𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬

12

"There!" Maddie shouts and they both speed up and within seconds Tyler is up against the wall. "What the hell?" Tyler shouts angry. "What, you thought you'd just get away with taking pictures of our sister?" Maddie asks angry blocking the small area that was left for him to squeeze by Zach. Maddie normally wasn't one for confrontation, not after she got into her later teen years, but go after her family and she'd be worse than confrontational. "I will destroy you." Zach says serious holding up the pictures printed onto a piece of paper. "Hey man, back off." Cyrus says as he looks at the scene, and if Maddie had cared enough to look back she would realize they'd met before.

"Get the fuck off!" Zach shouts as he pushes him back, quickly Maddie pushes Tyler's arm back when he tries to leave. "You took pictures of our sister?" Maddie asks her teeth gritted and Tyler looks confused at the pictures. "What?" He asks.

"You followed her and took fucking pictures?!" Zach asks screaming as he pushes Tyler back again. "No." Tyler says trying to stay calm.

"Yes." Maddie and Zach both say at the same time.

"You took them and you put them in my locker." Zach says and Maddie speaks again. "What the fuck is wrong with you? She's a kid!" She shouts.

"This isn't me. I didn't fucking do this" Tyler says angry still.

"It's fucking you isn't it?" Zach asks and Maddie looks up slightly caught off guard. "What?" Tylers just as thrown off as Maddie. "You put the rat in my locker, now this?"

"What the fuck do you want from him? From us?" Maddie asks angry, she'd heard about the rat but she hadn't connected the dots. "You got a rat in your locker? Someone's fucking with you guys, too?" Tyler asks and Maddie rolls her eyes. "Yeah you." She says upset. "Look just leave us, and May alone." Maddie says trying to end it but Zach speaks.

"Because of fucking last night?" Zach asks.

"No, that's not- Fuck, it's gotta be Bryce. It's fucking Bryce. He's trying to keep us quiet, okay? It happened to me, too." Tyler says and Maddie's eyes widen, if Bryce was taking pictures of her sister what else would he do? "It's not me I swear." Slowly Maddie puts her arm on Zach's. "I don't think it's him." She says quietly looking at Tyler and he looks at Maddie, now grateful for her presence.

Zach looks up and down the hallways, tears threatening to come. "You come near our sister and I'll murder you, you hear me?" He asks leaning into Tyler's even more so that before. Zach pushes back and off and quickly stalks off leaving Maddie behind to sigh and walk down a different hall, but first she looks to Tyler. "Are-are you alright?" She asks and Tyler nodded, he was still upset but to be fair he was known for taking pictures, and she was just protecting her sister.

"Zach." Maddie says as they walk past Bryce at the ribbon cutting ceremony. "What if it's really Bryce?" She asks and Zach breathes in tightly as he walks faster, trying to get to May. "We have to make sure he can't get to her. Ever." She says seriously, she would never want something like that to happen to May. "I know, come on, she's right there." Zach says as they jog to the seats where she sat smiling. "Zach, Maddie." She says with a smile and they both sit down. "Hey, did anything happen with you today, at school?" Zach asks and May shakes her head looking between her brother and sister. "No, like what?" She asks confused but gets over talked as Karen, their mother, sits down. "The field looks great" She says smiling and May nods. "We're not staying." Zach says seriously and Maddie looks at her brother, she knew he'd do anything to protect his family, but something like that? That could hurt his future, she didn't want him to do that. She could stay with May.

"Why not?" Karen asks confused leaning in with a whisper. "Do you know why the news vans are here? Do you know about the tapes?" He asks.

"I know she didn't say anything about the two of you that you hadn't already said yourselves." She answers her son. "That's not it, Mom." Zach says upset starting to raise his voice.