"Yeah!" His reply to Maya's question is instant - he doesn't have to think about it. He also finally looks up, looks to her face, meets her eyes again. His expression is contrite and earnest. "I was gonna leave. She talked to me before the stars went black, and told me why, and I heard her, and I didn't like it but she asked so I was gonna do it."

Then he drops his gaze away again, back to the floor, because...well, actually, this is the worst part. Even worse than how he'd felt when she'd run away from him. And since he's told Maya the first part, he might as well finish it out. "But I was too slow. I was too slow, and I made her cry but I couldn't hear it. She held me and I couldn't feel it. And when I woke up she hated herself so much she wouldn't talk to me."

He hadn't realized it at the time. At the time, he had thought she was angry with him, because he'd been too stupid and too stubborn to listen to her warnings. But she hadn't blamed him, just herself.

"...She only came to see me again after she found that." He glances at the control collar briefly before returning his gaze to the floor.