Page 28 of Rule Breakers Fall Hardest

Rubbing at my jaw, I force myself to look up at her again. “Can you at least let me in so I can talk to her?”

Bertie tucks a piece of hair behind her ear and shrugs. “She’s not answering me, so I’m not sure she’s even here.”

“Bertie, please?—”

“You can come up with me,” she snaps. “But only because you look so pathetic.”

“Gee, thanks.”

When she walks away, I haul myself up and jog after her, following close in case she changes her mind.

She doesn’t speak to me again until we reach their dorm. She turns, standing with her back to the door, and says, “If you’re not nice to her, I will drag you out of this room by your ear. You got me?”

I may be a foot taller than the girl and weigh a hell of a lot more, but I don’t doubt her for a second.

“Got it.”

She unlocks the door and lets me in first. I half expect her to kick me in the back of the knee just so she can laugh as I flail.

The main room is dark and eerily quiet.

I shuffle to Rosie’s bedroom door and knock. When she doesn’t answer, I ease it open.

She’s not here.

I flick on the overhead light and curse at the bags covering every surface of her bedroom area.

“What the hell?” I mutter, taking it all in.

I clear enough space on her bed to sit and wait.

Bertie appears in the doorway and scans the room. “I told you she might not be here. And apparently she went on a bit of a shopping spree. She tends to do that when she’s feeling down.”

I swallow thickly at that. Rosie was never like most of the girls we grew up with. So many of them were all too eager to spend Mommy and Daddy’s money every chance they got. Rosie rarely asked for anything, but once in a while, she’d go on a shopping spree. That’s when I’d know something had happened. Usually her mom had commented on her weight.

I fucking hate that I might have made her feel the same way that shit does.

“If it’s okay, I’ll wait here for her.”

She shrugs. “Suit yourself.”

I settle in, determined not to leave until we talk. It’s probably foolish of me to stay, but if I went home, I’d be sitting around stewing too. At least this way I have a chance of seeing her.

I sit in that small patch of space for a long time, but eventually, I clear off her bed and make myself comfortable.

I swear I only close my eyes for a minute, but I’m startled by an ear-piercing scream. I jackknife up at the sound, my heart beating rapidly.

“What the hell?” Rosie is standing in the middle of her room with a hand pressed to her heart. She’s damp with sweat and dressed in workout clothes, earbuds still in her ears.

I stifle a yawn. “I was waiting for you.”

“Clearly.” She pulls out her desk chair and sits to take off her tennis shoes. “What for?” she grits out, keeping her focus fixed on her shoes rather than looking at me.

I rub the back of my head and pat down my hair. “I’m sure you’ve seen the video by now.”

She stiffens. “I already knew you hated me. I didn’t need a video to tell me that.”

My heart jerks in my chest at the hurt in her tone. Jaw clenched, I take a deep breath through my nose. “I wanted to apologize.”

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