[It sounds just as hesitant as what he said before. He still feels guilty.
A faint, though honest smile crosses his lips.]
You know. Even apart from my group of friends from home, all of you whom I've met in this place has made it a bit easier to live in. I still can never approve nor be happy over being so trapped, but. . . it's better than being alone.
[Not that he means it's good that everyone is trapped here to begin with. It's so much more tolerable than the years he spent chained to a wall.]