[ What "good" it was seems stretched a little thin, to him. He's at a crossroads where he doesn't know how to justify what he wants to say. Doesn't know how to react in a way that that was still true to himself but wouldn't cause her harm in the long run, too. ]

Sorry, that I reacted like that. My heart was really racing, because I thought...

[ Well, nevermind what he thinks. ]

Is the pain connected to how you hear things now? [ His tone softens. ] Should I switch to text?