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Thomas twirled a small piece of grass between his fingers as he looked up at the sky.
It was one of those rare days in Forks, where you could see the sky above, not blocked with dark clouds. His back was pressed to Embry's chest, the Call boy running a hand up and down his back.
"You're quiet."
"I'm thinking."
"Don't hurt yourself," Embry smiled at his own words, Tom rolling his eyes as he threw grass at him.
He ran a hand over Tommy's face, shaking his head slightly as he looked over the Taylor.
"What's a matter?" He mumbled softly, the vampire shaking his head. "Tommy, hey, what's up?"
"My whole life I always wondered what it would end up like," he began slowly. "If Tristan and I would ever turn our backs on each other, if I'd die young."
Tom's shoulders were slumped, as if he were caving in on himself as his eyes stayed trained to the ground.
"Tom." Embry's voice had a seriousness that felt foreign, pushing himself to his knees and taking the boy's face in his hands. "What's this about?"
"Who even was I?" Tommy chuckled. "What was I? A shitty brother? A poster child? What did I ever do that put me here?"
The woods were oddly quiet, no snapping of branches or soft songs of the birds overhead. Just Embry's quiet breathing.
"I just keep replaying it in my head," he bit down on his cheek. "That would've been my life. This guy who just couldn't keep it together, and tried to be perfect, didn't care about anything except his best interest. That's all I would've been," he shook his head again. "That's all I've ever been."
"Hey." Embry's eyes were wild, tilting Tom's head up to meet his eyes, trying to decipher what he was seeing on the boy. "What is going on?"
Tom stilled, searching Embry's eyes for anything recognizable, and only finding panic.
"I've got this feeling," he swallowed as a hand came to the base of his neck, "and it's in my chest. It keeps clawing up my throat and down to my stomach, and it feels like it's trying to consume me."
Embry silently urged his lover on, rubbing his thumb over the boy's cheek in comfort.
"What's the feeling, Tom?"
Thomas couldn't help the way his body shook, he thought that would stop once he died, but he supposed his nerves would always find the best of him.
"It's death."
Tristan threw his head back into Jasper's shoulder, his laughter bouncing off the walls of the Cullen house as Emmett glared.
"Don't be a sore loser," Rose playfully teased, Esme laughing from beside her.
"He's a cheater!"
"I am not!"
Emmett and Tristan's bickering grew louder, Esme looking to Carlisle with a fond smile at the pair.
A phone ringing broke through the laughter, Carlisle retreating to his office as Thomas entered the house.
"Where's Carlisle I—"
Before Tom could finish his sentence his knees buckled from under him, Rosalie hurrying to his side to steady him as his eyes seemed to glass over.
A crash drew attention to the opposite side of the room, Alice steadying herself on the wall to her side as she had the same look.
Tommy's hand squeezed Rose's wrist the boy looking around as if he was seeing something no one else could.
"Help," he muttered.
"Tom," Tristan hurried over to his brother. "Tommy."
With a gasp, Tom's eyes regained the gold color, standing on his own now as he looked around the room.
"Are you okay?" Tristan looked over the boy with scared eyes.
Tom bit down on his lip, nodding numbly at the words.
"Did you see that?" Alice shouted at the boy, clearly distressed.
"Alice, just—"
"Thomas, did you see that?"
He winced at the use of his name, resting his hands on the back of his neck as he tried to ignore all the thoughts bouncing around in his head.
"What's going on?" Emmett asked, just as confused as the others.
"Nothing to do with you all. Alice," Tom nodded upstairs, the girl leading the way to his room.
Tristan watched after them, Jasper giving him a concerned look.
"He's lying."
Alice glared at Tom, though her eyes were soft with something that looked like grief.
"Tommy—"
"I know."
"That's only a couple of months—"
"I know," Tom whispered harshly through clenched teeth.
Alice searched her old lover's eyes, clear with panic as her voice fell into a quiet whisper.
