Serenity Wheeler was at her best friend's birthday party and she was having the time of her life. She danced, chatted and joked with everyone. She also met a lot of new people. And - like every other teenage girl – she forgot she should be home at 9 p.m. and stayed long after that. It was almost midnight when she found out her mistake.

'That was a nice party, Chris, but I have to go now. My brother will get berserk; I was supposed to be home four hours ago.' she said to her friend.

'Ok, hun, see you at school. And don't let your brother be the boss, you have the right to have fun sometimes.' her friend said.

Serenity giggled, although she knew she would later regret it.

'Try telling that to him.' she said.

She said goodbye and, after declining a few offers from boys to escort her home, left. She headed home quickly, afraid her brother would be really pissed off because of her lateness. Luckily, her home wasn't far away, so she reached it in about ten minutes.

She entered quietly. The hallway, kitchen and living room were dark. With some luck, Joey would be out or in his room sleeping …

'Hello, sis.'

… or waiting for her in the dark.

There was a click and the lights were turned on. Serenity exclaimed surprised and a little scared. Her brother's face was stern and his arms were crossed.

'Do you know what time is it?' he asked, seemingly calm.

'Joey, I know I am a little late, but I was really having fun at the party and forgot about the time.' Serenity apologized. She knew her apologies were in vain though.

'Do you know that while you were 'having fun' I was sitting here worried about you? God, Serenity, do you know what went through my head?' Joey asked raising his voice.

'Joey, I'm sorry. I promise I won't let it happen again.' Serenity said quickly, trying to calm her brother down.

'I'll make sure you don't.' he asked.

Something in his tone made Serenity flinch.

'Were there any boys at the party?' he asked suddenly.

Serenity hesitated.

'Well, there were a couple.' she said quietly.

'So, you've been partying with a horde of drunken boys until midnight?' Joey asked.

'Joey, there were only two-three boys there and they weren't drunk.' Serenity retorted.

'That doesn't matter; you're too young for boys.' Joey replied.

'Too young? Joey, I'm seventeen years old. I'll be eighteen this year.' Serenity said, getting angry.

'Look, sis, I'm supposed to take care of you, so when I say you're too young, that means you are, got it? You don't know how dangerous some guys are. And I heard that last week you went out with Kevin Warner.'

'Who told you?' Serenity asked.

'I have my sources.' Joey replied.

Serenity sighed. She knew what this meant. It meant 'I've sent my friends to spy on you.'

'Yes, Kevin and I went out, but nothing happened. We only had one so-called date in which we just talked.' She said.

'Well then, I guess you won't feel bad for never seeing him again.'

This made Serenity angry. Not because of Kevin, she didn't like him at all, but because of the control her brother wanted to have over her life. It wasn't fair, she was almost an adult and she could make decisions on her own. True, she wanted her brother to be beside her, to give her advice and support. But Joey had gone too far. Angry, Serenity stomped to her room.

She lay on her bed; her head was buried in the pillow. She was crying. It was all too much for her – she didn't want anyone, especially her brother, treating her like a baby. She didn't want to see him or his friends every time she went out, she didn't want him calling her every five minutes to ask her where she was and whether there were boys around her, she wanted to live. She had tried to talk with her brother and to tell him that, but all her efforts backfired – Joey thought she was hiding something and his obsession grew even more.

Serenity woke up on the next morning, still in a depressed mood. She went in the kitchen and saw a note lying on the table. It was from Joey. After reading it, Serenity screamed angrily and crumpled the piece of paper. Joey had left for work, taking her keys too, so now she was locked in her own home. She could leave through the windows, but she knew that Joey would call her on the phone regularly to check if she was really home.

Serenity sighed. Tears began to form in her eyes. She felt like a prisoner, like a hostage. She was so angry at her brother, he had betrayed her, he … he had to pay. A plan began to grow in her head. She obeyed her brother's rules so far, but he wasn't satisfied, so what was the point? She would become a rebel; she would no longer do what he told her. No, that wasn't enough; she needed something that would really hurt him. And suddenly, an idea came to her. She smiled, but not like she usually smiled – happily and carefree. Now her smile was evil, almost cruel.

When Joey came back from work in the evening, he found his sister was calm. She had made dinner for both of them. That calmed him down – he was afraid he had gone too far with locking her up.

'How did your day go, Joey?' Serenity asked cheerfully.

'It was ok. And yours?' Joey asked.

'Yeah, it was good – did some housework.' She replied.

They ate in silence, but not the heavy, suffocating silence, but the comfortable silence of a family moment.

'Serenity, I see you have learned your lesson, so I won't lock you up tomorrow, ok? But if you come back late once more, I will not hesitate to do it again. Do you understand?' Joey asked after dinner.

Serenity nodded. Joey got up and went in the living room Serenity stayed in the kitchen to tidy up. The evil, cruel smile appeared on her face again. Luckily for her Joey couldn't see it, or else he would have locked her up for the next month.