What kind of face should he be making?

Marcus didn't dare say anything, not when Nem was finally opening up about whatever it was that had been bothering him. But he had never expected it to be so... Serious. He had guessed the abuse had something to do with whatever was going on in the boy's home but...

He wanted pull Nem into a hug. Maybe pat his head a little. He was so cute and short. Tell him it's going to be okay, offer he could come live with them for a while. Dad wouldn't mind it at all. But if Marcus said all that, Nem would run away again, he was pretty sure. He was like that. And Marcus had promised him more time. 

He was glad the smaller boy had stopped crying. He had never been good at dealing with tears, most of the time he would just end up weeping along out of sympathy. But seeing Nem so calm and serene while he talked about all that went down in his past was unsettling. Almost like he was disconnected from the whole world, body just telling his story on auto-pilot while his mind went somewhere else. And he was pretty sure wherever the somewhere else was, it wasn't a good place.

There must be something he can do for him. Anything.