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She was trying to say she understood him.

Or at least that she felt bad for him.

And what he said might make her feel like he didn’t believe her.

“Mari, I-”

He started speaking to fill the awkward silence until he could find the right words to smooth things over.

“I think I know what you’re feeling.”

Her words were soft, but he could feel the weight of them through the phone.

“It’s probably not exactly the same, but I know what it feels like to be… powerless.”

The word she’d chosen resonated with him.

It felt… right.

“Yeah?” Buck had the feeling that his voice sounded a little rougher than he wanted, but it had been a while since he didn’t feel like he had to put on a front. “What happened?”

Mari didn’t start talking immediately. He didn’t expect her to.

Talking about his feelings wasn’t easy.

Most of the time it was downright improbable on a normal day. Nearly impossible after the accident.

He’d seen something in her that first time they’d met that said she had a similar kind of sorrow in her eyes. A similar kind of grief.

Buck wanted to know what it was.

What had happened to her?

But the problem was, he didn’t want to open himself up and tell her his failings, so how could he ask her to strip herself bare?

And yet he was doing it.

He really was some kind of monster.

Buck swore he heard her breathe, like she was gathering up the courage to speak, and he jumped in because he didn’t want to hurt her.

That had to be some kind of redeeming factor, right?

“You don’t have to tell me,” he felt something scratch in his throat and put up a hand to rub at the spot, “I shouldn’t have asked.”

“No… No. It’s okay,” her voice was lighter. Relief? “I was just wondering if I was going to overshare. You don’t need to know my story.”

“I want to know.” The words came out in a rush.

A loud squeak came from the heavy metal door at the far end of the room.

He stood up from the table as the door opened up. Pallas walked in and lifted his chin in greeting.

Buck turned toward the wall, feeling like he needed some privacy. “It looks like the lockdown is lifting are you going to be at the center much longer?”

“Uh…”

He heard hesitation in her voice, and he ground his back teeth, he wasn’t good at conversation. He didn’t have the temperament to ‘chat’ with people he didn’t know well.