"Thank you. Can I come pick them up tonight?" At least that was something concrete to hold on to; facts and possessions and things that weren't so messy as raw nerves and painful emotions. Those nerves were raw on both sides now, Miles could tell that much. It was easy to overreact, and far, far harder to bridge those gaps.

"I...I'm sorry, Phoenix. For everything. It seems like all the trouble you've gotten into here has been through me one way or another. And I mean it when I say you don't deserve that. But..."

He paused again, swallowing back the lump that was beginning to form in his throat with a sip of juice. "You didn't have to stand by me through it all...and you shouldn't have had to watch me die. No one here should have had to watch anyone else die." He wanted to add the addendum that perhaps a few people might have deserved it, but those words wouldn't come. He supposed he knew why; saying that would make him no better than they were.