your spirit...." he says.

She looked up at him as she thinks about what he says. ”Then….if love hurts….maybe my mother really does love me.” It made her feel hopeful even after everything that she’d suffered through.

”Where is she anyways? Is she in the hospital?” She’s concerned now. Nobody has told her where she’d gone after that day in the shack.

He sighs.....and thanks for taking care of that one Erik "She was Callie, but she isn't anymore.....I'm sorry...." he whispers.....and he braces for it because he knows he's about to have to answer where the woman is now.

Her eyes kind of grew wide for a moment. ”What do you mean she’s not there anymore? Where is she? Did she go back home?” Obviously she was a bit frantic now. ”Maybe I should go see her. I need to tell her I’m sorry.”

"Callie, you can't see her. Well not in this world love. She Died in the hospital. Fighting yelling and scxreaming at everyone trying to help her. Her heart stopped. I'm sorry. It was very sudden. I really should have called you and told you....." He says quietly.

It did make him feel better that Mr. J had dealt with the body though. Charlie still had no idea how the old mand had gotten her a decnet burial without and investigation. He was sure Callie would want to see the gravesite.

That black hole feeling swept over her again. Her eyes were quite blank now as she seemed to stare right into oblivion. What? No. No she couldn’t have died. She was shaking her head back and forth now.

”No. No she couldn’t have died.” She was crying even harder now and she abruptly shoved her face against Charlie’s chest and buried it there crying quite terribly, even more so that before.

”I didn’t even get to tell her I was sorry for how I acted. Sorry for behaving badly. Sorry for putting her in that place.” She was choking out the words now as it was hard to talk through the sobbing.

"Callie I'm sorry. I really am so sorry. You didn't put her in that place though, I did. I'd do it again and again to if it meant you were safe. I'm sorry sweetheart, I know you wanted to make things right with her." He said soothing her and rubbing her back.

She couldn’t talk anymore. Callie just sat there crying her heart out. It was hard to imagine anyone being able to cry over someone that hurt them so much, but it was the way Callie was and it’d never change. She thought about the good in everyone which wasn’t always a good quality. In her opinion nobody could be bad intentionally. Something always happened that made them that way and it wasn’t their fault. So she just sat there crying into Charlie’s shirt which was most likely soaked from her tears at this point.

He just holds her and doesn't say anything.

She cried like that for some time before she ended up crying herself to sleep in Charlie’s arms.

Charlie carries her to her room and lays her down gently.