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Verloren im Twin Spiel | Ganzer Film Deutsch
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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?
06:15Haveri.
06:17Hm?
06:19Say it again.
06:27Logan.
06:28No, not that.
06:32Sir?
06:47The next day I opened my eyes to full daylight.
06:50Every part of me ached, the kind of all over soreness that goes bone deep.
06:55The room was empty, Liam was gone, I didn't know when he'd left.
06:59Through the glass, I could see the back lawn below, and Logan standing in it.
07:04I picked out a dress with an off-the-shoulder neckline, revealing the marks on purpose.
07:14Hey, what's wrong?
07:19Can you go get me some medicine from the infirmary?
07:22What for?
07:22What hurts?
07:23Last night you were really rough.
07:26I didn't realize until the shower, there was, it bled a little, it really hurts.
07:32Say that again.
07:33What bled?
07:34Last night, it was a lot, you were, I'm really sore, like, everywhere.
07:38You were so different last night though, like, really different, better.
07:42I don't know what got into you, but I really liked it.
07:44I even cried, I begged you to stop and you didn't, you were so mean about it.
07:48But also, I kind of didn't want you to.
07:51I'll go get something.
07:52Stay here.
07:53He was gone 40 minutes.
07:55I'd gotten takeout from the cafeteria and was eating in my dorm room.
07:59I was halfway through when I noticed someone outside.
08:01I saw Liam coming up the path.
08:03The two of them weren't actually that hard to tell apart.
08:06Liam was slightly taller than Logan, broader through the shoulders, more solidly built.
08:10And the jacket he had on today was the same cut as Logan's.
08:13From a distance, the similarity was close enough.
08:15Hey Logan, did you bring it?
08:25What medication?
08:27Stop pretending.
08:28I 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.
08:40It's not as if I haven't already-
08:42I'm not talking to you.
08:47Okay, I'll stop.
08:48I 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?
09:03L-Liam?
09:04Logan, I-I got the wrong person.
09:06You weren't wearing your glasses today, I thought you were him.
09:11Avery, you're hopeless, you can't even tell your own boyfriend apart.
09:14I'm sorry, Liam, I'm so sorry, I really did mix you up.
09:17It's not your fault, twins get confused all the time.
09:20Logan, you shouldn't have snapped at her.
09:22Whose fault is it she's so dense?
09:23You share a bed with someone for a year and can't recognize them?
09:26She'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.
09:36If I had it right, Logan had spent last night with another girl.
09:40And now, he wanted to put his hands on me.
09:43A wave of nausea rose up, sudden and violent.
09:46I forced it down, hard.
09:49Take it off, lie down.
09:51Logan, why are you being so harsh with me today?
09:54In our year together, maybe to keep me fooled, maybe out of some sliver of something real,
09:58Logan had always been gentle.
10:00Are you still mad that I mistook your brother for you?
10:02No.
10:03You're overthinking it, I'm just worried about your injury.
10:06Is it still bleeding?
10:07Let me see.
10:08The truth is, when Logan first chased me, I kept saying no.
10:11I only said yes in the end because I was afraid.
10:14Someone had made a point of telling me about the girl before me, the dancer.
10:18Avery, be careful.
10:19Don't really set him off.
10:20I heard he's been digging into your family.
10:21People like Logan, we couldn't afford to cross him in ten lifetimes.
10:25I was afraid of dying.
10:26I was more afraid of living through something worse than death.
10:29So I accepted him.
10:30And for a whole year, I'd kept my head down, careful with every step.
10:34And Logan had been good to me, devoted even, so much that sometimes I let myself dream impossible
10:40things.
10:40I lost my grip on reality.
10:42But I never imagined that lowering myself this far would buy me nothing but being handed
10:46off to another man like a chip on a table.
10:48My head was a tangled mess.
10:50Logan pressed me down to sit, then crouched in front of me.
10:53He looked down, took hold of my slim calf.
10:55You must have worked me up last night.
10:58Otherwise, why would I have been so rough?
11:00And parted my legs.
11:01He laughed softly and glanced up at me, then slowly began to lift the hem of my dress.
11:05I turned my face away and bit down on the inside of my lip,
11:08swallowing the sickness churning in my stomach.
11:10Just as he was about to pull away the last thin layer of fabric.
11:14Logan!
11:15Come to the study, now!
11:17Liam's voice, from the hallway.
11:18Heavy with warning and a thread of barely leashed anger underneath.
11:22Logan muttered something that might have been a curse, but he stood up at once.
11:25Put it on yourself.
11:26I'll go deal with him.
11:28I took it and watched him leave the room.
11:30Only then, like a prisoner granted a stay, did I let out a long, ragged breath.
11:34My phone buzzed beside me.
11:35I picked it up.
11:36A text from an unknown number.
11:37This is Liam.
11:38Save my number.
11:41I stared at the small words on the screen for a long moment before I typed back.
11:45Okay.
11:46Liam didn't reply.
11:48And Logan didn't come back to the room.
11:50He called me from the campus instead.
11:53Something had gone wrong at his father's sportswear subsidiary.
11:56The one his family had set up.
11:58And he had to fly out for a few days.
12:00I could hear the strain in his voice.
12:02It sounded like more than a small problem.
12:04For me, at least, it bought a little room to breathe.
12:08The next morning, I got ready to head back to school.
12:11I'd barely come down the stairs when I ran into Liam again.
12:14This time, he was wearing his glasses.
12:16Nothing at all like the man who had kissed me so gently that night.
12:19I greeted him the way I had the very first time.
12:22Morning.
12:23Heading back to school?
12:26Yeah.
12:27It's on my way.
12:28I'll drive you.
12:29I started to refuse, but he went on.
12:31Logan's gone.
12:32As his brother looking after you is the least I can do.
12:35Eat something first.
12:36I forced down a few bites and set my fork aside.
12:39Liam said nothing.
12:40Just turned and walked out.
12:43I shouldered my bag and followed.
12:49When the car doors shut, he reached up and pressed the button raising the privacy partition.
12:55Liam?
12:56Nerves flickered through me.
12:57He took off his glasses and set them in the storage box.
13:00How's the injury?
13:03Better.
13:04A little better.
13:05My face went scarlet in an instant.
13:07If it's healed, use this.
13:11No!
13:12No, I don't need it!
13:14Logan already put medicine on it for me.
13:17There was nothing on Liam's face, which somehow made him more frightening.
13:20Take it.
13:21This one works better.
13:23Really?
13:23I don't need it!
13:25Logan was already upset that I mixed you two up.
13:29If he found out I took your ointment too, he'd yell at me for sure.
13:33Liam looked at me steadily, then slowly lowered his hand.
13:39You care about him that much?
13:40I pressed my lips together.
13:42He's my first boyfriend.
13:45He's always been so, so good to me.
13:48Letting a sweetness I didn't feel rise into my eyes.
13:51I really love him.
13:53Liam let out something that might have been a low laugh.
13:55Or maybe I imagined it.
13:57He didn't look at me again.
13:58Just leaned back.
13:58Gaze fixed calmly ahead.
14:00He didn't say another word the whole drive.
14:02When we reached the school parking lot, I thanked him quietly.
14:04Thank you for today.
14:05I'll go in now.
14:06Liam nodded faintly.
14:10Avery.
14:11I turned without thinking, straight into those clear, dark eyes.
14:14This ointment is the best there is for scars.
14:17Use it on the one on your calf.
14:19How do you know I have a scar on my calf?
14:21He didn't answer.
14:22He just placed the tube in my hand.
14:24I sat frozen for a second, then opened the door and got out.
14:28Liam got out after me, not looking at me once as he headed for the school building.
14:32I stood there a while before I took out my phone and answered Logan's text.
14:35I miss you too.
14:36Are you really not back for another ten days?
14:39About that long.
14:40But I'll wrap it up and come home as fast as I can.
14:42Okay.
14:43I'll wait for you.
14:44Time crawled forward.
14:46Those ten days without Logan were strangely peaceful.
14:49Liam never came near me once.
14:51That night started to feel like some absurd dream.
14:54Sometimes I even wondered, had it really been Liam?
14:56A person like that?
14:57So far above everyone.
14:58Untouchable.
14:59Why would he play such a vile game with his own brother?
15:01Friday afternoon, Logan texted to say he was going back to campus that night
15:05and told me to wait for him.
15:07Stonebridge had a handful of senior residence suites.
15:09Small private rooms in the old dorm wing.
15:12The kind the legacy family's kids always ended up with.
15:14Logan's was one of them.
15:15I let myself in, showered, and lay on the couch scrolling my phone, waiting.
15:20And somewhere in the waiting, I fell asleep.
15:21I don't know how long.
15:23The sound of the door woke me.
15:25I sat up, bleary, and saw a tall figure walking toward me against the light.
15:29With him came that cold scent from that night.
15:31He came closer.
15:32No glasses.
15:33Exactly like that night.
15:34I reached out, asking to be held.
15:42Why are you back so late?
15:44I'm so tired from waiting.
15:46His breath seemed to catch.
15:48Then the arms around me tightened all at once, hard enough that I hissed.
15:56You're hurting me again.
15:57I only just healed.
16:00Don't you dare be rough with me tonight, Logan.
16:08Liam caught my chin.
16:10I couldn't fight his grip.
16:14What did you call me?
16:15So I had no choice but to turn and face him.
16:18His scalding breath brushed across my nose.
16:20My lashes trembled.
16:21And then he kissed me, soft at first.
16:25Do you miss me?
16:26But the gentleness gave way fast to a sudden storm.
16:29I do.
16:29I answered, blurred.
16:32Miss who?
16:33Say it clearly.
16:34I miss Logan.
16:35He bit down hard on my lip.
16:37The pain made my tears spill over.
16:38I glared at him, wounded.
16:40But before the name could leave my mouth, he stopped it with a kiss deeper and more reckless
16:44than before.
16:45And when I was fully pinned beneath him, claimed by him, only then did he take my face in his
16:50hands and brush the tears from the corners of my eyes with his thumb.
16:55I couldn't stop sobbing.
17:06I cried so hard I choked, wanting to shake my head.
17:10But he kissed me until I couldn't move.
17:11All I could do was nod, whimpering.
17:13Only then did his kiss gentle again.
17:16Now from now on, I'll treat you like this every day, all right?
17:19You'll hurt me.
17:20It hurts like that.
17:21You were never this rough with me before.
17:24He pressed me to his chest.
17:27Did I hurt you tonight?
17:28Then did it feel good?
17:30I bit my lip, cheeks burning.
17:31The body doesn't lie.
17:32I couldn't deny it.
17:33Liam had given me a pleasure Logan never had.
17:36Maybe it was the forbidden thrill.
17:37Or maybe I'd never liked Logan that much to begin with.
17:40It felt good.
17:41Something dark and hungry flared in his sated eyes.
17:44He flipped me beneath him again.
17:45From now on, only do this with me, all right?
17:49I laughed under my breath.
17:50What are you talking about?
17:52Of course only with you, Logan.
17:55Don't say the name.
17:56His voice dropped hard.
17:57I blinked up.
17:58What's wrong with you?
17:59You're being so strange.
18:01But Liam only let go of my hands and gently covered my eyes.
18:06Avery, I love hearing you call me sir.
18:09Every time you do, it does something to me.
18:12Call me that from now on, always.
18:14And my fingers brushed an old scar at the web of his thumb.
18:18Something flickered across my mind, fast as a spark.
18:21But I couldn't catch it.
18:22After a long moment, I answered low.
18:24Okay, sir.
18:27Liam got the dorm wing to himself.
18:29A word to the right people.
18:30And the floor cleared out for the weekend.
18:32He stayed with me openly.
18:34Meals in the half-empty dining hall.
18:37Slow walks across the quad after dark.
18:39And at night, the endless, insatiable tangling.
18:43On the third night, he signed us both out and drove off campus.
18:47Down to the marina at the edge of town.
18:50We ate fresh-caught fish at one of the dockside places.
18:53Built out over the water.
18:55I drank a lot of the wine.
18:57And by the time we left, I couldn't walk straight.
19:00Liam carried me back to the car on his back.
19:03His fingers grazed the old scar on my calf.
19:06And he asked, naturally.
19:09How did you hurt your leg so badly?
19:12When I was little, there was this awful kid.
19:14So mean.
19:17His family was loaded.
19:19All the other kids circled around him, sucking up to him.
19:22Not me.
19:23The more I ignored him, the more he wouldn't leave me alone.
19:28But I wasn't some idle little rich boy with nothing to do.
19:32I had to help my parents run their food stall.
19:36Look after my little brother.
19:38Change his diapers.
19:40Feed him.
19:40He kept pestering me until I'd had it, so I got in a fight with him.
19:45I was small.
19:47Couldn't beat a boy, obviously.
19:50He shoved me down and I cracked my leg open on the edge of a planter.
19:54Blood everywhere.
19:57He didn't get off easy either, though.
20:01I grabbed his hand and bit him as hard as I could.
20:04Sank my teeth right in.
20:05My whole mouth was full of blood.
20:07He had no spine at all, just blod screaming.
20:11He wasn't really bad, though.
20:14Just kind of spoiled.
20:17Afterward, he even brought me medicine.
20:19Tried to cheer me up.
20:21Said the scar was shaped like a flower petal.
20:24That it was actually pretty.
20:27And after that?
20:29Don't remember.
20:30He left pretty soon, I think.
20:32Picked up by his parents, probably.
20:35Back then I had work that never ended.
20:38Who'd remember stuff like that?
20:44I heard Liam say my name.
20:48Avery.
20:49He seemed to say something after it, but I didn't catch it.
20:53The day Logan actually came back, Liam set up a dinner.
20:57Liam reserved a private dining room and put the three of us at the same table.
21:01I asked him, on purpose.
21:03Liam, Logan's been back a few days already.
21:07Why are you only doing this dinner today?
21:09Liam looked at me for a long time without answering.
21:12I shrank back and ran off to find Logan.
21:14I didn't look back, but I could feel it the whole time.
21:18Liam's gaze following me.
21:20At dinner that night, Logan's mood was foul.
21:23Maybe the trip hadn't gone well.
21:24When he reached for his third drink, I lightly pressed my hand over his glass.
21:29Sir, drink less. Your stomach's bad.
21:32The words weren't even finished before two pairs of eyes snapped to my face.
21:36Liam always had impeccable manners.
21:39Even here he wore a full blazer, sitting straight-backed.
21:42But now his knife clinked clumsily against the porcelain plate.
21:46Logan's brow furrowed too.
21:48What did you just call me?
21:54Sir, why?
21:55Avery!
21:57Logan!
21:58Who the hell are you calling Sir?
22:00What the fuck have you been doing behind my back?
22:05You said it yourself.
22:07You said you liked it when I called you that.
22:09Bullshit!
22:10When did I ever say-
22:17You said it with your own mouth.
22:19You said you liked me calling you Sir.
22:22You told me to call you that lately.
22:24Liam slowly set down his knife and fork.
22:27He rose.
22:28The pressure rolling off him chilled the room.
22:30My crying dropped away.
22:32An unspeakable terror crawled up my spine.
22:35Maybe Liam's polished surface had fooled me.
22:38He was, in fact, far more frightening than Logan.
22:41I started to shake and couldn't stop.
22:44Liam's gaze landed on me for only two short seconds.
22:47But my whole back went damp with sweat.
22:49Don't bully a girl.
22:52Come with me.
22:53We'll talk.
22:56When the door shut behind them, my phone lit with a text.
23:00From Liam.
23:01Four words.
23:02Don't be afraid.
23:04I'm here.
23:04I looked at those words.
23:06Wiped my eyes.
23:07And slowly lowered myself into a chair.
23:09Then I covered my face and laughed at myself.
23:12Did Liam think I didn't know?
23:14Or that I wouldn't remember?
23:16The day he transferred in.
23:18At the welcome reception the trustees threw.
23:20Someone had congratulated him on his coming engagement.
23:24Some arrangement with another old money family.
23:26He hadn't denied it.
23:28And a man about to be engaged.
23:30Playing a game like this with his own twin.
23:32It was just one last thrill before it was all settled.
23:35Or some indulgence of an ugly little appetite hidden beneath that flawless face.
23:40But what had I done to deserve it?
23:43Why should I be a plaything passed between the two of them?
23:49They'd ended up in an empty classroom in the academic wing.
23:52The corridor outside dark and deserted.
23:55Don't you think you've taken this too far?
23:58Born of the same mother.
24:00Twins.
24:01And yet from childhood, Logan had fallen short of him in everything.
24:06Liam.
24:07Brilliant in ways ordinary people weren't.
24:10Had won the affection of every elder in the Hayes family.
24:14And with it, in time, the inheritance.
24:17Logan was left to be a spendthrift wastrel.
24:20Countless people envied him.
24:22And none of them knew how often he envied Liam.
24:25Hated Liam.
24:27And yet, because of a shadow that went back as far as he could remember.
24:31Feared him down to the bone.
24:33The contradiction gnawed at him.
24:36Robbed him of sleep.
24:37If I remember right.
24:40You were the one who lost her to me that night.
24:42But you don't touch girls.
24:44You've got no interest in them at all.
24:46I thought you'd never lay a hand on her.
24:48I thought you'd find her dirty.
24:50Logan wouldn't admit the rest.
24:53That night, handing Avery over had been mostly about one thing.
24:58Humiliating Liam.
25:00A girl Logan had grown tired of.
25:02And Liam wanted her in secret.
25:05Did Liam think he couldn't see it?
25:07The first time Liam laid eyes on Avery, his expression had changed.
25:1118 years as brothers.
25:13And that was the first time Logan had ever seen Liam's gaze catch and hold on a girl.
25:20He'd even looked at Avery's legs.
25:22Twice.
25:23So Logan had hatched the absurd idea.
25:26Use a girlfriend he was sick of.
25:28To humiliate the brother who'd always stood over him.
25:31It would feel good.
25:32A thrill.
25:34What he never expected was that Liam, a man with an absurd, obsessive aversion to mess, would actually touch her.
25:42And he never expected that the night Liam took her away, he himself would lie awake the whole night through,
25:50restless.
25:51The cheerleader girl he'd taken away that night.
25:54He'd been certain he'd do something with her.
25:56But in the end, he'd pushed her away.
25:59His whole mind had been somewhere else.
26:02Was Liam kissing Avery?
26:04Touching her?
26:05The way I would?
26:06How would she react?
26:08Could she tell it wasn't me?
26:10Would she yield to him as sweetly, as obediently, as she does beneath me?
26:16The thought tormented him to distraction.
26:18He'd gone back to the dorm at first light.
26:21When someone told him Liam had left at six, the same as always, he'd been flooded with relief.
26:28But then he saw Avery come down the stairs covered in marks, shy and sweet, complaining that he'd been too
26:35rough and hurt her.
26:37And in that instant, he could have killed.
26:39He'd had many girls, leaving them, passing them off.
26:44He'd never felt a flicker of reluctance.
26:46He'd assumed Avery was the same.
26:49And in that moment, he finally understood.
26:52She wasn't.
26:54From the very start, she had never been like the others.
26:57He'd forgotten.
26:59Avery was the only girl he'd fallen for at first sight, and then chased in earnest.
27:05And he'd badly underestimated how much she weighed in his own heart.
27:10Find her dirty?
27:12Liam suddenly rose and crossed to Logan.
27:15It was perhaps the first real crack in his composure all day.
27:19The first time a man so sparing with words said this much at once.
27:23I don't know why you talk about your own girlfriend that way.
27:26And I don't agree that a girl who's had a boyfriend, who's had sex, is somehow dirty.
27:33Say one more thing like that about her.
27:35Go on, try.
27:44Liam, you set me up on purpose.
27:46That night, you did it deliberately.
27:49Baited me into bedding.
27:50Because you wanted her.
27:51Because 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.
27:59The opening was yours to give.
28:02You put her in my hands.
28:05So what?
28:06You think she'll be with you willingly?
28:07She's poor, badly born, but she's stubborn to the core and proud to the bone.
28:10If she finds out you disguised yourself as me to play her, what do you think she'll do?
28:13She'll hate me, and she'll hate you just as much.
28:17So what?
28:19If I hadn't taken your bet that night, hadn't taken her away,
28:23would you have gambled her off to a third man?
28:26I wouldn't have.
28:27You would have!
28:29Other people may not know it, but you do.
28:31You'd had enough of her, grown tired of her.
28:34There was a younger, prettier girl already waiting to spend the night with you.
28:37Say it yourself, Logan. Isn't that right?
28:40Logan ground his jaw, breath heaving.
28:43And yet, somehow, he couldn't get out a single word in his own defense.
28:51You'd better worry about getting yourself through this first.
28:55That mess with father's sportswear line.
28:57The one the boosters front the money for.
29:00If you can't put a convincing story behind it, you can forget about keeping your spot here at all.
29:08It was you again?
29:09Logan came to it late, then jolted with the realization.
29:13How convenient.
29:14Liam barely transferred in.
29:16And suddenly, every project with Logan's name on it was falling apart at once.
29:22Every step laid out in advance.
29:25For night after night of stolen pleasure, he turned on his own brother,
29:30and set even the family's interests aside to do it.
29:33What if it was?
29:35If you had a shrirk of skill or nerve, you wouldn't be at everyone's mercy at every turn.
29:45Do you tell her the truth yourself, or do I?
29:48Why?
29:49Why our whole lives did you have to be one step above me in everything?
29:53You had it good off at that school in another state.
29:55Why did you suddenly have to come back here?
29:57You've got girls lining up for you.
29:58You've got a fiancé who's the most sought after girl in our whole circle.
30:01Why did you have to come and fight me for Avery?
30:06Standing a step above you all our lives.
30:08That was just each of us playing the hand we had.
30:11You think a single thing you own is something I'd want?
30:14Then what about Avery?
30:16Liam was about to answer.
30:18The study door was suddenly shoved open hard.
30:24I stood there, outside the classroom, numb, trembling like a leaf in the wind.
30:30My face was bloodless, streaked all over with tears.
30:33A friend had dragged me into the theatre society.
30:36I'd picked up a little about acting.
30:38It was all coming in handy now.
30:40Avery.
31:10I stared at him blankly.
31:11I could accept that your heart changed, that you stopped loving me.
31:13But I can't accept that you gave me away.
31:16This past year with you, I was so happy.
31:18So happy.
31:19No one had ever been as good to me as you were.
31:22And it turns out it was all just a dream I had.
31:25Avery, it's not like that.
31:27Let me explain.
31:27I can explain.
31:30Logan, I'm awake now.
31:32I'll never dream again.
31:34As the last word landed, I suddenly spun and ran for the second floor balcony.
31:40Below the balcony was a small garden.
31:42The gardener had just turned the soil yesterday.
31:45I'd take only the lightest injury.
31:47But the sight of a girl throwing herself off a balcony would be devastating.
31:51And 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.
32:01I heard them screaming my name behind me.
32:04I couldn't tell whose voice it was.
32:06In the brief plunge downward, I smiled, mocking.
32:11The whole campus fell into chaos.
32:13Liam, who was so far above everyone, who never appeared in public with a single crease in his shirt,
32:19now had mud caked on his trousers, and didn't notice at all.
32:23He reached out as if to hold me, then didn't dare touch.
32:26I lay curled on the dirt, my foot bent at a sickening, swollen angle.
32:32Avery, don't be afraid. The nurse is coming.
32:41Footsteps came pounding up the path, then closed in fast.
32:45The school's night nurse, kit in hand.
32:48I'm not going to the infirmary.
32:51Don't help me.
32:54I don't want to see you ever again, Logan.
32:59Avery.
33:05And I don't want to see you ever again either, Liam.
33:08Once two people have known each other's bodies,
33:11the boy will always carry some thin softness toward the girl.
33:14That sliver of softness was exactly what I wanted.
33:17Let the nurse look at you first, Avery. Be good.
33:20Not until you promise me, or I won't let her touch me.
33:24This is not the time to be stubborn.
33:28Get 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.
33:37The blood ran slowly down over the old scar on my calf, staining red that faded, faded flower.
33:44Liam's pupils contracted all at once. In an instant, the color drained from his whole face.
33:50Stop moving.
33:55I promise you, neither Logan nor I will ever appear in front of you again.
34:03Sir, we trust you this way.
34:06That day at the campus, Liam had made that promise in front of many people.
34:10So through all my days in the infirmary, neither he nor Logan appeared even once.
34:14When I was finally cleared to leave, the Hayes family lawyer came to see me.
34:19A mild, well-mannered man.
34:21Miss Carter, Liam says that whatever you need, you have only to ask. Anything within his power.
34:28I want a sum of money. And I want to transfer, finish school somewhere far from here.
34:33My family was bad. Two older sisters above me. A younger brother below.
34:39My father was diagnosed with a serious illness. Both my sisters had dropped out early to work.
34:44And neither was doing well. I wanted to give my family a little money.
34:48Enough, at least, to make their lives somewhat easier.
34:51The money's long been arranged. As for the transfer, whichever school, whichever city you'd like, it can be done.
34:59Please give Liam my, my thanks.
35:05Miss Carter, is there nothing you'd like to say to Liam?
35:10I looked down at my own thin wrist, slender enough that it seemed a light snap would break it.
35:15Like an ordinary girl like me. In their eyes, nothing more than a plaything to be traded away at a
35:21whim.
35:22Maybe Liam really did like me. Maybe there was some sliver of true feeling.
35:26But true feeling, set against money and standing, weighs nothing at all.
35:31There is.
35:35Please tell Liam. I hope the rest of his life is safe and smooth.
35:41Miss Carter?
35:43Nothing else?
35:44But 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 oaks at the edge of the quad.
36:02He was a gentleman about it. He kept his promise and didn't come toward me.
36:07I didn't disturb me. And I, I didn't look back either.
36:12Liam sank down against the tree trunk and closed his eyes.
36:15It was as if he'd returned to that night. He had known about Logan's bet in advance.
36:20That was why, so unlike himself, he'd gone to that absurd party.
36:23So unlike himself, he'd gambled with his brother that once.
36:26He couldn't stand by and watch Avery.
36:28The truth was, that night he hadn't meant to do anything to Avery. But she had put her arms around
36:33him.
36:34She had said he smelled good. And he hadn't been able to stop himself.
36:37He'd lowered his head and kissed her. And she hadn't resisted in the slightest.
36:41She'd even answered him, sweet and pliant. In that instant, his selfishness, his greed, had won out.
36:46He'd thought, basely. Then let me have her once, under Logan's name.
36:50But some things, some people, you cannot touch. After the first time, you want a second.
36:55You want it without end. When he heard Logan say he'd take her back to the room,
36:59the last thread in him broke clean through. He'd thought, then let me fall all the way.
37:04Even if, in the end, she sentences me to death. But he had never imagined she would
37:08sever herself from them both in a way so absolute. She said she never wanted to see him again.
37:13Liam suddenly opened his eyes. He looked down at the old scar at the web of his thumb.
37:17The years she had bitten him. Savage. Blood everywhere. She had said the same thing then.
37:23My second year at college in the city, I ran into one of Logan's old friends
37:28from Stonebridge on the street. Avery, long time no see. What are you doing here?
37:32Come on, let's eat. No refusing. Speaking of which, I've been thinking about Logan lately.
37:35Do you remember him? His brother originally planned to send him to a boarding school across
37:38the whole country, but somehow he ended up staying at Stonebridge. Honestly, he studied a lot.
37:42He actually business his dad left for him now. He took it seriously after everything that happened.
37:46And another thing, he hasn't dated one ever since. There was a party once. Someone
37:49happened to bring up your name and the look on his face. The truth is, at first, I hadn't liked
37:53Logan much. Maybe it was a prejudice I'd brought in from the start. Toward boys born to that kind
37:58of money and standing, I'd always kept my guard up. Later, he was truly good to me. I was young.
38:03When a golden boy like that lowers himself in front of you, of course your heart stirs.
38:08But before I could do anything foolish, reality woke me up. Though he and his brother Liam seem to be
38:14on
38:14pretty bad terms now. Liam was supposed to get engaged this year too, I think. That fell through.
38:19And the girl everyone said he was promised to, she's gone and gotten engaged to someone else.
38:23I've got class. Let's do this another time when there's a chance.
38:27Avery, is there really no chance for you and Logan? You know,
38:29Logan really was a bit reckless back then. But from what I know, you two just had him
38:31understanding. He honestly never slept with that girl.
38:33Could we please not bring him up again?
38:35Alright.
38:35Thanks for dinner. Goodbye then.
38:37Hey, no need to be polite with me. Avery, come back to town and visit sometime.
38:39Everyone misses you.
38:40We'll see.
38:41A black car drove past me. My step caught just for a moment. But the car didn't pause
38:46an instant. It sped on ahead. I looked down, smiled, shook my head, and kept walking.
38:51Waiting at the crosswalk, the wind picked up.
38:54Hey, Avery. I turned without thinking, and looked straight into a pair of deep, dark eyes.
39:00Liam stood at the intersection. His black car parked behind him.
39:05Avery. He wasn't wearing glasses.
39:07Finner than two years ago. The line of his jaw sharper.
39:11What are you doing here?
39:13Passing through.
39:14Passing 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.
39:23Let me drive you back to campus.
39:25No.
39:28Alright.
39:32Avery.
39:32His footsteps followed, matching my pace, a few feet behind.
39:37What do you want from me, Liam?
39:40I want to talk to you.
39:42We have nothing to talk about. You promised. Both of you.
39:46I know what I promised.
39:47Then why are you here?
39:49For a second he said nothing. Then he reached into his pocket and took out a business card.
39:54If you change your mind.
39:55I looked at the card. White. Embossed letters. His name and a phone number. I took it and turned
40:01it over. Then I tore it in half. Then in half again. I let the pieces fall to the sidewalk.
40:08Don't come back.
40:09I turned and walked away. This time he didn't follow. I made it two blocks before I stopped.
40:15I leaned against a wall and pressed my palms to my eyes. My hands were shaking.
40:19When I got back to my dorm, something fell out of the pocket. A white card. The same business card.
40:26He must have slipped it in while I was tearing the other one. I hadn't felt a thing. I stared
40:31at
40:31it for a long moment. Then I opened my desk drawer, put it inside, and closed it. I flopped onto
40:37the bed
40:38and stared at the ceiling. Two years of quiet. Of nothing. I thought I'd built a safe life here.
40:44And Liam had found me in three days.
40:47I didn't call him. I went to class, as usual. I studied. I ate at the dining hall with my
40:52roommate.
40:53Everything normal. But lying on my dorm bed, my thoughts suddenly drifted back. At the marina,
41:00after too much wine, I'd told Liam exactly how I got the scar on my calf. Back then, I hadn't
41:05thought
41:06much of it. It was just an old childhood story. But now, lying alone in my dorm room, I found
41:12myself
41:13remembering it again. The memory felt sharper now than it had in years. When I was little,
41:18there had been a boy whose family was richer than anyone else in the neighborhood. He was spoiled,
41:23stubborn, and always surrounded by other kids trying to impress him. For some reason,
41:28he loved bothering me. Maybe it was because I never paid attention to him. The more I ignored him,
41:34the more determined he became. One afternoon, he followed me around for nearly an hour,
41:39refusing to leave me alone. Eventually, I lost my temper and shoved him. He shoved me back. We
41:45ended up fighting beside a row of concrete planters. I was smaller than he was and stood no chance. He
41:51pushed me hard enough that I lost my balance and slammed into the edge of a planter. The pain came
41:56instantly. I looked down and saw blood pouring down my calf. I remember sitting on the ground crying while
42:02he stood there looking horrified. Then, because I was furious and hurt and 8 years old, I grabbed his
42:08hand and bit him as hard as I could. He screamed. There was blood on his hand and blood on
42:14my leg.
42:15Both of us were crying by the time adults came running over. A few days later, he showed up carrying
42:20medicine. I thought he had come to laugh at me. Instead, he crouched beside me and stared at the bandage
42:25on my leg. It doesn't look that bad. It looks like a flower petal. The day I jumped from the
42:35balcony, the blood ran over that same scar. Liam's face went white the moment he saw it. I climbed down
42:40from the bed and opened the storage box beneath my desk. Inside were old notebooks, photographs. After
42:46several minutes of searching, I found it. That year, there was a large photograph. Mr. and Mrs. Hayes,
42:52Logan, and Liam. My eyes fixed on Liam's right hand. At the web between his thumb and index finger,
42:58a scar. The boy who had called my scar a flower petal. The boy I had bitten until his hand
43:03bled.
43:04What if it had been Liam all along?
43:07Liam's version of that year starts the summer before. He saw me first at a scholarship dinner.
43:12He attended as a trustee representative. I stood on stage, accepting an award, wearing a dress that
43:18didn't fit quite right. I looked nervous, but I spoke clearly, thanked the donors, and walked off
43:23without looking back. He didn't think much of it. Not then. Keep an eye on your brother. Logan's getting
43:29sloppy, drinking too much, chasing girls. The family name needs protecting. Liam arrived in September.
43:36At the private welcome reception, someone pointed out Logan's girlfriend. He saw how Logan talked to me,
43:41casual, dismissive. Your brother's putting his girl on the table tonight? You coming?
43:47The night of the bet, he knew about it before it happened. Liam came. He told himself he was there
43:52to stop it. To take me out of that room and tell me the truth. Then I hugged him, called
43:56him Logan,
43:57and told him he smelled good. He couldn't stop himself. He kissed me, and I kissed him back. At that
44:02moment,
44:02he didn't want to be the good one anymore. He wanted to be the one I chose. So he kept
44:06up the lie,
44:07night after night. He told himself it was temporary, that he'd confess when the time was right. Then I
44:13jumped off the balcony, and he realized the time would never be right. The lawyer went in the next
44:17morning. Liam had written the check himself, added three zeros to what the lawyer suggested. The lawyer
44:23came back and said, she wants to go far away. He didn't ask the lawyer to pass on a message,
44:28but the lawyer asked her anyway. Please tell Liam. I hope the rest of his life is safe and smooth.
44:34Liam went to his room and stayed there for two days. I didn't call. I waited a week. Then two.
44:40Then I found myself standing outside the coffee shop, where I'd seen him walk in three days in a row.
44:45He wasn'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 me instead. He kept pretending because he wanted more. He remembered the fight. He knew I was
45:10the girl who bit him. Two years. You had two years to tell me you knew who I was. It
45:16matters. I didn't
45:17think it mattered. Don't come back here again, Liam. I will. I'll come back. Every day if I have to.
45:23I waited two years because you asked me to. I'll wait two more. But I'll be here.
45:28I walked halfway down the block and stopped. I leaned against a wall and closed my eyes. Liam was
45:32the boy. The one who said my scar looked like a flower petal. The one I bit. The one who
45:37brought
45:37me medicine. The one who watched me fall and didn't catch me. I walked back to my dorm and opened
45:42the
45:42drawer, looking at the card. Then I heard someone call my name again. I looked out the window. For a
45:46moment, I thought it was Liam again. But I knew it 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 lately, how things I could too work. You shouldn't be here. That's not how promises work.
45:59No. I know. Two years ago, I was... I know that's not enough to say. But I wanted you to
46:04hear it from
46:04me. Not through someone else. I don't need an apology, Logan. What do you need? I need you to leave.
46:08Both of you. I built something here. Small. Quiet. Mine. And you two show up in the same week and
46:13act
46:13like I'm still the girl from two years ago. I'm not. I don't want to be. I know you won't
46:16hate
46:16Liam either. But I don't want either of you. Not anymore. Not the way you want me. The boy I'd
46:20been afraid of for a year. The boy who'd thrown me into a card game like I was nothing. Who'd
46:25stood
46:25by and let his brother touch me, claim me, ruin me. Is there anything I can do? You can go
46:31home.
46:31Take care of your family's business. Stop gambling girls away. Okay. I meant what I said
46:39about you being the only one. Then he got into a car and drove away. A week passed.
46:43Then 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.
46:52Two years. You said you'd wait two years?
46:55Yes.
46:56Then start counting.
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