My Jealous Stepbrother
EVIL SMILE

"This also concerns me, you will not leave me out," I said with a frown.

"It's just that it's too dangerous," Ryan replied with concern in his eyes. I was frustrated by his protective attitude. "I won't let you take any more risks, look at everything that's happened. I didn't even know this was happening. I came back to campus because your dad ordered me to, but I really didn't even know about those pictures all over your high school or anything about the stalker."

I felt a lump in my throat at his words.

"I know you care about me, Ryan, but I care about you too," I told him sincerely. "I don't want you to get hurt because of me. We have to do this together." I felt capable of anything, possibly a product of the adrenaline from having escaped the police for the second time in less than twenty-four hours.

"The plan is simple, but we'll need help," Ryan said.

"I won't tell Mathew or Mayer if that's what you think," I replied, with a hint of indignation in my voice. If they founnd out about this they'd go running to tell Dad.

"I didn't mean them," Ryan replied as he kept his eyes on the road.

"So?" I asked, curious to know exactly what was going through his head.

"I meant Emily."

"Now the crazy one is you if you think I'm going to call her! She betrayed me!"

"Calm down a little, Sam. She's the only one who can help us right now," he explained, trying to be sympathetic. I snorted, frustrated by the situation and by knowing she was right, I didn't want to admit it but if she helped us we had a good chance of success.

"Just think, who else knows Zack's exact movements," Ryan said with a sly look. "If she helps us, we can lead him right into our trap."

Trap? Police? How was this my life?

"And by the way, why is Zack so mad at you in the first place? Emily mentioned that Zack wanted revenge on you or something," I asked, feeling that if I had to call Emily out, I at least deserved an explanation from Ryan.

Ryan sighed before answering. "It's a long story. Zack and I used to be close friends in school, but once we got into college let's just say our personalities didn't mesh so well anymore... Zack used to go out too often to parties with different girls, and everyone else joked that those girls were only with him because they were drunk enough to put up with him. Well, it turns out it was true, but not in the way everyone thought it was." "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean Zack would get the girls he wanted to flirt with drunk and slip something in their drinks, if you know what I mean," I nodded, understanding that he meant drugs. Zack was drugging girls. It was all worse than I thought.

"One night I ran into him outside a party with a girl who couldn't even stand on her own. I stopped him before he could do anything but ended up fighting him off and getting the girl to safety. The others found out what happened and now no girl on campus wants to be around him. In the end, our friendship fell apart and Zack felt like I had betrayed him."

"And how do I fit into all of this?" I asked, confused.

"I guess he thought that if he had you, it would cause me a lot of hurt...and he wasn't wrong."

We drove down the road, with the wind blowing in our faces and the music blaring to drown out the thoughts. I was beyond nervous. It wouldn't be long now and I could only hope everything went well. Even though I begged Ryan to let me talk to Zack, I couldn't help but be consumed by nerves. It would all be over soon.

***

"Sam?" His voice made me alert. "Are you okay? I was surprised you texted me. Do you have any idea what I told you? Who do you think the stalker might be?" Zack said with apparent distress in his voice, but I knew none of it was true. He was just acting, trying to trick me.

"Don't play innocent, Zack. I know it was you all along," I said firmly, not letting his feigned ignorance get to me.

Zack let out a derisive laugh. "Me? Accusing me of something I didn't even do? You're paranoid, Samantha."

"Don't give me bullshit. I know your game," I replied, not giving in to her attempts to confuse me. "All the evidence points to you. The messages, the threats, everything."

I didn't want her to know that I knew because of Emily, I could stay mad at her but I wasn't going to rat her out.

Zack tried to keep his cool, but I could see the insecurity in his eyes. "You're just looking for someone to blame, Sam. I can't believe you're targeting me."

"That's enough! You won't get away with it this time," I warned him, feeling like I had finally mustered up the courage to confront him.

Zack approached intimidatingly, his aura changing abruptly. My body screamed at me to get away, that I was in danger, but I decided not to move. The time had come to face my problems instead of running away from them.

Even though my heart was racing, I kept my gaze firmly on his. I was not going to show weakness before him. "I'm not going to let you bully me anymore, Zack," I said in a shaky but determined voice.

Zack looked at me with a mixture of various emotions in his eyes. "You think you can stop me?" he asked arrogantly. "You're just a scared little girl."

"You admit that you are the stalker and the one sending me those threatening messages," I exclaimed angrily and painfully. "You took naked pictures of me while I was changing in my own house!"

Zack tried to maintain his facade of indifference. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said.

"You can't keep lying," I replied firmly. "Ryan told me everything. He knows the truth about what you've been doing."

"Ryan doesn't know anything," Zack sneered. "He's just trying to protect you, but he can't do anything against me."

"You're not above the law, Zack," I said, regaining my courage. "This is all over. I'm going to report you and make sure you pay for what you've done."

Zack burst out laughing, but his laugh sounded nervous. "You can't prove anything," he said. "And if you report me, I can say things about you, too."

"I have nothing to hide," I replied with conviction. "You're the guilty one here, and I'm not going to let you keep hurting more people." Zack glared at me with hatred. "Yes, I'm a scared little girl," I admitted truthfully. "But that doesn't mean I'm going to let myself be intimidated by you."

Zack scoffed, "What are you going to do? You have no evidence to accuse me of anything. I used a disposable phone, very common, and I still have your pictures. I'll keep bullying you with that," he said viciously, then walked over to me taking my chin in his filthy fingers. "Don't think you're so special, Samantha. I did the same thing to a lot of other dumb girls like you."

"That's right, I didn't have the evidence, until now," I said as Ryan emerged from behind one of the manytrees in the park. It had been a good idea to summon Zack here; it was already getting dark when we arrived from the road trip and I thought Zack wouldn't come if I asked him to, but he did. Who's the fool now, "You fell into the trap all by yourself."

Zack turned in surprise at the sight of Ryan, and his mischievous grin quickly faded. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to make sure you'll pay for what you've done to Samantha and all the other girls," Ryan said in a firm voice.

"What are you trying to do, Ryan, you think you're scaring me with your little scheme?" Zack replied, trying to appear calm.

"No, I'm not scared of you," Ryan said. "But I won't let you keep hurting anyone else. I'll face you, and this time you won't get away."

Zack stepped back, realizing he was no longer in control of the situation. "You don't know who you're messing with," he threatened.

"I know damn well," Ryan said, slowly approaching. "And I assure you, you'll pay for all the damage you've caused."

In what felt like five seconds, patrol car sirens blared and two police officers surrounded Zack and quickly handcuffed him. "How?" asked Zack in a shaky voice.

Ryan smiled triumphantly. "I told you you weren't dealing with me alone. We couldn't get enough evidence, but we decided to give Emily a chance."

At that moment, Emily stepped out of the shadows, holding a phone in her hand. "I showed the messages to the police and told them what I knew. It was enough to get an arrest warrant," she said with a defiant look toward Zack. "Plus Samantha's dad has connections."

Zack tried to deny everything, but his lies no longer had any power over us. He had been caught, and this time there would be no escape.

With a sigh of relief, I hugged Ryan. But my father quickly intervened, reminding us to keep our distance. Still, we couldn't help but laugh as we continued to hug. Emily was nearby, talking to the officers, and I decided to give her a chance, even though I still didn't quite forgive her. Years of friendship are not easily discarded.

I knew it wouldn't be easy to deal with everything, but at least there was one less stone in my shoe. Now I just had to forget the silly high school rumors and worry about my overprotective father... and jealous stepbrother. THE END.