The Monster OfJealousy

“Wow, Lily, I never thought you were that kind of girl,” says my stepsister Julie.

“What do you mean?” I ask.

I am in the kitchen cleaning up after my sister’s birthday dinner. She has invited her friends, me and out of duty, also our stepsister Julie. She is family, no matter how we try our best to ignore it. We live in a small town where everybody knows each other and Julie would have found out about the party, anyway.

Julie shows me a picture on her phone. It’s me skinny dipping, and it seems the image has been shared all over the internet.

“WHAT?! HOW?”

I don’t know what to say.

Julie is laughing and smiling with her cat eyes.

“You leave little for the fantasy. At least you get your 15 minutes of fame.”

My world is on fire.

“Do you think it’s Ben?” she asks triumphantly.

“I have to find him,” I say in a trance while I am grabbing my jacket and phone.

“See you,” shouts Julie after me.

I am too embarrassed to say goodbye to my sister and her other guests. I need to get very far away, and I am running all the way to Ben’s house. The light is on in his home office.

I can hear him coming down the steps to open the door.

“I don’t remember giving you a license to share my picture.”

My heart is beating with anger while I show him my phone — the nude of me with a seductive look in my eyes.

It has already been shared 149 times. Got 76 comments and 589 likes. Who is counting besides me?

“Let me see!” Ben takes the phone out of my hand.

“If it wasn’t you, who was it?”

I am furious and ashamed at the same time. I can’t look at Ben. Where will it all end?

“I am going to kill the guy who did it. I would never do that to you!”

“I’m breaking up with you!”

“Damn, Lily. I didn’t do it.”

“I don’t know who you are. You know I don’t like to get my picture taken. I don’t even have a profile on Instagram. How could you?”

“I don’t know who did it,” says Ben

“Have you shown it to any of your friends?”

“No! Please believe me.”

“Don’t touch me,” I am pushing Ben away while he is trying to hug me as I’m turning around. I need to get out.

“No, Lily, wait,” Ben is yelling my name as I take off.

I’m gasping for air as Ben catches up with me.

“Please stop!”

To my big surprise, tears are trickling down his cheeÊks. Now I know he is hurt like me.

We hug each other, and he takes my hand. I follow him back to his house. How could I doubt his love for me?

“If it wasn’t you. Who was it?”

“I think I have an idea.”

Back in Ben’s house, he is making my favorite tea with mint. I am sitting on a kitchen chair and observing him.

He is insanely good-looking and cute. His eyes are telling me it’s all going to be alright. My fingers are running through his dark, wild, messy hair.

“Sorry, I thought it was you,” I say.

“Do you remember how it was when we started dating?”

“Yeah, you occasionally called me up at night. Without a word, you started playing your guitar. You sang to me. I loved it.”

Ben smiles at me as he says: “No, I mean, do you remember Julie’s stunt?”

“How can I forget?”

“I was at home with the flu, the famous night.”

“You know, I never kissed her, right?”

“Yes, Jack told me.”

“But I didn’t know what to believe. I thought you were a match made in heaven. The homecoming queen and the charming musician.”

Ben is one of the good guys, and I believe in him. It is another story with Julie.

“Julie told me you used me to get close to her. I asked her to the party because I wanted to be nice and she is your stepsister. I didn’t know she could be so calculating.”

“She has always been like that, also as a child. She accused me of stealing her favorite toys. She always wanted me to be in bad standing.”

“Did you take it?”

“No, but she can push my buttons like no one else. I am not the best version of myself around her. Once, I told her I won a spelling competition just because I wanted to see her reaction. She couldn’t stand if I got better grades than her. My mom has told me a thousand times to hold my tongue.”

“Your mom is a smart woman. She knows Julie would do anything to hurt you. Maybe, but she also thinks I should know better because my mom has always could see how painful it is for Julie when she wants something she can’t have. It tricks something in her, and she becomes this sneaky cat woman. She is a mystery to me.”

“She once told me you thought I was a jerk,” Ben says after he hands me another cup of tea.

“You know that is not true.”

“I know, but I almost believed her and her gossip.”

“I know she has been in love with you, but that’s years ago. I don’t know why she is making so much trouble now. She is cool and pretty in her own way.”

“Yeah, like an ice queen.”

“Admit, she is doing well as an influencer. She just got a contract with a big company. Julie once asked me to go to an event. She was the star. I was so proud of her.”

Julie can have any guy she wants. Why does she want to ruin my relationship with Ben?

“She is doing all right, I suppose, but we have to confront her with the picture of you.”

“What if it isn’t Julie? Then we are as bad as she is.”

“There is only one way to find out,” Ben finds his phone and dials Jack’s number.

“Hi Jack, I need you to do something for me. Yes, I have seen it. Julie is okay,” he put his arm around me.

I love the fresh smell of his cologne. I know why Ben is calling Jack. Julie has a soft spot for him, and Jack has one for me. It means the world to Julie what Jack thinks of her. Ben is right. My friend Jack is my secret weapon.

Ben is smiling when he hangs up.

“Jack has already taken care of it. He went to Julie’s house. She denied.”

“Sure she did,” I sigh.

“Jack saw Julie take that picture. He asked her to delete it, and so she did.”

“What is her price?” I know from experience that Julie always wants something in return.

“You are going to laugh. Julie asked Jack on a date.”

“And?”

“Jack agreed!”

“Great! She can be charming if she wants to. I hope they will have a good time and that she is finding what she is looking for. Julie deserves to find happiness. She is sweeter when she is happy.”

“We are all going to be okay,” says Ben and stops me with a kiss.

This story was originally published on Medium