I don't want to talk about it, just want to fall to pieces

Emile could not have said how long he laid there, sobbing and apologizing before Bowen's voice finally broke through his fugue. Her limbs squeezing him tighter and a sharp tone in her words snapping through him, half of an apology hanging in the air. "Stop apologizing. Just tell me what's wrong." Emile's mouth clicked shut for a moment and he took a few breathes as he tried to reel his mind back into where he could form sentences.

His voice when he spoke first was soft and meek and practically pleading. "Pppplease don...'t leave again." In truth the young man was still very much wrapped up in his hysteria, unaware of just how that would sound, how it could wound.

"Eeeeeeeevryone l-l-left." He started explaining, his voice a bit louder now. Finding it was easier to explain his pain after he'd already shared it with his father though the pain and the hysteria still colored the edges of his voice. "Mmmmy mmmmmom, one of mmmmy sisters disappeared and Lilith got ssssssick. Mmmmmmy only fr-fr-fr-friends, yyyyyou and Outla...w. Mmmmmy dad wassssssn't avail-available..." Then his voice got soft as he spoke this next part, some part of Emile realizing that his feelings about this were probably only even half of what Bowen had to feel about it. They were in the same boat here, having had no chance to properly say goodbye. "Re...sin..."

"And eeeeeveryone who cammmme back, they...'ve mmmmmoved for-for-forward. Bbbbbbut I'mmmmm stuck!" Could she understand that? The feeling that despite the fact that he had been the one who hadn't left that he was frozen in time, everyone else was moving on, was hitting their stride and he couldn't even seem to lift a paw to start moving forward. "I-i-i-i don'tttttt want to be around annnnnyone else, it hurts to-to-to- much ... being llllleft and being llllleft behind."

He closed his eyes trying to stem the flood of new sobs that tried to choke him. "I-i-i-i dddddidn't know how to fffffface you."