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

18 - Start of the Breakdown

^^Above, chapter title credit: Song by Tears for Fears.^^

{Raina}

"So Geoff Cromwell is your boyfriend?" Felicia asks with a sly look in her eye.

"Yes," I say warily. Watching her kiss him with the freedom of a girl who knows exactly what she's doing sends a twinge of jealousy up my nerves. And I don't want to admit it, but with her looks and her obvious experience in seducing guys makes the feeling stronger. "Why do you ask?"

"I was only wondering how the Red Knight managed to snap up a pretty little thing like you." She gives me a wry wink.

I bristle. "Are you saying I'm not his type?"

"It's not you, it's him. He'll screw anything, if it's wearing a skirt."

"Shut up," I snap, trying not to let that comment get to me. "You don't know anything about my relationship with him."

"I may not know, Raina." She bars my path, so that I run into her. She catches me before I fall, but only to run one finger down my sternum. It stops right where my dress starts. "But I see it. Once he gets what he wants from you, he'll move on. Mark my words."

"Stop it." My words stick on the way out, and I feel hot tears rushing to my eyes. "Geoff loves me. I know it."

"For now," she whispers in my ear, her breath hot against my skin.

Just then, there's a thunderous crash, making the floor shudder and the lights flicker. The noise from the party nearby stops, and when it happens again, I hear cries of panic. Then, completely without warning, the sprinklers go on, drenching us to the skin in seconds. That's followed by a metallic bang and a thud, like somebody being thrown into a sheet of metal.

A few seconds of silence pass before the fire alarm goes off, and the doors to the ballroom burst open. The fraternity guys come flooding out, and all but Jake and Damon, the guy who drove us here, make a break for the exit.

"What the hell is going on?" Jake yells over the blaring of the alarm, wet hair plastered to his forehead. He looks scared, which means he has as good of an idea of that answer as anyone else.

"Ridley!" I shout back, and he seems to understand exactly what that means.

"C'mon! Let's get outta here!" He grabs my hand, and I see Damon grab Felicia, and we sprint towards the front doors.

A loud whoomph comes from behind, and a second later I feel a heat wave push us forward and down, tumbling out the front doors and onto the circular driveway. I roll over just in time to see the entire country club go up in flames, all the windows shattering outward and showering us with glass.

I don't know how long it takes for the police, the fire department, and the ambulances to arrive, but somehow I find myself sitting in the back of an ambulance, an EMT dressing the long deep cut on my shoulder. Through the haze of smoke and flashing lights, I see Geoff limping around, his eyes swinging back and forth. He's looking for me.

"Geoff!" I cry, and his gaze snaps to mine. He hobbles towards me, and a second later he's wrapping me tightly in his arms, his body shaking. I throw mine around his middle, burying my face in his tattered shirt. He kisses the top of my head, and then rests his chin there.

"Oh my God, Raina," he says, his voice hoarse. "I thought...when the place blew..."

"It's okay, Geoff." I breathe him in — smoke, beer, singed hair — and a wave of relief washes over me. "I'm okay."

He holds me tightly, until the EMT comes back and tells him to be careful, or I'll tear open my cut again. I feel Geoff nod before burying his nose in my hair, cupping the back of my head.