Empty Veins | Quil Ateara [4]

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The moment she realized that she belonged in hell was on the evening she felt her head was ready to explode, eye twitching as everything grew so intense that she whipped a plastic plate at her sister's head in the middle of their small kitchen - their guest watching her with wide as the tiny girl let out a shrill scream that covered all other chatter in the home with a stiff silence. Her hands shook, chest heaved as she hissed at Bella from across the table, teeth grinding loudly from where she shook.

"What do you mean you can't find your ring?" Andy was ready to reach across space and strangle her sister as she hastily eyed the girls bare left hand that was pressed protectively to her chest.

A growing swirl of emotions burst in her stomach, an anxiety and tension that settled unconsciously and Andy brushed it away with the force of her anger - thoughts already snapping to different places it could be hiding away, of things she was going to say when the truth was exposed and she had to explain how she let a 'frazzled' bride lose her rings a week before the wedding was staged to take place.

Mind abuzz with a strength to make it pound angrily within the confines of her skull, Andy snatched Bella's wrist in a tight grip and began dragging the girl up the stairs to her room - vaguely aware of Seth following behind them like an eager puppy willing to help. She imagined he could, that his eyesight must have been better than the two human girls without needing to shift to achieve it.

Already she was being worn thin with the expectations of Alice and the enchanting ceremony and reception that the vampire was planning, Andy was not prepared to take on any extra duties that would no doubt drive her to throw herself off the cliff in La Push so she could sink to the bottom in the tranquil waves that would hold her hostage. What Andy needed was for Bella to keep her head and not turn into this ditzy woman whenever she thought of marrying Edward (or glimpsed her engagement ring).

It was with a whimper from her sister that she found herself easing her grip, a shaky sigh passing barely parted lips that called her to relax from the stress that ate at her. Still, Andy didn't apologize as they continued to the room - not trusting herself to say the right thing or even pretend to be sincere when she felt like she could take on Seth and manage to rip the teeth from his canine jaw.

"When did you notice it missing?" Andy asked when they finally reached Bella's room.

The mess that greeted them almost had Andy turning around and leaving her sister to her own devices, but the panic that fed into her from Bella's twitchy form had her firmly planted in place looking at her expectantly.

"I was helping you cut the vegetables earlier. You were in such a good mood with everyone joking around that I didn't want to bring it up right away," Bella mumbled, and Andy instantly felt a twinge of regret at the way she acted.

Andy sighed. "I didn't see you take it off then, so what were you doing before that?"

"I took a shower."

Spinning on her heels, she shoved Seth in the direction of the bathroom with rapid pleas for him to check there for the pair. Absently, Andy wondered if he would be able to sniff it out if rings even had a scent that you could track.

They waited in an awkward silence for Seth to return, neither daring to say a word at the moment lest they curse the boy's luck and he returns empty-handed. Still, the dejected look tainting his boyish features brought Andy to sink to the floor with a muffled groan as she tucked her head between her knees. All she could see was the way Edward would carefully hide his pain from Bella, would mask it so perfectly that he would be able to fool her sister, but Andy would be able to feel that sharp stab of pain and catch the way sadness would veil his eyes.