The Rules We Break

THE RULES WE BREAK ALLIE EVERHART CONTENTS Chapter 1 Darcy Chapter 2 Theo Chapter 3 Theo Chapter 4 Darcy Chapter 5 Darcy Chapter 6 Theo Chapter 7 Darcy Chapter 8 Theo Chapter 9 Darcy Chapter 10 Theo Chapter 11 Theo Chapter 12 Darcy Chapter 13 Darcy Chapter 14 Theo Chapter 15 Darcy Chapter 16 Theo Chapter 17 Theo Chapter 18 Darcy Chapter 19 Theo Chapter 20 Theo Chapter 21 Darcy Chapter 22 Theo Chapter 23 Darcy Chapter 24 Theo Chapter 25 Theo Chapter 26 Theo Also by Allie Everhart Books by Kai Juniper The Rules We Break By Allie Everhart Copyright © 2023 Allie Everhart All rights reserved. Published by Waltham Publishing, LLC Cover Designed by Marisa Wesley of Cover Me Darling This book is a work of fiction. The characters, things, and events are fictitious, and any similarities to real persons (live or dead), things, or events are coincidental and not intended by the author. Brand names of products mentioned in this book are used for reference only and the author acknowledges that any trademarks and product names are the property of their respective owners. The author holds exclusive rights to this work and unauthorized duplication is prohibited. No part of this book is to be reproduced in any form without written permission from the author. CHAPTER ONE DARCY “What was that noise?” I ask, jumping up from the couch. Theo walks up behind it and reaches behind the cushion. He pulls out a half-eaten bag of potato chips and smiles. “I was looking for these.” He opens the bag and digs his hand into it, pulling out a handful of chips. “You crushed them.” “Because they were in the couch!” I march over to him. “I can’t live this way.” “What way?” he asks, stuffing the chips in his mouth. “This!” I motion to the living room, which is littered with empty pizza boxes, soda bottles, chip bags, and who knows what else? I’m afraid to look too closely, fearing what I’ll find. “It’s disgusting! I can’t live like this.” “Yeah, okay,” he says, walking to the kitchen. “I’ll work on it.” “What does that mean?” I follow him to the fridge. “That you’ll clean up the mess?” He shrugs as he opens the fridge and takes out a bottle of soda. “It means I’ll work on it. I’ll try not to leave chips on the couch.” I watch as he walks back to the living room with the chips and soda. He sits down on the couch and turns on the TV. Taking a deep breath, I try to remain calm. The guy is driving me crazy. And I’ve only lived with him for three days! How am I going to survive an entire semester? Storming over to the couch, I grab the remote from Theo, turn off the TV, and stand in front of him. “Hey! I was watching that!” “You weren’t watching it. You just turned it on.” “I want to see the sports highlights. I missed the game last night.” Taking another deep breath, I sit down beside him and calmly say, “Theo, we need to talk.” “About what?” He takes a drink of his soda. “Our living arrangement.” “What about it?” he asks, leaning back and putting his arm up along the back of the couch. “If we’re going to be roommates, you need to clean up after yourself.” “I just told you I’d try to stop leaving chips on the couch.” “Yes, but it’s more than that.” I pick up an empty soda bottle from the floor. “Like this bottle. Could you throw it away instead of leaving it on the floor?” “That’s not mine. It’s Colton’s.” My mind drifts to Colton, the blond-haired hottie I’ve been obsessing over since last year when I sat behind him in Freshman English. I didn’t have the confidence to talk to him back then, but now, halfway through my sophomore year, my confidence has grown, along with my crush on Colton. Now that I’m living with Theo, who happens to be one of Colton’s best friends, I might actually have a chance with him. Colton’s over here all the time, which is one of the reasons I agreed to live with Theo. That, and because I had no other options. When my former roommate Avery ditched me to live with her boyfriend Wes, I decided it was time to move out of the dorms and live off campus. But finding a place in the middle of the year is nearly impossible. Wes suggested I live here and rent out his room since he was moving in with Avery. He assured me Theo was a great roommate. Great roommate? Not even close. Wes either overlooked all of Theo’s annoying traits or he lied to get me to move in. “Are we done?” Theo asks. “No.” I set the soda bottle on the coffee table and turn to Theo. “Can you explain something to me?” “What?” “Why didn’t it look like this when Wes lived here? When Avery and I would come over, there weren’t chip bags in the couch or soda bottles on the floor.” “Wes is kind of a neat freak. Not like he cleaned all the time, but he’d pick up the place.” “Okay, but I’m not going to do that. I’m not picking up after you.” He shrugs. “I don’t expect you to.” “Which means I need you to do it. You need to pick up after yourself.” “I said I’d try.” He holds his hand out. “Now can I have the remote?” “You need to do more than try. I can’t live like this.” I get up and walk over to the chair next to the couch. “Your socks have been on this chair since I moved in.” “I’ll pick them up when I do laundry.” “Theo, you’re not getting it. We share this room. I can’t even use it when your dirty clothes are everywhere.” I look down and notice his