“Hi, Mr. McCarthy, this is Andrew and I’m calling because I found a check in your name?  I recognized your name because I’m friends with your daughter,” Cole said enthusiastically.  The man hadn’t answered but he figured leaving a message was good enough.  “I saw that it wasn’t made out to Kelsey but her boyfriend.  I just really wanted to let you know that you really shouldn’t trust him before I head over there and give it to her.  Hopefully next time he won’t lose something like this!”  Cole made sure to throw in a chuckle and tried his best to smile.

“Anyways, thanks for your time!  Call me back if you need to talk to me.”  With that, he hung up the phone and tossed it to the bed.  The smile on his face quickly diminished.  No amount of smiling could ever make him feel any better.  Brent had made a fool out of him and Kelsey had believed him.  She was just as bad.

She knew he had been at that pool party with Cole.  There were plenty of people to verify it.  She was well aware of their cuddling and kissing.  And yet, she’d taken him back.  Cole wasn’t sure which of the two had less self-respect; the girl who knew her boyfriend had cheated on her and she decided to stay or the boy who’d been in love with him but had gone back to a girl who’d called Cole such horrible things?

Screw them both.

Quite proud of his plan, Cole climbed onto his bed and scrolled through his contacts.  He didn’t feel like 50 Cent and White Trash – both nicknames for Paul and Naomi, respectively – would be as enthusiastic about his method of revenge.  Upon scrolling through once more, he stopped on Noah’s name.  The guy would definitely enjoy hearing about this.  He hated Brent just as much.  Cole pressed his name and waited for the dial.

“Hello?”

“Hey, what’s up?” Cole asked.  He rolled onto his stomach and played with his blanket without much intent.

“Nothing.  What do you want, man?”

“Jeez, Mr. Straight To The Point.  I just wanted to tell you how amazing my plan is.”

“What plan?”  Noah’s disinterest was audible.

“My plan to ruin Brent’s life.”

“Didn’t you already trash his apartment?  Breaking plates and shit wasn’t enough for you?”

“Noah, you don’t know what he did –,”

“Cole, I don’t care.  Whatever he did, you probably deserved it.  You broke his laptop.  You stormed in and started breaking shit because you were angry.”

“He was cheating on me with Kelsey!  And then he pretended like I gave him the check, and I didn’t.  He hurt me, Noah.  He told me he cared about me.  He almost said he loved me.  Do you get that?”  This conversation wasn’t going the way Cole had intended it at all.

“Dude, you screwed me over.  You don’t get to call me and complain about another guy.  You don’t.  So stop calling me about this bullshit.  Stop calling me period, man.  I’m done with your drama.  Enjoy your summer.”  Noah hung up the phone.  Dumbstruck, Cole almost pressed the call button again.

He sat in silence for a moment.  He hadn’t even gotten to explain that he knew Kelsey’s dad didn’t want her finding out about the money.  He didn’t get the chance to take pleasure in his carefully thought out bait.  The bit about giving her the money soon was just a way to get the man to call him back as soon as possible.  He was going to pry the information out of her father.  Nothing would stop him from figuring out why Brent was getting that much money and clearing his own name.

Yet Brent had managed to ruin another aspect of Cole’s life.  He ruined his relationship with Noah for good.  Noah wouldn’t even talk to him anymore because of Brent and Kelsey.  Gritting his teeth, he tried to feel good about what he’d done with her phone.  The hunk of plastic was resting at the bottom of the lake a few miles away from her apartment.

Eventually Cole found himself waking from an impromptu nap.  His phone buzzed eagerly.  It was Mr. McCarthy.  Cole knew it was only a matter of time before he could rain hellfire on Brent and Kelsey’s lives.