[He lets out the breath he didn't realize he'd been holding, a smirk pulling on the left side of his mouth.]

Can't say I didn't try, but I'm not really a wallower.

[He's much better at wallowing and running, and then more wallowing. Tom considers taking out his tablets and giving them a shake for emphasis but thinks better of it. When he does speak, it's short but considered, like he's trying to find the balance in his own truth.]

My dad..

When I was a kid there was an accident in the mine we owned and bunch of men died.. It was an accident but a lot of people blamed me for it. I don't think he could handle that and he chose whiskey over responsibility. Truth is those mines have been outdated for as long as I can remember. If he'd updated the machinery it might never'of happened.

But in a town like ours it's easier to take down the boss' kid than a pillar of the community. [That last bit containing just a small note of acid.]