Liam stopped in his tracks when it became clear that Riley was staying rooted to the spot in the staircase. He sighed "This isn't some ploy to get you up to my apartment, I promise. You're soaked, and it's cold and--" He cut off at that statement. Question? Whatever it was. He still had Riley's hand and was still facing up the stairs here he was headed. Slowly he turned, not sure what to make of the question, of how to answer it, his brow furrowed and concern for the priest replacing some of that emptiness in his eyes, and as that concern grew, the shadows retreated, still overpowered by what small shreds of his humanity remained. "Me? I'm not the one out in a nor'easter without a coat. I'm fine." Liam was very decidedly not fine, but Riley couldn't actually know that.

Except apparently he could. His voice started playing in the empty staircase and he could feel a cold weight drop in his stomach. Liam visibly flinched at the first sound of Gregory's voice, staring in wide-eyed horror at Riley before looking away. It wasn't something he'd have wanted anyone to hear, any of it, but especially how small he sounded, how damaged. "I... I didn't know... it wasn't supposed to... you weren't supposed to..."

What must the priest think of him? He couldn't bring himself to look at the other man's face to find out, too much of a coward to actually face it. "I'm sorry. You shouldn't have had to hear any of that." He almost missed those last whispered words, but they were what finally snapped his gaze back to Riley's, dark eyes plainly startled, confused by the statement.