I had no idea I still loved him, but I did. I guess I loved him the day I first saw him, and I've loved him ever since. And when I found out Daphne was pregnant, I couldn't believe it. I was jealous for two reasons. Only one reason was noticable at the time, and that was that I was jealous because I couldn't have kids. The undectected one was that she had Charlie, and I didn't. Then when Daphne left, I realized there was still something between me and Charlie. And I knew he could never forgive Daphne for leaving him and Diana, so mabey I had a chance. And then Paul said, "Let's adopt" and I forgot about Charlie. Then Paul said "Let's not" and I left. When I moved into the attic, I was sure things would pick up. And the night I first stayed in the attic, we talked, and I was sure there was a spark. And then the night I was actually moving in came. "Charlie! Charlie! Where are you?" I walked upstairs and into his room and saw him sitting there reading something. "Hey," I said. "I was calling you." "Where have you been?" he asked. "Packing," I said. "Listen, Kirsten, we need to talk," Charlie said. I was sure he wanted me back. I was sure he was going to say that last night there was a spark. But I had just left Paul. I didn't want to seem to vulnerable. "Charlie," I said "mabey this isn't the best time." "Look at this," he said as gave me the thing was reading . "What's this?" I asked. "It's a report," he said, "well an investigation actually, done on Daphne when I was freaked out about custody." "So what?" I asked, "Is this just a whole laundry list of all the bad things Daphne's done?" "No," said Charlie. "I mean that stuff's in there to, but it's the stuff I didn't know about, the stuff I dont think even Daphne knows about." "Daphne doesn't know things about her own life?" I asked. "If she did," he said, "mabey things would be different." "Charlie," I said. "Kirsten, I have to find her," he said. This just broke my heart. My chance was gone. But something else broke my heart. In the report it said that Daphne's mother had locked her in the basement with no food or water and just left. As much as this broke my heart reading it, I relised I couldn't let Charlie go. A while later when he was getting ready to leave I just watched him. "Do you think this is enough diapers?" he asked. "I guess they have diapers in LA.Oh and I should call Joe. This could take a while and I don't know if I'll have time to see him." "I guess there's a lot you dont know, huh?" I said. "What?" said Charlie. "What are you doing Charlie?" I said. "Are you just gonna drop of the file and hope for the best? Are you going to take her to a doctor? You said you wanted to bring her back here. Is that so she can be Daina's mother, or is it more than that? Are you hoping that you two can be together?" "Are you mad at me?" he asked. "Charlie, this file is a big deal," I said. "It could really shake her up, and not just in the way you want it to. You put her in this position in the first place, when you asked her to keep the baby. You rushed into something without thinking, and now look what you've done. So this time, you should know what you're doing. You should really think this through Charlie."
The day he came back I was sure he was going to be alone and he would say you were right I was wrong. But I was wrong. He stepped out of the cab with.........Daphne. I was crushed. But I put on a smile. "Daphne!" I said. "Hi Kirsten," she said. I didn't expect a big hi hello, but more than that. I really didn't want Daphne here. It would completely crush my chances with Charlie. But this is what Charlie wanted. I couldn't stand in the way of that. No matter how much I loved him.
A couple of weeks had gone by. Daphne was still here, and I knew she wasn't leaving. And I thought that untill the night she came to talk to me. "Kirsten," she said, "can we talk?" "Sure," I said. "What about?" "Well," she said, "When I was in LA with Charlie and Diana, I had a connection with Diana. And I thought for sure that when I came back we would be a happy little family. That I would forget all the horrible things my mother did to me. That I could keep a family." "So?" I said. "Well, the thing is," she said, "I really don't feel any differently twords Diana or Charlie. And if anything, I feel worse." I listened intently, hanging on every word. Was she saying what I hoped she was saying? "And," I said. "And," she said, "I see the way you are with Diana. You're wonderful with her. And you and Charlie. He talks about you 23 hours of the day. Saying how good you are with Diana. And, well, I'm tking off again, and I want you to raise Diana with Charlie." What she said completly shocked me. In the weeks she had been here she looked as if she were having a great time with Diana and Charlie. "Are you sure?" I asked. "Yes," she said, "When I leave, I want you to take care of Diana."
That night as I was going to talk to Charlie I realised Daphne was talking to him. I came a little closer to the door than stopped. "But I love you Daphne," Charlie said. "But I don't love you or Diana," Daphne said, "I can't." "You can't just leave," Charlie said. "I love you and I'm not letting you go." "I don't love you," Daphne said. "But..." Charlie said. "I want a good family to rise Diana," she said. "And that good family is you and Kirsten." "No it's not," Charlie said, "We're the good family. I dont want Kirsten raising our baby." "You love Kirsten," she said. "No I don't," Charlie said. "Charlie, you do. You talk about her all the time," said Daphne. "I only talk about her because she's good with Diana, but I don't love her," he said. I started to cry. I knew I couldn't take much more of this. But I listened a little longer. "Well, if she's so good with Diana, why won't you let Kirsten raise Diana," Daphne said. "Because I love you," he said, "and not Kirsten." I couldn't take this anymore. I couldn't. It was like someone stabbing me in the heart. I ran up to my room and cried myself to sleep.
The next morning I new I couldn't face Charlie. I stayed in my room untill eleven and then decided to go downstairs. Charlie was there with Diana, feeding her. "Well," Charlie said, "I thought you'd never wake up." I smiled. "Where's Daphne?" I asked. "She took off this morning around 4," he said. "Oh I'm sorry," I said. "Listen, Kirsten, we need to talk," he said. "Now that Daphne is gone for good. I feel like I can say it. I want you to raise Diana with me. Since I still love you." I couldn't believe what he was saying. He loved me? "But what about last night when you were talking to Daph..," I said. I knew I had gone to far. Now he new I had been listening. "Last night," he said, "I din't want Daphne to leave. I was lieing to here and myself because I didn't want he to leave. But now that she's gone, I realise I never wanted he here." "So you're saying, you wanna be with me?" I asked. "Yes, I wanna be with you," he said. He came closer and kissed me. It was like a fairy tale. When he pulled away he said, "You were listening to our conversation last night?" I just nodded my head and laughed. Then he kissed me again. I knew so well that this was the the start of our lives together.