An Education on Loyal Revenge

Sixteen words. That was all it took for Scott Thompson to shatter my best friend’s life. He thought he could discard her and walk away unscathed. He thought his varsity jacket and golden-boy reputation made him untouchable. He was wrong.

I don’t slash tires. I don’t key cars. I dismantle worlds.

My weapon of choice isn’t a rumor or a prank. It is David Evans.

David is Scott’s father. He is also my English teacher. A man of literature and lonely routines, he hides behind a professional veneer and a vintage watch. He is older, guarded, and strictly off-limits. He is the perfect instrument for my retaliation.

The plan was precise: Seduce the teacher. Make him fall. Then leave him devastatingly broken to hurt his son.

But I didn’t account for the man beneath the title. I didn’t account for the way his hands would tremble when he touched me, or the terrifying reality that he understands me better than anyone else.

I went to his apartment to destroy his son’s happiness. I stayed because I found my own.

Now, the trap I set has snapped shut on us both. The school board is watching, the evidence is gathering, and the line between justice and destruction has dissolved. I wanted to burn Scott’s world to the ground, but I never intended to catch fire with the man I was supposed to destroy.

29,781 words. PDF page count: 125