[It's an earnest attempt, but it falls flat. There's a long moment of sustained silence, where Tim says nothing, and nothing issues from his end but the quiet cadence of his breathing - no longer quite so ragged, but just as exhausted.]
[That catches her off-guard. She didn't expect moment of vulnerability between both of them.]
...Honestly, I-... [But she's not sure what to say. Eventually all the shit in life gets piled high enough that it doesn't matter anymore. Maybe you start to feel that things will get better- and then something like this snaps it away from you. What did you expect? Chloe showed up and left again to die. Max was just starting to get used to that, to her new crappy lifestyle... So of course something like this would come up.]
...I'm just too exhausted to process it right now. Don't worry about it. It's not you.
[It's nice of her to say it. But he knows that it is. Like it or not - it is him. It was his head that inflicted this on her. It was his nightmare, his problem, his words, his brain that ravaged her.]
[That, and Alex's words. Maybe long before Tim himself ever came along.]
[He's taken up enough of her time. He and Alex both have monopolized enough of her memories, enough of her mind, annexed enough of her thoughts between the two of them, to last her a lifetime.]
[To last them both.]
Either way, I... [He's already apologized. What else can he do?] Just...tell me. If you need anything.
Yup. [Her voice is a little clipped. She feels like she wants to add something. Another apology, or some kind words, or... fuck. Something that actually helps. But she has no idea what that is.
So instead she shuffles the phone awkwardly from one hand to the next. And back again.]
So I'll... see you around.
[Perfect words to end a life-changing conversation.
[Voice]
[Until...]
I'm sorry.
[Voice]
...Honestly, I-... [But she's not sure what to say. Eventually all the shit in life gets piled high enough that it doesn't matter anymore. Maybe you start to feel that things will get better- and then something like this snaps it away from you. What did you expect? Chloe showed up and left again to die. Max was just starting to get used to that, to her new crappy lifestyle... So of course something like this would come up.]
...I'm just too exhausted to process it right now. Don't worry about it. It's not you.
[Voice]
[That, and Alex's words. Maybe long before Tim himself ever came along.]
[The thought isn't comforting.]
Like it or not, it is.
[Voice]
Let's just... agree to disagree, Tim. [And get ready for the shit show.]
[Voice]
[He's taken up enough of her time. He and Alex both have monopolized enough of her memories, enough of her mind, annexed enough of her thoughts between the two of them, to last her a lifetime.]
[To last them both.]
Either way, I... [He's already apologized. What else can he do?] Just...tell me. If you need anything.
[Voice]
So instead she shuffles the phone awkwardly from one hand to the next. And back again.]
So I'll... see you around.
[Perfect words to end a life-changing conversation.
FML.]
[Voice]
[He hangs up. God, fuck this. Fuck their entire lives.]