- 14 hours ago
Lost in the Twin Game : New 🔝
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Short filmTranscript
00:00I fold. Avery's yours for tonight. You're willing to give her up? Since you like her,
00:06I'll gladly step aside. Although, we've been together for almost a year. If you think she's
00:12secondhand, no need. I'll take her. Fine. Then enjoy yourself tonight, brother.
00:23As soon as Liam left, the room immediately came alive again.
00:28Logan, are you serious? You chased Avery for three months, went all soft for her,
00:32and you're already bored? It's not even been a year. A bet's a bet. And besides,
00:37she's just a girl. So Avery wasn't anything special to you after all.
00:43At first, she was. Hard to get. A bit high and mighty. But now, she's no different from the others.
00:52Still the same. Behaves like a damn dog in front of me.
00:55Hey, Logan. Next time, can I have a turn with her?
01:01But Logan, what if Liam actually gets to her? What then?
01:07He won't. They say he didn't even touch a girl back at military school. Ice cold type.
01:12That's not necessarily true, though. He did look at Avery a few times when she wore that dress
01:16showing her legs. He just hates girls who try too hard to show off. Bet on it then, Logan.
01:21You in? Don't forget, Avery is obsessed with me. She'd rather die than let another guy touch her.
01:26If you really want to bet, you better be ready to lose everything.
01:29Logan stood up and walked out. A pretty cheerleader was already waiting outside the door. He shoved her
01:35against the hallway wall and kissed her hard. No one noticed that I, the subject of the twins' bet,
01:41had already heard everything. If he could openly bet me away to another guy, then I meant absolutely
01:48nothing to him. And if I was stupid enough to make a scene and embarrass him in front of everyone,
01:55I'd be the one paying the price. Everyone knows Logan's family had endowed the athletic center of
02:00our school. His name was on the donor wall in the main hallway, in letters bigger than most people's
02:06futures. That's why he could break rules, get into fights, and cause trouble at school without ever
02:12getting expelled. Someone told me there had been a ballet dancer before me. Logan had chased her for
02:18months before she finally said yes. He spoiled her. Let her get away with things no one else could.
02:25For a while, everyone thought that she'd gotten the notorious bad boy to settle down. But less than
02:32six months later, he got bored and messed up with other girls. The ballet girl slashed the tire of
02:40Logan's motorcycle, making a scene in front of half the school. A few days later, she fell during
02:50rehearsal. She lived, but she was paralyzed from the waist down. Her whole life, finished.
02:58She withdrew from Stonebridge High before the semester was over. Officially, she'd transferred to
03:03a performing arts academy in another state. Unofficially, nobody wanted to talk about it.
03:10Back when Logan was chasing me, someone told me that he had been quietly looking into my scholarship.
03:15If he wanted to, he could make my life at this school a living hell. I had said yes to
03:21him because
03:22I was afraid of saying no. I had stayed with him for a year, keeping my head down, and now
03:28he'd put
03:28me in a card game. I went back to the guest room and lay down on the couch, pulling the
03:34blanket over
03:34myself. The door opened, footsteps across the room, and then the smell. Clean and unfamiliar. Not Logan.
03:42You should sleep in an actual bed.
03:48Finally, I've been waiting forever, Logan.
03:52Have you been waiting long?
03:54My head is killing me.
03:56You'll feel better once you get something in your stomach.
03:59I'm tired. Take me somewhere. You smell different tonight?
04:03Do I?
04:04Yeah, it's better though. Actually better. A lot.
04:08Glad you like it.
04:12Two days earlier, I hadn't known Liam Hayes existed. Logan never talked about him. In fact,
04:17he seemed almost wary of him. Mrs. Patterson introduced Liam in AP Lit.
04:22Transfer student. Previously enrolled in Vermont. Joining us for senior year. The rumors spread fast.
04:29He'd been kicked out of multiple schools. He'd hospitalized two guys in a fight, and had no marks
04:35on him afterward. He'd been at a military academy before Vermont. He had a 4.0, and no one at
04:41his
04:41previous schools would say much about him, which people interpreted as either very good or very bad.
04:46At dinner, I sat next to Logan. Liam sat alone at another table. Near the end, his eyes moved to
04:53me,
04:53just for a second. He didn't talk to anyone before leaving. I had no idea why he would agree to
04:59something
05:00as ridiculous as Logan's bet. But one thing became clear the moment I heard that bet. If I wanted to
05:05walk away from this game, those rich guys were playing without getting hurt, Liam might be my
05:09only way out. I had just stepped out of the bathroom when Liam pulled me into his arms from behind.
05:28You're unusually impatient tonight, Logan.
05:33Change how you call me.
05:36Then what do you want me to call you?
05:40What do you usually call me?
05:42Your name, Mr. Hayes, and I've called you Baby.
05:48Then tonight call me Sir.
05:53Sir?
06:28Sir?
06:39Don't stop, Avery. Don't stop.
06:40Don't stop, Avery. Don't stop.
06:41Sir?
06:47the next day i opened my eyes to full daylight every part of me ached the kind of all-over
06:53soreness that goes bone deep the room was empty liam was gone i didn't know when he'd left through
07:00the glass i could see the back lawn below and logan standing in it i picked out a dress with
07:05an off-the-shoulder neckline revealing the marks on purpose hey what's wrong
07:19can you go get me some medicine from the infirmary what for what hurts last night you were really
07:24rough i didn't realize until the shower there was it bled a little it really hurts
07:31say that again what bled last night it was a lot you were i'm really sore like everywhere you were
07:39so different last night though like really different better i don't know what got into
07:43you but i really liked it i even cried i begged you to stop and you didn't you were so
07:47mean about
07:47it but also i kind of didn't want you to i'll go get something stay here he was gone 40
07:54minutes i'd
07:55gotten take out from the cafeteria and was eating in my dorm room i was halfway through when i noticed
08:00someone outside i saw liam coming up the path the two of them weren't actually that hard to tell apart
08:05liam was slightly taller than logan broader through the shoulders more solidly built and the jacket he
08:11had on today was the same cut as logan's from a distance the similarity was close enough hey logan
08:17did you bring it what medication stop pretending i told you last night you hurt me and i need
08:33i just remembered i should see how bad it is first so i can tell the pharmacist what get
08:39you don't need to be embarrassed it's not as if i haven't already i'm not talking to you
08:47okay i'll stop i mean it what exactly are you two doing
08:55his face went through several things in a row all of them controlled none of them good liam avery what
09:01exactly are you two doing liam logan i i got the wrong person you weren't wearing your glasses today
09:08i thought you were him avery you're hopeless you can't even tell your own boyfriend apart
09:14i'm sorry liam i'm so sorry i really did mix you up it's not your fault the twins get confused
09:19all
09:19the time logan you shouldn't have snapped at her whose fault is it she's so dense you share a bed
09:24with someone for a year and can't recognize them she's only met me once mixing us up is
09:27normal fine i'll apologize to her go back to the room let me see where you're hurt i'll put the
09:34ointment
09:34on for you if i had it right logan had spent last night with another girl and now he wanted
09:41to put
09:41his hands on me a wave of nausea rose up sudden and violent i forced it down hard take it
09:49off
09:50lie down logan why are you being so harsh with me today in our year together maybe to keep me
09:56fooled
09:56maybe out of some sliver of something real logan had always been gentle are you are you still mad that
10:01i mistook your brother for you no you're overthinking it i'm just worried about your injury
10:06is it still bleeding let me see the truth is when logan first chased me i kept saying no i
10:11only said
10:12yes in the end because i was afraid someone had made a point of telling me about the girl before
10:16me
10:17the dancer avery be careful don't really set him off i heard he's been digging into your family people
10:22like logan we couldn't afford to cross him in 10 lifetimes i was afraid of dying i was more afraid
10:27of
10:27living through something worse than death so i accepted him and for a whole year i'd kept my head
10:33down careful with every step and logan had been good to me devoted even so much that sometimes i
10:38let myself dream impossible things i lost my grip on reality but i never imagined that lowering myself
10:44this far would buy me nothing but being handed off to another man like a chip on a table my
10:48head was a
10:49tangled mess logan pressed me down to sit then crouched in front of me he looked down took hold of
10:54my slim
10:54calf you must have worked me up last night otherwise why would i have been so rough and parted my
11:00legs
11:00he laughed softly and glanced up at me then slowly began to lift the hem of my dress i turned
11:05my face
11:06away and bit down on the inside of my lip swallowing the sickness churning in my stomach just as he
11:11was
11:11about to pull away the last thin layer of fabric logan come to the study now liam's voice from the
11:18hallway heavy with warning and a thread of barely leashed anger underneath logan muttered something that
11:23might have been a curse but he stood up at once put it on yourself i'll go deal with him
11:27i took it
11:28and watched him leave the room only then like a prisoner granted a stay did i let out a long
11:33ragged breath my phone buzzed beside me i picked it up a text from an unknown number this is liam
11:38save my number i stared at the small words on the screen for a long moment before i typed back
11:45okay liam didn't reply and logan didn't come back to the room he called me from the campus instead
11:53something had gone wrong at his father's sportswear subsidiary the one his family had set up and he had
11:58to fly out for a few days i could hear the strain in his voice it sounded like more than
12:04a small problem
12:04for me at least it bought a little room to breathe the next morning i got ready to head back
12:10to school
12:11i'd barely come down the stairs when i ran into liam again this time he was wearing his glasses
12:16nothing at all like the man who had kissed me so gently that night i greeted him the way i
12:21had
12:21the very first time morning heading back to school yeah it's on my way i'll drive you i started to
12:29refuse but he went on logan's gone as his brother looking after you is the least i can do eat
12:35something
12:36first i forced down a few bites and set my fork aside liam said nothing just turned and walked
12:41out i shouldered my bag and followed when the car door shut he reached up and pressed the button
12:52raising the privacy partition liam nerves flickered through me he took off his glasses and set them in
12:59the storage box how's the injury better a little better my face went scarlet in an instant if it's
13:08healed use this no no i don't need it logan already put medicine on it for me there was nothing
13:17on liam's
13:18face which somehow made him more frightening take it this one works better really i don't need it
13:25logan was already upset that i mixed you two up if he found out i took your ointment too he'd
13:31yell at
13:32me for sure liam looked at me steadily then slowly lowered his hand you care about him that much i
13:40pressed my lips together he's my first boyfriend he's always been so so good to me letting a sweetness
13:49i didn't feel rise into my eyes i really love him liam let out something that might have been a
13:55low
13:55laugh or maybe i imagined it he didn't look at me again just leaned back gaze fixed calmly ahead he
14:00didn't say another word the whole drive when we reached the school parking lot i thanked him quietly
14:04thank you for today i'll go in now liam nodded faintly avery i turned without thinking straight
14:12into those clear dark eyes this ointment is the best there is for scars use it on the one on
14:18your cat
14:18how do you know i have a scar on my calf he didn't answer he just placed the tube in
14:23my hand
14:24i sat frozen for a second then opened the door and got out liam got out after me not looking
14:29at
14:30me once as he headed for the school building i stood there a while before i took out my phone
14:33and answered logan's text i miss you too are you really not back for another 10 days about that long
14:39but i'll wrap it up and come home as fast as i can okay i'll wait for you time crawled
14:45forward
14:45those 10 days without logan were strangely peaceful liam never came near me once that
14:51night started to feel like some absurd dream sometimes i even wondered had it really been
14:55liam a person like that so far above everyone untouchable why would he play such a vile game
15:00with his own brother friday afternoon logan texted to say he was going back to campus that night and
15:05told me to wait for him stonebridge had a handful of senior residence suites small private rooms in the
15:11old dorm wing the kind the legacy family's kids always ended up with logan's was one of them i let
15:16myself in showered and lay on the couch scrolling my phone waiting and somewhere in the waiting i
15:21fell asleep i don't know how long the sound of the door woke me i sat up bleary and saw
15:26a tall figure
15:27walking toward me against the light with him came that cold scent from that night he came closer no
15:32glasses exactly like that night i reached out asking to be held
15:42why are you back so late i'm so tired from waiting his breath seemed to catch then the arms around
15:48me
15:48tightened all at once hard enough that i hissed
15:56you're hurting me again i only just healed don't you dare be rough with me tonight logan
16:08liam caught my chin i couldn't fight his grip
16:14what did you call me so i had no choice but to turn and face him his scalding breath
16:18brushed across my nose my lashes trembled and then he kissed me soft at first
16:24do you miss me but the gentleness gave way fast to a sudden storm i do i answered blurred
16:32miss who say it clearly i miss logan he bit down hard on the lip the pain made my tears
16:38spill over
16:38i glared at him wounded but before the name could leave my mouth he stopped it with a kiss deeper
16:43and
16:44more reckless than before and when i was fully pinned beneath him claimed by him only then did
16:48he take my face in his hands and brush the tears from the corners of my eyes with his thumb
16:55i couldn't stop sobbing avery i'll ask one more time what do you call me
17:03do you like it when i treat you this way i cried so hard i choked wanting to shake my
17:09head
17:09but he kissed me until i couldn't move all i could do was nod whimpering only then did his kiss
17:14gentle again now from now on i'll treat you like this every day all right you'll hurt me it hurts
17:21like
17:21that you were never this rough with me before he pressed me to his chest
17:27did i hurt you tonight then did it feel good i bit my lip cheeks burning the body doesn't lie
17:32i couldn't deny it liam had given me a pleasure logan never had maybe it was the forbidden thrill
17:37or maybe i'd never liked logan that much to begin with something dark and hungry flared in his sated
17:43eyes he flipped me beneath him from now on only do this with me all right i laughed under my
17:50breath
17:50what are you talking about of course only with you logan don't say the name his voice dropped hard
17:57i blinked up what's wrong with you you're being so strange but liam only let go of my hands and
18:03gently
18:03covered my eyes avery i love hearing you call me sir every time you do it does something to me
18:12call me that from now on always and my fingers brushed an old scar at the web of his thumb
18:17something
18:18flickered across my mind fast as a spark but i couldn't catch it after a long moment i answered
18:23low okay sir liam got the dorm wing to himself a word to the right people and the floor cleared
18:31out
18:31for the weekend he stayed with me openly meals in the half empty dining hall slow walks across the quad
18:38after dark and at night the endless insatiable tangling on the third night he signed us both out
18:45and drove off campus down to the marina at the edge of town we ate fresh caught fish at one
18:52of the
18:52dockside places built out over the water i drank a lot of the wine and by the time we left
18:58i couldn't
18:59walk straight liam carried me back to the car on his back his fingers grazed the old scar on my
19:05calf
19:05and he asked naturally how did you hurt your leg so badly when i was little there was this awful
19:13kid
19:14so mean his family was loaded all the other kids circled around him sucking up to him
19:22not me the more i ignored him the more he wouldn't leave me alone
19:28but i wasn't some idle little rich boy with nothing to do
19:32i had to help my parents run their food stall look after my little brother
19:38change his diapers feed him he kept pestering me until i'd had it so i got in a fight with
19:44him
19:45i was small couldn't beat a boy obviously
19:50he shoved me down and i cracked my leg open on the edge of a planter
19:54blood everywhere he didn't get off easy either though
20:00i grabbed his hand and bit him as hard as i could
20:04sank my teeth right in my whole mouth was full of blood he had no spine at all just blahed
20:09screaming
20:11he wasn't really bad though just kind of spoiled afterward he even brought me medicine
20:19tried to cheer me up said the scar was shaped like a flower petal that it was actually pretty
20:27and after that don't remember he left pretty soon i think picked up by his parents probably
20:35back then i had work that never ended who'd remember stuff like that
20:44i heard liam say my name
20:48avery he seemed to say something after it but i didn't catch it
20:53the day logan actually came back liam set up a dinner liam reserved a private dining room and put
20:59the three of us at the same table i asked him on purpose liam logan's been back a few days
21:06already
21:07why are you only doing this dinner today liam looked at me for a long time without answering i shrank
21:12back and ran off to find logan i didn't look back but i could feel it the whole time liam's
21:18gaze
21:18following me at dinner that night logan's mood was foul maybe the trip hadn't gone well when he reached
21:25for his third drink i lightly pressed my hand over his glass sir drink less your stomach's bad
21:32the words weren't even finished before two pairs of eyes snapped to my face liam always had impeccable
21:38manners even here he wore a full blazer sitting straight backed but now his knife clinked clumsily
21:44against the porcelain plate logan's brow furrowed too what did you just call me
21:53sir why avery logan who the hell are you calling sir what the you've been doing behind my back
22:05you said it yourself you said you liked it when i called you that bullshit when did i ever say
22:17you said it with your own mouth you said you liked me calling you sir
22:21you told me to call you that lately liam slowly set down his knife and fork he rose
22:28the pressure rolling off him chilled the room my crying dropped away an unspeakable terror crawled
22:34up my spine maybe liam's polished surface had fooled me he was in fact far more frightening than logan
22:41i started to shake and couldn't stop liam's gaze landed on me for only two short seconds
22:47but my whole back went damp with sweat don't bully a girl come with me we'll talk
22:56when the door shut behind them my phone lit with a text from liam four words don't be afraid
23:03i'm here i looked at those words wiped my eyes and slowly lowered myself into a chair then i covered
23:11my face and laughed at myself did liam think i didn't know or that i wouldn't remember the day
23:16he transferred in at the welcome reception the trustees threw someone had congratulated him on
23:22his coming engagement some arrangement with another old money family he hadn't denied it and a man about
23:28to be engaged playing a game like this with his own twin it was just one last thrill before it
23:34was all
23:34settled or some indulgence of an ugly little appetite hidden beneath that flawless face but what
23:41had i done to deserve it why should i be a plaything passed between the two of them
23:49they'd ended up in an empty classroom in the academic wing the corridor outside dark and deserted
23:55don't you think you've taken this too far born of the same mother twins and yet from childhood logan
24:03had fallen short of him in everything liam brilliant in ways ordinary people weren't
24:09had won the affection of every elder in the hayes family and with it in time the inheritance logan was
24:18left to be a spendthrift wastrel countless people envied him and none of them knew how often he envied
24:24liam hated liam and yet because of a shadow that went back as far as he could remember feared him
24:32down
24:32to the bone the contradiction gnawed at him robbed him of sleep if i remember right you were the one
24:40who
24:41lost her to me that night but you don't touch girls you've got no interest in them at all i
24:46thought
24:46you'd never lay a hand on her i thought you'd find her dirty logan wouldn't admit the rest that night
24:53handing avery over had been mostly about one thing humiliating liam a girl logan had grown tired of
25:02and liam wanted her in secret did liam think he couldn't see it the first time liam laid eyes on
25:09avery his expression had changed 18 years as brothers and that was the first time logan had ever
25:16seen liam's gaze catch and hold on a girl he'd even looked at avery's legs twice so logan had hatched
25:24the absurd idea use a girlfriend he was sick of to humiliate the brother who'd always stood over him
25:31it would feel good a thrill what he never expected was that liam a man with an absurd obsessive aversion
25:40to mess would actually touch her and he never expected that the night liam took her away he
25:47himself would lie awake the whole night through restless the cheerleader girl he'd taken away that
25:53night he'd been certain he'd do something with her but in the end he'd pushed her away his whole mind
26:00had been somewhere else was liam kissing avery touching her the way i would how would she react
26:07could she tell it wasn't me would she yield to him as sweetly as obediently as she does beneath me
26:15the thought tormented him to distraction he'd gone back to the dorm at first light when someone told him
26:22liam had left at six the same as always he'd been flooded with relief but then he saw avery come
26:29down
26:30the stairs covered in marks shy and sweet complaining that he'd been too rough and hurt her and in that
26:37instant he could have killed he'd had many girls leaving them passing them off he'd never felt a
26:45flicker of reluctance he'd assumed avery was the same and in that moment he finally understood she wasn't
26:53from the very start she had never been like the others he'd forgotten avery was the only girl he'd fallen
27:01for at first sight and then chased in earnest and he'd badly underestimated how much she weighed in his
27:08own heart find her dirty liam suddenly rose and crossed to logan it was perhaps the first real crack in
27:17his composure all day the first time a man so sparing with words said this much at once i don't
27:24know why
27:24you talk about your own girlfriend that way and i don't agree that a girl who's had a boyfriend who's
27:29had sex is somehow dirty say one more thing like that about her go on try
27:44liam you set me up on purpose that night you did it deliberately baited me into bedding because you
27:51wanted her because you wanted to take her from me if you were truly in earnest about her no one
27:55could
27:55take her so i'll say this one last time logan the opening was yours to give you put her in
28:02my hands
28:05so what you think she'll be with you willingly she's poor badly born but she's stubborn to the
28:09core and proud to the bone if she finds out you disguised yourself as me to play her what do
28:12you
28:13think she'll do she'll hate me and she'll hate you just as much so what if i hadn't taken your
28:21bet
28:21that night hadn't taken her away would you have gambled her off to a third man i wouldn't have you
28:27would have other people may not know it but you do you'd had enough of her grown tired of her
28:33there
28:34was a younger prettier girl already waiting to spend the night with you say it yourself logan isn't that
28:39right logan ground his jaw breath heaving and yet somehow he couldn't get out a single word in his
28:45defense you'd better worry about getting yourself through this first that mess with father's sportswear
28:57line the one the boosters front the money for if you can't put a convincing story behind it
29:03you can forget about keeping your spot here at all
29:07it was you again logan came to it late then jolted with the realization how convenient
29:14liam barely transferred in and suddenly every project with logan's name on it was falling apart
29:21at once every step laid out in advance for night after night of stolen pleasure he turned on his
29:29own brother and set even the family's interests aside to do it what if it was
29:35if you had a shrirk of skill or nerve you wouldn't be at everyone's mercy at every turn
29:45do you tell her the truth yourself or do i why why our whole lives did you have to be
29:51one step above
29:52me in everything you had it good off at that school in another state why did you suddenly have to
29:56come
29:56back here you've got girls lining up for you you've got a fiance who's the most sought after girl in
30:00our
30:00whole circle why did you have to come and fight me for avery standing a step above you all our
30:07lives
30:08that was just each of us playing the hand we had you think a single thing you own is something
30:13i'd
30:13want then what about avery liam was about to answer the study door was suddenly shoved open hard
30:24i stood there outside the classroom numb trembling like a leaf in the wind my face was bloodless streaked
30:32all over with tears a friend had dragged me into the theater society i'd picked up a little about
30:37acting it was all coming in handy now avery i stared at him blankly then i slowly moved my gaze
30:45to logan's
30:46face and held it there not blinking just letting the tears run straight down a man's guilt toward
30:52a woman is a weapon that never misses the opening would vanish in a blink and right now was the
30:59perfect moment logan avery don't come near me avery let me explain i logan you're my first man
31:07my first love you know how much i cared about you how much i loved you i could accept that
31:11your heart
31:12changed that you stopped loving me but i can't accept that you gave me away this past year with
31:17you i was so happy so happy no one had ever been as good to me as you were and
31:22it turns out it was
31:23all just a dream i had avery it's not like that let me explain i can explain logan i'm awake
31:31now
31:32i'll never dream again as the last word landed i suddenly spun and ran for the second floor balcony
31:39below the balcony was a small garden the gardener had just turned the soil yesterday i'd take only
31:46the lightest injury but the sight of a girl throwing herself off a balcony would be devastating
31:51and i'd bet right as liam and logan came chasing after me i went over the railing without an instant's
31:58hesitation as though i'd made up my mind to die i heard them screaming my name behind me i couldn't
32:05tell whose voice it was in the brief plunge downward i smiled mocking the whole campus fell into chaos
32:13liam who was so far above everyone who never appeared in public with a single crease in his shirt
32:19now had mud caked on his trousers and didn't notice at all he reached out as if to hold me
32:25then didn't
32:26dare touch i lay curled on the dirt my foot bent at a sickening swollen angle avery don't be afraid
32:33the nurse is coming
32:41footsteps came pounding up the path then closed in fast the school's night nurse kit in hand
32:49i'm not going to the infirmary don't help me i don't want to see you ever again logan
32:59avery
33:05and i don't want to see you ever again either liam once two people have known each other's bodies
33:11the boy will always carry some thin softness toward the girl that sliver of softness was exactly what i
33:16wanted let the nurse look at you first avery be good not until you promise me or i won't let
33:23her
33:23touch me this is not the time to be stubborn get her onto the stretcher don't move avery
33:32but i wouldn't listen at the break in the bone the torn skin had split open and was bleeding the
33:38blood ran slowly down over the old scar on my calf staining red that faded faded flower liam's
33:45pupils contracted all at once in an instant the color drained from his whole face stop moving
33:55i promise you neither logan nor i will ever appear in front of you again
34:03sir
34:05that day at the campus liam had made that promise in front of many people so through all
34:10my days in the infirmary neither he nor logan appeared even once when i was finally cleared to
34:16leave the hayes family lawyer came to see me a mild well-mannered man miss carter liam says that
34:23whatever you need you have only to ask anything within his power i want a sum of money and i
34:30want to
34:31transfer finish school somewhere far from here my family was bad two older sisters above me a younger
34:37brother below my father was diagnosed with a serious illness both my sisters had dropped out early to
34:43work and neither was doing well i wanted to give my family a little money enough at least to make
34:49their
34:50lives somewhat easier money's long been arranged as for the transfer whichever school whichever city you'd
34:57like it can be done please give liam my my thanks
35:05miss carter is there nothing you'd like to say to liam i looked down at my own thin wrist slender
35:13enough
35:13that it seemed a light snap would break it like an ordinary girl like me in their eyes nothing more
35:19than a plaything to be traded away at a whim maybe liam really did like me maybe there was some
35:25sliver of
35:25true feeling but true feeling set against money and standing weighs nothing at all there is
35:35please tell liam i hope the rest of his life is safe and smooth miss carter
35:43nothing else but i had already lain back down he couldn't linger and could only turn and leave
35:56when i walked out of the infirmary for the last time i saw liam he was standing under the row
36:01of
36:01oaks at the edge of the quad he was a gentleman about it he kept his promise and didn't come
36:05toward me
36:07didn't disturb me and i i didn't look back either liam sank down against the tree trunk and closed
36:14his eyes it was as if he'd returned to that night he had known about logan's bet in advance that
36:20was
36:20why so unlike himself he'd gone to that absurd party so unlike himself he'd gambled with his brother
36:26that once he couldn't stand by and watch avery the truth was that night he hadn't meant to do anything
36:31to avery but she had put her arms around him she had said he smelled good and he hadn't
36:36been able to stop himself he'd lowered his head and kissed her and she hadn't resisted in the
36:40slightest she'd even answered him sweet and pliant in that instant his selfishness his greed had won
36:46out he'd thought basely then let me have her once under logan's name but some things some people you
36:52cannot touch after the first time you want a second you want it without end when he heard logan say
36:58he'd
36:58take her back to the room the last thread in him broke clean through he'd thought then let me fall
37:03all the way even if in the end she sentences me to death but he had never imagined she would
37:08sever
37:08herself from them both in a way so absolute she said she never wanted to see him again liam suddenly
37:14opened his eyes he looked down at the old scar at the web of his thumb the year she had
37:18bitten him
37:19savage blood everywhere she had said the same thing then my second year at college in the city i ran
37:26into
37:26one of logan's old friends from stonebridge on the street avery long time no see what are you
37:31doing here come on let's eat no refusing speaking of which i've been thinking about logan lately do
37:35you remember him his brother originally planned to send him to a boarding school across the whole
37:38country but somehow he ended up staying at stonebridge honestly he steadied a lot he actually business his
37:43dad left for him now he took it seriously after everything that happened and another thing he hasn't
37:47dated one ever since there was a party once someone happened to bring up your name and the look on
37:50his face
37:51the truth is at first i hadn't liked logan much maybe it was a prejudice i'd brought in from the
37:56start toward boys born to that kind of money and standing i'd always kept my guard up later he was
38:01truly good to me i was young when a golden boy like that lowers himself in front of you of
38:06course your
38:07heart stirs but before i could do anything foolish reality woke me up though he and his brother liam
38:14seem to be on pretty bad terms now liam was supposed to get engaged this year too i think that
38:18fell through
38:19and the girl everyone said he was promised to she's gone and gotten engaged to someone else
38:23i've got class let's do this another time when there's a chance avery is there really no chance
38:28for you and logan you know logan really was a bit reckless back then but from what i know you
38:31two
38:31just had him understanding he honestly never slept we please not bring him up again
38:34all right thanks for dinner goodbye then no need to be polite with me avery come back to town and
38:39visit sometime everyone misses you we'll see a black car drove past my step caught just for a moment
38:44but the car didn't pause an instant it sped on ahead i looked down smiled shook my head and kept
38:51walking waiting at the crosswalk the wind picked up hey avery i turned without thinking and looked
38:57straight into a pair of deep dark eyes liam stood at the intersection his black car parked behind him
39:04avery he wasn't wearing glasses thinner than two years ago the line of his jaw sharper what are you doing
39:11here passing through passing through this is a college town it's at least four hours from your city
39:18he didn't answer just kept looking at me his gaze heavy let me drive you back to campus no
39:27all right
39:32avery his footsteps followed matching my pace a few feet behind what do you want from me liam
39:40i want to talk to you we have nothing to talk about you promised both of you i know what
39:47i
39:47promised then why are you here for a second he said nothing then he reached into his pocket and took
39:52out a business card if you change your mind i looked at the card white embossed letters his name
39:59and a phone number i took it and turned it over then i tore it in half then in half
40:05again i let the
40:06pieces fall to the sidewalk don't come back i turned and walked away this time he didn't follow
40:13i made it two blocks before i stopped i leaned against a wall and pressed my palms to my eyes
40:18my hands were shaking when i got back to my dorm something fell out of the pocket a white card
40:24the same
40:25business card he must have slipped it in while i was tearing the other one i hadn't felt a thing
40:30i
40:31stared at it for a long moment then i opened my desk drawer put it inside and closed it i
40:37flopped
40:37onto the bed and stared at the ceiling two years of quiet of nothing i thought i'd built a safe
40:43life
40:43here and liam had found me in three days i didn't call him i went to class as usual i
40:50studied i ate at
40:51the dining hall with my roommate everything normal but lying on my dorm bed my thoughts suddenly drifted back
40:58at the marina after too much wine i'd told liam exactly how i got the scar on my calf back
41:05then
41:05i hadn't thought much of it it was just an old childhood story but now lying alone in my dorm
41:11room
41:11i found myself remembering it again the memory felt sharper now than it had in years when i was little
41:17there had been a boy whose family was richer than anyone else in the neighborhood he was spoiled stubborn
41:23and always surrounded by other kids trying to impress him for some reason he loved bothering me
41:29maybe it was because i never paid attention to him the more i ignored him the more determined he became
41:35one afternoon he followed me around for nearly an hour refusing to leave me alone eventually i lost
41:41my temper and shoved him he shoved me back we ended up fighting beside a row of concrete planters
41:48i was smaller than he was and stood no chance he pushed me hard enough that i lost my balance
41:53and
41:53slammed into the edge of a planter the pain came instantly i looked down and saw blood pouring down
41:59my calf i remember sitting on the ground crying while he stood there looking horrified then because
42:05i was furious and hurt and eight years old i grabbed his hand and bit him as hard as i
42:09could he screamed
42:12there was blood on his hand and blood on my leg both of us were crying by the time adults
42:16came running over a few days later he showed up carrying medicine i thought he had come to laugh
42:22at me instead he crouched beside me and stared at the bandage on my leg it doesn't look that bad
42:29it looks like a flower petal
42:33the day i jumped from the balcony the blood ran over that same scar liam's face went white the moment
42:39he saw it i climbed down from the bed and opened the storage box beneath my desk inside were old
42:44notebooks photographs after several minutes of searching i found it that year there was a large
42:50photograph mr and mrs hayes logan and liam my eyes fixed on liam's right hand at the web between his
42:57thumb and index finger a scar the boy who had called my scar a flower petal the boy i had
43:02bitten until his
43:03hand bled what if it had been liam all along liam's version of that year starts the summer before
43:10he saw me first at a scholarship dinner he attended as a trustee representative i stood on stage
43:15accepting an award wearing a dress that didn't fit quite right i looked nervous but i spoke clearly
43:21thanked the donors and walked off without looking back he didn't think much of it not then keep an
43:27eye on your brother logan's getting sloppy drinking too much chasing girls the family name needs protecting
43:34liam arrived in september at the private welcome reception someone pointed out logan's girlfriend
43:39he saw how logan talked to me casual dismissive your brother's putting his girl on the table tonight
43:46you coming the night of the bet he knew about it before it happened liam came he told himself he
43:52was
43:52there to stop it to take me out of that room and tell me the truth then i hugged him
43:56called him logan
43:56and told him he smelled good he couldn't stop himself he kissed me and i kissed him back at that
44:02moment
44:02he didn't want to be the good one anymore he wanted to be the one i chose so he kept
44:06up the lie
44:07night after night he told himself it was temporary that he'd confess when the time was right then i
44:12jumped off the balcony and he realized the time would never be right the lawyer went in the next
44:17morning liam had written the check himself added three zeros to what the lawyer suggested the lawyer
44:23came back and said she wants to go far away he didn't ask the lawyer to pass on a message
44:27but the
44:28lawyer asked her anyway please tell liam i hope the rest of his life is safe and smooth liam went
44:35to his room and stayed there for two days i didn't call i waited a week then two then i
44:41found myself
44:41standing outside the coffee shop where i'd seen him walk in three days in a row he wasn't there by
44:46accident he was there because he knew this was where i came on thursday afternoons i pushed the door open
44:54i walked up to his table and sat down across from him tell me everything from the beginning
45:00the night of the bet he told me everything he came to stop the bet but he kissed me instead
45:05he kept
45:06pretending because he wanted more he remembered the fight he knew i was the girl who bit him
45:12two years you had two years to tell me you knew who i was it it matters i didn't think
45:17it mattered
45:18don't come back here again liam i will i'll come back every day if i have to i waited two
45:24years
45:24because you asked me to i'll wait two more but i'll be here i walked halfway down the block and
45:29stopped i leaned against a wall and closed my eyes liam was the boy the one who said my scar
45:34looked
45:34like a flower petal the one i bit the one who brought me medicine the one who watched me fall
45:39and
45:39didn't catch me i walked back to my dorm and opened the drawer looking at the card then i heard
45:43someone
45:44call my name again i looked out the window for a moment i thought it was liam again but i
45:48knew it
45:48was logan avery i know i just someone told me liam came to see you i thought if he was
45:54breaking the
45:55promise lately how things i could to work you shouldn't be here that's not how promises work
45:59no i know two years ago i was i know that's not enough to say but i wanted you to
46:03hear it from me
46:04not through someone else i don't need an apology logan what do you need i need you to leave both
46:08of you
46:09i built something here small quiet mine and you two show up in the same week and act like i'm
46:13still the
46:13girl from two years ago i'm not i don't want to be i know you won't hate liam either but
46:17i don't
46:17want either of you not anymore not the way you want me the boy i'd been afraid of for a
46:21year the boy
46:22who'd thrown me into a card game like i was nothing who'd stood by and let his brother touch me
46:27claim
46:27me ruin me is there anything i can do you can go home take care of your family's business stop
46:33gambling
46:33girls away okay i meant what i said about you being the only one then he got into a car
46:41and drove away
46:42a week past then two on the third thursday i walked into the coffee shop liam was sitting
46:47at the same table he looked up when i came in i walked over and sat down across from him
46:52two years
46:52two years you said you'd wait two years yes then start counting
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