It's Time

Chapter 32

Disclaimer: All things Twilight belong solely to Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended.

A second disclaimer:

I'm not a professional writer. I write Twilight fanfic simply because I love this fandom.

I apologize in advance for any errors.

BPOV

Walking toward the sofa, Edward's gaze never left his mother. "I was on my way to see Nonno when I saw Pops' car parked outside. I thought it might not be best to announce my arrival, and from the sound of things, that was a good decision."

"Sweetheart, you can't fault me for wanting to see you happy. This whore," she gestured toward me, contempt spilling from her like an open wound, "is obviously not the person who is going to do that for you."

"Stop it!" His angry voice stabbed the air. "You need to leave before I do something I regret."

Esme stood, and gingerly placed her hand on Edward's arm. She gave him a dejected look. "You can't seriously be choosing her over your father … over me?"

Removing her hand, his square jaw tensed visibly. Through clenched teeth, he said, "What you don't seem to understand is that you're not even in the running, there's no contest when it comes to how I feel about Bella. It will always be her. I will always choose her."

Disdain etched across her face. Turning, she pointed her long finger in my direction. "You will pay for this!"

Edward made his way to my side and wrapped an arm around my shoulder, drawing me close. "Be careful who you threaten. Bella has much more powerful allies than you or Pops. I'm not the only one who would choose her over the two of you."

She gawked at him before threatening, "Wait until your father hears about this!"

He shook his head in disgust. "As of today, I no longer have a father or a mother. As far as I'm concerned, you're both dead to me."

Edward and I stood in silence as we watched Esme open the door and leave. Once she was gone, he walked to the door and locked it. Returning to my side, he asked, "Are you okay?"

"I'm not sure," I answered truthfully. Sitting on the sofa, I buried my head in my hands and attempted to process what had just happened … what I had just learned. As I thought about Esme's words, her threats against my baby, a flash of panic filled me. "Oh my God! Gia! I need to get home to Gia!"

Edward screwed his brows together. "What's wrong with Gia?"

"E-Esme threatened to hurt her."

"What?" he shouted before asking, "tell me exactly what she said."

A sob escaped me, "She implied she had caused my accident and then warned Gia would be next."

After releasing an expletive, Edward knelt before me. Taking my trembling hands into his, he said, "Bella, no one will touch a single hair on your daughter's head. I promise."

My eyes met his; his expression was serious. The feel of his skin against mine calmed my nerves and made me feel safe.

"I … believe … you," I whispered between hiccuping breaths.

He lifted our twined hands to his mouth and placed a gentle kiss on my fingers. "Thank you." After releasing my hand, he removed his cellphone from his jacket and dialed a number. A moment later, he said, "Nonno? I'm with Bella. I'm going to put you on speaker so she can listen."

On the other end of the line, Nonno responded, his deep voice laced with concern. "What's going on, son? Is everything okay?"

"Carlisle and Esme are in town. I will fill you in on the details soon, but Bella needs confirmation that Gia's safe."

"Why are you asking if Gia is safe?" Nonno asked before releasing a string of what I could only assume were Italian curse words. "Dear God, please tell me my son didn't—"

Instead of giving Edward a chance to answer, I repeated his initial question, "Nonno, please … is Gia okay?"

Hearing the panic in my voice, his tone softened. "Of course, she is, sweetheart. She's sitting on the living room floor building some type of block fortress with Mike and Eleazar."

Sagging against the sofa, the tension in my body dissolved.

Edward said, "Nonno, can you or Mike come to the shop and drive Bella home? I don't want her out by herself while they're here. I'll follow behind, and then we can discuss what happened."

"Sure, I'll leave right now."

"No!" I interjected, causing a frown to form across Edward's features.

He looked at me. "I'm sorry, Bella. I shouldn't have assumed you would want me at your home. We can meet at my place instead."

I shook my head. "No, that's not what I meant. You can drive me home, Edward." Biting my bottom lip, I waited for his response.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," I replied.

"We'll be waiting for you," Nonno said, "and, sweetheart, please try not to worry. I hope you realize I would protect Gia with my life, and I'm not the only one who would."

"Thanks, Nonno," I whispered, adding, "I love you."

"I love you as well, Bella."

Edward ended the call and asked if I needed help with closing the store for the night.

"No, Carmen finished almost everything earlier; the rest can wait until tomorrow."

Once we exited the building, he placed his palm on the small of my back and led me to his awaiting car. After opening the passenger door, he sprinted to the driver's side and started the engine.

Before leaving the parking space, he turned and studied me with a solemn intensity. "Thank you for allowing me to drive you home. After what my … my parents put you through today, I'm surprised you didn't kick me out on my ass." He winced in disgust. "Even after all this time, my family continues to cause you nothing but distress."

His anguished expression caused my heart to tighten. Leaning over the console, I stroked his cheek with the back of my knuckles. "Edward, I don't blame you for the actions of your parents."

His eyes widened at my bold gesture.

Taking a deep breath, I summed up the courage to continue. "I've held you accountable for basically every single thing that's gone wrong in my life, but I now realize how unfair I've been. I've defined you by your mistakes, but I'm beginning to see how you have changed … grown."

He gasped. "Does this mean you forgive me?"

I nodded. "I do, but we both have our fair share of emotional bruises. Healing and trust are going to take some time."

Grinning sideways at me, he said, "Time, I have. I'm impatient, but if waiting means being able to be with you … I can wait as long as forever."

Sighing, I groaned. "That's just it, Edward. I can't make you any promises."

"I'm not worried. Your heart already knows. I can wait for your brain to catch up." He pulled onto the road with a smirk.

Throwing my head back against the headrest, I murmured, "You have to be the cockiest person I've ever met."

Chuckling, he said, "I think the word you meant was charming."

I couldn't help but giggle. "No, I'm pretty sure it wasn't."

Ten minutes later, we arrived at my house. As soon as we entered through the doorway, we were met with the smells of Nonna's Ciceri e Tria, and Carmen holding Gia.

"Look, it's Momma!" she exclaimed to Gia who wiggled and reached for me.

"Ma-ma!" Gia screeched as I pulled her from Carmen's grasp. Even though she had been calling me that magical name for the past two weeks, my heart still melted each time she said it. Holding her close, I kissed the top of her head and reveled in her sweet, baby scent.

Once she finally got tired of my fussing, she squirmed and turned toward the room where she immediately spotted Edward. After studying him for only a moment, she held out her arms, demanding his attention.

Shocked by her silent request, he looked at me for permission. To be honest, I was just as surprised as he was; Gia didn't typically warm up to strangers so quickly. After giving him a quick nod, he retrieved her from my arms.

I couldn't help but smile at the display. It was obvious he didn't have any experience with babies; he appeared stiff and uncomfortable. Gia, however, didn't notice his uneasiness and became enraptured with his colorful tie. She tugged and pulled on it, and like most things she got a hold of, she stuffed the cloth inside her mouth and started to chew. A visible shudder passed through Edward as drool began dripping down the side of Gia's mouth onto his clothing."

"Here, let me take her."

As I stretched my arms to get her, Gia released the tie from her mouth and jutted her bottom lip. "No!"

A sigh escaped me at the sound of Gia's favorite word. My daughter had developed a stubborn streak and now had a vocabulary term to match.

"It's okay, Bella," Edward said as he gave Gia back the end of his tie. "A little drool never hurt anybody."

"Well, it may not hurt people, but I'm not so sure the same can be said about that Armani tie," Carmen said with a snicker.

"Carmen," Edward said, "it's fine. I have an entire drawer of ties, but this is the first time I've gotten to hold Gia."

"If you're sure …" I gave him a skeptical look, but he seemed determined.

"Of course I am." After looking around the room, he asked, "Where's Nonno?"

Carmen replied, "He left about twenty minutes ago."

"He left? Did he say where he was going?"

"No, he only told us you were bringing Bella home, and that he needed to run a quick errand."

A cold tremor shot down my back. I looked at Edward who appeared as panicked as I felt. Handing me Gia, he said, "Bella, maybe you had better take her. I need to go find Nonno."

Carmen looked confused as Edward made a hasty departure. "Did I miss something, passerotta?"

I nodded. "Esme came to the shop shortly after you left. She all but admitted to causing my accident."

"That bitch!" Carmen exclaimed before quickly covering her mouth in embarrassment. Her eyes glanced at Gia and then moved apologetically to me.

After hearing his wife's outburst, Eli dashed from the kitchen and looked at her with bewilderment. "What's the matter?"

"Esme Cullen is what's the matter," answered Carmen with a huff. A muscle clenched along her jaw. "Eleazar, where's your gun? I'm going to go take care of that she-devil once and for all!"

AN:

Thank you to the usual suspects for their help with this chapter ... Fran, K, Gail, and Kay.

Much love to my readers.

Until next time,

HE

.