Vinie let out a long breath, the last thread of smoke drifting from his lips before fading into the open air. He dropped the cigarette to the ground and crushed it beneath his shoe, grinding it slowly as if he were trying to bury whatever was bothering him along with it.
I watched him in silence for a moment.
Vinie wasn’t someone who smoked casually. In fact, he rarely touched cigarettes at all. The only times I’d ever seen him light one up were during moments when something weighed heavily on his mind—when pressure built up to the point where he couldn’t carry it alone anymore.
That alone told me this wasn’t something small.
“Just say it,” I finally said, folding my arms across my chest. “What’s wrong?”
He didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he looked off to the side, as though organ
