Broken Antler Fen stop time

She shook her head, but couldn't answer. Letting it out like this was definitely good for her, but even with the relief of sharing, she couldn't take what he said to heart. Maybe one day she'd be able to look back and not blame herself, but right now, all that mattered was that she had lost time that she'd never get back.

And that was her fault. She hated it so much, regretted it so much. Her parents, Sarah, Terance, Wraen... Maia had never gotten to say goodbye to any of them. She'd never guessed when she saw them that that time would be the last, and maybe that was normal, but that didn't mean she had to be okay with it.

It took her a minute to calm down, and as she did, the tears slowed and embarrassment replaced them. Sorry. I just... I can't do it. She couldn't look at him. It felt like she was letting him (and, perhaps more accurately, herself) down. But somehow the thought of not doing this was even more unbearable. Like somehow she was losing herself along with everything else, and if she tried to push it even more, she was going to shatter into a million pieces. She just needed everything to stop... and, for a while at least, she just wanted to be here. Here where she could just be there for him, and their family, and not have to worry about how many other things she wasn't doing in the meantime.