- 3 hours ago
Lost in the Twin Game
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00I fold. Avery's yours for tonight.
00:03You're willing to give her up?
00:05Since you like her, I'll gladly step aside.
00:09Although, we've been together for almost a year.
00:11If you think she's secondhand, no need. I'll take her.
00:18Fine. Then enjoy yourself tonight, brother.
00:23As soon as Liam left, the room immediately came alive again.
00:28Logan, are you serious?
00:30Have you chased Avery for three months, went all soft for her, and you're already bored?
00:32It's not even been a year.
00:35A bet's a bet. And besides, she's just a girl.
00:38So Avery wasn't anything special to you after all.
00:44At first, she was hard to get, a bit high and mighty.
00:47But now, she's no different from the others.
00:52Still the same, behaves like a damn dog in front of me.
00:55Hey, Logan. Next time, can I have a turn with her?
01:01But Logan, what if Liam actually gets to her? What then?
01:07He won't.
01:08They say he didn't even touch a girl back at military school. Ice cold type.
01:12That's not necessarily true, though.
01:14He did look at Avery a few times when she wore that dress showing her legs.
01:17He just hates girls who try too hard to show off.
01:20Bet on it then, Logan. You in?
01:22Don't forget, Avery is obsessed with me.
01:24She'd rather die than let another guy touch her.
01:26If you really want to bet, you better be ready to lose everything.
01:30Logan stood up and walked out.
01:31A pretty cheerleader was already waiting outside the door.
01:34He shoved her against the hallway wall and kissed her hard.
01:37No one noticed that I, the subject of the twins' bet, had already heard everything.
01:44If he could openly bet me away to another guy, then I meant absolutely nothing to him.
01:50And if I was stupid enough to make a scene and embarrass him in front of everyone, I'd be the
01:56one paying the price.
01:57Everyone knows Logan's family had endowed the athletic center of our school.
02:01His name was on the donor wall in the main hallway, in letters bigger than most people's futures.
02:07That's why he could break rules, get into fights, and cause trouble at school without ever getting expelled.
02:14Someone told me there had been a ballet dancer before me.
02:17Logan had chased her for months before she finally said yes.
02:21He spoiled her.
02:22Let her get away with things no one else could.
02:25For a while, everyone thought that she'd gotten the notorious bad boy to settle down.
02:31But less than six months later, he got bored and messed up with other girls.
02:37The 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.
04:46At dinner, I sat next to Logan.
04:49Liam sat alone at another table.
04:51Near the end, his eyes moved to me.
04:53Just for a second.
04:55He didn't talk to anyone before leaving.
04:57I had no idea why he would agree to something as ridiculous as Logan's bet.
05:01But one thing became clear the moment I heard that bet.
05:04If I wanted to walk away from this game those rich guys were playing without getting hurt,
05:09Liam might be my only way out.
05:11I had just stepped out of the bathroom when Liam pulled me into his arms from behind.
05:28You're unusually impatient tonight, Logan.
05:33Change how you call me.
05:36Then what do you want me to call you?
05:40What do you usually call me?
05:42Your name, Mr. Hayes.
05:45And I've called you Baby.
05:49Then tonight call me Sir.
05:53Sir?
06:20Say it again.
06:47The next day, I opened my eyes to full daylight.
06:50Every part of me ached.
06:52The kind of all-over soreness that goes bone deep.
06:55The room was empty.
06:56Liam was gone.
06:58I didn't know when he'd left.
07:00Through the glass, I could see the back lawn below.
07:02And Logan standing in it.
07:04I picked out a dress with an off-the-shoulder neckline,
07:07revealing the marks on purpose.
07:13Hey.
07:14What's wrong?
07:19Can you go get me some medicine from the infirmary?
07:21What for?
07:22What hurts?
07:23Last night, you were really rough.
07:25I didn't realize until the shower.
07:27There was...
07:28It bled a little.
07:29It really hurts.
07:32Say that again.
07:33What bled?
07:34Last night.
07:35It was a lot.
07:36You were...
07:36I'm really sore.
07:37Like, everywhere.
07:38You were so different last night, though.
07:40Like, really different.
07:41Better.
07:42I don't know what got into you, but I really liked it.
07:44I even cried.
07:44I begged you to stop, and you didn't.
07:46You were so mean about it.
07:47But 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.
08:08Broader through the shoulders.
08:09More 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.
08:16Hey, Logan.
08:17Did you bring it?
08:25What medication?
08:27Stop pretending.
08:28I told you.
08:29Last night you hurt me, and I need...
08:33I just remembered I should see how bad it is first,
08:36so 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.
08:58All of them controlled.
08:59None of them good.
09:00Liam, Avery, what exactly are you two doing?
09:03Liam?
09:04Logan, I got the wrong person.
09:06You weren't wearing your glasses today.
09:08I thought you were him.
09:11Avery, you're hopeless.
09:12You can't even tell your own boyfriend apart.
09:14I'm sorry.
09:15Liam, I'm so sorry.
09:16I really did mix you up.
09:17It's not your fault.
09:18Twins 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.
09:27Mixing us up is normal.
09:28Fine, I'll apologize to her.
09:31Go back to the room.
09:33Let 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.
09:50Lie down.
09:51Logan, why are you being so harsh with me today?
09:54In our year together, maybe to keep me fooled,
09:56maybe 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, you're overthinking it.
10:04I'm just worried about your injury.
10:06Is it still bleeding?
10:07Let me see.
10:08The truth is, when Logan first chased me,
10:10I 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,
10:17the 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 10 lifetimes.
10:25I was afraid of dying.
10:26I was more afraid of living through something worse than death.
10:29So I accepted him.
10:31And for a whole year, I'd kept my head down,
10:33careful with every step.
10:34And Logan had been good to me,
10:36devoted even,
10:37so much that sometimes I let myself dream impossible things.
10:40I lost my grip on reality.
10:42But I never imagined that lowering myself this far would buy me nothing
10:45but being handed off to another man like a chip on a table.
10:48My head was a tangled mess.
10:50Logan pressed me down to sit,
10:51then crouched in front of me.
10:53He looked down,
10:53took 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 lagged softly and glanced up at me,
11:03then 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
11:19and a thread of barely leashed anger underneath.
11:22Logan muttered something that might have been a curse,
11:24but 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,
11:32did 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.
11:38This is Liam.
11:38Save my number.
11:41I stared at the small words on the screen for a long moment
11:44before 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.
12:05For me, at least,
12:06it bought a little room to breathe.
12:08The next morning,
12:09I got ready to head back to school.
12:11I'd barely come down the stairs
12:13when 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.
12:20I 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,
12:30but 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,
12:50he 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.
13:01How's the injury?
13:03Better.
13:03A little better.
13:05My face went scarlet in an instant.
13:07If it's healed,
13:08use this.
13:11No!
13:12No,
13:13I don't need it!
13:14Logan already put medicine on it for me.
13:17There was nothing on Liam's face,
13:18which somehow made him more frightening.
13:20Take it.
13:22This 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,
13:31he'd yell at me for sure.
13:33Liam looked at me steadily,
13:34then 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,
14:03I 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,
14:12straight 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,
14:26then opened the door and got out.
14:28Liam got out after me,
14:29not looking at me once
14:30as he headed for the school building.
14:31I stood there a while
14:32before I took out my phone
14:33and answered Logan's text.
14:35I miss you too.
14:36Are you really not back for another 10 days?
14:39About that long.
14:40But I'll wrap it up
14:40and come home as fast as I can.
14:42Okay.
14:43I'll wait for you.
14:44Time crawled forward.
14:46Those 10 days without Logan
14:47were strangely peaceful.
14:49Liam never came near me once.
14:51That night started to feel
14:52like some absurd dream.
14:54Sometimes I even wondered,
14:55had 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
15:00with his own brother?
15:01Friday afternoon,
15:03Logan texted to say
15:04he was going back to campus that night
15:05and told me to wait for him.
15:07Stonebridge had a handful
15:08of senior residence suites.
15:09Small private rooms
15:10in the old dorm wing,
15:12the kind the legacy family's kids
15:13always ended up with.
15:14Logan's was one of them.
15:15I let myself in,
15:17showered,
15:17and lay on the couch
15:18scrolling my phone,
15:19waiting.
15:20And somewhere in the waiting,
15:21I fell asleep.
15:22I don't know how long.
15:23The sound of the door woke me.
15:25I sat up, bleary,
15:26and saw a tall figure
15:27walking toward me
15:28against the light.
15:28With him came that cold scent
15:30from that night.
15:31He came closer.
15:32No glasses.
15:33Exactly like that night.
15:34I reached out,
15:35asking 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
15:49tightened all at once,
15:50hard enough that I hissed.
15:56You're hurting me again.
15:57Logan, I only just healed.
16:00Don't you dare be rough
16:01with me tonight, Logan.
16:09Liam caught my chin.
16:10I couldn't fight his grip.
16:14What did you call me?
16:15So I had no choice
16:16but to turn and face him.
16:18His scalding breath
16:18brushed across my nose.
16:20My lashes trembled,
16:21and then he kissed me,
16:22soft at first.
16:24Do you miss me?
16:26But the gentleness
16:27gave way fast
16:28to a sudden storm.
16:29Me too.
16:30I answered,
16:30blurred.
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.
16:39I glared at him,
16:40wounded.
16:40But before the name
16:41could leave my mouth,
16:42he stopped it with a kiss
16:43deeper and more reckless
16:44than before.
16:45And when I was fully pinned
16:46beneath him,
16:47claimed by him,
16:48only then did he take
16:49my face in his hands
16:50and brush the tears
16:51from the corners of my eyes
16:52with his thumb.
16:55I couldn't stop sobbing.
16:58Avery,
16:59I'll ask one more time.
17:00What do you call me?
17:03Sir, sir.
17:04Do you like it
17:05when I treat you this way?
17:06I cried so hard
17:08I choked,
17:09wanting to shake my head,
17:10but he kissed me
17:10until I couldn't move.
17:11All I could do
17:12was nod, whimpering.
17:13Only then did his kiss
17:14gentle again.
17:16Now from now on,
17:17I'll treat you like this
17:18every day, alright?
17:19You'll hurt me.
17:20It hurts like that.
17:21You were never this rough
17:23with me before.
17:24He pressed me to his chest.
17:27Did I hurt you tonight?
17:28Then did it feel good?
17:29I bit my lip,
17:30cheeks burning.
17:31The body doesn't lie.
17:32I couldn't deny it.
17:33Liam had given me
17:34a pleasure Logan never had.
17:36Maybe it was
17:36the forbidden thrill,
17:37or maybe I'd never liked
17:39Logan that much
17:39to begin with.
17:40It felt good.
17:41Something dark and hungry
17:42flared in his sated eyes.
17:44He flipped me
17:45beneath him again.
17:45From now on,
17:46only do this with me.
17:47Alright?
17:49I laughed under my breath.
17:51What are you talking about?
17:52Of course only with you,
17:54Logan.
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
18:02of my hands
18:03and gently covered my eyes.
18:05Avery,
18:06I love hearing you
18:07call me sir.
18:09Every time you do,
18:10it does something to me.
18:12Call me that from now on.
18:14Always.
18:15And my fingers brushed
18:16an old scar
18:16at the web of his thumb.
18:18Something flickered
18:19across my mind,
18:20fast as a spark,
18:21but I couldn't catch it.
18:22After a long moment,
18:23I answered low.
18:24Okay, sir.
18:27Liam got the dorm wing
18:28to himself,
18:29a word to the right people,
18:30and the floor cleared out
18:31for the weekend.
18:32He stayed with me openly.
18:35Meals in the half-empty
18:36dining hall,
18:37slow walks across the quad
18:38after dark,
18:39and at night,
18:40the endless,
18:42insatiable tangling.
18:43On the third night,
18:44he signed us both out
18:45and drove off campus,
18:47down to the marina
18:48at the edge of town.
18:49We ate fresh-caught fish
18:51at 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,
18:58I couldn't walk straight.
19:00Liam carried me back
19:01to the car on his back.
19:02His fingers grazed
19:04the old scar on my calf,
19:05and he asked,
19:07naturally,
19:09How did you hurt
19:10your leg so badly?
19:12When I was little,
19:12there was this awful kid,
19:14so mean.
19:17His family was loaded.
19:19All the other kids
19:20circled around him,
19:20sucking up to him.
19:22Not me.
19:23The more I ignored him,
19:24the more he wouldn't
19:25leave me alone.
19:28But I wasn't some idle
19:30little rich boy
19:31with nothing to do.
19:32I had to help my parents
19:34run their food stall,
19:36look after my little brother,
19:38change his diapers,
19:40feed him.
19:40He kept pestering me
19:42until I'd had it,
19:43so I got in a fight with him.
19:45I was small.
19:47Couldn't beat a boy,
19:48obviously.
19:50He shoved me down
19:51and I cracked my leg open
19:53on the edge of a planter.
19:54Blood everywhere.
19:57He didn't get off easy
19:58either, though.
20:01I grabbed his hand
20:02and bit him as hard
20:03as I could.
20:04Sank my teeth right in,
20:05my whole mouth
20:06was full of blood.
20:07He had no spine at all,
20:08just blod,
20:09screaming.
20:12He wasn't really bad,
20:13though.
20:14Just kind of spoiled.
20:17Afterward,
20:17he even brought me medicine,
20:19tried to cheer me up,
20:21said the scar was shaped
20:22like a flower petal,
20:23that it was actually pretty.
20:27And after that?
20:29Don't remember.
20:30He left pretty soon,
20:31I think.
20:32Picked up by his parents,
20:33probably.
20:35Back then,
20:36I 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,
20:51but I didn't catch it.
20:53The day Logan actually came back,
20:55Liam set up a dinner.
20:57Liam reserved a private dining room
20:59and put the three of us
21:00at the same table.
21:01I asked him,
21:02on purpose.
21:03Liam,
21:05Logan's been back a few days already.
21:07Why are you only doing
21:08this dinner today?
21:09Liam looked at me
21:10for a long time
21:11without answering.
21:12I shrank back
21:13and ran off to find Logan.
21:14I didn't look back,
21:16but I could feel it
21:17the whole time.
21:18Liam's gaze following me.
21:20At dinner that night,
21:21Logan's mood was foul.
21:23Maybe the trip
21:24hadn't gone well.
21:25When he reached
21:25for his third drink,
21:27I lightly pressed my hand
21:28over his glass.
21:29Sir,
21:30drink less.
21:31Your stomach's bad.
21:32The words weren't even finished
21:34before two pairs of eyes
21:35snapped to my face.
21:36Liam always had
21:37impeccable manners.
21:39Even here,
21:40he wore a full blazer,
21:41sitting straight-backed.
21:42But now his knife
21:43clinked clumsily
21:44against the porcelain plate.
21:46Logan's brow furrowed too.
21:48What did you just call me?
21:53Sir.
21:54Why?
21:55Avery!
21:57Logan!
21:58Who the hell
21:58are you calling sir?
22:00What the fuck
22:01have you been doing
22:02behind my back?
22:05You said it yourself.
22:07You said you liked it
22:08when 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
22:20calling you sir.
22:22You told me to call you that lately.
22:24Liam slowly set down
22:26his knife and fork.
22:27He rose.
22:27The pressure rolling off him
22:29chilled the room.
22:30My crying dropped away.
22:32An unspeakable terror
22:34crawled up my spine.
22:35Maybe Liam's polished surface
22:37had fooled me.
22:38He was, in fact,
22:39far more frightening than Logan.
22:41I started to shake
22:42and couldn't stop.
22:44Liam's gaze landed on me
22:45for only two short seconds.
22:47But my whole back
22:48went damp with sweat.
22:49Don't bully a girl.
22:52Come with me.
22:53We'll talk.
22:56When the door shut behind them,
22:58my phone lit with a text.
23:00From Liam.
23:01Four words.
23:02Don't be afraid.
23:04I'm here.
23:05I looked at those words,
23:06wiped my eyes,
23:07and slowly lowered myself
23:09into a chair.
23:10Then I covered my face
23:11and 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
23:19the trustees threw,
23:20someone had congratulated him
23:22on his coming engagement.
23:24Some arrangement
23:24with another old money family.
23:26He hadn't denied it.
23:28And a man about to be engaged,
23:30playing a game like this
23:31with his own twin.
23:32It was just one last thrill
23:34before it was all settled.
23:35Or some indulgence
23:37of an ugly little appetite
23:38hidden beneath
23:39that flawless face.
23:41But what had I done
23:42to deserve it?
23:43Why should I be a plaything
23:44passed between the two of them?
23:49They'd ended up
23:50in an empty classroom
23:51in the academic wing,
23:52the corridor outside,
23:54dark and deserted.
23:55Don't you think
23:56you've taken this too far?
23:58Born of the same mother,
24:00twins,
24:01and yet from childhood,
24:03Logan had fallen short of him
24:04in everything.
24:06Liam,
24:07brilliant in ways
24:08ordinary people weren't,
24:10had won the affection
24:11of every elder
24:12in the Hayes family.
24:13and with it,
24:15in time,
24:16the inheritance.
24:17Logan was left
24:18to be a spendthrift
24:19wastrel.
24:20Countless people
24:21envied him
24:22and none of them
24:23knew how often
24:24he envied Liam,
24:25hated Liam.
24:27And yet,
24:28because of a shadow
24:29that went back
24:29as far as he could remember,
24:32feared him
24:32down to the bone,
24:33the contradiction
24:34gnawed at him,
24:36robbed him of sleep.
24:37If I remember right,
24:39you were the one
24:40who lost her to me
24:41that night.
24:42But you don't touch girls,
24:44you've got no interest
24:45in them at all.
24:46I thought you'd never
24:47lay a hand on her,
24:48I thought you'd find her dirty.
24:50Logan wouldn't admit
24:52the rest.
24:53That night,
24:54handing Avery over
24:55had been mostly
24:57about one thing,
24:59humiliating Liam,
25:00a girl Logan
25:01had grown tired of
25:02and Liam wanted her
25:04in secret.
25:05Did Liam think
25:05he couldn't see it?
25:07The first time
25:08Liam laid eyes on Avery,
25:10his expression
25:10had changed.
25:1218 years as brothers,
25:14and that was
25:14the first time
25:15Logan had ever seen
25:17Liam's gaze
25:18catch and hold
25:19on a girl.
25:20He'd even looked
25:21at Avery's legs,
25:22twice,
25:23so Logan had hatched
25:24the absurd idea.
25:26Use a girlfriend
25:27he was sick of
25:28to humiliate the brother
25:29who'd always stood over him.
25:31It would feel good,
25:33a thrill.
25:34What he never expected
25:35was that Liam,
25:36a man with an absurd,
25:39obsessive aversion
25:40to mess,
25:40would actually touch her,
25:42and he never expected
25:44that the night
25:45Liam took her away,
25:46he himself would lie awake
25:48the whole night through,
25:50restless.
25:51The cheerleader girl
25:52he'd taken away
25:53that night,
25:54he'd been certain
25:55he'd do something with her,
25:56but in the end
25:58he'd pushed her away.
25:59His whole mind
26:00had been somewhere else.
26:01Was 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
26:11as sweetly,
26:12as obediently,
26:14as she does beneath me?
26:16The thought tormented him
26:17to distraction.
26:19He'd gone back to the dorm
26:20at first light.
26:21When someone told him
26:23Liam had left at six,
26:24the same as always,
26:26he'd been flooded with relief.
26:28But then he saw Avery
26:29come down the stairs
26:30covered in marks,
26:32shy and sweet,
26:34complaining that he'd been
26:35too rough and hurt her.
26:37And in that instant
26:38he could have killed.
26:39He'd had many girls,
26:41leaving them,
26:42passing them off.
26:44He'd never felt
26:45a flicker of reluctance.
26:46He'd assumed Avery
26:48was the same.
26:49And in that moment,
26:50he finally understood.
26:52She wasn't.
26:54From the very start,
26:55she had never been
26:56like the others.
26:58He'd forgotten.
26:59Avery was the only girl
27:01he'd fallen for
27:01at first sight
27:02and then chased in earnest.
27:05And he'd badly underestimated
27:07how much she weighed
27:08in his own heart.
27:10Find her dirty?
27:12Liam suddenly rose
27:13and crossed to Logan.
27:15It was perhaps
27:16the first real crack
27:17in his composure all day.
27:19The first time a man
27:20so sparing with words
27:21said this much at once.
27:23I don't know why you talk
27:24about your own girlfriend
27:25that way.
27:26And I don't agree
27:27that a girl
27:28who's had a boyfriend
27:29who's had sex
27:29is somehow dirty.
27:33Say one more thing
27:34like that about her.
27:35Go on.
27:36Try.
27:42Liam.
27:44You set me up
27:45on purpose.
27:46That night
27:47you did it deliberately.
27:49Baited me into bedding
27:50because you wanted her.
27:51Because you wanted
27:52to take her from me.
27:53If you were truly
27:54in earnest about her
27:55no one could take her.
27:57So I'll say this
27:58one last time Logan.
27:59The opening was yours
28:00to give.
28:02You put her in my hands.
28:05So what?
28:06You think she'll be
28:07with you willingly?
28:07She's poor, badly born
28:08but she's stubborn to the core
28:09and proud to the bone.
28:10If she finds out
28:11you disguised yourself
28:12as me to play her
28:12what do you think she'll do?
28:13She'll hate me
28:14and she'll hate you
28:15just as much.
28:17So what?
28:19If I hadn't taken
28:20your bet that night
28:21hadn't taken her away
28:22would you have gambled
28:24her off to a third man?
28:26I wouldn't have.
28:27You would have!
28:29Other people may not know it
28:30but you do.
28:31You'd had enough of her
28:32grown tired of her.
28:34There was a younger
28:35prettier girl
28:35already waiting
28:36to spend the night with you.
28:38Say it yourself Logan.
28:39Isn't that right?
28:40Logan ground his jaw
28:41breath heaving
28:42and yet somehow
28:44he couldn't get out
28:44a single word
28:45in his own defense.
28:51You'd better worry
28:52about getting yourself
28:53through this first.
28:55That mess with
28:56father's sportswear line
28:57the one the boosters
28:58front the money for.
29:00If you can't put
29:01a convincing story
29:02behind it
29:02you can forget about
29:04keeping your spot
29:04here at all.
29:08It was you again?
29:09Logan came to it late
29:10then jolted
29:11with the realization.
29:13How convenient.
29:14Liam barely transferred in
29:16and suddenly
29:17every project
29:19with Logan's name on it
29:20was falling apart
29:21at once.
29:22Every step
29:23laid out in advance.
29:25For night after night
29:26of stolen pleasure
29:27he turned on
29:29his own brother
29:29and set even
29:31the family's interests
29:32aside to do it.
29:33What if it was?
29:36If you had a shrirk
29:37of skill
29:37or nerve
29:38you wouldn't be
29:39at everyone's mercy
29:40at every turn.
29:45Do you tell her
29:46the truth yourself
29:47or do I?
29:48Why?
29:49Why our whole lives
29:50did you have to be
29:51one step above me
29:52in everything?
29:53You had it good off
29:54at that school
29:54in another state?
29:55Why did you suddenly
29:56have to come back here?
29:57You've got girls
29:58lining up for you.
29:58You've got a fiance
29:59who's the most sought
30:00after girl
30:00in our whole circle.
30:01Why did you have to
30:02come and fight me
30:02for Avery?
30:06Standing a step
30:07above you
30:07all our lives
30:08that was just
30:09each of us
30:09playing the hand
30:10we had.
30:11You think a single
30:12thing you own
30:13is something I'd want?
30:14Then what about Avery?
30:16Liam was about
30:17to answer.
30:18The study door
30:19was suddenly
30:20shoved open
30:21hard.
30:24I stood there
30:25outside the classroom
30:27numb
30:27trembling like a leaf
30:29in the wind.
30:30My face was
30:30bloodless
30:31streaked all over
30:32with tears.
30:33A friend had dragged
30:34me into the
30:35theatre society.
30:36I'd picked up
30:37a little about acting.
30:38It was all coming
30:39in handy now.
30:40Avery.
30:42I stared at him
30:43blankly.
30:44Then I slowly
30:45moved my gaze
30:45to Logan's face
30:46and held it there.
30:47Not blinking.
30:49Just letting the tears
30:50run straight down.
30:51A man's guilt
30:52toward a woman
30:53is a weapon
30:54that never misses.
30:55The opening
30:56would vanish
30:57in a blink
30:57and right now
30:58was the perfect moment.
31:01Logan.
31:02Avery.
31:04Don't come near me.
31:05Avery, let me explain.
31:06I...
31:06Logan, you're my first man.
31:07My first love.
31:08You know how much
31:09I cared about you.
31:10How much I loved you.
31:11I could accept
31:11that your heart changed,
31:12that you stopped loving me,
31:13but I can't accept
31:14that you gave me away.
31:16This past year with you,
31:17I was so happy.
31:18So happy.
31:19No one had ever been
31:20as good to me
31:21as you were.
31:22And it turns out
31:23it was all just a dream
31:24I had.
31:25Avery,
31:26it's not like that.
31:27Let me explain.
31:27I can explain.
31:30Logan,
31:31I'm awake now.
31:32I'll never dream again.
31:34As the last word landed,
31:36I suddenly spun
31:37and ran for the
31:38second floor balcony.
31:40Below the balcony
31:41was a small garden.
31:42The gardener had just
31:43turned the soil yesterday.
31:45I'd take only
31:46the lightest injury,
31:47but the sight of a girl
31:48throwing herself
31:49off a balcony
31:50would be devastating,
31:51and I'd bet right.
31:53As Liam and Logan
31:54came chasing after me,
31:56I went over the railing
31:57without an instant's hesitation,
31:59as though I'd made up
32:00my mind to die.
32:01I heard them screaming
32:03my name behind me.
32:04I couldn't tell
32:05whose voice it was.
32:06In the brief plunge downward,
32:08I smiled,
32:09mocking.
32:11The whole campus
32:12fell into chaos.
32:13Liam,
32:14who was so far
32:15above everyone,
32:16who never appeared
32:17in public
32:17with a single crease
32:18in his shirt,
32:19now had mud
32:20caked on his trousers
32:21and didn't notice at all.
32:23He reached out
32:24as if to hold me,
32:25then didn't dare touch.
32:27I lay curled
32:28on the dirt,
32:28my foot bent
32:29at a sickening,
32:30swollen angle.
32:31Avery,
32:32don't be afraid.
32:33The nurse is coming.
32:42Footsteps came
32:42pounding up the path,
32:44then closed in fast.
32:45The school's night nurse,
32:47kit in hand.
32:49I'm not going
32:50to the infirmary.
32:51Don't help me.
32:54I don't want to see you
32:56ever again, Logan.
32:59Avery.
33:05And I don't want
33:06to see you
33:06ever again either,
33:07Liam.
33:08Once two people
33:09have known each
33:10other's bodies,
33:11the boy will always
33:12carry some thin softness
33:13toward the girl.
33:14That sliver of softness
33:16was exactly what I wanted.
33:17Let the nurse
33:18look at you first,
33:19Avery.
33:19Be good.
33:20Not until you promise me,
33:22or I won't let her
33:23touch me.
33:24This is not the time
33:25to be stubborn.
33:27Get her onto the stretcher.
33:29Don't move, Avery.
33:32But I wouldn't listen.
33:33At the break in the bone,
33:35the torn skin
33:35had split open
33:36and was bleeding.
33:38The blood ran slowly
33:39down over the old
33:40scar on my calf,
33:41staining red
33:42that faded,
33:43faded flower.
33:44Liam's pupils
33:45contracted all at once.
33:47In an instant,
33:48the color drained
33:49from his whole face.
33:50Stop moving.
33:55I promise you,
33:57neither Logan nor I
33:59will ever appear
33:59in front of you again.
34:03Sir,
34:05I trust you this way.
34:06That day at the campus,
34:07Liam had made that promise
34:08in front of many people.
34:10So through all my days
34:11in the infirmary,
34:12neither he nor Logan
34:13appeared even once.
34:15When I was finally
34:15cleared to leave,
34:17the Hayes family lawyer
34:18came to see me,
34:19a mild,
34:20well-mannered man.
34:21Miss Carter,
34:22Liam says that
34:23whatever you need,
34:24you have only to ask,
34:25anything within his power.
34:28I want a sum of money,
34:30and I want to transfer,
34:31finish school
34:32somewhere far from here.
34:34My family was bad.
34:35Two older sisters above me,
34:37a younger brother below.
34:38My father was diagnosed
34:40with a serious illness.
34:42Both my sisters
34:42had dropped out early to work,
34:44and neither was doing well.
34:46I wanted to give my family
34:47a little money,
34:48enough at least
34:49to make their lives
34:50somewhat easier.
34:51The money's long been arranged.
34:53As for the transfer,
34:55whichever school,
34:56whichever city you'd like,
34:57it can be done.
34:59Please give Liam
35:00my thanks.
35:05Miss Carter,
35:07is there nothing
35:08you'd like to say to Liam?
35:10I looked down
35:10at my own thin wrist,
35:12slender enough
35:13that it seemed
35:14a light snap would break it,
35:15like an ordinary girl like me.
35:17In their eyes,
35:19nothing more than a plaything
35:20to be traded away at a whim.
35:22Maybe Liam really did like me.
35:24Maybe there was some sliver
35:25of true feeling,
35:26but true feeling
35:27set against money and standing
35:29weighs nothing at all.
35:31there is.
35:35Please tell Liam.
35:37I hope the rest of his life
35:39is safe and smooth.
35:41Miss Carter?
35:43Nothing else?
35:44But I had already
35:45lain back down.
35:46He couldn't linger
35:47and could only turn and leave.
35:56When I walked out
35:57of the infirmary
35:57for the last time,
35:59I saw Liam.
36:00He was standing
36:00under the row of oaks
36:01at the edge of the quad.
36:02He was a gentleman about it.
36:04He kept his promise
36:05and didn't come toward me.
36:07Didn't disturb me.
36:08And I,
36:09I didn't look back either.
36:12Liam sank down
36:13against the tree trunk
36:14and closed his eyes.
36:15It was as if
36:16he'd returned to that night.
36:17He had known about
36:18Logan's bet in advance.
36:20That was why,
36:21so unlike himself,
36:22he'd gone to that absurd party.
36:23So unlike himself,
36:25he'd gambled with his brother
36:26that once.
36:27He couldn't stand by
36:28and watch Avery.
36:29The truth was,
36:30that night he hadn't meant
36:31to do anything to Avery.
36:32But she had put her arms
36:33around him.
36:34She had said he smelled good.
36:35And he hadn't been able
36:36to stop himself.
36:37He'd lowered his head
36:38and kissed her.
36:39And she hadn't resisted
36:40in the slightest.
36:41She'd even answered him,
36:42sweet and pliant.
36:43In that instant,
36:44his selfishness,
36:45his greed,
36:46had won out.
36:46He'd thought,
36:47basely.
36:48Then let me have her once,
36:49under Logan's name.
36:50But some things,
36:51some people,
36:52you cannot touch.
36:53After the first time,
36:55you want a second.
36:56You want it without end.
36:57When he heard Logan say
36:58he'd take her back to the room,
36:59the last thread in him
37:00broke clean through.
37:02He'd thought,
37:02then let me fall all the way.
37:04Even if,
37:05in the end,
37:05she sentences me to death.
37:07But he had never imagined
37:08she would sever herself
37:09from them both
37:09in a way so absolute.
37:11She said she never wanted
37:12to see him again.
37:13Liam suddenly opened his eyes.
37:15He looked down
37:15at the old scar
37:16at the web of his thumb.
37:17The years she had bitten him,
37:19savage,
37:20blood everywhere.
37:21She had said the same thing then.
37:23My second year at college
37:25in the city,
37:26I ran into one of Logan's
37:27old friends
37:28from Stonebridge
37:28on the street.
37:29Avery,
37:30long time no see.
37:31What are you doing here?
37:32Come on,
37:32let's eat,
37:32no refusing.
37:33Speaking of which,
37:34I've been thinking about Logan lately.
37:35Do you remember him?
37:36His brother originally planned
37:37to send him to a boarding school
37:38across the whole country,
37:39but somehow he ended up
37:40staying at Stonebridge.
37:41Honestly,
37:41he steadied a lot.
37:42He actually businessed
37:43his dad left for him now.
37:44He took it seriously
37:44after everything that happened.
37:46And another thing,
37:46he hasn't dated one ever since.
37:48There was a party once.
37:49Someone happened to bring up
37:50your name
37:50and the look on his face.
37:51The truth is,
37:52at first,
37:53I hadn't liked Logan much.
37:54Maybe it was a prejudice
37:55I'd brought in from the start.
37:57Toward boys born to that kind
37:58of money and standing,
37:59I'd always kept my guard up.
38:01Later,
38:01he was truly good to me.
38:02I was young.
38:03When a golden boy like that
38:05lowers himself in front of you,
38:06of course your heart stirs.
38:08But before I could do anything foolish,
38:10reality woke me up.
38:11Though,
38:13he and his brother Liam
38:14seem to be on pretty bad terms now.
38:16Liam was supposed to get engaged
38:17this year too,
38:17I think.
38:18That fell through.
38:19And the girl everyone said
38:20he was promised to,
38:22she's gone and gotten engaged
38:22to someone else.
38:23I've got class.
38:24Let's do this another time
38:25when there's a chant.
38:26Avery,
38:27is there really no chance
38:28for you and Logan?
38:29You know,
38:29Logan really was a bit reckless
38:30back then,
38:30but from what I know,
38:31you two just had him understanding.
38:32He honestly never slept with that girl.
38:33Could we please not bring him up again?
38:35Alright.
38:35Thanks for dinner.
38:36Goodbye then.
38:36Hey, no need to be polite with me.
38:38Avery,
38:38come back to town and visit sometime.
38:39Everyone misses you.
38:40We'll see.
38:41A black car drove past me.
38:43My step caught just for a moment,
38:45but the car didn't pause an instant.
38:47It sped on ahead.
38:48I looked down,
38:49smiled,
38:49shook my head,
38:50and kept walking.
38:51Waiting at the crosswalk,
38:53the wind picked up.
38:54Hey,
38:55Avery.
38:56I turned without thinking
38:57and looked straight into a pair
38:58of deep,
38:59dark eyes.
39:00Liam stood at the intersection,
39:02his black car parked behind him.
39:05Avery.
39:05He wasn't wearing glasses.
39:07Thinner than two years ago,
39:08the line of his jaw sharper.
39:11What are you doing here?
39:13Passing through.
39:14Passing through.
39:15This is a college town.
39:16It's at least four hours from your city.
39:18He didn't answer,
39:20just kept looking at me,
39:22his gaze heavy.
39:23Let me drive you back to campus.
39:25No.
39:28Alright.
39:32Avery.
39:33His footsteps followed,
39:34matching my pace,
39:35a few feet behind.
39:37What do you want from me,
39:39Liam?
39:41I want to talk to you.
39:43We have nothing to talk about.
39:44You promised.
39:45Both of you.
39:46I know what I promised.
39:47Then why are you here?
39:49For a second,
39:49he said nothing.
39:51Then he reached into his pocket
39:52and took out a business card.
39:54If you change your mind.
39:55I looked at the card.
39:56White.
39:57Embossed letters.
39:58His name and a phone number.
40:00I took it and turned it over.
40:02Then I tore it in half.
40:04Then, in half again.
40:05I let the pieces fall to the sidewalk.
40:08Don't come back.
40:09I turned and walked away.
40:11This time,
40:12he didn't follow.
40:13I made it two blocks
40:14before I stopped.
40:15I leaned against a wall
40:16and pressed my palms to my eyes.
40:18My hands were shaking.
40:20When I got back to my dorm,
40:22something fell out of the pocket.
40:23A white card.
40:25The same business card.
40:26He must have slipped it in
40:27while I was tearing the other one.
40:29I hadn't felt a thing.
40:30I stared at it for a long moment.
40:32Then I opened my desk drawer,
40:34put it inside,
40:35and closed it.
40:36I flopped onto the bed
40:38and stared at the ceiling.
40:39Two years of quiet.
40:41Of nothing.
40:41I thought I'd built a safe life here.
40:44And Liam had found me in three days.
40:47I didn't call him.
40:48I went to class, as usual.
40:50I studied.
40:51I ate at the dining hall
40:52with my roommate.
40:53Everything normal.
40:54But lying on my dorm bed,
40:56my thoughts suddenly drifted back.
40:58At the marina,
41:00after too much wine,
41:01I'd told Liam exactly
41:02how I got the scar on my calf.
41:04Back then,
41:05I hadn't thought much of it.
41:06It was just an old childhood story.
41:09But now,
41:10lying alone in my dorm room,
41:12I found myself remembering it again.
41:14The memory felt sharper now
41:15than it had in years.
41:17When I was little,
41:18there had been a boy
41:19whose family was richer
41:20than anyone else in the neighborhood.
41:21He was spoiled,
41:23stubborn,
41:23and always surrounded
41:25by other kids
41:25trying to impress him.
41:27For some reason,
41:28he loved bothering me.
41:29Maybe it was because
41:30I never paid attention to him.
41:32The more I ignored him,
41:33the more determined he became.
41:35One afternoon,
41:36he followed me around
41:37for nearly an hour,
41:38refusing to leave me alone.
41:41Eventually,
41:41I lost my temper
41:42and shoved him.
41:43He shoved me back.
41:44We ended up fighting
41:45beside a row of concrete planters.
41:48I was smaller than he was
41:49and stood no chance.
41:50He pushed me hard enough
41:52that I lost my balance
41:53and slammed into the edge
41:54of a planter.
41:55The pain came instantly.
41:57I looked down
41:57and saw blood
41:58pouring down my calf.
42:00I remember sitting on the ground,
42:01crying,
42:02while he stood there
42:02looking horrified.
42:04Then,
42:04because I was furious
42:06and hurt
42:06and eight years old,
42:07I grabbed his hand
42:08and bit him as hard as I could.
42:10He screamed.
42:12There was blood on his hand
42:13and blood on my leg.
42:15Both of us were crying
42:16by the time adults
42:17came running over.
42:18A few days later,
42:19he showed up
42:20carrying medicine.
42:20I thought he had come
42:21to laugh at me.
42:23Instead,
42:23he crouched beside me
42:24and stared at the bandage
42:25on my leg.
42:27It doesn't look that bad.
42:29It looks like a flower petal.
42:33The day I jumped
42:34from the balcony,
42:35the blood ran over
42:36that same scar.
42:37Liam's face went white
42:38the moment he saw it.
42:40I climbed down
42:40from the bed,
42:41and opened the storage box
42:42beneath my desk.
42:43Inside were old notebooks,
42:45photographs.
42:46After several minutes
42:47of searching,
42:47I found it.
42:48That year,
42:49there was a large photograph.
42:51Mr. and Mrs. Hayes,
42:52Logan,
42:53and Liam.
42:53My eyes fixed
42:54on Liam's right hand,
42:56at the web between his thumb
42:57and index finger.
42:58A scar.
42:59The boy who had called my scar
43:00a flower petal.
43:01The boy I had bitten
43:02until his hand bled.
43:04What if it had been Liam
43:05all along?
43:07Liam's version of that year
43:09starts the summer before.
43:10He saw me first
43:11at a scholarship dinner.
43:12He attended
43:13as a trustee representative.
43:15I stood on stage,
43:16accepting an award,
43:17wearing a dress
43:18that didn't fit quite right.
43:19I looked nervous,
43:20but I spoke clearly,
43:21thanked the donors,
43:22and walked off
43:23without looking back.
43:24He didn't think much of it.
43:25Not then.
43:26Keep an eye on your brother.
43:28Logan's getting sloppy.
43:30Drinking too much,
43:31chasing girls.
43:33The family name
43:33needs protecting.
43:34Liam arrived in September.
43:35At the private welcome reception,
43:37someone pointed out
43:38Logan's girlfriend.
43:39He saw how Logan talked to me.
43:41Casual.
43:42Dismissive.
43:44Your brother's putting his girl
43:45on the table tonight?
43:46You coming?
43:47The night of the bet,
43:48he knew about it
43:49before it happened.
43:50Liam came.
43:51He told himself
43:52he was there to stop it,
43:53to take me out of that room
43:54and tell me the truth.
43:55Then I hugged him,
43:56called him Logan,
43:57and told him he smelled good.
43:58He couldn't stop himself.
43:59He kissed me,
44:00and I kissed him back.
44:01At that moment,
44:02he didn't want to be
44:03the good one anymore.
44:04He wanted to be the one I chose,
44:06so he kept up the lie,
44:07night after night.
44:08He told himself
44:09it was temporary,
44:10that he'd confess
44:11when the time was right.
44:12Then I jumped off the balcony,
44:14and he realized
44:15the time would never be right.
44:16The lawyer went in
44:17the next morning.
44:18Liam had written
44:19the check himself,
44:20added three zeros
44:21to what the lawyer suggested.
44:22The lawyer came back
44:23and said,
44:24she wants to go far away.
44:25He didn't ask the lawyer
44:26to pass on a message,
44:28but the lawyer asked her anyway.
44:29Please tell Liam,
44:31I hope the rest of his life
44:32is safe and smooth.
44:34Liam went to his room
44:35and stayed there for two days.
44:37I didn't call.
44:39I waited a week,
44:40then two.
44:40Then I found myself
44:41standing outside the coffee shop
44:43where I'd seen him walk in
44:44three days in a row.
44:45He wasn't there by accident.
44:47He was there because he knew
44:48this was where I came
44:49on Thursday afternoons.
44:51I pushed the door open.
44:54I walked up to his table
44:55and sat down across from him.
44:57Tell me everything
44:58from the beginning,
45:00the night of the bet,
45:02he told me everything.
45:03He came to stop the bet,
45:05but he kissed me instead.
45:06He kept pretending
45:07because he wanted more.
45:08He remembered the fight.
45:09He knew I was the girl
45:10who bit him.
45:12Two years.
45:13You had two years
45:14to tell me you knew
45:15who I was.
45:16It matters.
45:17I didn't think it mattered.
45:19Don't come back here again, Liam.
45:20I will.
45:21I'll come back.
45:21Every day if I have to.
45:23I waited two years
45:24because you asked me to.
45:25I'll wait two more.
45:26But I'll be here.
45:27I walked halfway
45:28down the block
45:29and stopped.
45:30I leaned against a wall
45:31and closed my eyes.
45:32Liam was the boy.
45:33The one who said
45:34my scar looked like
45:35a flower petal.
45:35The one I bit.
45:36The one who brought me medicine.
45:38The one who watched me fall
45:39and didn't catch me.
45:40I walked back to my dorm
45:41and opened the drawer
45:42looking at the card.
45:43Then I heard someone
45:44call my name again.
45:45I looked out the window.
45:46For a moment,
45:47I thought it was Liam again,
45:48but I knew it was Logan.
45:51Avery, I know.
45:52I just...
45:52Someone told me Liam
45:53came to see you.
45:54I thought if he was
45:54breaking the promise lately,
45:55how things like it to work.
45:57You shouldn't be here.
45:57That's not how promises work.
45:59No.
45:59I know.
46:00Two years ago,
46:01I was...
46:01I know that's not enough to say.
46:03But I wanted you to hear it from me,
46:04not through someone else.
46:05I don't need an apology, Logan.
46:07What do you need?
46:07I need you to leave.
46:08Both of you.
46:09I built something here.
46:10Small, quiet, mine.
46:12And you two show up
46:12in the same week
46:13and act like I'm still the girl
46:14from two years ago.
46:14I'm not.
46:15I don't want to be.
46:16I know you won't hate Liam either,
46:17but I don't want either of you.
46:18Not anymore.
46:19Not the way you want me.
46:20The boy I'd been afraid of
46:21for a year.
46:22The boy who'd thrown me
46:23into a card game
46:24like I was nothing.
46:25Who'd stood by
46:26and let his brother touch me,
46:27claim me,
46:28ruin me.
46:29Is there anything I can do?
46:30You can go home.
46:31Take care of your family's business.
46:33Stop gambling girls away.
46:36Okay.
46:37I meant what I said
46:38about you being the only one.
46:40Then he got into a car
46:41and drove away.
46:42A week passed.
46:43Then two.
46:44On the third Thursday,
46:45I walked into the coffee shop.
46:46Liam was sitting at the same table.
46:48He looked up when I came in.
46:50I walked over
46:50and sat down across from him.
46:52Two years.
46:53You said you'd wait two years?
46:56Yes.
46:56Then start counting.
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