She sounds defensive, and part of Quentin wants to kick himself for being a dick straight out of the gate. The other part, the part he hates, takes just a little too much satisfaction at dragging people down to his level of misery. He manages to swallow it down. Alice doesn't deserve this. Alice deserves the goddamn world. Even now.

Especially now, when things are messy and complicated. Half of it is Quentin's fault, and he gets up to sit just a little bit closer to her, joining her on the couch and twisting his body to properly face her. His voice softens, an apology without apologizing, and he speaks again.

"I just--I want to fix this."