with the red blouse I'd tried on two mornings ago, but decided was too dressy for school, hanging over the arm. . . . I spun around again. My hamper wasn't empty, but it wasn't overflowing, the way I thought it had been.
Was Charlie doing laundry? That was out of character.
"Dad, did you start the wash?" I shouted out my door.
"Um, no," he shouted back, sounding guilty. "Did you want me to?"
"No, I got it. Were you looking for something in my room?"
"No. Why?"
"I can't find . . . a shirt. . . ."
"I haven't been in there."
And then I remembered that Alice had been here to get my pajamas. I hadn't noticed that she'd borrowed my pillow, too - probably since I'd avoided the bed. It looked like she had cleaned while she was passing through. I blushed for my slovenly ways.
But that red shirt really wasn't dirty, so I went to save it from the hamper.
I expected to find it near the top, but it wasn't there. I dug through the whole pile and still couldn't find it. I knew I was probably getting paranoid, but it seemed like something else was missing, or maybe more than one something. I didn't even have half a load here.
I ripped my sheets off and headed for the laundry closet, grabbing Charlie's on the way. The washing machine was empty. I checked the dryer, too, half-expecting to find a washed load waiting for me, courtesy of Alice. Nothing. I frowned, mystified.
"Did you find what you were looking for?" Charlie yelled.
"Not yet."
I went back upstairs to search under my bed. Nothing but dust bunnies. I started to dig through my dresser. Maybe I'd put the red shirt away and forgotten.
I gave up when the doorbell rang. That would be Edward.
"Door," Charlie informed me from the couch as I skipped past him.
"Don't strain yourself, Dad."
I pulled the door open with a big smile on my face.
Edward's golden eyes were wide, his nostrils flared, his lips pulled back over his teeth.
"Edward?" My voice was sharp with shock as I read his expression. "What -?"
He put his finger to my lips. "Give me two seconds," he whispered. "Don't move."
I stood frozen on the doorstep and he . . . disappeared. He moved so quickly that Charlie wouldn't even have seen him pass.
Before I could compose myself enough to count to two, he was back. He put his arm around my waist and pulled me swiftly toward the kitchen. His eyes darted around the room, and he held me against his body as if he were shielding me from something. I threw a glance toward Charlie on the couch, but he was studiously ignoring us.
"Someone's been here," he murmured in my ear after he pulled me to the back of the kitchen. His voice was strained; it was difficult to hear him over the thumping of the washing machine.
"I swear that no werewolves -" I started to say.
"Not one of them," he interrupted me quickly, shaking his head. "One of us."
His tone made it clear that he didn't mean a member of his family.
I felt the blood empty from my face.
"Victoria?" I choked.
"It's not a scent I recognize."
"One of the Volturi," I guessed.
"Probably."
"When?"
"That's why I think it must have been them - it wasn't long ago, early this morning while Charlie was sleeping. And whoever it was didn't touch him, so there must have been another purpose."
"Looking for me."
He didn't answer. His body was frozen, a statue.
"What are you two hissing about in here?" Charlie asked suspiciously, rounding the corner with an empty popcorn bowl in his hands.
I felt green. A vampire had been in the house looking for me while Charlie slept. Panic overwhelmed me, closed my throat. I couldn't answer, I just stared at him in horror.
Charlie's expression changed. Abruptly, he was grinning. "If you two are having a fight . . . well, don't let me interrupt."
Still grinning, he put his bowl in the sink and sauntered out of the room.
"Let's go," Edward said in a low hard voice.
"But Charlie!" The fear was squeezing my chest, making it hard to breathe.
He deliberated for a short second, and then his phone was in his hand.
"Emmett," he muttered into the receiver. He began talking so fast that I couldn't understand the words. It was over in half a minute. He started pulling me toward the door.
"Emmett and Jasper are on their way," he whispered when he felt my resistance. "They'll sweep the woods. Charlie is