Julien hated that he'd brought it up, but he thought he'd be unable to stand pretending that Alfie was okay when he clearly wasn't. He was a little surprised but also touched that Alfie would trust him with something as personal as a letter and he read it through after looking up to check that it was okay that he did so.
His thumb hovered over one of the stains, unwilling to touch and hoping it wasn't Alfie's, hating himself for thinking that. He handed it back to Alfie but didn't let it go, connecting them by the letter. "I'm sorry Alfie." he said sincerely. "I know there's probably nothing I can do to make it better, but if I can do anything to make things a little easier for you then just let me know. Okay?" He was worried; he couldn't imagine having that kind of responsibility on top of all that worry. He was suddenly relieved that his parents weren't to keen on him and the distance that had created between them.