Emberwood [M] to tell you how i feel

Don't apologize, he replied. You have every right to express your feelings, and I want you to feel like you can do that with me. He paused, unsure how to word what he wanted to say next. I care about you, Grezig, but I need time...I need things to move kind of slowly. I'm sorry if that's not what you want to hear. He wanted her to be completely aware of where he stood. But he also didn't want her to think that he was rejecting her, because he wasn't. Right now, though, he just needed her friendship. If the friendship became more, then he wouldn't resist it, but he needed her to understand that it might take a while for him to get there. 

It's my fault because the mountains had been quaking for weeks, and it had only continued to get worse; it was the reason we had to leave the creek in the first place. He shook his head again. I shouldn't have taken them that way. I should have known something like that would happen. Intentional or not, I made the wrong decision and my family paid for it. He couldn't stand to hear her try and convince him that he wasn't at fault here; he didn't deserve to be absolved of his guilt.