[ Tate shifts, and Derek lets him go. He raises his arm a little so Tate can wiggle away from it, if he wants to, but he leans back against his chest and Derek feels an honest surge of relief, even if he does regret turning him off of his food. ]

She was just... young.

[ Derek bends his elbow back, brings his arm up, and slowly cards his fingers through Tate's hair. He plays with his curls a little, smoothing his nails gently across his scalp, just... being soothing. ]

From what you've told me about her - she was just a normal, human girl. She was naive. She didn't know how to give you what you needed, and...

[ And that sucks, because Tate deserves someone normal, but Tate deserves someone strong enough and smart enough to see that Tate needed help, not a back turned on him. Violet only left because - what, he yelled, sometimes? Cried? How fucking cruel of her, to see someone with trauma and mental illness and say that they're the darkness. ]

It wasn't your fault. All this shit you have to deal with - the darkness, the anger, the heartache - it's something you've been suffering through. None of it makes you a bad person, and... I'm sorry she didn't know how to be there for you the way you knew how to be there for her.