The Ice Princess (#2)

Criminal

Dedicated to one of my best friends, Ashley Varner! I love you Ash, for being a source of inspiration. You make the stars shine. 

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Chapter 5-Criminal

"You understand why I did what I did. You understand why I ran, don't you?" Bree cried pleadingly. Claudia had a strange torn look on her face. She wanted to hold it against Bree for abandoning them, for choosing her parents over her friends....but she couldn't find it in her to do that.

"I......do" Ben finally murmured, trusting that he was speaking for everyone else. They all felt some void inside them finally filled. The burning question of why Bree dropped off the map why they needed her most had finally been answered.

"After that call, I wanted to get away from Melrose. I didn't like knowing what I was capable of. I couldn't destroy anything more, I couldn't give Malcolm any more power over me" Bree admitted.

"Even if it meant stealing our scholarships to go to Oxford?" Cody piped.

"Okay, can you let it go?" Claudia snapped at him, rolling her eyes in exasperation.

"Yeah, the Crown was probably the last thing on her mind at that point of time" Ben added. "Whatever!" Cody made a face and childishly looked away. Bree couldn't help but crack a smile; this instance was a ghost of how they used to be. Before all this mess. When Mila was still alive.

Bree sneaked a glance at Lee. He looked devastated, understandably. Everything he thought he knew had just turned upside down. His world was never perfect but now it seemed as if it had been shattered yet again. It was almost unbearable for Bree to watch him fall apart and not be able to do anything for him. Nothing to ease the pain.

"L-let me get this straight" Lee finally spoke shakily. He took off his sleek spectacles and looked up at Bree. The wind was literally knocked out of her as she stared into his vibrant, beautiful blues.

"Our parents knew each other......25 years ago. They hated each others' guts because of what Malcolm did. The story about having a twin.....giving the baby up to the mob...... that was your parents', not mine. Ben is your b-brother" Lee exhaled, looking briefly at Ben, who exhaled sharply.

"And Malcolm needs a 6 letter code along with my birth date to open my family's fortune. So he's still going to come after me. He blackmailed you, making you choose between two people you loved very much. Wow" Lee blinked dazedly. Bree's heart went out for him, even after 4 years, he wasn't completely over his uncle's death and now....having this ton of new information shoved at him had to be hard.

"Malcolm did such a good job of screwing things over for all of us, he's got you suspecting your own parents for killing mine" Lee ground his teeth, his eyes flashing in anger.

"Let's just wean ourselves off that for a little while. At least till we get out of here" Bree suggested hastily. She didn't want anyone to become unhinged when they were in a confined space. Especially herself. Even after 4 years, she hadn't exactly come into terms about her parents possibly killing Lee's.

"Hey!" Frank spoke up, surprise coloring his voice, "Its morning!"

In a flurry of movements, everyone rushed out the basement door to see if it was possible to leave. And not so subtly, to give Bree and Lee some privacy. Bree stepped closer, seeing Lee was still anguished.

 "Lee" Bree whispered, afraid to break him again. His eyes connected with Bree's and she felt the room start to spin. His eyes were filled with tears.