- 7 hours ago
Lost In The Twin Game HD
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🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00I fold. Avery's yours for tonight.
00:03You're willing to give her up?
00:05Since you like her, I'll gladly step aside.
00:09Although, we've been together for almost a year.
00:11If you think she's secondhand, no need. I'll take her.
00:19Fine. Then enjoy yourself tonight, brother.
00:23As soon as Liam left, the room immediately came alive again.
00:28Logan, are you serious?
00:30You chased Avery for three months, went all soft for her, and you're already bored?
00:32It's not even been a year.
00:35A bet's a bet. And besides, she's just a girl.
00:38So Avery wasn't anything special to you after all.
00:44At first, she was. Hard to get. A bit high and mighty.
00:47But 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.
01:08They say he didn't even touch a girl back at military school. Ice cold type.
01:12That's not necessarily true, though.
01:14He did look at Avery a few times when she wore that dress showing her legs.
01:17He just hates girls who try too hard to show off.
01:20Bet on it then, Logan. You in?
01:22Don't forget, Avery is obsessed with me.
01:24She'd rather die than let another guy touch her.
01:26If you really want to bet, you better be ready to lose everything.
01:30Logan stood up and walked out.
01:31A pretty cheerleader was already waiting outside the door.
01:34He shoved her against the hallway wall and kissed her hard.
01:37No one noticed that I, the subject of the twins' bet, had already heard everything.
01:44If he could openly bet me away to another guy, then I meant absolutely nothing to him.
01:50And if I was stupid enough to make a scene and embarrass him in front of everyone, I'd be the
01:56one paying the price.
01:57Everyone knows Logan's family had endowed the athletic center of our school.
02:01His name was on the donor wall in the main hallway, in letters bigger than most people's futures.
02:07That's why he could break rules, get into fights, and cause trouble at school without ever getting expelled.
02:14Someone told me there had been a ballet dancer before me.
02:17Logan had chased her for months before she finally said yes.
02:21He spoiled her.
02:22Let 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.
02:31But less than six months later, he got bored and messed up with other girls.
02:38The ballet girl slashed the tire of Logan's motorcycle, making a scene in front of half the school.
02:47A few days later, she fell during rehearsal.
02:51She lived, but she was paralyzed from the waist down.
02:55Her whole life, finished.
02:58She withdrew from Stonebridge High before the semester was over.
03:02Officially, she'd transferred to a performing arts academy in another state.
03:07Unofficially, 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.
03:20I had said yes to him because I was afraid of saying no.
03:23I had stayed with him for a year, keeping my head down.
03:27And now he'd put me in a card game.
03:30I went back to the guest room and lay down on the couch, pulling the blanket over myself.
03:35The door opened, footsteps across the room.
03:38And then the smell, clean and unfamiliar.
03:41Not 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.
04:00Take me somewhere.
04:01You smell different tonight?
04:03Do I?
04:04Yeah, it's better though.
04:06Actually better.
04:07A lot.
04:08Glad you like it.
04:12Two days earlier, I hadn't known Liam Hayes existed.
04:15Logan never talked about him.
04:17In fact, he seemed almost wary of him.
04:20Mrs. Patterson introduced Liam in AP Lit.
04:22Transfer student.
04:24Previously enrolled in Vermont.
04:26Joining us for senior year.
04:27The rumors spread fast.
04:29He'd been kicked out of multiple schools.
04:31He'd hospitalized two guys in a fight and had no marks on him afterward.
04:36He'd been at a military academy before Vermont.
04:38He had a 4.0 and no one at his previous schools would say much about him.
04:43Which people interpreted as either very good or very bad.
04:47At dinner, I sat next to Logan.
04:49Liam sat alone at another table.
04:51Near the end, his eyes moved to me.
04:53Just for a second.
04:55He didn't talk to anyone before leaving.
04:57I had no idea why he would agree to something as ridiculous as Logan's bet.
05:01But one thing became clear the moment I heard that bet.
05:04If I wanted to walk away from this game those rich guys were playing without getting hurt,
05:09Liam might be my only way out.
05:11I 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.
05:49Then tonight call me Sir.
05:53Sir?
05:55Sir?
06:15Don't stop, Avery.
06:16Avery.
06:18Say it again.
06:19Say it again.
06:26Logan.
06:28No, not that.
06:29Oh, no.
06:32Sir, sir.
06:35Ah.
06:36Ha, ha.
06:39Logan.
06:39No, not that.
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
06:59through the glass i could see the back lawn below and logan standing in it i picked out a dress
07:05with
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 say that again
07:32what bled last night it was a lot you were i'm really sore like everywhere you were so different
07:39last night though like really different better i don't know what got into you but i really liked
07:44it i even cried i begged you to stop and you didn't you were so mean about it but also
07:48i kind of didn't
07:49want you to i'll go get something stay here he was gone 40 minutes i'd gotten takeout from the
07:56cafeteria and was eating in my dorm room i was halfway through when i noticed someone outside
08:01i saw liam coming up the path the two of them weren't actually that hard to tell apart liam
08:06was slightly taller than logan broader through the shoulders more solidly built and the jacket
08:11he had on today was the same cut as logan's from a distance the similarity was close enough
08:15hey logan did you bring it
08:25what medication
08:27stop 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
08:50what exactly are you two doing
08:55his face went through several things in a row
08:57all of them controlled none of them good liam avery what exactly are you two doing
09:04liam logan i i got the wrong person you weren't wearing your glasses today i thought you were him
09:11avery you're hopeless you can't even tell your own boyfriend apart i'm sorry liam i'm so sorry i
09:16really did mix you up it's not your fault the twins get confused all the time logan you shouldn't
09:21have snapped at her whose fault is it she's so dense you share a bed with someone for a year
09:25and
09:25can't recognize them she's only met me once mixing us up is normal fine i'll apologize to her
09:31go back to the room let me see where you're hurt i'll put the ointment on for you
09:36if i had it right logan had spent last night with another girl and now he wanted to put his
09:42hands
09:42on me a wave of nausea rose up sudden and violent i forced it down hard take it off lie
09:50down
09:51logan why are you being so harsh with me today in our year together maybe to keep me fooled maybe
09:56out 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
10:12only 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
10:21people like logan we couldn't afford to cross him in 10 lifetimes i was afraid of dying i was
10:26more afraid of living through something worse than death so i accepted him and for a whole year i'd
10:32kept my head down careful with every step and logan had been good to me devoted even so much that
10:37sometimes i let myself dream impossible things i lost my grip on reality but i never imagined that
10:43lowering myself this far would buy me nothing but being handed off to another man like a chip on a
10:48table my head was a tangled mess logan pressed me down to sit then crouched in front of me he
10:53looked
10:53down took hold of my slim calf you must have worked me up last night otherwise why would i have
10:59been so
10:59rough and parted my legs he laughed softly and glanced up at me then slowly began to lift the hem
11:05of my dress
11:05i turned my face away and bit down on the inside of my lip swallowing the sickness churning in my
11:10stomach
11:10just as he was about to pull away the last thin layer of fabric logan come to the study now
11:16liam's voice from the hallway heavy with warning and a thread of barely leashed anger underneath
11:21logan muttered something that might have been a curse but he stood up at once
11:25put it on yourself i'll go deal with him i took it and watched him leave the room only then
11:30like a
11:31prisoner granted a stay did i let out a long ragged breath my phone buzzed beside me i picked it
11:36up a
11:36text from an unknown number this is liam save my number
11:41i stared at the small words on the screen for a long moment before i typed back okay liam didn't
11:47reply and logan didn't come back to the room he called me from the campus instead something had
11:54gone wrong at his father's sportswear subsidiary the one his family had set up and he had to fly
11:59out for a few days i could hear the strain in his voice it sounded like more than a small
12:04problem
12:04for me at least it bought a little room to breathe the next morning i got ready to head
12:10back to school i'd barely come down the stairs when i ran into liam again this time he was wearing
12:15his glasses nothing at all like the man who had kissed me so gently that night i greeted him the
12:20way
12:21i had the very first time morning heading back to school yeah it's on my way i'll drive you i
12:29started
12:29to refuse but he went on logan's gone as his brother looking after you is the least i can do
12:34eat something first i forced down a few bites and set my fork aside liam said nothing just turned and
12:41walked out i shouldered my bag and followed
12:49when the car door shut he reached up and pressed the button raising the privacy partition
12:56liam's nerves flickered through me he took off his glasses and set them in the storage box
13:00how's the injury better a little better my face went scarlet in an instant if it's healed use this
13:11no no i don't need it logan already put medicine on it for me there was nothing on liam's face
13:18which
13:19somehow made him more frightening take it this one works better really i don't need it logan was
13:26already upset that i mixed you two up if he found out i took your ointment too he'd yell at
13:32me for sure
13:32liam looked at me steadily then slowly lowered his hand
13:39you care about him that much i pressed my lips together he's my first boyfriend he's always been so
13:47so good to me letting a sweetness i didn't feel rise into my eyes i really love him liam let
13:53out
13:54something that might have been a low laugh or maybe i imagined it he didn't look at me again just
13:58leaned
13:58back gaze fixed calmly ahead he didn't say another word the whole drive when we reached the school
14:03parking lot i thanked him quietly thank you for today i'll go in now liam nodded faintly
14:10avery i turned without thinking straight into those clear dark eyes this ointment is the best there is for
14:16scars use it on the one on your calf how do you know i have a scar on my calf
14:21he didn't answer he
14:22just placed the tube in my hand i sat frozen for a second then opened the door and got out
14:27liam got
14:28out after me not looking at me once as he headed for the school building i stood there a while
14:32before
14:33i took out my phone and answered logan's text i miss you too are you really not back for another
14:3710 days
14:39about that long but i'll wrap it up and come home as fast as i can okay i'll wait for
14:44you time crawled
14:45forward those 10 days without logan were strangely peaceful liam never came near me once that night
14:51started to feel like some absurd dream sometimes i even wondered had it really been liam a person like
14:57that so far above everyone untouchable why would he play such a vile game with his own brother friday
15:02afternoon logan texted to say he was going back to campus that night and told me to wait for him
15:07stonebridge had a handful of senior residence suites small private rooms in the old dorm wing
15:11the kind the legacy family's kids always ended up with logan's was one of them i let myself in
15:16showered and lay on the couch scrolling my phone waiting and somewhere in the waiting i fell asleep
15:21i don't know how long the sound of the door woke me i sat up bleary and saw a tall
15:27figure walking
15:27toward me against the light with him came that cold scent from that night he came closer no glasses
15:32exactly 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
15:49tightened 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
16:09liam 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
16:17his scalding breath brushed 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 me too 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
16:49he 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
17:03sorry sir do you like it when i treat you this way i cried so hard i choked wanting to
17:09shake my head but
17:10he kissed me until i couldn't move all i could do was nod whimpering only then did his kiss gentle
17:15again now from now on i'll treat you like this every day all right you'll hurt me it hurts like
17:21that
17:21you were never this rough with me before he pressed me to his chest did i hurt you tonight then
17:29did it
17:29feel good i bit my lip cheeks burning the body doesn't lie i couldn't deny it liam had given me
17:34a
17:34pleasure logan never had maybe it was the forbidden thrill or maybe i'd never liked logan that much to
17:40begin with something dark and hungry flared in his sated eyes he flipped me beneath him from now on
17:46only do this with me all right i laughed under my breath what are you talking about of course only
17:53with you logan don't say the name his voice dropped hard i blinked up what's wrong with you
17:59you're being so strange but liam only let go of my hands and gently covered my eyes
18:06avery i love hearing you call me sir every time you do it does something to me call me that
18:13from
18:13now on always and my fingers brushed an old scar at the web of his thumb something flickered across
18:19my mind fast as a spark but i couldn't catch it after a long moment i answered low okay sir
18:27liam got the dorm wing to himself a word to the right people and the floor cleared out for the
18:32weekend he stayed with me openly meals in the half empty dining hall slow walks across the quad after
18:39dark and at night the endless insatiable tangling on the third night he signed us both out and drove
18:46off campus down to the marina at the edge of town we ate fresh caught fish at one of the
18:52dockside places
18:53built out over the water i drank a lot of the wine and by the time we left i couldn't
18:59walk straight
19:00liam carried me back to the car on his back his fingers grazed the old scar on my calf and
19:06he asked
19:06naturally how did you hurt your leg so badly when i was little there was this awful kid so mean
19:17his 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 change his diapers feed him
19:40he kept pestering me until i'd had it so i got in a fight with him i was small couldn't
19:48beat a boy
19:48obviously he shoved me down and i cracked my leg open on the edge of a planter blood everywhere
19:57he didn't get off easy either though
20:01i grabbed his hand and bit him as hard as i could sank my teeth right in my whole mouth
20:06was full of blood
20:07he had no spine at all just blahed screaming he wasn't really bad though just kind of spoiled
20:16afterward he even brought me medicine tried to cheer me up said the scar was shaped like a flower petal
20:24that 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
21:00the 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
21:11i shrank back and ran off to find logan i didn't look back but i could feel it the whole
21:17time liam's
21:18gaze following me at dinner that night logan's mood was foul maybe the trip hadn't gone well when he
21:25reached for his third drink i lightly pressed my hand over his glass sir drink less your stomach's
21:32bad the words weren't even finished before two pairs of eyes snapped to my face liam always had
21:37impeccable manners even here he wore a full blazer sitting straight backed but now his knife clinked
21:44clumsily against the porcelain plate logan's brow furrowed too what did you just call me
21:54sir why avery logan who the hell are you calling sir what the fuck have been doing behind my back
22:05you said it yourself you said you liked it when i called you that
22:09bullshit when did i ever say
22:17you said it with your own mouth you said you liked me calling you sir you told me to call
22:23you that
22:23lately liam slowly set down his knife and fork he rose the pressure rolling off him chilled the room
22:30my crying dropped away an unspeakable terror crawled up my spine maybe liam's polished surface had fooled
22:37me he was in fact far more frightening than logan i started to shake and couldn't stop liam's gaze
22:44landed on me for only two short seconds but my whole back went damp with sweat don't bully a girl
22:52come 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 i'm
23:04here
23:04i looked at those words wiped my eyes and slowly lowered myself into a chair then i covered my
23:11face and laughed at myself did liam think i didn't know or that i wouldn't remember the day he transferred
23:17in at the welcome reception the trustees threw someone had congratulated him on his coming engagement some
23:24arrangement with another old money family he hadn't denied it and a man about to be engaged playing a game
23:30like this with his own twin it was just one last thrill before it was all settled or some indulgence
23:37of an ugly little appetite hidden beneath that flawless face but what had i done to deserve it
23:42why 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 had won the affection
24:11of every elder in the hayes family and with it in time the inheritance logan was left to be a
24:18spendthrift
24:19wasteland countless people envied him and none of them knew how often he envied liam hated liam and yet
24:27because of a shadow that went back as far as he could remember feared him down to the bone the
24:34contradiction gnawed at him robbed him of sleep if i remember right you were the one who lost her to
24:41me
24:41that night but you don't touch girls you've got no interest in them at all i thought you'd never lay
24:47a
24:47hand on her i thought you'd find her dirty logan wouldn't admit the rest that night handing avery over
24:55had been mostly about one thing humiliating liam a girl logan had grown tired of and liam wanted her
25:04in secret did liam think he couldn't see it the first time liam laid eyes on avery his expression had
25:11changed 18 years as brothers and that was the first time logan had ever seen liam's gaze catch and hold
25:19on
25:19a girl he'd even looked at avery's legs twice so logan had hatched the absurd idea use a girlfriend he
25:27was sick of to humiliate the brother who'd always stood over him it would feel good a thrill what he
25:34never expected was that liam a man with an absurd obsessive aversion to mess would actually touch her
25:42and he never expected that the night liam took her away he himself would lie awake the whole night
25:49through restless the cheerleader girl he'd taken away that night he'd been certain he'd do something
25:56with her but in the end he'd pushed her away his whole mind had been somewhere else was liam kissing
26:03avery touching her the way i would how would she react could she tell it wasn't me would she yield
26:11to him as sweetly as obediently as she does beneath me the thought tormented him to distraction he'd gone
26:19back to the dorm at first light when someone told him liam had left at six the same as always
26:25he'd been
26:26flooded with relief but then he saw avery come down the stairs covered in marks shy and
26:33sweet complaining that he'd been too rough and hurt her and in that instant he could have killed
26:39he'd had many girls leaving them passing them off he'd never felt a flicker of reluctance he'd assumed
26:47avery was the same and in that moment he finally understood she wasn't from the very start she had
26:56never been like the others he'd forgotten avery was the only girl he'd fallen for at first sight
27:02and then chased in earnest and he'd badly underestimated how much she weighed in his own heart
27:10find her dirty liam suddenly rose and crossed to logan it was perhaps the first real crack in his
27:17composure all day the first time a man so sparing with words said this much at once
27:23i don't know why you talk about your own girlfriend that way and i don't agree that a
27:28girl who's had a boyfriend who's had sex is somehow dirty
27:33say one more thing like that about her go on try
27:42liam
27:44you 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 take her so i'll say this one last time logan the opening was yours to give you put her
28:02in my
28:03hands
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
28:13you
28:13think she'll do she'll hate me and she'll hate you just as much so what
28:20if i hadn't taken your bet that night hadn't taken her away would you have gambled her off to a
28:24third
28:25man i wouldn't have you would have other people may not know it but you do you'd had enough of
28:32her
28:32grown tired of her there was a younger prettier girl already waiting to spend the night with you
28:38say it yourself logan isn't that right logan ground his jaw breath heaving and yet somehow
28:44he couldn't get out a single word in his own defense
28:51you'd better worry about getting yourself through this first that mess with father's sportswear line
28:58the 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
29:08it 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 own
29:29brother and set even the family's interests aside to do it what if it was if you had a shrirk
29:37of skill
29:37or 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
29:52above me in everything you had it good off at that school in another state why did you suddenly have
29:56to come back here you've got girls lining up for you you've got a fiance who's the most sought after
30:00girl in our whole circle why did you have to come and fight me for avery
30:06standing a step above you all our lives
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 a woman
30:53is a weapon that never misses the opening would vanish in a blink and right now was the perfect
30:59moment logan avery don't come near me avery let me explain i logan you're my first man my first love
31:08you know how much i cared about you how much i loved you i could accept that your heart changed
31:12that you
31:12stopped loving me but i can't accept that you gave me away this past year with you i was so
31:17happy so happy
31:19no one had ever been as good to me as you were and it turns out it was all just
31:24a dream i had
31:25avery it's not like that let me explain i can explain logan i'm awake now i'll never dream again
31:34as the last word landed i suddenly spun and ran for the second floor balcony below the balcony was a
31:41small garden the gardener had just turned the soil yesterday i take only the lightest injury but the
31:48sight of a girl throwing herself off a balcony would be devastating and i'd bet right as liam and
31:54logan came chasing after me i went over the railing without an instant's hesitation as though i'd made
32:00up my mind to die i heard them screaming my name behind me i couldn't tell whose voice it was
32:06in the
32:07brief plunge downward i smiled mocking the whole campus fell into chaos liam who was so far above
32:15everyone who never appeared in public with a single crease in his shirt now had mud caked on his
32:21trousers and didn't notice at all he reached out as if to hold me then didn't dare touch i lay
32:27curled
32:28on the dirt my foot bent at a sickening swollen angle avery don't be afraid the nurse is coming
32:41footsteps came pounding up the path then closed in fast the school's night nurse kit in hand
32:48i'm not going to the infirmary don't help me
32:54i 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
33:17wanted let the nurse look at you first avery be good not until you promise me or i won't let
33:23her touch me
33:24this 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
33:38ran slowly down over the old scar on my calf staining red that faded faded flower liam's pupils
33:45contracted all at once in an instant the color drained from his whole face stop moving
34:05that day at the campus liam had made that promise in front of many people so through all my days
34:11in
34:11the infirmary neither he nor logan appeared even once when i was finally cleared to leave the hayes
34:17his family lawyer came to see me a mild well-mannered man miss carter liam says that whatever you need
34:24you have only to ask anything within his power i want a sum of money and i want to transfer
34:31finish
34:32school somewhere far from here my family was bad two older sisters above me a younger brother below my
34:39father was diagnosed with a serious illness both my sisters had dropped out early to work and neither was
34:45doing well i wanted to give my family a little money enough at least to make their lives somewhat
34:50easier the money's long been arranged as for the transfer whichever school whichever city you'd like
34:57it 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
35:20than a plaything to be traded away at a whim maybe liam really did like me maybe there was some
35:25sliver
35:25of true 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
36:06me didn't disturb me and i i didn't look back either liam sank down against the tree trunk and closed
36:14his
36:15eyes it was as if he'd returned to that night he had known about logan's bet in advance that was
36:20why
36:20so unlike himself he'd gone to that absurd party so unlike himself he'd gambled with his brother that
36:26once he couldn't stand by and watch avery the truth was that night he hadn't meant to do anything to
36:31avery but she had put her arms around him she had said he smelled good and he hadn't been able
36:36to stop
36:37himself he'd lowered his head and kissed her and she hadn't resisted in the slightest
36:40she'd even answered him sweet and pliant in that instant his selfishness his greed had won out he'd
36:47thought basely then let me have her once under logan's name but some things some people you cannot
36:53touch after the first time you want a second you want it without end when he heard logan say he'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
37:13liam suddenly opened his eyes he looked down at the old scar at the web of his thumb
37:17the year she had bitten him savage blood everywhere she had said the same thing then
37:23my second year at college in the city i ran into one of logan's old friends from stonebridge on the
37:29street avery long time no see what are you doing here come on let's eat no refusing speaking of which
37:34i've been thinking about logan lately do you remember him his brother originally planned to send
37:37him to a boarding school across the whole country but somehow he ended up staying at stonebridge
37:41honestly he steadied a lot he actually business his dad left for him now he took it seriously
37:44after everything that happened and another thing he hasn't dated one ever since there was a party
37:49once someone happened to bring up your name and the look on his face the truth is at first i
37:53hadn't liked logan much maybe it was a prejudice i'd brought in from the start toward boys born to
37:58that kind of money and standing i'd always kept my guard up later he was truly good to me i
38:03was young
38:03when a golden boy like that lowers himself in front of you of course your heart stirs but before i
38:08could do anything foolish reality woke me up though he and his brother liam seem to be on pretty bad
38:15terms now liam was supposed to get engaged this year too i think that fell through and the girl
38:20everyone said he was promised to she's gone and gotten engaged to someone else i've got class let's
38:24do this another time when there's a champ avery is there really no chance for you and logan you know
38:29logan really was a bit reckless back then but from what i know you two just had him understanding he
38:32honestly never slept could we please not bring him up again all right thanks for dinner goodbye
38:36then no need to be polite with me avery come back to town and visit sometime everyone misses you we'll
38:40see a black car drove past my step caught just for a moment but the car didn't pause an instant
38:46it sped on ahead i looked down smiled shook my head and kept walking waiting at the crosswalk the wind
38:53picked up hey avery i turned without thinking and looked straight into a pair of deep dark eyes
39:00liam stood at the intersection his black car parked behind him avery he wasn't wearing glasses
39:07thinner than two years ago the line of his jaw sharper what are you doing here passing through
39:14passing through this is a college town it's at least four hours from your city he didn't answer
39:20just kept looking at me his gaze heavy let me drive you back to campus no
39:28all right
39:32avery his footsteps followed matching my pace a few feet behind what do you want from me liam
39:41i want to talk to you we have nothing to talk about you promised both of you i know what
39:47i promised
39:47then why are you here for a second he said nothing then he reached into his pocket and took out
39:53a business
39:53card if you change your mind i looked at the card white embossed letters his name and a phone number
40:00i took it and turned it over then i tore it in half then in half again i let the
40:06pieces fall to the
40:07sidewalk don't come back i turned and walked away this time he didn't follow i made it two blocks before
40:14i stopped i leaned against a wall and pressed my palms to my eyes my hands were shaking when i
40:20got
40:21back to my dorm something fell out of the pocket a white card the same business card he must have
40:27slipped it in while i was tearing the other one i hadn't felt a thing i stared at it for
40:32a long
40:32moment then i opened my desk drawer put it inside and closed it i flopped onto the bed and stared
40:38at the
40:38ceiling two years of quiet of nothing i thought i'd built a safe life here and liam had found me
40:45in
40:45three days i didn't call him i went to class as usual i studied i ate at the dining hall
40:52with my
40:53roommate everything normal but lying on my dorm bed my thoughts suddenly drifted back at the marina
40:59after too much wine i'd told liam exactly how i got the scar on my calf back then i hadn't
41:06thought
41:06much of it it was just an old childhood story but now lying alone in my dorm room i found
41:12myself
41:13remembering it again the memory felt sharper now than it had in years when i was little there had
41:18been a boy whose family was richer than anyone else in the neighborhood he was spoiled stubborn and
41:24always surrounded by other kids trying to impress him for some reason he loved bothering me maybe it
41:30was because i never paid attention to him the more i ignored him the more determined he became
41:36one afternoon he followed me around for nearly an hour refusing to leave me alone eventually i lost
41:42my 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 my
41:59calf i remember sitting on the ground crying while he stood there looking horrified then because i was
42:05furious and hurt and eight years old i grabbed his hand and bit him as hard as i could he
42:11screamed
42:12there was blood on his hand and blood on my leg both of us were crying by the time adults
42:17came
42:17running over a few days later he showed up carrying medicine i thought he had come to laugh at me
42:22instead
42:23he crouched beside me and stared at the bandage on my leg it doesn't look that bad it looks like
42:30a
42:30flower petal the day i jumped from the balcony the blood ran over that same scar liam's face went
42:38white the moment he saw it i climbed down from the bed and opened the storage box beneath my desk
42:43inside
42:44were old notebooks photographs after several minutes of searching i found it that year there was a
42:49large photograph mr and mrs hayes logan and liam my eyes fixed on liam's right hand at the web between
42:57his thumb and index finger a scar the boy who had called my scar a flower petal the boy i
43:02had bitten
43:02until his hand bled what if it had been liam all along liam's version of that year starts the summer
43:10before he 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
43:57and 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
44:07up the lie
44:07night after night he told himself it was temporary that he'd confess when the time was right then i
44:13jumped 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
44:35his room and stayed there for two days i didn't call i waited a week then two then i found
44:41myself
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
45:06he
45:06kept pretending 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
45:19don't come back here again liam i will i'll come back every day if i have to
45:23i waited two years because you asked me to i'll wait two more but i'll be here i walked halfway
45:28down the block and stopped i leaned against a wall and closed my eyes liam was the boy the one
45:33who said
45:34my scar looked like a flower petal the one i bit the one who brought me medicine the one who
45:38watched
45:39me fall and didn't catch me i walked back to my dorm and opened the drawer looking at the card
45:43then i heard
45:44someone call my name again i looked out the window for a moment i thought it was liam again but
45:48i knew it was
45:49logan avery i know i just someone told me liam came to see you i thought if he was breaking
45:55the
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
46:04hear 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
46:09of
46:09you i built something here small quiet mine and you two show up in the same week and act like
46:13i'm
46:13still the girl from two years ago i'm not i don't want to be i know you won't hate liam
46:17either but i
46:17don't want either of you not anymore not the way you want me the boy i'd been afraid of for
46:21a year
46:22the boy who'd thrown me into a card game like i was nothing who'd stood by and let his brother
46:26touch
46:27me claim me ruin me is there anything i can do you can go home take care of your family's
46:32business stop
46:33gambling girls away okay i meant what i said about you being the only one then he got into a
46:41car and
46:41drove away a week passed 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 you said you'd wait two years yes then start counting
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