Aleksy wove his fingers through Finn's, and tried to pretend that Finn hadn't been cringing at
him. What kind of person had that other Aleksy
been? Was Aleksy, now, in this moment, any better? "It was nice to be the protector," he said. "It has nothing to do with your silence. I only liked to know that if someone wanted to hurt you, they would have to hurt me, first."
He said, "We should go home."