Howie took a deep breath while pretending not to notice the visitor who put him in his current state of mind. He wants to laugh out loud right now; it's been days since he last laughed, and he didn't want to either.
To say that he is not the type to laugh at other people's stories, and here he is almost hysterical at the idea of what will follow. When he laughs most often, it's partly because of the twins, but after a few days, he is almost back to the way he was before. He's silent, an almost unbearable and suffocating silence.
He's cynical and almost bitter, but Bravael and his dad keep fooling around all day long like kids, so they keep him on the right track with their stupid stories and squabbles. They keep him from sinking into the darkness that awaits him.
Fortunately, there is El, with whom he feels more or less well, even if he is an actual pain in the ass, a scoundrel wound in his life. Between them, they know this is not what will kill him; he has seen worse.