A/N: Hey, it's been a while! Sorry about that. Anyways, thank you guys for all the reviews! I'm truly amazed. Anyways, here's Chapter 20! Not sure how if I liked how it turned out...oh, well.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Chapter 20: The Truth Shall Set You Free

Leigh POV

"I guess I should start from the beginning…my name is not Leigh Gibbs."

I eyed the boys warily as they took in what I said. Though they tried to hide, it was obvious I shocked them. I could already feel myself getting emotional. This was not going to be easy. I gulped, gathering some courage.

"My real name is Katherine Leigh McGrath. And…I'm the daughter of an Irish mob boss."

Kendall looked at me dubiously. "You're kidding right? Is this some kind of joke?"

I scowled at him. "I wish. Can you think of a better reason for why my fingerprints were burned off?"

"You're an emancipated minor...I assumed your parents abused you."

"I lied."

Seeing that the boys believed me, I continued my narrative.

"I've been trained in various styles of martial arts, and I can speak six different langugaes fluently. I never thought anything of it…I just assumed all kids learned what I learned. Throughout my childhood, I was exposed to drug dealings, espionage, and even murder. I was desensitized, not understanding that everything my family did was wrong. All I understood was that I had to obey my father at all my whole life, I was just a puppet for my father to use.

"I continued to live this life of obliviousness until I was thirteen. The tradition in the family was every child must go through a rite of passge to become an adult. My father got to decide how this rite was administered. And for me…I was to murder the son of one of my father's ex-"business partners" on my fourteenth birthday.

"My father had it set up. This boy and I were to meet randomly, and I was supposed to charm him into becoming my boyfriend. I was supposed to gain his trust, and when the night of my fourteenth birthday came, I was to kill him.

"Everything was going according to my father's plan. We met, and he took a shining to me. His trust was so easy to gain, and soon after we began dating. But what my father didn't expect was that I'd fall for him, too. That being with him would change my whole perspective on life.

"Eric made me want to be a better person. His view on life was so fundamentally different from my own…I was drawn to it. His innocence was addicting…never in his wildest dreams did he think his parents would be involved in something so deplorable. He thought that his family was picture-perfect.

"I tried to keep myself detached from him. But his belief in the goodness and beauty of mankind was too enticing.

"I kept the truth from him for as long as I could and when the night of my fourteenth birthday came, I tried to put aside my feelings for him. But I couldn't."

"For the most beautiful girl in the world," Eric proclaimed as he handed me a velvety box, "Happy Birthday, Sparrow."

I rolled my eyes at his nickname for me, and accepted the box. Slowly, I opened the box and gasped. Gently, I pulled out the most beautiful necklace I had ever seen. On a silver chain hung a dark green gem, its hue matching the color of my eyes exactly. On the right side of the chain, I saw a small, silver sparrow.

I was absolutely stunned. "I…I don't know what to say."

Eric smiled sweetly at me. "You can tell me how awesome I am while I put the necklace on you."

Chuckling, I handed him the necklace. "And what? Make the head of yours bigger than it already is?" I teased.

He merely laughed as he draped the necklace around my neck. With an accomplished grunt, he fastened the clasp. "There. Perfect."

I looked over to the clock, the beating of my heart ceasing as I read the numbers displayed. 11:50. My time was almost up. I had to do my father's bidding. I felt for the knife I had in my pocket. Discovering its hilt, I gripped it tightly. It was now or never.

Slowly, I withdrew the knife from my pocket. But as soon my eyes fell on Eric, what little resolve I had wavered. Tears began to fall on my cheeks,my hands shaking.

Eric noticed my distress. "Leigh? What's wrong?" As he got closer to me, he spotted the knife. "Why do you have a knife?"

My sobs became more violent, my whole body now shaking. Eric collected me into his arms, gripping me tightly. Ashamed, I roughly pushed him off.

"No, don't!" I exclaimed, "You don't understand."

"Tell me," he pleaded, looking frightenend.

I broke down. "I'm supposed to kill you!"

"W-what?"

"Your parents were former business associates of my father's for years. They recently pulled out, and my father is livid. He sent me to kill you, Eric."

Eric was speechless, the color in his face drained. I glanced at the clock again; it was five minutes before midnight.

"I have to leave," I explained quickly, "And you would do well to get out of Boston, as well. Call your parents and tell them to come home ASAP. You are no longer safe here."

I fled Eric's house as fast as I could, but didn't make it very far once outside. In the darkness, I felt two hands roughly grab me. I attempted to squirm out of my assailant's grip, but his hold was too strong.

"Hey, baby sis…where are you goimg?"

"Aidan," I hissed.

"You didn't complete your task," he criticized, "Father is not pleased."

"Let…go!"

Aidan didn't respond, instead he pulled me back into Eric's house. In horror, I watched as Aidan kicked down Eric's door. Eric and his parents lived in a relatively small house, so it didn't take long for my brother to find him.

"Eric, run!" I cried.

But it was too late. Before the words fully left my mouth, Aidan pulled out his gun, and shot Eric dead in his tracks. With all the strength I could muster, I managed to break free from my brother's grasp. I flung myself over to Eric, and discovered him already dead.

My heart rate accelerated, the adrenaline pulsing through my veins. My body went into autopilot, and I ran out of the house.

I heard my brother's voice in the distance call out to me. "You can run, little sister…but you can't hide. We're family! You need us!"

I was met with a stunned silence. Several minutes passed before Carlos spoke up, his voice shaky.

"…It was your family who severed your car brakes?"

I laughed mirthlessly. "If only it were that simple. No, it wasn't my family who tried to kill me. It was Eric's."

"What?" James exclaimed.

I sighed. "You see…people who are involved with my father aren't exactly law-abiding citizens. Through the years as my father's partners, Eric's parents picked up on a lot of what we do. So, obviously, their natural reaction to their son's death was to get revenge. Lex talionis."

"So, let me get this straight…for two years you've been running away from both your family and your boyfriend's family?" Kendall asked, his eyes wide with the realization.

I nodded.

"What I don't understand," Logan began, "is why did they break into your apartment?"

"Now that was my brother's doing. He did it to get my attention so he could warn me about Eric's family."

The boys looked incredibly confused. I gave them a small, sympathetic smile.

"As dysfunctional as mob families are, they are fiercely loyal to all its members No matter what."

Logan picked up on my hidden meaning. "So it was your family who helped us back at the warehouse."

"Yes. They were the only people I could turn to. They provided me the explosives, the remote, and even escorts for you guys."

"Woah," Carlos commented, awestruck.

We were once again engulfed in silence. Throughout this whole discussion, I had been holding back my tears, hoping I'd calm down.

"I'm so sorry," I whispered, "You guys could have died because of me. I had no right to be so selfish." The guilt pushed me over the top, and I began to weep. I heard the sound of chairs moving, and felt arms gently wrapped around me. I felt another three pairs of arms follow in suit. I looked back up at the boys, and I could see concern and forgiveness in their eyes.

"It's not your fault, Leigh," Kendall soothed. The boys bobbed their heads in agreement.

Suddenly, the door opened, revealing Dr. Stewart. "Boys, you're time is up."

"We'll be back soon," Logan promised before the four of them left my room.

Settling into the bed, I closed my eyes, trying to not think about the consequences of accepting my family's help. I had almost drifted to sleep when the door creaked open.

Turning my head, I looked to see who it was. My eyes widened as I realized who it was.

A/N: I hope this chapter was terribly confusing. Or dumb. I haven't slept in about three days, and school is already kicking my butt…so I apologize if this wasn't a great chapter. There was just so much to write, and it was hard to figure out how to do it. Anyways, I hoped you liked it and I'll try to update soon. There are only two more chapters left, so we're almost done! Let me know what you thought of this chapter!