- 21 hours ago
Lost in the Twin Game EPISODE
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00I fold. Avery's yours for tonight.
00:03You're willing to give her up?
00:04Since 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.
00:18Fine. 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, and you're already bored? It's
00:32not 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. They 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. She'd rather die than let another guy touch her.
01:26If you really want to bet, you better be ready to lose everything.
01:30Logan 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,
01:55I'd be the one 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.
02:37The 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.
04:34And had no marks on him afterward.
04:36He'd been at a military academy before Vermont.
04:38He had a 4.0.
04:40And 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?
05:43Your name, Mr. Hayes.
05:45And I've called you Baby.
05:49Then tonight call me Sir.
05:53Sir?
05:55Sir?
05:55Sir?
05:56Sir?
05:59Sir?
05:59Sir?
05:59Sir?
06:01Sir?
06:01Sir?
06:02Sir?
06:02Sir?
06:02Sir?
06:04Sir?
06:04My question is being recorded.
06:04don't-
06:04if I tell you without saying told this Todd's ass.
06:13That was very dumb.
06:13I don't know.
06:19Avery, say it again, Logan, no not that, sir, sir, don't stop Avery, don't stop, sir,
06:43sir, sir, sir, sir.
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
06:59left. Through the glass, I could see the back lawn below, and Logan standing in it.
07:04I picked out a dress with an off-the-shoulder neckline, revealing the marks on purpose.
07:08this hey what's wrong can you go get me some medicine from the infirmary what for what hurts
07:23last night you were really rough i didn't realize until the shower there was it bled a little it
07:29really hurts say that again what bled last night it was a lot you were i'm really sore like
07:37everywhere you were so different last night though like really different better i don't know what got
07:42into you but i really liked it i even cried i begged you to stop and you didn't you were
07:46so
07:47mean about it but also i kind of didn't want you to i'll go get something stay here he was
07:54gone 40
07:55minutes i'd gotten takeout from the cafeteria and was eating in my dorm room i was halfway through
08:00when i noticed someone outside i saw liam coming up the path the two of them weren't actually that
08:04hard to tell apart liam was slightly taller than logan broader through the shoulders more solidly
08:10built and the jacket he had on today was the same cut as logan's from a distance the similarity was
08:15close enough hey logan did you bring it
08:25what 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 to get
08:39you don't need to be embarrassed it's not as if i haven't already
08:42i'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 all of them controlled none of them good
09:00liam avery what exactly are you two doing
09:04liam 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
09:17it's not your fault the twins get confused all the time
09:20logan you shouldn't have snapped at her
09:22whose fault is it she's so dense you share a bed with someone for a year and can't recognize them
09:25she's only met me once mixing us up is normal
09:28fine i'll apologize to her
09:31go back to the room let me see where you're hurt
09:34i'll put the ointment on for you if i had it right
09:37logan had spent last night with another girl and now he wanted to put his hands on me a wave
09:43of
09:44nausea rose up sudden and violent i forced it down hard take it off lie down logan why are you
09:52being so harsh with me today in our year together maybe to keep me fooled maybe out of some sliver
09:57of
09:58something real logan had always been gentle are you are you still mad that i mistook your brother
10:02for 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
10:11i only said yes in the end because i was afraid someone had made a point of telling me about
10:16the girl
10:16before me the dancer avery be careful don't really set him off i heard he's been digging into
10:21your family people like logan we couldn't afford to cross him in 10 lifetimes
10:25i was afraid of dying i was more afraid of living through something worse than death
10:29so i accepted him and for a whole year i'd kept my head down careful with every step and logan
10:35had
10:35been good to me devoted even so much that sometimes i let myself dream impossible things i lost my grip
10:41on reality but i never imagined that lowering myself this far would buy me nothing but being handed off
10:46to another man like a chip on a table my head was a tangled mess logan pressed me down to
10:51sit then
10:52crouched in front of me he looked down took hold of my slim calf you must have worked me up
10:56last
10:56night otherwise why would i have been so rough and parted my legs he laughed softly and glanced up at
11:03me then slowly began to lift the hem of my dress i turned my face away and bit down on
11:07the inside of
11:08my lip swallowing the sickness churning in my stomach just as he was about to pull away the last
11:12thin layer of fabric logan come to the study now liam's voice from the hallway heavy with warning
11:19and a thread of barely leashed anger underneath logan muttered something that might have been a curse
11:23but he stood up at once put it on yourself i'll go deal with him i took it and watched
11:29him leave
11:29the room only then like a prisoner granted a stay did i let out a long ragged breath my phone
11:34buzzed
11:35beside me i picked it up a text from an unknown number this is liam save my number i stared
11:41at the
11:42small words on the screen for a long moment before i typed back okay liam didn't reply and logan didn't
11:49come back to the room he called me from the campus instead something had gone wrong at his father's
11:55sportswear subsidiary the one his family had set up and he had to fly out for a few days i
12:00could hear
12:01the strain in his voice it sounded like more than a small problem for me at least it bought a
12:07little
12:07room to breathe the next morning i got ready to head back to school i'd barely come down the stairs
12:13when i ran into liam again this time he was wearing his glasses nothing at all like the man who
12:18had
12:18kissed me so gently that night i greeted him the way i had the very first time morning heading back
12:24to
12:24school yeah it's on my way i'll drive you i started to refuse but he went on
12:31logan's gone as his brother looking after you is the least i can do eat something first i forced
12:37down a few bites and set my fork aside liam said nothing just turned and walked out
12:43i shouldered my bag and followed
12:49when the car door shut he reached up and pressed the button raising the privacy partition
12:55liam 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
13:12no 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
13:46so so good to me letting a sweetness i didn't feel rise into my eyes i really love him liam
13:53let out
13:54something that might have been a low laugh or maybe i imagined it he didn't look at me again just
13:58leaned back gaze fixed calmly ahead he didn't say another word the whole drive when we reached the
14:02school parking 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
14:16is for scars use it on the one on your calf how do you know i have a scar on
14:20my calf he didn't answer
14:22he just placed the tube in my hand i sat frozen for a second then opened the door and got
14:27out
14:27liam got out after me not looking at me once as he headed for the school building i stood there
14:32a
14:32while before i took out my phone and answered logan's text i miss you too are you really not
14:36back for another 10 days about that long but i'll wrap it up and come home as fast as i
14:42can
14:42okay i'll wait for you time crawled forward those 10 days without logan were strangely peaceful
14:49liam never came near me once that night started to feel like some absurd dream sometimes i even
14:54wondered had it really been liam a person like that so far above everyone untouchable why would
14:59he play such a vile game with his own brother friday afternoon logan texted to say he was going back
15:04to
15:04campus that night and told me to wait for him stonebridge had a handful of senior resident suites
15:09small private rooms in the old dorm wing the kind the legacy family's kids always ended up with
15:14logan's was one of them i let myself in showered and lay on the couch scrolling my phone waiting and
15:20somewhere in the waiting i fell asleep i don't know how long the sound of the door woke me i
15:25sat up
15:25bleary and saw a tall figure walking toward me against the light with him came that cold scent from
15:30that night he came closer no glasses 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
15:49tightened 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 his scalding breath brushed
16:19across
16:19my nose my lashes trembled and then he kissed me soft at first do you miss me but the gentleness
16:27gave way fast to a sudden storm i do i answered blurred miss who say it clearly i miss logan
16:35he
16:35bit down hard on my lip the pain made my tears spill over i glared at him wounded but before
16:40the name
16:41could leave my mouth he stopped it with a kiss deeper and more reckless than before and when i
16:45was fully pinned beneath him claimed by him only then did he take my face in his hands and brush
16:51the
16:51tears from the corners of my eyes with his thumb i couldn't stop sobbing avery i'll ask one more time
17:00what do you call me sorry sir do you like it when i treat you this way i cried so
17:07hard i choked
17:08wanting to shake my head but he kissed me until i couldn't move all i could do was nod whimpering
17:13only then did his kiss gentle again now from now on i'll treat you like this every day all right
17:19you'll hurt me it hurts like that you were never this rough with me before he pressed me to his
17:25chest
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 or
17:38maybe 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 again from now on only do this with me all right i laughed under
17:50my
17:50breath what are you talking about of course only with you logan don't say the name his voice dropped
17:57hard i blinked up what's wrong with you you're being so strange but liam only let go of my hands
18:03and gently covered my eyes avery i love hearing you call me sir every time you do it does something
18:11to me call me that from now on always and my fingers brushed an old scar at the web of
18:17his thumb
18:18something flickered 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
18:38quad after 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 dock
18:52side places built out over the water i drank a lot of the wine and by the time we left
18:58i couldn't walk
18:59straight liam carried me back to the car on his back his fingers grazed the old scar on my calf
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 i had to help my parents run their
19:34food stall
19:36look after my little brother change his diapers feed him he kept pestering me until i'd had it so
19:43i got in a fight with him i was small couldn't beat a boy obviously he shoved me down and
19:52i cracked my
19:52leg open on the edge of a planter bled everywhere he didn't get off easy either though i grabbed his
20:01hand and bit him as hard as i could sank my teeth right in my whole mouth was full of
20:06blood
20:07he had no spine at all just blod 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
20:23petal 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
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
21:24when he reached for his third drink i lightly pressed my hand over his glass sir drink less your stomach's
21:31bad 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
22:08bullshit 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 face
23:11and laughed at myself did liam think i didn't know or that i wouldn't remember the day he transferred in
23:18at 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
23:56don't you think you've taken this too far born of the same mother twins and yet from childhood
24:02logan had fallen short of him in everything liam brilliant in ways ordinary people weren't
24:10had 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 liam
24:25hated liam and yet because of a shadow that went back as far as he could remember feared him down
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
24:54handing 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
25:17seen 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
26:08could 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
26:23liam had left at six the same as always he'd been flooded with relief but then he saw avery come
26:30down the stairs covered in marks shy and sweet complaining that he'd been too rough and hurt her
26:36and in that instant he could have killed he'd had many girls leaving them passing them off he'd never
26:44felt a flicker of reluctance he'd assumed avery was the same and in that moment he finally understood
26:52she wasn't from the very start she had never been like the others he'd forgotten avery was the only
27:00girl he'd fallen for at first sight and then chased in earnest and he'd badly underestimated how much
27:07she weighed in his own heart find her dirty liam suddenly rose and crossed to logan it was perhaps the
27:16first real crack in his composure all day the first time a man so sparing with words said this much
27:22at
27:22once i 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
27:49baited me into bedding because you wanted her because you wanted to take her from me
27:53if you were truly in earnest about her no one could take her
27:57so i'll say this one last time logan the opening was yours to give you put her in my 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
28:13you
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
28:27you would have other people may not know it but you do you'd had enough of her grown tired of
28:33her
28:33there was a younger prettier girl already waiting to spend the night with you say it yourself logan
28:39isn't that right logan ground his jaw breath heaving and yet somehow he couldn't get out a single word in
28:45his own defense you'd better worry about getting yourself through this first that mess with father's
28:56sportswear line 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 own
29:29brother and set even the family's interests aside to do it what if it was if you had a shirk
29:37of skill
29:37or nerve you wouldn't be at everyone's mercy at every turn do you tell her the truth yourself or do
29:47i
29:48why why our whole lives did you have to be one step above me in everything you had it good
29:54off at that
29:54school in another state why did you suddenly have to come back here you've got girls lining up for you
29:58you've got a fiancee who's the most sought after girl in our whole circle why did you have to come
30:02and fight me for avery
30:06standing a step above you all our lives that was just each of us playing the hand we had
30:11you think a single thing you own is something i'd want
30:15then 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
30:53a woman is a weapon that never misses the opening would vanish in a blink and right now was the
30:59perfect moment okay avery don't come near me avery let me explain i logan you're my first man my first
31:08love you know how much i cared about you how much i loved you i could accept that your heart
31:12changed that
31:12you stopped loving me but i can't accept that you gave me away this past year with you i was
31:17so happy
31:18so happy no one had ever been as good to me as you were and it turns out it was
31:23all just a 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
31:41garden the gardener had just turned the soil yesterday i'd take only the lightest injury
31:47but the sight of a girl throwing herself off a balcony would be devastating and i'd bet right
31:53as liam and logan came chasing after me i went over the railing without an instant's hesitation
31:59as though i'd made up my mind to die i heard them screaming my name behind me i couldn't tell
32:05whose voice
32:05it was in the brief plunge downward i smiled mocking the whole campus fell into chaos liam who was so
32:15far above everyone who never appeared in public with a single crease in his shirt now had mud caked
32:20on his trousers and didn't notice at all he reached out as if to hold me then didn't dare touch
32:26i lay
32:27curled on 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
32:49i'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
33:10the 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
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
34:16to leave 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
34:31to transfer 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
34:50their
34:50lives somewhat easier money's long been arranged as for the transfer whichever school whichever city
34:56you'd like 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 that it seemed a light snap would break it like an ordinary girl like me in their eyes nothing
35:19more than a plaything to be traded away at a whim maybe liam really did like me maybe there was
35:25some sliver
35:25of true feeling but true feelings 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
36:07me 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
36:36stop himself he'd lowered his head and kissed her and she hadn't resisted in the slightest she'd even
36:41answered him sweet and pliant in that instant his selfishness his greed had won out he'd thought
36:47basely then let me have her once under logan's name but some things some people you cannot touch
36:53after 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 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
37:27one 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 studied 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
37:51his 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
38:02truly 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 seem
38:14to be on pretty bad terms now liam was supposed to get engaged this year too i think that fell
38:18through
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 champ 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 just had him understanding he honestly never slept could we please not bring him up again
38:35all 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
38:45but 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
39:28all 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
39:53out a business card if you change your mind i looked at the card white embossed letters his name and
39:59a phone
40:00number i took it and turned it over then i tore it in half then in half again i let
40:06the pieces 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
40:14before i stopped i leaned against a wall and pressed my palms to my eyes my hands were shaking when
40:20i got
40:20back 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
40:31a long moment
40:32then i opened my desk drawer put it inside and closed it i flopped onto the bed and stared at
40:38the
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
40:52roommate everything normal but lying on my dorm bed my thoughts suddenly drifted back at the marina after
41:00too much wine i'd told liam exactly how i got the scar on my calf back then i hadn't thought
41:06much of
41:06it it was just an old childhood story but now lying alone in my dorm room i found myself remembering
41:13it
41:13again the memory felt sharper now than it had in years when i was little there had been a boy
41:19whose
41:19family was richer than anyone else in the neighborhood he was spoiled stubborn and always
41:24surrounded by other kids trying to impress him for some reason he loved bothering me maybe it was
41:30because i never paid attention to him the more i ignored him the more determined he became one
41:36afternoon he followed me around for nearly an hour refusing to leave me alone eventually i lost my
41:42temper and shoved him he shoved me back we ended up fighting beside a row of concrete planters i was
41:48smaller than he was and stood no chance he pushed me hard enough that i lost my balance and slammed
41:53into the
41:54edge of a planter the pain came instantly i looked down and saw blood pouring down my calf i remember
42:00sitting on the ground crying while he stood there looking horrified then because i was furious and hurt
42:06and eight years old i grabbed his hand and bit him as hard as i could he screamed there was
42:12blood on his
42:13hand and blood on my leg both of us were crying by the time adults came running over a few
42:18days later he showed
42:19up carrying medicine i thought he had come to laugh at me instead he crouched beside me and stared
42:25at the bandage on my leg it doesn't look that bad it looks like a flower petal
42:33the day i jumped from the balcony the blood ran over that same scar
42:37liam's face went white the moment he saw it i climbed down from the bed and opened the storage
42:42box beneath my desk inside were old notebooks photographs after several minutes of searching
42:47i found it that year there was a large photograph mr and mrs hayes logan and liam my eyes fixed
42:54on liam's
42:55right hand at the web between his thumb and index finger a scar the boy who had called my scar
43:00a flower
43:01petal the boy i had bitten until his hand bled what if it had been liam all along liam's version
43:08of that
43:08year starts the summer before he saw me first at a scholarship dinner he attended as a trustee
43:13representative i stood on stage accepting an award wearing a dress that didn't fit quite right i looked
43:19nervous but i spoke clearly thanked the donors and walked off without looking back he didn't think much
43:25of it not then keep an eye on your brother logan's getting sloppy drinking too much chasing girls the
43:33family name needs protecting liam arrived in september at the private welcome reception someone pointed
43:38out logan's girlfriend he saw how logan talked to me casual dismissive your brother's putting his
43:45girl on the table tonight you coming the night of the bet he knew about it before it happened liam
43:50came
43:51he told himself he was there to stop it to take me out of that room and tell me the
43:54truth then i hugged
43:55him called him logan and told him he smelled good he couldn't stop himself he kissed me and i kissed
44:01him
44:01back at that moment he didn't want to be the good one anymore he wanted to be the one i
44:05chose
44:06so he kept up the lie night after night he told himself it was temporary that he'd confess when
44:11the time was right then i jumped off the balcony and he realized the time would never be right the
44:17lawyer went in the next morning liam had written the check himself added three zeros to what the
44:21lawyer suggested the lawyer came back and said she wants to go far away he didn't ask the lawyer to
44:26pass
44:27on a message but the lawyer asked her anyway please tell liam i hope the rest of his life is
44:32safe and
44:33smooth liam went to his room and stayed there for two days i didn't call i waited a week then
44:40two then
44:41i found myself standing outside the coffee shop where i'd seen him walk in three days in a row he
44:45wasn't there by accident he was there because he knew this was where i came on thursday afternoons
44:51i pushed the door open i walked up to his table and sat down across from him tell me everything
44:59from the beginning the night of the bet he told me everything he came to stop the bet but he
45:05kissed
45:05me instead he kept pretending because he wanted more he remembered the fight he knew i was the girl
45:10who bit him two years you had two years to tell me you knew who i was it it matters
45:16i didn't think it
45:17mattered don't come back here again liam i will i'll come back every day if i have to i waited
45:24two
45:24years because you asked me to i'll wait two more but i'll be here i walked halfway down the block
45:29and
45:29stopped i leaned against a wall and closed my eyes liam was the boy the one who said my scar
45:34looked like
45:35a flower petal the one i bit the one who brought me medicine the one who watched me fall and
45:39didn't
45:39catch me i walked back to my dorm and opened the drawer looking at the card then i heard someone
45:44call
45:44my name again i looked out the window for a moment i thought it was liam again but i knew
45:48it was logan
45:51avery i know i just someone told me liam came to see you i thought if he was breaking the
45:55promise
45:55lately how things i could to work you shouldn't be here that's not how promises work no i know two
46:00years ago i was i know that's not enough to say but i wanted you to hear it from me
46:04not through
46:05someone else i don't need an apology logan what do you need i need you to leave both of you
46:09i built
46:10something here small quiet mine and you two show up in the same week and act like i'm still the
46:14girl
46:14from two years ago i'm not i don't want to be i know you won't hate liam either but i
46:17don't want
46:18either of you not anymore not the way you want me the boy i'd been afraid of for a year
46:22the boy who'd
46:22thrown me into a card game like i was nothing who'd stood by and let his brother touch me claim
46:27me ruin me
46:29is there anything i can do you can go home take care of your family's business stop gambling girls away
46:37okay i meant what i said about you being the only one then he got into a car and drove
46:41away
46:42a week passed then two on the third thursday i walked into the coffee shop liam was sitting at the
46:47same table he looked up when i came in i walked over and sat down across from him two years
46:53you said
46:53you'd wait two years yes then start counting
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