Tate gave a little shrug in reply to her question. Honestly, how good could he be doing without her? She knew she was the centre of his universe. It felt kind of like the world had stopped spinning when she'd banished him.
"Sure," he said, allowing a little smile. He pretty much always had a lighter on him. Reaching into the pocket of his hoodie, Tate pulled out the Zippo and flicked the top back, the flame sparking into life. "Here," he said, stepping a little closer and holding out the light. He missed the days when they used to sit around, Violet smoking and listening to music and him reading or playing cards. Those had been good days. He hated that it hadn't lasted although he'd known, deep down, that it was only a matter of time before she found out what he'd done. By the time he realised that losing Violet would be the worst thing that could happen to him, it was already way too late to take anything back.