Binge the viral, dangerously steamy, and fiercely intense romance drama "Hate Me Like You Love Me" full movie with English subtitles.
🔥 Synopsis:
"Their rivalry was legendary. Their secret obsession was deadly."
As the heirs to two violently feuding corporate empires, they have spent their entire lives trying to completely destroy each other in the boardroom. They trade vicious insults by day, but by night, the burning hatred violently tips over into a dark, irresistible physical addiction. Watch the high-tension, highly steamy romance unfold as the boundaries between enemy and lover are utterly shattered, leading the two ruthless alphas into a dangerous game where the only way to win is to surrender everything.
👉 Drama Details:
* Title: Hate Me Like You Love Me
* Genre: Enemies to Lovers, Dark Romance, Office Romance, Possessive Alpha Male, Sweet and Dangerous, Secret Affair
* Format: Full Miniseries (Vertical Drama)
* Status: All Episodes Completed
#HateMeLikeYouLoveMe #ShortDramaFull #MiniSeries #WebDrama #FullMovie #ReelShort #DramaBox #ShortTV #EnglishSubtitles
🔥 Synopsis:
"Their rivalry was legendary. Their secret obsession was deadly."
As the heirs to two violently feuding corporate empires, they have spent their entire lives trying to completely destroy each other in the boardroom. They trade vicious insults by day, but by night, the burning hatred violently tips over into a dark, irresistible physical addiction. Watch the high-tension, highly steamy romance unfold as the boundaries between enemy and lover are utterly shattered, leading the two ruthless alphas into a dangerous game where the only way to win is to surrender everything.
👉 Drama Details:
* Title: Hate Me Like You Love Me
* Genre: Enemies to Lovers, Dark Romance, Office Romance, Possessive Alpha Male, Sweet and Dangerous, Secret Affair
* Format: Full Miniseries (Vertical Drama)
* Status: All Episodes Completed
#HateMeLikeYouLoveMe #ShortDramaFull #MiniSeries #WebDrama #FullMovie #ReelShort #DramaBox #ShortTV #EnglishSubtitles
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00:00Caleb isn't answering his phone. Lacrosse practice ended an hour ago. Could you just find him?
00:00:05We're waiting for you for dinner. Yeah, fine. I'll look for him. Catherine can't reach her
00:00:11precious son, and somehow that's my problem. Our parents have been inseparable since childhood.
00:00:17Catherine is my godmother. They raised us side by side, convinced we'd grow up as close as they were.
00:00:23They never noticed when it all went wrong. Jade Richards perches on the edge of the sink,
00:00:27and Caleb, right there, stands between her thighs in nothing but a towel that hangs dangerously low
00:00:33on his hips. Caleb, someone could walk in. I don't give a fuck. I should leave. I should
00:00:40definitely, absolutely leave. Instead, I stand there like an idiot, heat flooding through my body
00:00:45in waves. This is disgusting. He is disgusting. You hate him. I slam the door, forcing my expression
00:00:53into irritation rather than the hot shame crawling up my throat. Your mother's been calling you for
00:00:58an hour, asshole! Our parents need us both at my house for dinner tonight. Apparently, it's something
00:01:04important. I should go. Coach will kill me if I'm late. You could have texted. Catherine asked me to
00:01:12find you. I found you. Message delivered. Is that what we're calling it? Because it looked a lot like
00:01:20you were watching. Long enough to be disgusted. Disgusted, right? I'm leaving. Don't be late
00:01:27for dinner. I'll drive you home. I have my bike. Still not in the mood to sit on some used
00:01:32condoms
00:01:33in your car. Suit yourself, princess. Dinner passes in a blur of small talk and forced smiles,
00:01:42but something feels different tonight. Catherine keeps touching my father's arm,
00:01:47not the comforting pats of a grieving friend. They've been spending so much time together since
00:01:52mom died, since Caleb's father vanished with every dollar the Thorntons had. Kids, Catherine and I
00:01:59actually have something to tell you. So we've decided to get married. No, no way. He deserves happiness,
00:02:06and Catherine is wonderful, but it's only been six months since my mother died. We found a new house,
00:02:12neutral territory for everyone. The kids' rooms are on the same floor, and Serena, your room connects
00:02:21to Caleb's through a Jack and Jill bathroom. Isn't it cool? Come on, you guys. It will be nice.
00:02:30My lifelong secret crush soon to become my stepbrother. Yeah, dad, really fucking nice.
00:02:36I set the boxes down on the unfamiliar floor, surveying this room that was supposed to be mine.
00:02:43Neutral territory, my father called it. A fresh start. The walls are painted a careful beige that
00:02:49commits to nothing. Now I'm here, in this house that holds no memories of my mother.
00:02:57Careful!
00:02:57It's just your crap.
00:03:00I'm taking a shower. Try not to miss me too much.
00:03:05This is what I am now. Sharing walls with my worst school enemy. But there was a time before all
00:03:11that.
00:03:12You're doing it wrong. Here. Like this.
00:03:17Stop. Stop romanticizing.
00:03:23Shit! My tampons!
00:03:25I left them on the bathroom counter this morning. If I'm fast enough?
00:03:35Wanted a preview of your new stepbrother, pervert?
00:03:38That's fucked up, even for you.
00:03:40I just left something on the counter.
00:03:42Not everything is about you and your abs, asshole!
00:03:46Keep telling yourself that.
00:03:50I'm not done talking.
00:03:52Well, I'm done listening.
00:03:54Let go of me, Caleb!
00:03:56Or what? Gonna scream, run to daddy?
00:04:01God, you're pathetic!
00:04:03Still crying over mommy?
00:04:06It's been six months, Serena.
00:04:08The rest of us have moved on.
00:04:10You are exactly like your shitty father!
00:04:13Say that again. I dare you.
00:04:15You heard me. You're just like him.
00:04:18Like Simon.
00:04:19A bully who only feels big when he's making someone else feel small.
00:04:23Keep his fucking name out of your mouth before I...
00:04:25Before you what?
00:04:27Hit me! Prove my point!
00:04:29Such a shame your mother won't see you graduate.
00:04:32But hey, your dad moved on quickly.
00:04:35Guess she wasn't that hard to forget.
00:04:37Don't talk about my mother!
00:04:39Why not?
00:04:41Scared you're just as forgettable as she is?
00:04:44Careful, princess.
00:04:46Do you really want to start something you can't finish?
00:04:48You know what I think?
00:04:49I think you're terrified that one day you'll be gone and no one will even notice.
00:04:53That you'll just be another ghost no one bothers to remember.
00:04:57No one will ever truly love someone as pathetic as you.
00:05:00And deep down you know it's true.
00:05:08Serena...
00:05:09Open the fucking door!
00:05:13You just signed your death sentence, princess.
00:05:16You hear me?
00:05:17From this moment on, your life is gonna be a living hell.
00:05:21There's a long silence before his footsteps retreat and I hear his bedroom door slams.
00:05:26Minutes pass.
00:05:28Maybe five.
00:05:29Maybe ten.
00:05:30Then I sink to the floor, back against my bed, and wrap my arms around my knees.
00:05:35I hate him.
00:05:36I hate that I wounded him.
00:05:38I hate that I noticed.
00:05:41I know him better now than I ever wanted to.
00:05:44He runs at six.
00:05:45I've memorized the particular weight of his footsteps on the stairs.
00:05:49Showers at 640.
00:05:51And the pipes in my bathroom sing a specific note when the water pressure changes.
00:05:56Tuesday.
00:05:57My shampoo mysteriously turned my hair traffic cone orange.
00:06:00Wednesday.
00:06:02Every single bra I own disappeared, reappearing frozen in blocks of ice in the freezer.
00:06:08Thursday.
00:06:09My laptop password changed itself to Daddy Issues 123.
00:06:13At 3.14 in the afternoon, I'm in the kitchen.
00:06:16He doesn't get home until 4.30 on Thursdays.
00:06:19I'm halfway through making the world's saddest sandwich when the front door opens an hour earlier than his schedule allows.
00:06:26My entire body goes on high alert.
00:06:28Skin prickling.
00:06:30Pulse jackknifing.
00:06:31Don't turn around.
00:06:32Don't give him the satisfaction.
00:06:35Careful.
00:06:36Wouldn't want you to hurt yourself.
00:06:38His chest presses more firmly against my back as he reaches higher,
00:06:42and the contact sends electricity shooting down my spine, pooling low and hot in my belly.
00:06:47Is something wrong, princess?
00:06:49I just wanted to grab my protein bar.
00:06:53That'll be Jade.
00:06:56Hmm.
00:06:58Try not to listen too hard, sis.
00:06:59Sis, the word is a weapon, a reminder, a fucking power play that makes me want to throw the knife
00:07:05at his head.
00:07:06They'll have a drink, and then she'll leave.
00:07:09That's how these things work.
00:07:11Hot water, locked door, the white noise of falling water drowning out everything else,
00:07:17except...
00:07:17Oh, God, Caleb!
00:07:19Jade's voice cuts through the wall like it's made of tissue paper,
00:07:23high and desperate and absolutely not faking it.
00:07:26Her moans build in pitch and urgency, and I hear the creak of bed springs,
00:07:31the thump of a headboard against a wall,
00:07:33heat coils between my thighs, insistent and demanding.
00:07:36My body betrays me completely,
00:07:38nipples tightening, breath coming shorter,
00:07:40and I hate myself for the way my hand drifts down my stomach.
00:07:44I've never touched myself like this before.
00:07:46What would it feel like?
00:07:48His hands instead of water,
00:07:49his weight pressing me against the tile,
00:07:52his voice in my ear,
00:07:53low and commanding.
00:07:55Take it.
00:07:57Take everything I give you.
00:07:59The pressure builds impossibly fast,
00:08:01my free hand bracing against the tile as my legs shake.
00:08:04When I come, it's violent, earth-shattering.
00:08:08The silence hits me first.
00:08:09No more sounds from his room.
00:08:11Nothing.
00:08:11Oh, God.
00:08:12Oh, fuck.
00:08:13Could they hear?
00:08:14I stumble toward the door,
00:08:16needing to confirm that barrier between my humiliation and reality.
00:08:20The door to his room is cracked open,
00:08:21but I checked it before I got in the shower.
00:08:23I'm certain I did.
00:08:25It was closed.
00:08:26Firmly.
00:08:27Completely closed.
00:08:28My heart stops.
00:08:29Did he open it?
00:08:31Control is an illusion I've been selling myself for 18 years.
00:08:35This is who I am.
00:08:37The girl who prepares.
00:08:38The girl who controls what she can.
00:08:40The girl with the five-year plan.
00:08:42And the girl who definitely doesn't spend every waking moment
00:08:45thinking about her stepbrother's hands.
00:08:48Lies.
00:08:48All lies.
00:08:49Just once more.
00:08:51Then you'll study.
00:08:52Then you'll be normal.
00:08:53Having fun?
00:08:58Going somewhere?
00:09:01Let go of me!
00:09:02Sit the fuck down, Serena.
00:09:05Fuck you!
00:09:05You done?
00:09:09So, who's the lucky bastard?
00:09:11What?
00:09:12What are you talking about?
00:09:14Don't play dumb.
00:09:15It's not cute.
00:09:17You were clearly getting yourself off to someone,
00:09:19so who is it?
00:09:20Some SAT tutor with a hard-on for the teacher's pets?
00:09:24One of those debate nerds who follows you around
00:09:27like you're made of cocaine?
00:09:28I wasn't!
00:09:29Your face is the color of a fucking tomato
00:09:32and your breathing's all fucked up.
00:09:34So who's got perfect little Serena all worked up?
00:09:37Must be someone truly pathetic.
00:09:39Get out of my room!
00:09:41Is it that guy from Calc?
00:09:43The one with the glasses who stares at you
00:09:45when you're doing board work?
00:09:47No, wait.
00:09:48You'd never go for someone that obvious.
00:09:50Too desperate.
00:09:51I said get out!
00:09:52Or maybe someone inappropriate.
00:09:55Someone you know you shouldn't want.
00:09:58Serena, who were you thinking about?
00:10:01No one!
00:10:01I wasn't!
00:10:02I was just...
00:10:03It's none of your fucking business!
00:10:06You're lying.
00:10:07I can always tell when you're lying.
00:10:08Your voice goes up at the end,
00:10:09your eyes dart to the left.
00:10:11And right now, you look fucking terrified.
00:10:13Which means whoever you were thinking about
00:10:15is someone you really don't want me to know about.
00:10:19You were thinking about me, weren't you?
00:10:21That's disgusting!
00:10:24Yeah?
00:10:25Then why is your pulse going crazy right here?
00:10:28Your body's a fucking traitor.
00:10:30You're insane!
00:10:31Then why can't you look at me?
00:10:34Why do you look like you're about to either cry or come?
00:10:37Because you're in my face!
00:10:39What were you imagining?
00:10:40My hands on you?
00:10:42Inside you?
00:10:43My mouth on your neck?
00:10:45Or your legs?
00:10:49Were you imagining how I'd touch you?
00:10:51Hard and rough until you forget your own name.
00:10:54Or maybe slow and deep
00:10:56until you're begging me to let you come.
00:10:58But here's the thing, princess.
00:11:00You're not even worth the effort it would take to undress you.
00:11:06You're fucking disgusting!
00:11:09You think I want any part of that?
00:11:11Fix yourself!
00:11:13You look like a cheap whore.
00:11:15Dinner's in ten.
00:11:17Try to act like a normal fucking person.
00:11:20I don't move for a long time.
00:11:22Can't move.
00:11:23My thigh still burns where he touched it.
00:11:25I stand there trying to breathe around the tightness in my chest.
00:11:29Six weeks of college.
00:11:31And I've learned that hope is just disappointment wearing a pretty dress.
00:11:35I had acceptances from everywhere.
00:11:37Places with actual seasons and zero Caleb Thorntons per square mile.
00:11:41But no, dad pulled the family needs to stick together card.
00:11:45I think it's actually really nice that you and Caleb ended up here together.
00:11:49After everything, it just feels right.
00:11:52Yeah.
00:11:53Um, totally.
00:11:55Everyone's coming over soon.
00:11:56The picnic's about to start.
00:11:58The bastard had applied after me.
00:12:01After.
00:12:01Found out where I was going and followed like some kind of stalker.
00:12:05Even won grants and scholarships.
00:12:07Including the one from his high school presidency.
00:12:09My fresh start rotted before it even began.
00:12:12The picnic is about to start.
00:12:14I'm about to prepare a fruit plate when I hear this voice.
00:12:16That specific frequency of a woman's giggle that makes my eye twitch.
00:12:20Jade stands at the garden gate.
00:12:23Her hand threaded through Caleb's arm.
00:12:25Her sundress clings to curves I remember from the locker room.
00:12:28Curves I heard him worship in his bedroom.
00:12:30While my body betrayed every principle I claimed to hold.
00:12:34Oh, Caleb.
00:12:35You didn't mention you were bringing someone.
00:12:38Jade, sweetheart.
00:12:40Welcome.
00:12:41Thanks, Mrs. Lacken.
00:12:43Everything looks amazing.
00:12:44Did you make all this yourself?
00:12:47Most of it.
00:12:49Serena helped with the fruit platters.
00:12:51How domestic.
00:12:53Serena, so good at this stuff.
00:12:55The compliment lands like a slap wrapped in ribbons.
00:12:58This stuff.
00:12:59Like I'm some 1950s housewife in training while she's out here being decorative and touchable and everything I'm not.
00:13:05We're so proud of both of them.
00:13:07Adjusting to college life so beautifully.
00:13:12Serena's doing wonderfully.
00:13:13Dean's list material, her advisor says.
00:13:17Well, she has to excel at something.
00:13:19Competition's tough when you can't coast on personality.
00:13:22Some of us prefer substance over charm.
00:13:25Kids.
00:13:26Babe, you two are hilarious.
00:13:29It's like watching real siblings bicker.
00:13:32Real siblings.
00:13:33The words land like ice water down my spine.
00:13:36We end up on the same picnic blanket because the universe has a sick sense of humor.
00:13:40Jade chatters about rush week and themed parties and other things that would require me to have a soul.
00:13:46She doesn't know him.
00:13:47Doesn't know he checks the locks three times before bed.
00:13:50Doesn't know he still has nightmares about his father.
00:13:52Doesn't know he reads Bukowski when he thinks no one's watching.
00:13:55After the neighbors evacuate and our parents disappear inside with wine that'll make them nostalgic and weepy, I escape to
00:14:02the kitchen.
00:14:03Jade left an hour ago.
00:14:05Something about a sorority emergency that sounded suspiciously like, I'm bored and these people are old.
00:14:11Thought you'd hide in here all night.
00:14:14I'm cleaning up.
00:14:16Some of us contribute.
00:14:18Is that what you call sulking in corners and shooting death glares at my girlfriend?
00:14:22She's not your girlfriend.
00:14:23She's a prop.
00:14:25An accessory.
00:14:27This week's validation fix.
00:14:30Jealous much?
00:14:31I'd rather be jealous of a yeast infection.
00:14:34Strong words.
00:14:36You know what I think?
00:14:38I think you can't stand watching me with her.
00:14:40I think it eats you alive.
00:14:42You followed me here.
00:14:44You could have gone anywhere.
00:14:47But you chose here.
00:14:49Maybe I just like the school.
00:14:51Maybe you're so terrified of being alone with yourself that you need me around to torture.
00:14:56Watch your fucking mouth, princess.
00:14:59You know what?
00:14:59I feel sorry for you.
00:15:01I'm serious.
00:15:02I feel sorry for the boy whose father beat him and then abandoned him.
00:15:05The boy's so desperate for approval, he'll fuck girls who don't even know his middle name.
00:15:09Because it's easier than admitting no one's ever actually loved him for who he is.
00:15:16Jade doesn't see you, Caleb.
00:15:19None of them do.
00:15:20They see the smile and the body and the charm.
00:15:23Shut the fuck up!
00:15:24And that works for you because if they saw the real you,
00:15:28the broken, desperate, terrified little boy under all that armor, they'd run.
00:15:34I'm not jealous of Jade.
00:15:35I pity her.
00:15:37And I pity you.
00:15:38The rest of the dishes are all yours.
00:15:50The library smells like anxiety and desperation with hints of stale Red Bull,
00:15:54basically the official cologne of higher education.
00:15:57Mia sits next to me, allegedly writing her sociology paper,
00:16:01but actually deep-stalking her TA's Instagram.
00:16:04I know because she keeps making these tiny gasping sounds
00:16:07every time she scrolls past a shirtless beach photo.
00:16:10Six weeks into freshman year,
00:16:11and Mia is the closest thing I've ever had to a real friend.
00:16:15In high school, I couldn't afford friends.
00:16:17He has a dog.
00:16:19A golden retriever named Pancake.
00:16:21Mia, focus.
00:16:23I am focused.
00:16:25Focused on how that man fills out a wetsuit.
00:16:30Ow, what?
00:16:31Look over there.
00:16:33Look, but don't make it obvious.
00:16:34Mia, if this is another guy you think has protagonist energy...
00:16:38Serena, shut up and look!
00:16:41Lucas Bennett is walking toward us,
00:16:42and apparently puberty decided to work overtime on him.
00:16:46The last time I saw Lucas, he was Caleb's perpetual shadow.
00:16:49Always there, but never quite there.
00:16:51Is this seat taken?
00:16:55Serena Lacken.
00:16:57I thought that was you.
00:16:59How long has it been?
00:17:01A while.
00:17:02Since high school, at least.
00:17:05Too long.
00:17:05I heard you were here.
00:17:07Pre-law, right?
00:17:08Of course you are.
00:17:10You were always terrifyingly smart.
00:17:14Pre-med for me.
00:17:17Turns out, all those years of patching up lacrosse injuries gave me a taste for it.
00:17:22You patched up lacrosse injuries?
00:17:24I thought you were one of the ones causing them.
00:17:27Fair point.
00:17:28Maybe I was just atoning for my sins.
00:17:30We all have things we wish we'd done differently back then.
00:17:33I remember you from honors English.
00:17:35You demolished everyone in that Fitzgerald debate.
00:17:38I was genuinely scared of you.
00:17:40Fear is an appropriate response to literary analysis.
00:17:45The cafe by the Humanities Building is acceptable.
00:17:49Everything else tastes like it was brewed during the Reagan administration.
00:17:52A coffee snob.
00:17:54I respect that.
00:17:56Strong opinions about beverages are a green flag.
00:17:59Would you look at the time I have that thing.
00:18:02The urgent thing.
00:18:04With the people.
00:18:05At the place.
00:18:08Serena, text me everything.
00:18:12So, are you going to the Halloween party next Friday?
00:18:16It's a big one at Sigma Chi.
00:18:18Everyone goes.
00:18:19Parties aren't really my thing.
00:18:21That's exactly why you should come.
00:18:23College is about new experiences, right?
00:18:26Breaking out of old patterns.
00:18:28Three tables away, I feel the weight of Caleb's gaze like fingertips trailing down my spine.
00:18:34His eyes are locked on me with an intensity that makes my stomach flip.
00:18:38Tell me more about this party.
00:18:40What exactly makes it so unmissable?
00:18:42It's legendary, honestly.
00:18:44The costumes get competitive.
00:18:45The music is actually decent.
00:18:47Plus, I hear the punch is strong enough to make even pre-law students have fun.
00:18:52Bold assumption that I don't already know how to have fun.
00:18:56Prove me wrong, then.
00:18:57Come to the party.
00:18:58Let me buy you a drink.
00:19:01You're very confident for someone who hasn't seen me in years.
00:19:05Some things are worth being confident about.
00:19:07I'll think about it.
00:19:08I'm looking at Caleb as he stands abruptly.
00:19:10He doesn't pack up his things.
00:19:12Doesn't grab the broken pen.
00:19:14Just turns and walks out.
00:19:15Movement sharp with barely controlled violence.
00:19:18And my pulse is racing for entirely the wrong reason.
00:19:22The cruelest lies are the ones we tell ourselves about what we want.
00:19:26He texted again while I was in the shower.
00:19:28Three messages in 20 minutes.
00:19:30He's sweet.
00:19:31Persistent in a way that feels like warmth instead of pressure.
00:19:34Normal in a way I've forgotten people can be.
00:19:37This is good.
00:19:38Lucas is good.
00:19:39Lucas is exactly what you need.
00:19:41Caleb without the emotional terrorism.
00:19:43This is what normal feels like.
00:19:45This is what I deserve.
00:19:46My eyes still on my phone.
00:19:48Still composing a reply that sounds flirty without trying too hard.
00:19:52Well, fuck me sideways.
00:19:54That's a face I've never seen before.
00:19:57Texting lover boy with that dopey ass smile?
00:20:01Pathetic doesn't even begin to cover it, princess.
00:20:05What the fuck are you doing in my room?
00:20:06Get out!
00:20:08These are tragic, Serena.
00:20:10Truly, like, seek help levels of unsexy.
00:20:13I said get out!
00:20:16Are you wearing these to the party?
00:20:19Please say yes.
00:20:21I need to see Lucas' face when he discovers what's underneath.
00:20:26Give those back!
00:20:27Granny panties with fruit on them.
00:20:29Bold strategy for a girl trying to lose her V-card.
00:20:32I'm not trying to.
00:20:34Oh, you're definitely trying.
00:20:37That dumb smile you just walked in with?
00:20:39The sad little hair flip in the library?
00:20:42Touching his arm like you learned flirting from a WikiHow article?
00:20:45Get off my bed!
00:20:47Lucas Bennett.
00:20:48That's your big play?
00:20:50You really think that golden retro boy is interested in you?
00:20:53Unlike some people, Lucas is actually capable of basic human decency.
00:20:58Lucas is capable of fucking anything with a pulse, sure.
00:21:02But interested?
00:21:03Serena.
00:21:05Sweetheart.
00:21:06Look at yourself.
00:21:07You used to be friends with him.
00:21:09What happened?
00:21:10People grow apart.
00:21:12It happens.
00:21:13That's not an answer.
00:21:15It's the only one you're getting.
00:21:18Ancient history isn't really my thing.
00:21:20But we're not talking about me.
00:21:22We're talking about you, and you're going to show up in some tragic little costume
00:21:26and follow him around all night like a stray dog.
00:21:30And he's going to ditch you the second someone hotter walks by.
00:21:33You don't know anything about...
00:21:35I know you.
00:21:3619 years old and never been fucked.
00:21:38You think that's an accident?
00:21:40You think guys just haven't noticed you?
00:21:42They've noticed.
00:21:44They're just not interested.
00:21:46There's nothing there to want.
00:21:48Lucas asked me.
00:21:50Not the other way around.
00:21:52Lucas is working an angle.
00:21:54Probably a bet with his frat brothers.
00:21:56Go ahead.
00:21:57Prove them right.
00:21:59Make a fool of yourself in front of the whole school.
00:22:01I'd rather humiliate myself in front of everyone than spend another second with you.
00:22:05Then we're both getting what we want.
00:22:07Wear the ugly underwear.
00:22:09It'll match the rest of you.
00:22:13The door clicks shut behind him, and I don't move for a long time.
00:22:16My fingers find the strawberry underwear crumpled on the carpet,
00:22:19and I clutch them against my chest like armor.
00:22:22The cotton is warm from his hands,
00:22:24and I despise that I notice.
00:22:26What was that look?
00:22:28Right before he left,
00:22:29his expression shifted into territory I didn't recognize.
00:22:32Not cruel.
00:22:33Not mocking.
00:22:34Almost desperate.
00:22:36Get out of my head, Thornton.
00:22:37Get out.
00:22:38I look at myself in the mirror.
00:22:40The black bodysuit clings to curves I usually hide beneath hoodies and oversized sweaters.
00:22:45Holy fuck, Serena Lackham.
00:22:48Where have you been hiding that body?
00:22:50Lucas is going to swallow his own tongue when he sees you.
00:22:53Hell, I might switch teams.
00:22:55What if he doesn't like me?
00:22:57Oh, he'll like you.
00:22:59That boy has been eye-fucking you through every study session.
00:23:03And maybe tonight, he finally gets to do it for real.
00:23:08Okay.
00:23:10Let's go before I change my mind.
00:23:12The party is chaos incarnate.
00:23:14Music pounds through the walls,
00:23:16bass so heavy the floor vibrates beneath my heels.
00:23:19Stay close!
00:23:20Lucas said he'd be wearing a skeleton mask.
00:23:23Great.
00:23:24Super helpful.
00:23:25I've already counted four skeleton masks in my immediate vicinity.
00:23:29Mia's sorority sisters descend like perfectly coordinated vultures,
00:23:33dragging her towards something called
00:23:34the situation on the dance floor.
00:23:36I park myself near the makeshift bar, draining my cup.
00:23:40The alcohol burns away the edges of my anxiety,
00:23:43making everything softer, warmer, more possible.
00:23:47That's when I see him.
00:23:49Lucas.
00:23:49Tall frame and broad shoulders I recognize.
00:23:52White mask tilted toward me from across the room.
00:23:55My pulse quickens, and I tell myself it's the alcohol.
00:23:58He doesn't wave or call out.
00:24:00He simply extends one hand in my direction, palm up, waiting.
00:24:04Probably wants to see if the pre-law princess is as frigid as everyone says.
00:24:08Fine.
00:24:09Let him see.
00:24:10Let him tell everyone afterward.
00:24:12At least I won't be untouched anymore.
00:24:14Won't be the pathetic virgin Caleb mocks at every opportunity.
00:24:17The silence feels intentional.
00:24:19Part of the costume, part of the game.
00:24:22Lucas?
00:24:23He doesn't answer.
00:24:24His hands find my waist instead.
00:24:27Thumbs tracing slow circles against my hip bones.
00:24:29And I decide that silence is answer enough.
00:24:32Oh, we're really committing to the role.
00:24:34I don't want this to be special.
00:24:36I don't want tender words or meaningful glances.
00:24:39I just want it done.
00:24:41Lucas's hands are rougher than I expected,
00:24:43gripping my waist like he's afraid I'll disappear.
00:24:46Fuck, okay.
00:24:47I kinda like aggressive Lucas.
00:24:50Can you at least lift the mask?
00:24:53I wanna kiss you.
00:24:55He pauses.
00:24:56Then slowly, he pushes the mask up just enough to expose his mouth.
00:25:00In the darkness, I can't make out features.
00:25:03Just the outline of lips that crash into mine with bruising force.
00:25:08God, who knew Lucas had this in him?
00:25:14His fingers finally slide between my thighs.
00:25:17When he pushes finger inside me without warning, I nearly come off the bed.
00:25:21The stretch burns, but the pleasure overwhelms it.
00:25:24Especially when his thumb finds my clit and circles with practiced precision.
00:25:28My mind drifts as sensation builds.
00:25:31What if it was him?
00:25:32I imagine Caleb's hands instead of Lucas's.
00:25:35Caleb's body pressing me into the mattress.
00:25:38Caleb's breath hot against my throat.
00:25:40The fantasy builds pressure low in my belly,
00:25:43spiraling toward a release that hovers just out of reach.
00:25:46My fingers dig into shoulders that belong to one man
00:25:49while my mind belongs entirely to another.
00:25:51My orgasm hits like a freight train.
00:25:54Completely unexpected.
00:25:56It's over.
00:25:57It's done.
00:25:57You're not a virgin anymore.
00:26:01The girl in the mirror looks exactly as hollow as I feel.
00:26:04Congratulations, Serena.
00:26:06You're officially as pathetic as Caleb always said.
00:26:08When I finally emerge, I nearly collide with a familiar chest.
00:26:12There you are.
00:26:14I've been looking everywhere for you.
00:26:17Some dickhead in the same mask spilled his entire drink on me.
00:26:21Had to go change.
00:26:22Did you just get here?
00:26:24You look amazing, by the way.
00:26:26The floor tilts beneath me.
00:26:28He's been down here looking for me.
00:26:30Which means the man in that bedroom.
00:26:32That wasn't Lucas at all.
00:26:35I call her princess because that's what she is.
00:26:38A girl who's never had to fight for anything.
00:26:40And I've been crawling and fighting my whole fucking life.
00:26:45The ceiling above my bed holds no answers.
00:26:48But I stare at it anyway.
00:26:49Counting the minutes by the soft sounds filtering through the bathroom wall.
00:26:53A drawer opening.
00:26:55Water running.
00:26:56The whisper of fabric against skin.
00:26:58You're sick.
00:27:00Twisted beyond repair.
00:27:01I remember the first time I called her princess.
00:27:04We were 12.
00:27:05She tried to skip a stone.
00:27:07Failed spectacularly.
00:27:09Her laugh bounced across the water.
00:27:11This mix of embarrassment and joy that hit me right in the chest.
00:27:16You're doing it wrong.
00:27:17Here.
00:27:18Like this.
00:27:20See?
00:27:21Perfect technique for a perfect princess.
00:27:24Thanks, Caleb.
00:27:25Two words.
00:27:26That's all it took.
00:27:28I was done for.
00:27:29Then I went home.
00:27:31That was the summer my father discovered new hobbies.
00:27:34I learned to sleep with my eyes half open.
00:27:37To flinch at footsteps.
00:27:38To disappear into walls.
00:27:40And suddenly, Serena's perfection stopped being something beautiful.
00:27:44It became a mirror.
00:27:45If her life is so perfect, let me be the one in perfection.
00:27:54I wanted to grab her shoulders and shake her until she broke.
00:27:58Until she screamed.
00:28:00And I wanted to hold her until she felt safe enough to fall apart.
00:28:04Pick a lane, asshole.
00:28:05You can't destroy someone and save them at the same time.
00:28:09Because Serena isn't just in my head.
00:28:11She's carved into my bones.
00:28:13My phone buzzes on the nightstand.
00:28:16The racing circuit.
00:28:17The debt follows me like a second shadow.
00:28:20My father's legacy.
00:28:22I wonder how much longer I can keep buried the obsession that drives me to follow her.
00:28:26Like a satellite caught in her gravitational pull.
00:28:30I've been choking on jealousy for the past 20 minutes.
00:28:33It was just one of those moments, you know?
00:28:39Look at me like that.
00:28:40Just once.
00:28:41But she never will.
00:28:44You have the most beautiful smile.
00:28:46Lucas leans in closer.
00:28:48Whispering something that makes her cheeks go pink.
00:28:50And I'm gripping my hands so hard my knuckles turn white.
00:28:53She doesn't pull away.
00:28:55Doesn't stiffen.
00:28:56Just tilts her head and listens like he's reciting fucking Shakespeare.
00:29:00I want to be at his place.
00:29:01I shove back from the table and walk out before I do something I can't take back.
00:29:06I try the gym first.
00:29:0845 minutes of punishing my muscles until they scream.
00:29:12But every time I close my eyes between sets, I see her hand on his arm.
00:29:16Her smile.
00:29:17The way she leaped toward him like he was magnetic north.
00:29:20I last three hours.
00:29:22Three hours of telling myself I don't care who she talks to.
00:29:25But my feet carry me down the hallway.
00:29:27Her bedroom door is unlocked.
00:29:29The shower runs in the bathroom and I should leave.
00:29:32She left her underwear on the bed.
00:29:34Tiny strawberries printed across the fabric like some kind of joke.
00:29:37A laugh builded in my chest.
00:29:39But it dies before it reaches my throat.
00:29:42The water shuts off.
00:29:44The door opens.
00:29:45And...
00:29:46Jesus fucking Christ.
00:29:48She was wearing nothing but a towel that's trying its best but failing spectacularly.
00:29:53Water drops race down her collarbone.
00:29:56Her hair is plastered to her shoulders.
00:29:58Darker with moisture.
00:29:59And the way that terrycloth clings to every curve she usually hides under hoodies makes my brain short-circuit.
00:30:06This is what she's been keeping from me.
00:30:08She doesn't speak.
00:30:10Her body tells me everything.
00:30:11The way she arches into my touch.
00:30:13The way her breath hitches when my thumb brushes her.
00:30:17She moves against me with increasing desperation.
00:30:20Her fingers in my chest.
00:30:21And she lowers her mouth to me.
00:30:23Her fingers find my shoulders when she climbs onto my lap.
00:30:26Straddling me.
00:30:27And the towel rides up her thighs.
00:30:29Through my jeans I can feel the heat of her.
00:30:32And my hands find her waist like they've been waiting their whole existence for this moment.
00:30:38I wake up so hard it hurts.
00:30:40Her phantom warmth still pressed against my skin.
00:30:43Pathetic.
00:30:45You're absolutely pathetic.
00:30:47She moves against me with increasing desperation.
00:30:50Her fingers in my chest.
00:30:51And she lowers her mouth to me.
00:30:53Her phone sits on the counter.
00:30:55Screen glowing with an unread message.
00:30:57I should walk away.
00:30:58But I've never been decent where Serena is concerned.
00:31:00The screen illuminates at my touch.
00:31:02And my ex-best friend's name stares back at me.
00:31:05Lucas.
00:31:06My blood turns to lead in my veins.
00:31:09The racing circuit.
00:31:10Lucas is taking her to the fucking racing circuit.
00:31:13Where I'll be competing to pay off another installment of my father's debt.
00:31:17Fuck.
00:31:18My two worlds are about to collide.
00:31:19And there's not a damn thing I can do to stop it.
00:31:25Three more races after tonight.
00:31:27And you're clear, kid.
00:31:29How does that feel?
00:31:31Like I might actually sleep again.
00:31:33Two years since I stood in our kitchen.
00:31:35Watching my mother cry over bills my father left behind.
00:31:38When the helmet goes on.
00:31:40I'm supposed to stop being Caleb Thornton.
00:31:42Out here.
00:31:43I'm Shane Lander.
00:31:4423.
00:31:45No family drama.
00:31:47Just a guy who rides fast and pays his debts on time.
00:31:50You've earned it, man.
00:31:54Fastest rider I've ever let borrow my name.
00:31:56The engine beneath me roars to life.
00:31:58Vibrating through my thighs.
00:32:00My chest.
00:32:01My teeth.
00:32:02Despite everything.
00:32:03Freedom floods through my veins.
00:32:05This is the part I'll miss when the debt clears.
00:32:08Exhaust fumes curl through the night air.
00:32:10That's when I see them.
00:32:12No.
00:32:12Serena and Lucas.
00:32:14Walking through the crowd like tourists in a war zone.
00:32:17I'll be right there with you.
00:32:18His arm draped over her shoulders with that casual ownership that makes me want to put my fist through his
00:32:23perfect teeth.
00:32:24She really agreed to come here with him.
00:32:26She really came here.
00:32:28To this oil-stained hellscape and men with criminal records.
00:32:31Just focused.
00:32:33The starting signal flares red, then green.
00:32:36First lap, I'm in the lead.
00:32:38But she doesn't leave my thoughts.
00:32:40What the fuck is Lucas thinking?
00:32:42She looks wrong here.
00:32:43Too clean.
00:32:44Too bright.
00:32:44Like someone photoshopped an angel into a meth lamp.
00:32:47I risk a glance at the crowd.
00:32:49Mistake.
00:32:50Huge fucking mistake.
00:32:52Our eyes meet over Lucas' shoulder for a second.
00:32:55She knows it's me.
00:32:56The curve comes too fast.
00:32:58One second I'm flying.
00:32:59The next, the bike slides out from under me like the ground itself has betrayed me.
00:33:04Gravel bites into my shoulder blade where the jacket rode up.
00:33:07The sky spins above me in lazy circles.
00:33:10Stars smearing into floodlights into darkness.
00:33:13You're an absolute idiot!
00:33:15What the hell were you thinking?
00:33:17I try to answer, but my lungs have decided breathing is optional.
00:33:21Each inhale feels like swallowing fiberglass.
00:33:24Someone call 911!
00:33:26Immediately!
00:33:27No ambulances, girl.
00:33:30We can't let the police search here.
00:33:32He could be bleeding internally!
00:33:34Look at him!
00:33:36I can handle this.
00:33:38We have people who can help.
00:33:40I don't give a fuck about your people!
00:33:42Serena, maybe we should...
00:33:45Shut up!
00:33:46Just shut up and let me think!
00:33:47I gasp and pain floods through me, sharp and clarifying, radiating from my ribs to my spine.
00:33:55Caleb!
00:33:56Here you go!
00:33:57Stay with me!
00:33:58Just stay with me, okay?
00:34:00Worth it.
00:34:01Worth it.
00:34:01I think as darkness creeps in at the edges.
00:34:04Totally fucking worth it to see her look at me that.
00:34:08Have you ever hated someone so much that watching them bleed feels like bleeding yourself?
00:34:13The fluorescent lights of the emergency room buzz overhead, casting everything in a pallid glow.
00:34:19Nurses move around Caleb, checking vitals, cleaning wounds.
00:34:23I agreed to come tonight because Lucas asked, and because some reckless part of me wanted to prove I could
00:34:29be spontaneous.
00:34:30Then the race started, and my eyes found one rider without conscious thought.
00:34:35The angle of his shoulders, the aggressive grace of his turns.
00:34:39I knew it was Caleb before I could name why.
00:34:42Come on, Serena.
00:34:44Let's go.
00:34:45We can still salvage the night.
00:34:46No.
00:34:47I'll take him home.
00:34:48You go.
00:34:49I watch him disappear through the automatic doors and feel nothing.
00:34:53The only thing occupying my mind is the boy bleeding in the room behind me.
00:34:58Six years of cruelty, being called princess like a slur, and yet here I sit in this taxi,
00:35:05watching streetlights strobe across his damaged face, aching with a tenderness that has survived every wound he's ever inflicted.
00:35:12Inside, I flip on the kitchen lights and notice the dark stain spreading across his back,
00:35:18fresh blood seeping through ruined fabric.
00:35:21You're bleeding again.
00:35:24Sit down.
00:35:26The wound is on your shoulder blade.
00:35:29Unless you've developed the ability to desallocate your arms, you can't reach it?
00:35:35Sit.
00:35:37Down.
00:35:37Down.
00:35:41Let me.
00:35:42His back is a masterpiece of destruction.
00:35:45My hands shake as I clean the wounds.
00:35:48Why do you race?
00:35:49You can't even drive.
00:35:51I can drive fine.
00:35:52I was distracted.
00:35:54Don't move.
00:35:56I know how to pay attention.
00:36:01Speaking of attention, you look cozy with Bennett tonight.
00:36:05We're not talking about Lucas.
00:36:07No?
00:36:09Maybe we should.
00:36:11Did he buy you dinner first?
00:36:14If I didn't know better, I'd think you were jealous.
00:36:18You think this is funny?
00:36:20Finish the damn sentence, Caleb!
00:36:23You're playing with fire, Serena.
00:36:25Good.
00:36:27Maybe Lucas will help me put it out after.
00:36:31Keep talking.
00:36:33See what happens.
00:36:35Lucas wanted to take me home tonight.
00:36:38After the race, he'd be nice, you know?
00:36:41Careful.
00:36:43Everything you're not.
00:36:46Want to know why I crashed?
00:36:49I saw his hands on you.
00:36:53And forgot there was a fucking road.
00:36:56So you're jealous?
00:36:58Don't sound so fucking pleased about it.
00:37:00You have no right to be jealous.
00:37:03Not after everything.
00:37:04I know.
00:37:07Because you were the only beautiful thing I'd ever touched.
00:37:12And I only know how to bring beautiful things.
00:37:22Caleb.
00:37:25I know.
00:37:30I don't care.
00:37:32I don't care.
00:37:33I don't care.
00:37:43Dear you.
00:37:44I should want you to stop.
00:37:46I should hate this.
00:37:49Serena.
00:37:51I've been aroused by you since I was 15.
00:37:53You can read the phone book, but I need a cold shower.
00:37:58You have no idea what you do to me.
00:38:00Then show me.
00:38:02Stop talking and show me.
00:38:03So I do.
00:38:04The bra is white lace.
00:38:06Simple.
00:38:07Devastating.
00:38:08Not strawberry lingerie.
00:38:12I also have regular underwear, idiot.
00:38:15Thank God.
00:38:17Her breathing has gone shallow.
00:38:19Chest rising and falling rapidly.
00:38:21Sensitive?
00:38:24I don't.
00:38:25Every instinct screams at me to take, to claim, to devour.
00:38:29Yet this is Serena.
00:38:31The girl I've destroyed for six years.
00:38:33But I can't stop.
00:38:34So eager for it, aren't you?
00:38:36Who would have thought that a princess could be so lustful?
00:38:40She goes rigid.
00:38:41Fuck.
00:38:42The word princess hangs between us like a blade.
00:38:45Sharp with six years of history.
00:38:48Six years of using that word to hurt her.
00:38:51To belittle her.
00:38:52To make her feel small.
00:38:54Serena, I didn't mean...
00:38:56Don't.
00:38:57Just.
00:38:59Don't.
00:39:00It slipped out.
00:39:01Force of habit.
00:39:02I wasn't...
00:39:03I can't.
00:39:05I can't do this.
00:39:07Serena, please.
00:39:08Just wait.
00:39:10I can't look at you now.
00:39:12I can't be near you.
00:39:13Just let me explain.
00:39:16Explain what?
00:39:17That you've hated me for six years,
00:39:19and now you expect me to believe this is real?
00:39:22This is real.
00:39:24This is the only real feeling I've ever felt.
00:39:26Then why?
00:39:27Why did you try to destroy me?
00:39:34One word.
00:39:35One fucking word.
00:39:37And I destroyed everything.
00:39:39His mouth tasted like copper and recklessness.
00:39:42And I'm drowning in both.
00:39:44This was what I've been missing.
00:39:46This heat.
00:39:47This hunger.
00:39:48This feeling of being wanted so desperately.
00:39:51Princess.
00:39:52And my body went rigid.
00:39:54Not from pleasure.
00:39:56From the avalanche of everything he's ever done to me.
00:39:59Crashing through the walls I'd foolishly let him breach.
00:40:02Every insult lands fresh.
00:40:05Serena?
00:40:06Six years of systematic destruction flood back in a single devastating wave.
00:40:11I don't remember mounting the bike.
00:40:13I don't register the roads I take.
00:40:15The turns I make.
00:40:17The darkness swallowing everything beyond my headlights' weak beam.
00:40:21Muscle memory guides me through streets I've traveled a thousand times before.
00:40:25Our spot.
00:40:26Mine and hers.
00:40:27I cry for her.
00:40:29For the mother who should be here.
00:40:30Who should be the one I run to when boys break me open.
00:40:33I cry for the woman I'm becoming.
00:40:35The truth surfaces between sobs.
00:40:38Ugly and undeniable.
00:40:39And impossible to shove back down where it belongs.
00:40:42I want Caleb Thornton.
00:40:44His hands.
00:40:45His mouth.
00:40:46The desperate way he looked at me before I ran away.
00:40:49The admission settles into my chest with the weight of inevitability.
00:40:54I want him.
00:40:55God help me.
00:40:56I want him.
00:40:57And that's exactly why I can't have him.
00:41:01Serena Lakin doesn't crumble for anyone.
00:41:03Least of all the boy who tried hardest to break her.
00:41:07The neighborhood is tomb silent when I finally coast into our driveway.
00:41:12Legs burning from pedaling through streets I barely remember traveling.
00:41:16Both cars sit in their usual spots.
00:41:19Dark and silent like sleeping sentinels.
00:41:22Parents came home while I was falling apart by a lake.
00:41:25And my father had no idea his daughter spent the evening kissing her stepbrother in their kitchen.
00:41:30The stairs creak once beneath my weight.
00:41:33And I freeze.
00:41:34Hearts slamming against my ribs.
00:41:36But no bedroom doors open.
00:41:38No concerned voices call out into the darkness.
00:41:41Sleep doesn't come.
00:41:43I lie on my back and stare at the ceiling.
00:41:45Tracing patterns in the shadows that shift each time a car passes on the street below.
00:41:50His hands ghost across my skin in phantom touches I can't shake.
00:41:54The weight of his body between my thighs.
00:41:56The desperate sound of my name in his mouth.
00:41:59Because you were the only beautiful thing I'd ever touched.
00:42:03The confession plays on loop.
00:42:05Wearing grooves into my brain until I can't tell if I'm remembering or inventing.
00:42:10Did he really say that?
00:42:11Did his voice really crack on the words like something inside him was breaking?
00:42:16I pull my pillow over my face and scream into it.
00:42:19Morning arrives with the subtlety of a sledgehammer.
00:42:22I spend 20 minutes rebuilding my face into something presentable.
00:42:26Each brush stroke feels like armor.
00:42:28Layer after layer of pigment between the world and my devastation.
00:42:33You're fine.
00:42:34You're completely fine.
00:42:35My legs feel like they belong to someone else as I descend the stairs.
00:42:40Caleb is already at the breakfast table.
00:42:42His head lifts when I enter.
00:42:44Everything from last night crashes back.
00:42:47His mouth.
00:42:47His hands.
00:42:48His confession.
00:42:49My retreat.
00:42:50I look away first.
00:42:51The coffee pot becomes my entire focus as I pour with hands that refuse to steady.
00:42:59Good morning, sweetheart.
00:43:01You look tired.
00:43:02Late night studying.
00:43:04Something like that.
00:43:05I have some wonderful news.
00:43:07I ran into Richard Bennett at the club yesterday.
00:43:11And he mentioned that Lucas has been spending quite a bit of time with you lately.
00:43:18I have to say I was delighted to hear it.
00:43:21Lucas seems like a wonderful young man.
00:43:24Richard and Patricia raised him well.
00:43:27Lucas is nice.
00:43:30More than nice, apparently.
00:43:32Richard seemed to think things were progressing rather well between you two.
00:43:36And I must say, I wholeheartedly approve.
00:43:40The Bennetts are good people, Serena.
00:43:43Solid values, excellent future prospects.
00:43:47The kind of foundation any father would want for his daughter.
00:43:51Nothing's progressing.
00:43:54We're just friends, Dad.
00:43:58For now.
00:44:00I'm just so glad you're spending time with the right people.
00:44:03Quality connections are important, honey.
00:44:08I have somewhere to be.
00:44:15Well, I wonder what's gotten into him this morning.
00:44:19Young men.
00:44:21Probably some athletic commitment he forgot about until now.
00:44:28My phone buzzes against my thigh.
00:44:31The screen illuminates with Lucas's name.
00:44:33And I almost laugh at the cosmic timing of it all.
00:44:36The universe has a sick sense of humor.
00:44:39I should say no.
00:44:40I should create distance from everything.
00:44:43Lucas.
00:44:44Caleb.
00:44:44The entire tangled mess I've made of my carefully ordered existence.
00:44:49Getting closer to Lucas means watching Caleb's face harden every time we're in the same room.
00:44:54My thumbs hover over the keyboard for a long moment.
00:44:57Me.
00:44:58Me.
00:44:59Sure.
00:44:59Because maybe normal is exactly what I need right now.
00:45:03Drowning looks different when you're doing it on dry land.
00:45:07Here's what I'm currently juggling.
00:45:09A faceless stranger who took my virginity and vanished into a sea of identical skeleton masks.
00:45:15A stepbrother whose mouth I can still taste when I close my eyes.
00:45:19No matter how many times I brush my teeth or child in coffee.
00:45:23The library has become my bunker.
00:45:26My fortress.
00:45:27My carefully constructed excuse to avoid every space where Caleb might appear.
00:45:32The complicated part that keeps me awake at night.
00:45:35I don't entirely regret it.
00:45:37You look like someone ran over your cat, resurrected it, and ran it over again.
00:45:42Thanks for that vivid imagery.
00:45:44Really appreciate the poetry you've blessed me with today.
00:45:48I'm being serious right now, Serena.
00:45:50You've been weird for days.
00:45:51And don't think I haven't noticed every single red flag you're waving.
00:45:56That's complete bullshit and you know it.
00:45:59You maintain your GPA in your sleep.
00:46:01Is this about the mystery guy from the race?
00:46:04Did something happen that night?
00:46:06I don't know what you're talking about, Mia.
00:46:09Oh, come on.
00:46:09Don't insult my intelligence.
00:46:11I saw your face that Monday.
00:46:14Even if something did happen, I wouldn't know how to explain it without sounding completely unhinged.
00:46:18Some things are too tangled to put into words.
00:46:21Try me.
00:46:22I've heard worse things than you can possibly imagine.
00:46:25My older sister once confessed to sleeping with her professor.
00:46:28And I kept that secret through two Thanksgivings and a family reunion.
00:46:32It's complicated.
00:46:33Complicated usually means interesting, in my experience.
00:46:37The messiest situations always make the best stories afterward.
00:46:41This isn't a story I want to tell anyone, ever.
00:46:44This is a disaster.
00:46:46Fine, I won't push you today.
00:46:48But I'm here when you're ready to spill everything.
00:47:00He took this while he was inside me.
00:47:03While I kept my eyes shut.
00:47:05Every tall frame.
00:47:06Every athletic build.
00:47:08Makes me wonder with nauseating intensity.
00:47:11Was it you?
00:47:14You look incredible tonight.
00:47:16That blouse is perfect on you.
00:47:19Thank you for bringing me here.
00:47:20It's beautiful.
00:47:22Only the best for you, Serena.
00:47:25The words should make my heart flutter.
00:47:27But my mind keeps drifting to that photo on my phone.
00:47:30Who took it?
00:47:31What do they want from me?
00:47:33Is this blackmail waiting to detonate?
00:47:35Or a warning shot across my bow?
00:47:37The professor sounds like some kind of weirdo.
00:47:39Did he actually throw chalk at that guy?
00:47:42Allegedly.
00:47:44The kid deserved it, though.
00:47:46Remind me never to fall asleep in your classes.
00:47:50Serena, you seem really distracted tonight.
00:47:54Sorry.
00:47:56Just school stress weighing on me.
00:47:58Anything I could help with?
00:47:59Can you tell me why my stepbrother makes me feel more alive in fury than you do in kindness?
00:48:06No.
00:48:07But thank you for asking.
00:48:14I had a really great time tonight.
00:48:16Me too.
00:48:23You should go, Bennett.
00:48:25Now.
00:48:26I was just saying goodnight to Serena, man.
00:48:28And now you're leaving.
00:48:31Immediately.
00:48:33Okay.
00:48:33I'll call you tomorrow, Serena.
00:48:34Goodnight.
00:48:40This roast chicken is truly excellent.
00:48:43Yes.
00:48:44It goes perfectly with the wine.
00:48:46The hospital charity gala is next weekend.
00:48:48I was thinking Serena should attend.
00:48:50Wonderful idea.
00:48:52The Bennets will be there, too.
00:48:54Lucas could introduce you to some partners at his father's firm.
00:48:58Networking is so important at your age.
00:49:01Perfect opportunity to wear that lovely dress we bought last month.
00:49:04Of course.
00:49:06Sure.
00:49:07I'll go with Lucas.
00:49:09May I be excused at an early morning?
00:49:11Of course, sweetheart.
00:49:13Is everything all right?
00:49:15Okay.
00:49:15Everything is perfect.
00:49:20Sorry, I...
00:49:21Well, young people and their moods, I guess.
00:49:26He's probably just tired from training.
00:49:28The season is demanding.
00:49:30When did this happen?
00:49:31When did Caleb Thornton's opinions start mattering more than my own piece?
00:49:43We need to talk.
00:49:45Fascinating opener.
00:49:46The answer's still no.
00:49:48Get out.
00:49:49Lucas isn't what he seems.
00:49:52You need to stay away from him.
00:49:53Oh, this is rich.
00:49:55You're giving me relationship advice now?
00:49:57You, of all people?
00:49:59This isn't about us, Serena.
00:50:01This is about him.
00:50:03There is no us, Caleb.
00:50:04There's you, trespassing in my room, running your mouth about things that don't concern you.
00:50:11You kissed him tonight.
00:50:13I did a lot of things tonight.
00:50:15Breathing.
00:50:16Blinking.
00:50:16Walking upright.
00:50:18Should I run those by you, too, or just the ones involving other men's mouths?
00:50:21On our doorstep.
00:50:23Ten feet from where I was standing.
00:50:26Proximity bothers you now?
00:50:28That's new.
00:50:29You've never had trouble performing with an audience before.
00:50:32Careful, Serena.
00:50:34Or what?
00:50:35You'll make my life miserable?
00:50:37Breaking news.
00:50:38You've been doing that since middle school.
00:50:40I'm immune.
00:50:41You're not immune to anything.
00:50:43Your pulse is jumping in your throat right now.
00:50:47I can see it from here.
00:50:49That's called hatred, Caleb.
00:50:50Search it.
00:50:51Hatred doesn't make your pupils dilate.
00:50:54Hatred doesn't make you breathe like you've been running.
00:50:57Maybe I'm allergic to bullshit.
00:50:59You're certainly giving off enough of it.
00:51:01Then why haven't you screamed for daddy yet?
00:51:03I don't need my father to handle you.
00:51:06No?
00:51:06Then handle me yourself.
00:51:08Put your hands on my chest and shove me out that door.
00:51:16What's the holdup, princess?
00:51:19All that righteous anger and you can't even touch me long enough to push me away.
00:51:22Don't call me that.
00:51:24Touch me and I'll stop.
00:51:25You're terrified.
00:51:27Not of me.
00:51:29Of what happens when you stop pretending you don't want this.
00:51:32The only thing I want is for you to choke on your own ego.
00:51:36Liar.
00:51:37Your whole body's shaking.
00:51:39You're so wound up you can barely stand.
00:51:42You are delusional.
00:51:44Then prove it.
00:51:46Tell me to leave.
00:51:48Mean it.
00:51:48Why are you in my face again?
00:51:51What do you want from me?
00:52:02Come on, princess.
00:52:05Tell me how much you hate me now.
00:52:07I hate.
00:52:08I hate you.
00:52:10Again.
00:52:11Make me believe it this time.
00:52:14Caleb.
00:52:18Every pathetic dream I've tortured myself with
00:52:21dissolves into nothing compared to the weight of her body pressed against mine.
00:52:26Somehow we migrate to my room.
00:52:31You're shaking.
00:52:33No, I'm not.
00:52:40Caleb.
00:52:42Your hands are literally trembling.
00:52:44Shut up.
00:52:46I'm just saying.
00:52:47You want to analyze this?
00:52:49Write a thesis about my sizzy logical responses?
00:52:54Or do you want me to make you forget how to form sentences?
00:52:57That's what I thought.
00:52:58I'm not a virgin anymore.
00:53:01That doesn't mean it won't hurt the second time.
00:53:04We don't have to do this.
00:53:06If you've changed your mind.
00:53:09I haven't changed my fucking mind.
00:53:12I just...
00:53:14I need you to be sure.
00:53:16Why?
00:53:17Because I'm not a complete bastard.
00:53:20Despite popular opinion.
00:53:22Caleb, I want this.
00:53:23I want you.
00:53:27Tell me if it hurts.
00:53:29I mean it, Serena.
00:53:30One word and I stop.
00:53:35Your turn.
00:53:36Slow down.
00:53:38You've been telling me to shut up and take what I want for years.
00:53:42Now you want me to be patient?
00:53:44Now I want to take my time.
00:53:47I want to learn every inch of you.
00:53:49I want to hear every sound you make.
00:53:51I want to remember this when I'm old and broken and you've moved on to someone who deserves you.
00:53:56Caleb, you're staring.
00:53:59Don't hide from me.
00:54:00Not now.
00:54:02It's embarrassing.
00:54:03You're perfect.
00:54:05You've always been perfect and I've hated you for it.
00:54:07Hated how much I wanted you.
00:54:09Hated that you made me feel things I couldn't control.
00:54:19Caleb, what are you doing?
00:54:29Caleb, we go slow.
00:54:36I'll stop whenever you say.
00:54:42Caleb, please.
00:54:45Please what?
00:54:46I need you.
00:54:48Please, I need you inside me.
00:54:51I'll stop when I'm on the wall.
00:54:52Yeah, but he smells like trouble.
00:54:54I want it all.
00:54:56We laugh it off like it's just a game.
00:54:58Her taste, salt and sweetness, as I drag my mouth down her throat.
00:55:03I've dreamed about this since my first fumbling experiences taught me what bodies could do together.
00:55:09Backseats of cars with girls whose names blurred by morning.
00:55:13dorm rooms and parties and encounters that meant nothing beyond temporary release none of them
00:55:20mattered because they weren't her god damn me but we're real close this line we crossed nobody
00:55:50the warmth pressed against my body tangible and real
00:56:02how long have you been awake it's a while you talk in your sleep you know that
00:56:11very entertaining right something about constitutional amendments and a certain
00:56:18professor henderson oh god please tell me you're lying i liked it best when you muttered something
00:56:24about colored markers very sexy bedtime talk lincoln you're unbearable and yet you're here
00:56:34still in my bed the morning is just beginning give me time take all the time you want i'm not
00:56:44going
00:56:44anywhere i should probably go get ready the gala is tonight and i need to a gala evening yes the
00:56:58charity event our parents have been discussing for weeks katherine mentioned it at dinner last
00:57:02night remember the hospital foundation thing the whole point of last night was that you don't go
00:57:08with him last night had no point last night was a mistake a mistake that's what you're calling it
00:57:15what else would i possibly call it caleb you were screaming my name four hours ago and now it's a
00:57:20mistake i'll hear your voice before someone hears it
00:57:26you let lucas kiss you on our doorstep you're going to this gala on his arm tonight
00:57:33parading around like nothing happened between us and what happens in my life is none of your concern
00:57:39and i'm supposed to be fine with that after everything that happened between us last night
00:57:45you don't get to be anything about my choices this doesn't give you rights over me then
00:57:54what the hell does it give me serena i need to go step away
00:58:04you're really gonna pretend this means nothing i'm not pretending anything
00:58:10liar i know what you felt
00:58:14let me go caleb
00:58:15i can't watch you with him
00:58:19i can't watch him touch you knowing what we knowing how you but before i can respond
00:58:26his slam on the closet makes us both look at the carpet and my whole world turns upside down
00:58:34i can explain
00:58:39serena please just let me explain what happened you it was you yes but it's not your
00:58:48hope you took my virginity you knew exactly who i was and you let me think i was with someone
00:58:55else
00:58:55i didn't plan it i saw you with lucas followed because i was jealous and then you took my hand
00:59:00and you just went along with it you let me believe i was with someone else the entire time we
00:59:05were in
00:59:05that room you thought you were with lucas you wanted him not me what was i supposed to do correct
00:59:10you mid-sduction yes that's what a decent person would do caleb i'm not a decent human being
00:59:17i've never claimed to be and the message the photo someone sent to my phone last week that was me
00:59:26i sent it you photographed me without my consent and then used it to threaten me
00:59:31it wasn't a threat it was i was trying to make you stay away from lucas i panicked
00:59:36i blackmailing me that was your brilliant plan
00:59:39you kept spending time with him and i couldn't just tell you the truth without
00:59:45without what admitting you'd already violated every boundary that exists between two people
00:59:50lucas is not who you think he is
00:59:53that's what i've been trying to tell you all this time
00:59:55oh this should be good please enlighten me about who lucas is he's dangerous serena
01:00:01there are things about him you don't know things you conveniently couldn't mention until after you'd
01:00:06slept with me twice and gotten caught in your own web of lies the timing looks suspicious i know
01:00:12but i'm telling you the truth right now the truth you don't know what that word means caleb
01:00:16you wouldn't recognize truth that introduced itself with a handshake serena wait
01:00:22you have to listen to me about this
01:00:26i don't have to do what you say lucas hurt someone back in high school there was a girl at
01:00:32a party
01:00:32after everyone else had left she is the reason we stop being friends and you expect me to believe
01:00:39this convenient revelation right now after everything you've just admitted it's not convenient
01:00:45it's relevant everything i've done has been to protect you from him
01:00:50are you aligning me this is sickening caleb
01:00:53i know what it looks like but all i did was because i
01:00:58was because you're a manipulative bastard
01:01:03last night you told me it might hurt the second time
01:01:06you knew it was only my second time because you were my first
01:01:09serena don't don't say my name like that
01:01:13you can't seem offended right now
01:01:15and going
01:01:18don't follow me please don't do this
01:01:21it's not like that serena so how do i do it
01:01:27you're exactly the villain i always knew you were
01:01:30i just forgot for a few hours
01:01:36and the party tonight
01:01:38are you still going with him despite everything i just told you
01:01:42your word means nothing to me anymore
01:01:46this is such a beautiful event
01:01:49it really is cheers to that
01:01:51charity galas exist so rich people can feel generous
01:01:55while drinking champagne that costs more than my textbooks
01:01:58you look stunning
01:02:00every man in this room is jealous of me right now
01:02:03flattery will get you everywhere
01:02:05bennett
01:02:06that's what i'm counting on
01:02:09you two look absolutely lovely together
01:02:11like something from a magazine spread honestly
01:02:16the bennetts raised a fine young man
01:02:18i couldn't be happier about you two spending time together
01:02:21thank you sir
01:02:24serena makes it easy to be a gentleman
01:02:37do you want to dance
01:02:39i wouldn't want anything more
01:02:44my father's partner wanted to meet you
01:02:46he's been asking about my mysterious pre-law girlfriend all evening
01:02:49i'm not your girlfriend
01:02:52every interaction only reveals more kindness
01:02:55more evidence that caleb lied
01:02:57enjoying yourself princess
01:02:59don't call me that
01:03:01playing dress up with bennett looks exhausting
01:03:04blue suits you though
01:03:06your mother would have approved
01:03:07is there something you need thornton
01:03:09it's like it now actually
01:03:12didn't you hear
01:03:13we're one big happy family these days
01:03:16just making conversation with my stepister
01:03:19family obligation
01:03:20you understand
01:03:22funny how you only remember family obligations when it's convenient
01:03:25some of us remember when you couldn't spell the word
01:03:28and some of us remember things we probably shouldn't talk about
01:03:31at charity galas
01:03:33right bennett
01:03:34wouldn't want to ruin the evening with ancient history
01:03:37you're drunk
01:03:39maybe you should find some water in a quiet corner
01:03:41maybe you should worry less about my hydration
01:03:45and more about your own glass house
01:03:48stones hurt when they come back around
01:03:50don't they
01:03:51we were actually just leaving
01:03:53excuse us
01:04:04i didn't know you smoked
01:04:08there's a lot you don't know about me
01:04:10though i suppose that cuts both ways now
01:04:12doesn't it
01:04:14you've been avoiding me all night serena
01:04:16i really like the gala
01:04:19it's not all about you caleb
01:04:21no
01:04:23then why do you look for me in every room you enter
01:04:25i don't
01:04:29you do
01:04:30you've been watching me all night while pretending not to
01:04:33and i've been watching you pretend
01:04:42does lucas know
01:04:44know what
01:04:46that you're only with him because of me
01:04:49you're delusional
01:04:50i chose lucas
01:04:53because he's everything you're not
01:04:56and what exactly am i not
01:04:58honest
01:04:59attentive
01:05:01capable of basic human decency without ulterior motives attached
01:05:05sounds like a golden retriever
01:05:08very exciting
01:05:10excitement isn't everything caleb
01:05:12some of us prefer stability over chaos
01:05:16you don't want stability
01:05:18you want to feel safe
01:05:20want what terrifies you
01:05:21what terrifies me
01:05:23is your complete
01:05:26inability to take responsibility for anything you've done
01:05:29i've taken responsibility
01:05:32i told you the truth about bennett
01:05:34about halloween
01:05:35about the photo
01:05:36about all of it
01:05:38after i discovered the mask in your closet
01:05:40that's not a confession that's damage control
01:05:43and yet here you are
01:05:46alone with me on a balcony instead of inside with your puppy
01:05:49i came out here for air
01:05:52not for you
01:05:53keep telling yourself that
01:05:57that's a great story
01:05:58i remember the first time i saw the play
01:06:06excuse me for a moment
01:06:10there you are
01:06:11i've been looking everywhere for you
01:06:15just getting some air
01:06:17the ballroom was getting stuffy
01:06:19i can imagine
01:06:21caleb
01:06:23still here
01:06:24just leaving
01:06:25the view got less interesting
01:06:27i want to hurt him
01:06:29the way he hurt me
01:06:30i want him to watch
01:06:32and suffer
01:06:34lucas
01:06:36serena
01:06:56what was that for
01:06:57i just wanted to
01:07:03i'm not complaining
01:07:05feel free to want that anytime
01:07:07we should go back inside
01:07:10people will talk
01:07:12let them
01:07:21funny how memory works
01:07:23my traitorous mind has other plans
01:07:25circling caleb's face like a vulture over carrion
01:07:29devastated doesn't cover it
01:07:31he looked destroyed
01:07:32the foundation cracked and walls collapsed
01:07:35i tell myself this is what i wanted
01:07:38punishment
01:07:39so why does victory taste like ash
01:07:42coating my tongue
01:07:43the clock reads three in the morning
01:07:45but even in dreams i can't escape the blue of his eyes
01:07:49right before they went hollow
01:07:52lucas and i build something
01:07:54and the spaces between obligations
01:07:56coffee shops where baristas know our orders
01:07:59library corners we've claimed as territory
01:08:06his roommates scatter when i arrive
01:08:08mumbling excuses that sound rehearsed
01:08:11they're just awkward around new people
01:08:16he seems genuine
01:08:17which either means he is
01:08:20or he's very good at pretending
01:08:21that's true sure young
01:08:23thank you
01:08:24i'm a realist not a cheerleader
01:08:28but your other friends like him
01:08:29so there's that
01:08:31they do like him
01:08:32the easy charm
01:08:33the remembered details
01:08:35the way he makes everyone feel important
01:08:37i should be grateful for the consensus
01:08:39instead i find myself cataloging inconsistencies
01:08:43like evidence for a trial i haven't decided to hold
01:08:47his smile doesn't always reach his eyes
01:08:49especially when he thinks i'm not watching
01:08:51caleb watches us across campus
01:08:54with the dedication of someone memorizing a crime scene
01:08:57he doesn't approach
01:08:59doesn't speak
01:09:00doesn't acknowledge my existence
01:09:02beyond those burning blue eyes
01:09:04tracking my movements
01:09:05every time our gazes collide
01:09:07my chest constricts with an ache
01:09:09i refuse to name
01:09:10i look away first
01:09:12because looking longer feels like confession
01:09:14the parade of girls through his bedroom has stopped
01:09:18or at least the volume has dropped to silence
01:09:28you okay
01:09:30fine
01:09:31what happened between you two
01:09:33ancient history serena
01:09:37it doesn't matter anymore
01:09:38clearly it does
01:09:40you can't even look at his car without going full statue
01:09:43we were kids
01:09:46people grow apart
01:09:47that's not an answer
01:09:48and you know it
01:09:51it was just high school drama
01:09:54stuka teenage stuff
01:09:56what kind of stupid teenage stuff
01:09:58did you steal his book
01:10:01beat him at lacrosse tryouts
01:10:04nothing like that
01:10:07then what
01:10:09was there a girl involved
01:10:13maybe
01:10:15but it's complicated
01:10:16complicated how
01:10:20what
01:10:21you two couldn't share her or something
01:10:23there was a girl
01:10:26her name was rachel
01:10:27and things just
01:10:30got messy
01:10:34anyway
01:10:36what are your thanksgiving plans
01:10:37my parents have been asking about you
01:10:40i let him redirect
01:10:42let him kiss my cheek and walk away
01:10:44let the questions settle heavy in my chest
01:10:47rachel
01:10:49a girl
01:10:50things got messy
01:10:51the name circles my mind
01:10:53three hours disappear into the black hole of social media stalking
01:10:58rachel weaver emerges from the digital excavation around midnight
01:11:03i scroll back through years
01:11:05junior prom
01:11:06three years ago
01:11:07caleb on her left
01:11:09lucas on her right
01:11:10whatever broke them apart
01:11:12started with this girl in the blue dress
01:11:16whatever truth caleb tried to tell me
01:11:18has roots i'm only beginning to trace
01:11:20i open a new message window
01:11:22before doubt can intervene
01:11:24the cursor blinks
01:11:25patient and waiting
01:11:27i start typing
01:11:28i start typing
01:11:28but here's the way i'll open it to her
01:11:28and i start typing
01:11:29in the wrong way
01:11:29in the right
01:11:29Imma i start typing
01:11:29I start typing
01:11:30in the wrong way
01:11:30because of me
01:11:30without typing
01:11:30i start typing
01:11:30in the wrong way
01:11:31i start typing
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