As if he can't stop touching Neil, Alex reaches out again, to trace Neil's jaw. Maybe it's because the kid isn't fighting. Maybe it's because Neil isn't hiding things or being pissed off. It's nice. Alex wants it, and there's some kind of loss in thinking about what spawned all this.

"Well," he says. "I can leave you to sleep, or I can tell you a story, I guess." Something to distract from the nightmares in Neil's brain.