Red Alert/Red Notice (The "Super Jerk" Prequel)

12 - Bizarre Love Triangle

^^Above, chapter title credit: Song by New Order.^^

{Raina}

My boyfriend's rich. I never thought I'd be saying it, or even admitting it. But here he is, with a wait staff and a chauffeur, a house that's all metal, white carpet, and glass, and multiple guest rooms. Mine is two doors down from his, close enough that we can get to each other if there's an emergency, but not so close that people start getting weird ideas. It's made up like a hotel room, with the curtains pulled back from the window and boasting a view of Cornell University, the bed piled with pillows, and my own bathroom. At least I don't have to worry about the questions concerning my scars just yet. That's a small worry, however, compared with all the other invisible standards I have to live up to.

I have to change quickly into nicer clothes — El was happy to lend me some, thankfully — and hurry out into the hallway before Geoff gets there. I need some time to gather my thoughts, considering I'm still trying to get used to all of this. His dad seemed nice enough, but there was something about him that told me he already knew we weren't going to get along. El told me before I'd left that unless he started grilling me about every tiny thing in my life, I could fool him into thinking I was better connected than I actually was. Her words are bracing, but not strong enough to hold me for an entire weekend.

"Raina?" Geoff's voice comes from behind me, and I spin around just in time to see him approaching me. He seems so comfortable in this environment, carrying himself in a self-assured kind of way.

"Hey, Geoff." I want to hide my nervousness, but he seems to notice it right away.

"Don't worry about Dad," he says, and I hear the same forced-lightness that his dad used on me. "It's kind of tough love with him but–"

"It's okay," I say quickly, and his brow furrows. "I know your dad doesn't like me."

"Where'd you get that idea?" His eyebrows go up, but there's a guilt in his eyes that tells me he knew that already.

"The way he looked at me in the front hall when we came in. And how he forced politeness, even though I knew he wanted to tell me off right then. I'm more perceptive than you think, you know."

"Yeah," Geoff says through a sigh, scrubbing one hand through his hair and looking away. "Just...don't let him get to you, okay? If you don't let him past your defenses, you should be fine."

"Thanks, Geoff." I catch his hand and give it a squeeze, but let go just as quickly when my ears get hot. He knows his family much better than I do, and miraculously enough, I trust him too. That's a first, for someone I've just met.

We don't have much of a chance to speak after that. Dinner is long and uncomfortable, Geoff and his dad both trying to make conversation with me but not speaking to each other. Geoff keeps shooting cryptic glances at me, and frankly, I'm grateful for the moment we get up and leave the table.

Just as I'm about to settle in for the night, however, Geoff intercepts me again, making sure I can't get past him this time. The expression on his face, however, is what keeps me from it.

"What's wrong, Geoff?" I ask quietly, considering we're right at the top of the stairs and there's always a possibility of someone overhearing.

"Matt's not talking to me," he says, rubbing the back of his head and furrowing his brow.

I shake my head. That's an odd thing for him to say. "Well, of course he's not, we're on break now..."

"I mean before that. We had a fight, sort of." He drops his hand, shoving it into his pocket instead. "Right before the break started."