CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
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i. so not emotionally ready !

— ANTHONY COULDN'T DENY BEING TIRED IN THE MORNING, because he most definitely was. Though, as he brushed his teeth and squinted in the light of the bathroom, he reminded himself that it was his own fault and the circles under his eyes were a simple repercussion.

When Bella joined him, grabbing her toothbrush with messy hair, Tony couldn't help but notice the way her hands shook as she went through with her morning routine.

No doubt she'd found out what the Cullens were.

Tony wanted to say something, maybe reassure her that the Cullens weren't as bad as she thought. But she never mentioned it to him, so he didn't bother and looked the other way when she dropped her toothbrush in the sink.

Maybe it'd sound better coming from a Cullen anyway.

Though he was slightly upset that Isabella wasn't sharing what she'd found. Especially with him.

Though in the back of his mind he knew she was going to confront Edward instead.

Anthony desperately wished he could hate Edward for getting so close to Bella, but after spending so many lunches with the boy it was like he couldn't find it in himself.

They respected each other in a way, and Tony mulled over that thought as he ate his cereal and watched Isabella busy herself with cleaning dishes that had been left in the sink.

There was a slight mist over Forks after it had rained the overnight. It gave the area a calm and slightly creepy atmosphere.

Then Tony looked out the window into the dampened world. It was all greens and blacks and muddy browns. As it always was.

Until a new colour came into his line of sight, cherry red. It pulled up in front of the house and stopped.

Anthony, having been finished his cereal, took the bowl and put it in the sink before grabbing his school bag and rushing to put on his shoes and get out the front door.

Once his vision wasn't being obstructed by the fog covered window, as he closed the front door behind him the cherry red blob became Rosalie's convertible.

When Tony approached it, two women got out of the car.

"Hey Tony!" Alice greeted as she rushed to hop out and greet her best friend with a tight hug.

"Hey there, Angel." He chuckled and wrapped his arms around her momentarily before also greeting Rosalie, who acknowledged him with a smile and tilt of her head.

"D'you wanna ride with Rosalie and I today?" Alice asked as she pulled away from the hug, gesturing to the convertible.

"I mean-" Tony began, turning back to the house and seeing his sister exiting from the front door. "Hey, Bells!"

Isabella turned and noticed the Cullen girls, her eyes widening in alarm.

Anthony resisted the urge to roll his eyes. They may be vampires but you couldn't immediately assume they were dangerous. Not all creatures could be perceived as threats. Even the monster under the bed could become your friend. This seemed to be a lesson Isabella had yet to learn.

"Are you okay if I go with them?" Anthony asked, jerking his head in the Cullen's direction.

Bella nodded after a moment of thought and simply called out for him to stay safe.

They'd probably see each other in a few minutes anyways, even if it was just passing by in the parking lot.

So Tony climbed into the back seat and slid his oxygen tank up next to him. It was a little awkward since Rosalie had the hood of the convertible up, obviously to avoid the rain that would likely fall later in the day. But the girls and him made it work.

He probably could have gotten into the passenger seat. Alice would gladly sit in the back for him. Though he had more room in the back anyway.

The ride was nice. They all chatted like old friends and when they got to school, Tony only had the chance to glance at Jasper in the parking lot before he was being tugged away to art class.

Though, once art class was over and he and Alice parted ways, Anthony found Jasper at their seat in history.

"Hey are we still on for today, after school?" Tony asked as he sat in his chair and sat his backpack on the floor next to him.

Jasper looked up from his phone with a smile.

"Of course, darlin'."

Anthony groaned and shoved his face in his hands. He could hear Jasper's laugh as he did this.

Then he noticed his phone buzz in his pocket and when he looked down there was a text from an unknown number.

Unknown
Hey man tell Jasper to turn his phone back on

Tony
And uh who this be?

Unknown
It's your handsomest future brother in-law

Tony
Lmao gay marriage is not legal my friend

Tony
Though I'm guessing this is either Edward or Emmett

Tony
If it's Edward- I may or may not kill you for implying marriage with my sister

Tony
She is so not emotionally ready for that shit

Unknown
It's Emily

Unknown
Emily

Unknown
E m m e t t

Tony
Don't worry, Emily I figured it was you ;)

Anthony looked up and noticed class still hadn't started and turned to Jasper who was looking through some of his books.

"Emmett wants you to text him back." Tony informed. "For what reason, I have no idea."

Jasper sighed, "He wants me to head home during my free period and grab his biology textbook because he forgot it. I already told him to just get it during lunch because I didn't want to leave you by yourself."

Tony just shook his head.

"I'll be fine, I can just chill in the medical building or something." He assured.

"You sure?" Jasper checked, to which Anthony nodded in response before pulling out his phone again.

Tony
Yo Emily, I've convinced Jasper to go get your biology textbook thank me by giving me food

Emmett
You're the best

Emmett
I'll literally buy you a pudding or something from the cafeteria I'm so thankful because I did not wanna drive all the way home

Tony
It takes like 10 minutes to drive anywhere in this town, lazy ass

Tony
Also how did you get my number?

Emmett
Alice shared it with us in case of an emergency or something?? Edward and Rose have it too

Tony
I see

Tony
Anyway- class is starting so get to work Emily I shall see you in lunch and I shall expect a pudding

Emmett
Chocolate or vanilla?

Tony
What do you think :/

Then, Tony didn't see Emmett's response as he had already put his phone back in his sweater pocket.

— WHEN HISTORY WAS FINALLY OVER, Anthony and Jasper said their farewells and parted ways. Jasper, to Emmett's Jeep after collecting the keys from the other boy's locker and Tony, to the medical building.

When Anthony entered the building, he was greeted by a blast of cold air and a somewhat familiar school nurse.

"Hello Anthony! Here for your regular replacement I presume?" Asked the accented voice of Reyes Jaylin.

"Yeah." Tony smiled. "Hey Reyes."

"Right- could you sit here for a moment?" Reyes asked as he gestured to one of the seats in the room before walking off somewhere.

Anthony was a bit confused as to why the man hadn't taken the oxygen tank with him. Or why he disappeared in the wrong direction.

Tony thought over this as he awkwardly removed his tubing.

He didn't have to worry long though, as Reyes came back with a brown paper bag in hand.

Without an explanation, Reyes handed the bag to Anthony and then grabbed the oxygen tank to replace it.

Tony watched as Reyes walked away before opening the brown paper bag and seeing close to half a dozen chocolate chip cookies.

Reyes returned a few minutes later.

"Thank you." Anthony spoke. "For these." He held up the bag.

The older man shook his head with a kind smile.

"Don't worry about it." He waved off as he kneeled on the floor and helped re situate Tony's oxygen tank. "I like baking." Reyes shrugged before looking up into Anthony's eyes as the boy folded the tubing behind his ears again.

Reyes took quick notice of the paleness and dark circles and the slightly ragged breathing and the mask that Tony was putting on, pretending to be in better condition than he was.

"Would you mind if we did a quick check up? I've been reading a lot about your condition and I think maybe I could help?" Reyes asked hopefully.

Tony laughed lightly.

"Help with what? This is end of life oxygen and I'm surviving on borrowed time." Anthony said seriously. "There's not much else you can do."

Reyes nodded slightly with a sad gleam in his brown eyes.

"Maybe I can make the transition easier." He offered. "Between life and death, that is."

Reyes knew that was a lie. Hell, even Tony knew the real reason Reyes wanted to help was so Anthony could last longer.

But instead of arguing, Tony straightened in his seat and took off his tubing again along with taking off his fluffy sweater. Reyes took this as agreement to his offer, and stood up to grab his stethoscope.

Once Reyes was prepared, he pulled up the back of Anthony's shirt. The stethoscope was cold against his skin and when Tony breathed in, he struggled not to cough heavily. He hated having to rely on his own lungs.

It only took seconds for Reyes to sigh and lower Tony's shirt, slinging the stethoscope around his neck.

"Just- put your tubing back on." The man sounded disheartened as he grabbed a chair to sit opposite the Swan.

Anthony didn't waste time putting his sweater and tubing back.

"So- if you don't mind me asking, does cancer run in your family?" Reyes asked.

"Nah." Anthony shook his head and pulled a cookie out of the paper bag.

"Then how does someone like you end up with something like lung cancer? It only occurs randomly in like- 35% of cases." Reyes asked curiously.

"Well- my parents aren't really together anymore," Anthony began. "And when my mum left my dad she took my sister and I with her... right now she's married to this guy named Phil. He's alright I guess. Kind of an ass though." Tony trailed off and bit into his cookie, swallowing the bite before continuing.

"Besides the point, the point is my mom had a few boyfriends before deciding to settle down with Phil and one of them smoked with us in the house so I'm that lucky one that got lung cancer by secondhand smoking."

Reyes looked crestfallen. Most likely in the idea that it wasn't even Tony's fault.

"But no one else in your family has lung cancer?"

"Well it was two parts secondhand smoke and one part randomness so it was just me." Anthony nodded. "It's like winning the lottery isn't it? A one in a hundred and seventy-five million chance and it just so happens that it was me." He had a bitter edge in his voice, which in Reyes' eyes was understandable. If anyone was to blame, it was Renée's ex boyfriend.

"I'm sorry." Reyes muttered, shaking his head. "You don't deserve that."

Anthony shrugged.

"I'd rather it be me than Bella." He stated. "At least I don't have to worry about that guy anymore. As soon as he found out I had lung cancer he was out of there at warp speed."

It was awkwardly silent between them for a moment before Tony spoke up again.

"These cookies are really good, by the way."

"Thanks, it's my mum's recipe." Reyes sighed.

Anthony nodded and looked down at his shoes, clicking the rubber toes together and making a hollow sound.

"Could we exchange numbers? I'd like to be able to- keep an eye on you? If you'd let me?" The Englishman asked, bringing Tony's attention off his shoes.

"Are you sure you want that? I try not to make to many attachments unless necessary right now."

"I'm sure." Reyes nodded.

Anthony shrugged and pulled out his phone.

"Well, it'll be my funeral."

author's note

Finished at 3:20 am!
(OKAY this is a lot of writing but bear with me please 🙏🏻)

Sorry this one took a little bit longer than usual, I was celebrating my dad's birthday and was really exhausted the  night after so I actually s l e p t how crazy is that 😴

Anyway, WDWG is now on Quotev for those that care. Not really worth checking out if you're already on Wattpad because if I'm being honest, Wattpad version is better. 🤭

ALSO I was wanting opinions on this idea:
I've had a tumblr for a while and I haven't been using it for anything because I didn't know what it should be??

BUT now I'm wondering if I should set it up as a link to my Wattpad stories? It'd be an easier way to post updates and little behind the scenes stuff that I had going on, a better way to show off graphics that were made for WDWG and stuff (soo many book covers- I've actually been thinking of changing the book cover we already have but I'm a terrible graphic designer yikes 😬)

And I can set it up for people to ask questions which I'd love because I've mentioned it before: my writing focuses on reader inclusivity and I love seeing people involved!!

Anyways- if you've read this far let me know if that's something y'all'd be interested in ♥️