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