XXII. Missing shirt.

Jacob finished cleaning the bloody mess he had created on the kitchen floor, washing his hands before he turned to look at me. I was still sitting at the table, hunched over with my hands buried in my hair.

"How are you gonna become one of them if you react like this to blood?" Jacob asked curiously as he raised his eyebrows at me.

I lifted my head and gave him a blank stare. "Do you think right now, is the time to start with me?" I asked softly as I raised my eyebrows.

"I guess not," Jacob replied as he pursed his lips, taking a seat opposite of me. "I'll ask later," he said as he drummed his fingers against the table. I blankly stared at him as I raised my eyebrows again. "Or not," he mumbled softly as he shook his head and I hummed softly. He was silent for a mere second before speaking again. "I do want to ask something else..."

"What?" I asked curiously as I reached my chin on top of the palm of my hand.

Jacob hesitated for a second as he continued to drum his fingers against the table. "There's a bonfire on the reservation," he informed me softly. "Might do you good not to be around this mess for a little," he suggested.

I sighed softly as my gaze fell to the table. "I don't know Jake," I muttered as I shook my head while pursing my lips.

"Afraid he'll say no?" Jacob asked with a sharpness to his accusatory tone.

"This has nothing to do with him." I snapped as my eyes shot towards Jacob, and my jaw clenched. "You haven't been the most pleasant with me whenever I go to La Push," I informed him in a sharp tone.

Jacob's face fell and his gaze lowered to the table. "I know, I'm sorry." He apologized softly as he sighed. "But everyone's gonna be there," he added in his soft tone, his gaze not lifting to meet mine again. "Quil misses you."

I pursed my lips at the mention of Quil. I was silent for a moment before shrugging my shoulders. "I'll see," I muttered softly.

Jacob nodded in understanding before clearing his throat as he tensed up. "So I'll see you later," he said as he stood up erupted, and I raised my eyebrows.

"You're leaving?" I questioned as I stood up as well, confused by his sudden behavior. He looked tense and on edge.

Jacob nodded his head before his sharp gaze shot in the direction of the front door. "He's outside, waiting for me to leave," he muttered with a roll of his eyes, a look of annoyance crossed his face.

I bit back a roll of my eyes as I looked at Jacob. "Well, I think you two should probably talk about whatever the hell you smell in my room," I told him as I quirked an eyebrow, crossing my arms over my chest.

"I'm not so sure that's a good idea," he replied as he slowly shook his head, his jaw clenching tightly.

I rolled my eyes and shook my head. "Well put your big boy pants on, and come," I replied sharply before grabbing his arm and nudging him in the direction of the front door. We stepped out of the house, approaching Edward who stood in the middle of the yard.

Jacob huffed as he and Edward stared each other down. "Whoever it was, he left his stink behind. It'll be hard to miss when we cross it again. We'll handle it from here." he spoke firmly.

Edward slowly shook his head as his lips twitched into a snarl. "We don't need you to handle anything. Or anyone," he replied sharply as he moved to my side. He stood slightly in front of me as if he was putting himself between me and Jacob.

"I could care less what you need." Jacob spat as he stepped closer to Edward, and I could physically feel Edward's restraint starting to slip.

Edward grabbed my hand, nudging me in the direction of the house. "Alright, we're done here." He gritted out through clenched teeth.

Jacob stepped in front of us and Edward's hold on me instinctively tightened as he tensed up. "No, you're done here." Jacob spat in a challenging manner. He was looking for a fight, he wanted Edward's resolve to slip.

I pulled my hand free from Edward's hold and stepped in between them, shoving Jacob away. "Just stop it!" I snapped in frustration. "Both of you have to stop this," I demanded as I shot them both a glare. "I don't expect you guys to chuck a football around together. Fine. But we have a lot of problems, this is a problem for all of us. And this is one temporary solution." I informed them as I shook my head, my eyes shooting towards Jacob. "Are you willing to at least try?" I asked before my eyes darted towards Edward. Both of them nodded in agreement. "Alright, so you need to coordinate. Would the pack prefer days or nights?" I asked as I looked towards Jacob.

"Nights," Jacob replied, although his eyes remained steady on Edward, glaring at him.

I looked at Edward and his eyes immediately flicked down to meet mine. "Will days work for your family?" I asked softly and he nodded his head. "Good. See? How hard was that?" I muttered sarcastically as I raised my eyebrows.

Edward's eyes flashed back towards Jacob and his jaw clenched. "You can leave now." He gritted out as he glared at Jacob. Jacob scoffed and rolled his eyes, shaking his head before jogging off into the woods. Edward glared at Jacob until he was completely out of sight before turning to me. "Why were you feeling so distressed?" he asked softly.

I looked up at Edward, offering him a smile. "It's nothing," I told him before taking his hand and leading him into the house.

Edward raised his eyebrows as he closed the door behind him. "What did the mutt do for you to finally have enough and stab him?" he asked with a hint of amusement in his voice.

I turned to look at him as I entered the living room. "What?" I asked as my eyebrows furrowed and my head tilted to the side.

"I can smell his blood in the kitchen," Edward informed me as he stepped closer to me, nodding his head in the direction of the kitchen while looking amused at the thought he had made in his head, of me stabbing Jacob.

I scoffed in amusement, rolling my eyes while shaking my head. "Knife accident," I informed him.

He chuckled softly, reaching out to gently cup my cheeks with his cold hands. "You seem troublesome with those," he muttered softly as his thumb brushed over my skin.

I laughed softly in agreement before shaking my head. "It was his accident, not mine," I explained as I smiled softly up at him and he hummed in understanding.

Edward stayed with me for the rest of the night, feeling more hesitant than usual to leave me alone even for a second. Edward was sitting in the living room, watching TV while I washed a load of laundry in the downstairs bathroom.

I banged against the washing machine to get it to work, kicking at the bottom as it raddled and then it started working. "Stupid piece of junk," I huffed softly, grabbing the basket with a clean bundle of clothes. I walked out of the bathroom and headed for the kitchen, where the dryer was. I halted mid-step and turned to Edward. "This reminds me," I spoke up and his attention turned to me. "Could you ask Alice what she did with my black turtle neck?" I questioned him before heading into the kitchen. "I can't find it anywhere."

Edward walked into the kitchen behind me as I loaded the clothes into the dryer. "Alice was in your room?" he questioned, his eyebrows furrowing as he leaned against the archway.

"Yeah, she packed a bag of my clothes," I replied with a nod of my head as I looked at him over my shoulder. "I don't know if my shirt is still at your place," I added with a shake of my head. "I didn't see it in my bag."

Edward silently stared at me for a second, the gears inside his head spinning. "When did you notice your shirt was missing?" he asked in a low voice and I could see his body slowly but surely tensing up.

"The other day" I replied as I turned to face him, my eyebrows furrowing at his tense demeanor. "Why?" I questioned softly.

"I don't think Alice took anything. She doesn't have your shirt and it's not at our house." He informed me as he shook his head, and I grew more confused as I stared at him. "Was this a clean shirt?" he questioned

I raised my eyebrows at him. "All my shirts are clean," I replied.

Edward shook his head, his eyebrows furrowing as his gaze fell to the floor. "No, I mean was it washed before it went missing?" he questioned.

"No, it was in my hamper the last I remember," I replied softly as I crossed my arms over my chest. "But it's not in there anymore," I added as I shook my head.

Edward went silent for a second as his jaw clenched, his gaze remaining on the floor. "So it has your scent on it," he muttered softly.

My face and heart dropped equally as fast as one another when realization dawned on me. I let out a shaky breath. "Oh...my visitor," I muttered as my heart began pounding hard in my chest, making Edward's gaze shot toward me.

Edward's phone rang and he ripped it out of his pants pocket, quickly answering. "Just the person I need to talk to," He muttered as he began pacing the kitchen. "Carlisle, I-" he spoke but was quickly cut off. "I'll check it out. Listen, Ana has a missing shirt with her scent on. I think that whoever was in her room, took it." He spoke before silently listening to the other end for a second. "Maybe I'll go " he suggested before glancing in my direction. "Maybe not. Don't let Emmett go alone, you know how he gets. At least ask Alice to keep an eye on things. We'll figure this out later." he spoke as he let out a soft sigh, keeping his eyes on me as they slowly filled with worry.