Elle Bishop was a sociopath. She was diagnosed as a sociopath. But sociopaths don't apologize. And she apologized to Claire. And she meant it.
"I've lived in this building for sixteen years, ever since the shrinks diagnosed me as a sociopath with paranoid delusions."
That was all she was: a sociopath. She never had feelings for anyone, never cared about anything. Taking pleasure in the discomfort and pain of others, she lived her life in darkness. That was the life she lived for twenty-four years.
No one was nice to her. Her father acted like he loved her, but she easily saw through his lies. He was only "kind" to her because he needed to use her for something larger than himself. But she had grown use to the coldness of others towards her. Because she was just a "company girl."
And the only person who had ever shown her any kindness was Claire, but that was after Elle tried to kill her. It was during Elle's "home invasion" plan. When they were on the plane flying to Pinehearst. It was when Elle realized that there was someone just as messed up as she was. Of course she and Claire had major differences. But their abilities were what they had in common. They were both victims of the Company. They were both screwed up in a way no one else would understand.
When they were on the plane, she thought she was going to die. Elle accepted it, but only because she knew Claire was going to survive it. And when she grasped onto Claire's hand in an attempt to keep the plane from crashing, she knew that the sparks coming from her hand weren't the only sparks that existed between the two. She saw something she never thought she would.
Once they were in front of Pinehearst, watching Peter fall from the building, Elle knew that she didn't want to leave Claire. It was the end of their adventure, at least that was what she had thought at the time. Her need to rid herself of her power was just too large, and she had to leave Claire.
Even though it was the last thing she wanted to do, she left Claire—the only person who had ever shown kindness to her—behind. And she even shocked herself when an apology passed through her lips. Because she apologized to her father before, but she never meant it in the slightest. But this apology had feeling laced in it. She meant those two words she had said to the last person she thought she'd say them to.
"I'm sorry."
Elle Bishop was a sociopath. She was diagnosed as a sociopath. But sociopaths don't apologize. And she apologized to Claire. And she meant it.