Like Mother, Like Daughter (Season 3)

by originella

In the wake of the shooting, seventeen-year-old Iana Milkovich has turned to her old flame, Axel, for comfort. But when questions come knocking about her past, Iana decides she wants answers once and for all. With Axel's help, Iana decides to find someone from her past, someone she has never met, to try to piece together even more of her identity, yet is nervous about her findings.

12. All These Years

Chapter Twelve: All These Years

My distrust of cops in general came at the beginning, from the moment my mother first got too up close and personal with Tommy. Knowing what I know now, she was just gleaning as much information she could, before she took the plunge and allowed herself to be in a relationship with a dangerous man. Tommy never sat right with me from day one, and even though he didn't start raping me until after he became engaged to my mother, I knew something was off when he began to grab at me, which directly caused bruising, which caused me to have to wear long sleeves during the summer, and then came the elaborate excuses as to what I'd done to myself this time, while, all the while, Tommy would be staring at me, conducting me with his facial expressions, letting me know if I'd passed or failed various interrogation sessions.

As I stood there, at the reception, wondering where the hell I was supposed to go from here, I felt as if life couldn't get any worse. As always, I was wrong; dead wrong. It was like a punch to the gut when the police cars pulled into the little garden area that Franny and Clark had booked for the party, and I immediately straightened up. None of this could be good; I knew it, and as I stood there, part of me wondered if they were coming to take me away for yet another crime I didn't commit.

As they walked through the crowd, however, I felt a momentary spark of relief when they all of them walked right past me. However, my heart pounded in my chest then as I turned my head around, and my mouth dropped open. They identified themselves, plus made sure they had the right guy, whereupon they took him by the arms and hauled him out of there. The scream was just at the back of my throat then as I rushed forward, demanding to know where they were taking him, but he was very nearly at the car, and the cops were ignoring me.

"You'll post bail!" I said, more for myself than for him. "You'll post bail, and whatever it is, I'll pay it!"

He merely nodded to me then, his face ashen as they shoved him like a common criminal into the back of the police cruiser, and drove away, out of sight.

. . .

My trip to New York was only due to last five days, which was perfect, because, as Maid of Honor, I had plenty of duties back home to take care of. I only had one day to rest between coming home and Franny's bachelorette party, followed by the wedding the day after. I was thankful that, even though Franny had decided that the wedding would be a formal occasion, it would not be an over-the-top one. The ceremony was due to begin between one and two in the afternoon, giving the bridal party plenty of time for beauty sleep.

My final day in New York was crucial, as I had the make-it-or-break-it meeting with a handful of potential investors for Nell's Rags. In all the former COO's years with the company, she had been unable to persuade them to work with the company. Now that I'd filled her shoes, however, they were willing to hear out the company's proposal, and it all rested on my shoulders. I did lots of breathing exercises in preparation for the evening ahead, and decided not to drink a drop of alcohol, and remain professional throughout the night.

After I put on Penny's latest style of dress for the evening ahead, I'd just finished doing my hair and makeup when I heard a knock on my hotel room door. Perplexed, as I hadn't been expecting anyone, I left my bathroom and walked through my bedroom and out into the living room area of my suite, before I opened the door. My jaw hit the floor as I saw who was stationed in the hallway just outside of it, however.

"Someone order a wingman to get these crotchety old men to sign on the dotted line?"

I let out a sigh of relief and threw my arms around Liam in a hug.

"Hey, what's this?" he asked, hugging me back, his body language purely platonic, although I could sense that we both knew what lurked just beneath the surface. "You okay? Have they not been behaving themselves these last few days?"

I pulled back, trying my best to remain calm. "Yeah, you know, a little handsy, but, nothing I can't handle," I said, forcing a smile to my lips.

Liam narrowed his eyes. "Iana, if any of those guys gets out of line, I'll…"

"Hey, it's not your problem, tough guy," I said, tossing the words over my shoulder as I grabbed my clutch from the table, which already housed my cell phone, wallet, and room key. "Come on, then, Kennedy. We've got to schmooze at the restaurant to get you a space at the table in the private room."

Liam chuckled. "That won't be a problem," he said lightly, moving so that I could step into the hallway, and the door closed automatically behind us.

"No?" I asked, walking with him towards the elevator. "Why not?"

"Ever notice how nice the employees of the restaurants are to us?"

I blinked, raising my eyes upwards to press the down button before I turned and looked over at Liam in surprise. "Yeah… But aren't people usually nice to generous clientele?"

Liam grinned. "They are, especially if you own twenty-five-percent or more of their business, which effectively means you sign their paychecks."

I stammered in shock then, shaking my head. "So, those restaurants in Milan and Madrid, you and Penny…?"

"And our mother," he said, "but mostly her. She invests in various businesses. Keeps her occupied, now that Dad's gone, and Penny and I pretty much have our own lives."

I shake my head then, a giggle of amusement escaping my lips as our elevator arrived on the ground floor. I made my way over towards the doors, ready to hail a cab, but stopped as soon as Liam and I walked outside, just as I saw a stretch limo and a driver to match, who opened the back door of the sleek vehicle. "Power move, Kennedy?" I asked, peering at him over my shoulder, a look of amusement on my face.

Liam chuckled. "Maybe," he replied with a shrug, taking my hand and guiding me into the luxury vehicle, which boasted fine black leather interior. "Why?" he asked as he slid in beside me, and nodded for the driver to get up front. "Is it working?"

I rolled my eyes. "You're crazy," I replied as the driver got up front and, obviously knowing where he was going, pulled away from the hotel.

Liam shrugged. "So I've been told."

I leaned back on the finely upholstered seats, deciding to relax and enjoy the ride. "How've you been, then?" I asked. "Haven't seen you since our last flight…"

Liam nodded. "Been busy. Prepping for summer. Thinking about taking some time off, but we'll see what work allows."

I nodded back. "Sounds reasonable."

"How's Hailey?" he asked.

I grinned stupidly. "Perfect," I replied. "Talking up a storm every day, and she can now use the potty by herself."

Liam grinned back. "That a girl," he said in approval.

I nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, she's definitely a light in my life…"

Liam hesitated for a moment, studying my profile. "Does that mean other aspects of your life are shrouded in darkness?"

"How very poetic," I said, in a much more bitter tone than I intended. "Sorry," I said quickly then, turning and looking over at him.

He shook his head. "No, it's fine… Is everything okay?"

I sighed. "Not really, no."

"Want to talk about it?"

I peered over at him. "No judgement?"

Liam nodded. "Cross my heart."

I shrugged. "What's to say? My boyfriend officially will never trust me, because he's convinced I'm hung up on you. And then there's the matter of the fact that without trust, you can't have a relationship…"

Liam sighed. "Seems to me you also can't have a relationship if you are supposedly hung up on someone else." He cut himself off when I turned and looked at him. "Just my opinion."

I sighed. "I don't know. I guess what it all comes down to is, Axel is unwilling to forget my past entirely. He liked it when I was fourteen but now that I'm eighteen, I guess we're at the point where something has to give…"

"Life's short, Iana. Too short."

I nodded. "You're telling me…"

"No, don't just brush it off like it's nothing. I'm being serious right now," Liam said, his voice firm, and I turned over to look at him. "You've only got one shot at this life, so if someone or something means something to you, go after them or it. If you think you're making a mistake with said someone or something, do something about it. If you're feeling like you're stuck somewhere you don't want to be, get yourself out of it. You have to go after what you want in life, Iana, before it's too late."

I sighed, knowing that the time was dawning, and I had to stop myself from completing something that should've never begun again in the first place. "You're right," I said, smiling at him, but I didn't lean over and kiss him, no matter how much I wanted to. "You're right, Liam, thank you. I'll keep that in mind."

. . .

The flight home was torture but, thankfully, Liam was catching a different plane, so I wasn't afforded any distractions during. I felt relieved as I got my duffel down from the overhead compartment, and made my way through the rest of the first class section and out into the airport itself. I walked past the gated areas and sprinted through the rest of the airport, catching a taxi home to clean myself up. I was only prolonging the inevitable, but I had to work on my speech before I got there.

Once I arrived home, I knew Hailey would be getting picked up from daycare by my mother at around the same time, so I had to be quick. I dashed upstairs and jumped in the shower, washing myself all over before I got out and blow-dried my hair. I went into my bedroom and yanked on the first thing I could find, a dress and heels, and clipped my locket around my throat. I grabbed my phone, keys, and wallet before dashing back downstairs and out the front door, locking up behind me and running for my car.

The drive to Axel's apartment didn't feel as long, although my mind was plenty occupied with what needed to be said, and had needed to be said for a long time. As I pulled up outside the place, I forced myself out of the car and up towards the elevator. Once there, and on the correct floor, I knocked on the door, and Axel opened it up.

"Come in," he said, no pleasantries whatsoever.

"I came by so that we could talk."

"Fine," he said, walking away from me. "Say whatever you want."

I shut the door behind me. "How was your day?" I asked.

He sighed. "Come on, Iana. I know you didn't come her to talk about that."

I nodded. "You're right," I said, watching as he walked across the room, effectively putting as much distance between us as possible. "Look, Axel…"

"Spare me the overture, Iana. Just get on with it."

"I guess what I don't understand is why you've been so distant towards me," I said, watching as Axel continued staring out his living room window. "Well, I guess I do, but still, we haven't made any strides to resolve it. And besides, we haven't had sex in weeks, and you've just been avoiding every single topic of the future like it's fire or some shit…"

"I've tried to talk about the future, Iana, you know I have. Now that you're eighteen, you said we would discuss moving in together, but…"

"Axel, you know my job schedule is unpredictable, and then there's Hailey…"

"There you go again, making excuses," Axel said, shaking his head. "You say you want to talk about the future, but you just want to make yourself feel better by saying that."

I shake my head at him. "That's not…"

"It is, Iana. It is."

I sighed then, my entire body slacking in one single movement. "Why are you telling me all this, Axel? Why now?"

Axel sighed, turning around at long last and looking at me. "I love you."

I blinked, staring at him. "Why would you…?"

"Because you haven't been able to say it back since Valentine's Day," Axel said. "And I know why, and I'm not upset."

"You… You know why?" I whispered.

"Of course I know why," he said, sighing. "You see Liam enough based on the work you do for Penny and so it just makes sense. You love Liam."

I shook my head at him. "Axel, I don't…"

"Listen," Axel said, crossing over to me then and taking ahold of my shoulders gently, "I'll always be there for you and Hailey, whatever you need. But if you feel something for Liam and just ignore it, our relationship will suffer. I won't hold you back, if he's who you want, and if that's the case, you need to go for it."

I smiled up at Axel then, pressing my lips to his cheek before pulling back. "Son of a bitch," I said quietly then. "You turned out to be a hell of a good guy, Axel Richland. Thank you," I said in an excited voice, before grabbing my purse and running out out there.

I ran down the steps of his building, not even wanting to bother with the elevator as I got to the bottom and stepped out onto the street. I ran for my car then, getting into it, my course set for Liam's penthouse. Axel was right, I'd been unfair; ever since Penny's Valentine's Day gala celebrating love, there were clear moments between Liam and me, and we'd decided to ignore it, based on my relationship with Axel. Now that I was free from that commitment, I could do what I always wanted to do, had always wanted to do. I was eighteen-years-old, and nothing was holding me back from getting what I really wanted.

I drove into Liam's parking garage of the penthouse, locking up my car and heading directly over to the elevator, my heart pounding in my ears. I pressed the button of his place, and the elevator pulled me upwards towards my destination, bringing me quickly to the correct floor. As I stepped out onto the black marble, I didn't even hesitate as I pressed the button onto the intercom system, not like I had the first time I'd gone there.

"Kennedy," Liam said into it.

"It's Iana," I said, my voice devoid of nerves. "Can I come in?"

"Sure," he replied.

The door clicked then, and I wrapped my hand around the chrome handle and pushed it open, and found myself in that gorgeous living room of his. I barely reacted to the door shutting almost automatically behind me as I stepped inside, my eyes immediately drawn to the staircase when Liam came down it. I didn't even hesitate; it was on my mind, and now that the way was clear, I was about to do what I always wanted.

"You doing okay? Hailey all right?" Liam asked.

I didn't even bother answering him. I felt my breath growing heavy then, and was quite positive he could hear my heart pounding from across the living room. I decided to ignore the tremors of nerves threatening to overtake me then, and dropped my purse onto the floor, before walking over towards Liam, purpose in every step, as I stood on my toes and kissed him, which was not very difficult to do, due to the designer heels Penny always insisted I wear.

Liam's arms came around me then, and I felt his lips immediately part under mine the moment after they met. He must've known, as I'd known, that the last time we'd shared a kiss of this caliber was in this very place, only under very different circumstances. He didn't know I was pregnant with Hailey yet, and we'd made a promise to be friends…

Liam pulled back from me then, cradling my face in his hands. "What about Axel?" he asked then, his eyes filled with sadness. "Despite everything, he's a good guy. I may not like you being with him, but he's still a nice guy…"

I nodded, lowering my eyes from his. "I know," I replied, biting on my lower lip. "He and I ended things tonight…"

"Because of me?"

"Because of you and me," I replied, my eyes flashing back to his. "Because of whatever this is between us… It's not like I want to fuck to get it out of our systems, Liam. I'm done with that, because I'm done with Axel, relationship-wise. I want you; I want to be with you," I said then, shocked at how vulnerable I'd become then.

Liam looked amazed at my words, before he pulled me back to him then, his lips finding mine immediately, tasting me, and I managed to wrap my legs around his torso. "Iana…" He groaned, pulling his lips reluctantly from mine. "What are you doing to me?"

"What do you think?" I whispered then, my breath becoming heavier in my throat. "Take me upstairs, Liam. Now. I need you."

Liam scooped me up completely then, carrying me up that staircase and down the hallway, and into his bedroom. He set me down on the edge of the bed then, slipping off my heels and staring at me for a moment, before he pressed his lips to my ankle. He placed his giant hand between my breasts then, pushing me down onto the mattress as his lips continued up my legs, and into the crevice between them, which quickly made my toes curl completely as I felt his hot breath lingering there. He took the band of my panties between is fingers then, yanking it down and staring at me for a moment, before he permitted his finger to trace me, and I found the whimpers and moans coming forth from my lips refused to stop.

"Liam…" I whispered, biting onto my lips. "Liam, please…" I begged.

"You're already ready for me," he whispered, his voice marveling at how impossible it seemed before his eyes rose towards me. "Tell me you're mine."

"I'm yours," I said, my eyes locking with his. "God, I'm yours, please…"

Liam smiled, satisfied with that as he yanked the zipper down off his slacks, stepping out of them before he pulled his boxers down, climbing onto the bed with me. He pulled my thousand-dollar dress over my head, tossing it across the room, while my hands unbuttoned his dress shirt and freely roamed his muscular chest. "Say it again," Liam whispered then, as my hands traced every chest muscle, blowing hot breath on my nipples as he continued to tease my opening, and seemed to take great joy as I writhed beneath him.

"I'm yours, Liam Kennedy. Only yours…" I whispered, looking up at him.

He nodded, satisfied then as he slammed himself into me, and I let out a scream as he filled me so effortlessly then. He chuckled then, his auditory sounds morphing into moans quickly thereafter as my fingers wrapped themselves around his perfectly-carved buttocks, urging him harder, faster, and deeper into me. His eyes locked with mine then, tracing my cheek bone as he continued to stare down at me. "Say you'll always be mine, Iana…"

I let out another gasp then as he shifted inside me, which I felt everywhere in my body, and knew that I'd never be able to give this up. "I'll always be yours, Liam," I said, my words faint, for I could barely speak from the pleasure that radiated through me.

"I'm glad," Liam replied, leaning down and capturing my lips with his again, before I could scream his name.

. . .

I felt my eyes opening the following morning, and I automatically reached out for Liam, but found only a warm portion of bed beside me. I sat bolt upright then, gathering the comforter of the bed around me, shuddering as its softness made contact with my nipples, still swollen and erect from the night before. I scooted over to the side of the bed and gathered my clothes, putting them on carefully, and clipping my locket back into place. I dug in my purse for a hair tie and put my hair up, hoping it wasn't in complete disarray.

"Yeah, I understand that. Yeah. No, I get it. Stop contradicting me."

Every hair along my body stood on end as I moved over to Liam's bedroom door, and opened it even more then. I walked out and stood on the landing, looking at Liam, who faced the floor-to-ceiling window in his living room below. He looked truly beautiful as the sun hit his perfect body that morning, and I felt like jelly just admiring him.

"You don't need to worry about a thing. I know how to handle situations like this. Don't worry, it didn't mean a thing. I know it can't mean a thing." He cut himself off then, and caught me staring at him. "I have to take care of it now. Talk to you later." He promptly hung up the phone, and I came towards the staircase then, making my way down, my heels in my hand, and stood before him.

"Good morning," I said.

"Put your shoes on."

I was taken aback by the sudden lack of emotion in his tone when directed at me, but nevertheless complied with his demand. "What's going on?"

"You have to leave."

I blinked, finishing with buckling up my heels before I got to my feet. "Why? Do you have an early meeting or something?"

Liam shook his head. "No. I just want you gone."

My mouth fell open. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "But, Liam, you said that I should go out and take what I want. You know what I want, I showed and told you as much last night. You know that I want…"

"Yeah, I know, and I don't give a shit," he said, his tone cutting. "We told each other that we weren't relationship kind of people. Just because you slipped up and were with Axel doesn't mean I suddenly want to play house with you, too."

I blinked, shaking my head. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying get the fuck out of my house," he says, striding past me and picking up my purse, which he shoved into my arms. "I'm saying that last night was only physical. I'm saying that you and I will never be together."

"But, Liam, I…"

"Don't say anything else, Iana," he thundered, narrowing his eyes at me as he grabbed me by the shoulders and yanked me towards the door, which I was promptly shoved through. "Unless you just want to fuck around again, or discuss work, Iana, then don't come back here. Ever," he said, emphasising the last word, before slamming the door behind him.

I walked towards the elevator then, over fifty-percent in a daze as I pressed the button. Once the box came for me, I stepped inside and pressed the parking garage level. I tore my phone out from my purse then, keying in Penny's number, and listened to the rings. When I got her machine, I waited for the beep before I spoke. "Penny, this is Iana. You're going to have to find yourself a new COO, because I'm done," I said as the elevator doors open. "I quit," I finished, willing for my voice not to break as I ended the call, and made my way towards my car.

. . .

The only thing I managed to do at Franny's bachelorette party was win the award for "Most Drunk" out of everyone in the bridal party. I smiled and nodded throughout the night, knowing that I would pay for it in the morning, but crossing my fingers that I would somehow manage to survive the ceremony. I woke up in late morning and chugged some water and pain pills, hoping for the best.

"Want to catch a ride with me?" I asked Yev. "You're a groomsmen. As the Maid of Honor, I have to make sure everyone gets to where they're supposed to be."

Yev nodded. "Sure, I'll catch a ride with the Maid of Honor and Flower Girl."

I grinned. "Great," I said. "Thanks for sneaking me in here last night."

Yev laughed. "No problem."

"Gotta head over to my place to shower and get into some sweats. Meet me at my car in an hour, all right?"

Yev saluted me. "You go it."

I stuck my tongue out at him before heading back across the street, plugging in my phone to the charger, and finding a bunch of texts and missed calls from Penny, Lacey, Rose, and, surprisingly, Liam. "Son of a bitch probably only called because mommy and baby sister told him to," I said, my voice bitter.

I got into a shower and did my hair and washed my body, pushing the thoughts of the night before last from my mind. Last thing I needed was for my final day of Maid of Honor duties to be clogged up with thoughts of my stupidity. A lapse of judgement; temporary insanity; utter shamelessness. Whatever you wanted to call it in a negative light, it applied to me. I rested my head against the white tile of my shower, unaware of where my tears ended and where the stream of shower water began.

Pushing it all from my mind, I got out of there as soon as I could, grabbing my blow-dryer and doing as good a job on my hair as I could. I then rolled my eyes, but put my hair into the hot rollers that Franny had insisted I buy. Once that was done, I checked over my makeup bag and pulled that with me as I stepped out of my bathroom, and yanked on a pair of cotton panties, a sports bra, jean shorts, and a tank top.

My phone buzzed then, and I perched on the edge of my bed, noticing it was an alert from Google Flights about tickets to Los Angeles. I smiled to myself, accessing a promo code I'd gotten recently, and bought two tickets, due to leave the following day. Smiling to myself, I put my phone back onto my bed, making sure that my dress was all secure in its bag, as well as its matching shoes. I walked into my parents' bedroom, where Hailey had been put down for a nap, and brought her to the bathroom, where she did her business, before I got her all ready for the drive down to The Crystal Gardens, where the wedding was due to take place.

"Hey, you," I said, spotting Yev coming towards my car, as I held Hailey in one arm, and our garment bags in the other. "Ready?"

Yev shifted slightly, showing off his garment bag. "Last time I checked."

I forced a smile to my lips. "Let's get out of here, then."

After strapping Hailey into her car seat and hanging our garment bags on the specific hooks reserved for them in my car, we drove to the wedding venue. I listened to Yev's small talk and responded when it was appropriate to do so. I found myself smiling at my older brother then; in just under a year, he had a job, a boyfriend, and a family that loved him. And then there was me, his sister, who had put her life on the line for him, and I wouldn't have had it happen any other way, for the last thing I needed was to lose him.

Once we arrived, we were directed to the specific quarters reserved for the bridal and groom party, and I was given permission to change Hailey, before Mom showed up and I got to hand her off to her while I changed. Once my dress was on and in place, I took the godforsaken rollers out of my hair and did my hair and did my makeup, before fetching Hailey back to me and went to go and see how Franny was doing.

"Hey," I said, smiling at her.

Franny squealed when she saw me. "That green drape dress that Penny designed for you is absolutely exquisite!" she cried.

I smiled, doing my best not to wince at the sound of Penny's name. "Yeah, well, you know she loves it when people wear her stuff."

The ceremony soon began and was over and done with in a matter of minutes, as Franny didn't want a bunch of flowery words, just straight from the heart. The dancing and appetizers were brought about as soon as the justice of the peace left his spot, and I refused the shrimp, as I knew such a thing would make me sick. Hailey had been regulated to my mother's arms again, and I stood off a little from the crowd of people, so that I was by myself, having dodged Liam, Penny, and Lacey since my arrival at the venue.

As I stood there, at the reception, wondering where the hell I was supposed to go from here—in both my professional and personal life, as I was no longer gainfully employed, or attached at the hip with someone romantically—and I felt as if life couldn't get any worse. As always, I was wrong; dead wrong. It was like a punch to the gut when the police cars pulled into The Crystal Gardens, and I immediately straightened up at the sound. None of this could be good; I knew it, and as I stood there, part of me wondered if they were coming to take me away for yet another crime I didn't commit.

As they walked through the crowd, however, I felt a momentary spark of relief when they all of them walked right past me. However, my heart pounded in my chest then as I turned my head around, and my mouth dropped open.

"Yevgeny Milkovich?"

Yev turned then, from where he'd been standing with Desmond, his expression changing drastically when he saw just who was asking. "Yeah?" he asked.

"I'm Sergeant Michaelson of the Chicago Police, and you're under arrest for the assault and battery of Terry Milkovich," he said, and simultaneously cuffed him and dragged him back towards the entrance of the place. "Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney, if you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you…"

"Where are you taking him?!" I screamed, even though I very well knew the answer. "Will somebody tell me what's going on?!"

"Don't worry your pretty little head about it," said one officer.

I glared at him, before looking over at Yev. "You'll post bail!" I said, more for myself than for him. "You'll post bail, and whatever it is, I'll pay it!"

Yev merely nodded to me then, his face ashen as they shoved him like a common criminal into the back of the police cruiser, and drove away, out of sight.

. . .

Yev was let out on a one hundred thousand dollar bail, which I readily paid, as Penny had given me several bonuses since I'd done three successful deals in a row. Not that any of that mattered now, I reasoned with myself, as I tucked in Hailey where she lay beside me, in an airplane seat which had converted to a bed. I kissed her forehead, the mid-June sunshine coming in from my airplane window, and yet I knew, since I'd been up all night posting bail for Yev, I could use the three hours or so spent in the air for sleep.

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for flying with us today. We leave beautiful Chicago to fly into sunny Los Angeles. We hope you enjoy your flight, and your trip."

I reached down then and pulled out the paperwork that I'd had Dad draw up for me at his own suggestion, the words Termination of Parental Rights written in bold on the tip-top of the first page I held. I turned and looked at Hailey, knowing that she was asleep, so she wouldn't be able to hear me at all, and yet, I smiled. "Soon you'll understand why I couldn't have your daddy near you," I told her, my tone gentle, as the plane drew closer to our destination.

END OF SEASON THREE