[It's worrying to Alfie when she does that. Royce is a brother to him, and he loves him, but he hates the idea of Mercy growing up to be as closed off as he is, for any reason. So even though he isn't the sort to talk about his own feelings much, he tries to with Mercy, especially now that her mother is gone. He wants her to have some sense that feeling is okay. He knows Royce wouldn't tell her that it isn't, or openly encourage her to shut herself down. But kids have a way of picking up on things, and Mercy is no different.]

Yeah. I've been having some trouble too, myself. If you need to, you tell me or your dad, all right? I know he won't mind.