None of that counted as his expense.
Claire paid the bills herself because she did not want to start a fight just before New Year’s.
Now that compromise seemed almost ridiculous.
She had worked so hard to avoid one major conflict that she had accumulated hundreds of smaller resentments instead.
But that day, the old arrangement ended.
“You’re really packing my things?” Ryan asked from the bedroom doorway.
The mocking smile had vanished from his face.
“That’s exactly what I’m doing.”
“Because I fixed the car?”
“Because you took money that was meant for groceries.”
“I didn’t take anything! We live together! What do you mean, your money and my money?”
Claire placed several pairs of socks into the suitcase.
“That’s an interesting rule. When you spend your paycheck on your car, workouts, and entertainment, it’s entirely yours. But when you take money from me, it suddenly becomes ours.”
“The car is useful to both of us!”
“Is it? When was the last time you drove me anywhere? Three months ago? You drive to your brother’s place and meet your friends every weekend.”
“Who I drive has nothing to do with it. A car is property!”
“Exactly. Your property. So you should pay to maintain it.”
Ryan stepped farther into the bedroom.
“Do you even hear yourself? I’ve lived here for an entire year!”
“And?”
“What do you mean, ‘and’? This is my home too!”
Claire stopped folding clothes and turned toward him.
“No, Ryan. This apartment belongs to me.”
“On paper, sure. But we lived here together. We made a life here together!”
“What exactly did you contribute?”
“A lot!”
“Name one thing.”
Ryan hesitated.
“Well… the television, for example.”
“I bought that two years before we met.”
“I connected my game console to it!”
Claire almost laughed.
“An enormous contribution.”
“And we chose the sofa together!”
“Ryan, that sofa had been in my living room for a year before you ever sat on it.”
“How am I supposed to remember all those dates?”
“There’s not much to remember. You arrived with two suitcases and nothing else.”
Ryan yanked open the neighboring closet door.
“Fine. Since you’ve decided to throw me out, I’ll take half the property.”
Claire stared at him.
“What property?”
“Everything in here. The furniture, the appliances. We lived together, so everything we acquired is shared!”
“We aren’t even married.”
“So what? I contributed too!”
“To what?”
“Practically everything!”
By then, he was furious.
Ryan walked into the living room, stopped beside the television, and pointed at it.
“I’m taking this TV.”
“You’re not.”
“Then I’ll take the toaster, the coffee maker, and the vacuum.”
“You didn’t buy any of those things.”
“Try proving that.”
Claire slowly straightened.
Until that moment, she had felt mostly exhausted and angry.
Now something colder appeared—an unpleasant, profound disgust.
The man standing in front of her had been given a place to live without paying rent. She had fed him and supported him. For months, he had refused to contribute even to water or electricity.
Now he was seriously trying to divide property that had belonged to her long before they met.
“Do you hear yourself?” Claire finally shouted. “You came here with two suitcases full of clothes and moved into a completely furnished apartment! You had nothing! I bought everything in this place. While we lived together, I spent an enormous amount of money feeding you and providing for you. And now you’re pretending that all of this was purchased with your money?”
Ryan flinched at the force of her voice.
“Don’t yell at me!”
“I’ll yell if you refuse to understand normal speech!”
“I brought money into this home too!”
“What money?”
“I bought groceries!”
“Occasionally. And usually after I asked you several times.”
“I paid for the internet!”
“Three times in an entire year!”
“I bought household supplies!”
“You mean the one box of detergent you brought home in November?”
“You’re just greedy!” Ryan shouted. “Do you keep track of every bite I eat?”
“No. I’m keeping track of a year of my life during which you enjoyed everything I provided and acted as though your presence was some enormous favor to me.”
Ryan strode to the cabinet beneath the television and grabbed the toaster.
“Then I’m definitely taking this.”
Claire reached him and pulled it from his hands.
“Put it back.”
“Get your hands off me!”
“Put my property back.”
“Stop calling it yours! I use that toaster too!”
“I use the elevator in this building. Does that mean I can take it home with me?”
Ryan threw the toaster back onto the cabinet.
“You’re a bitch!”
“Excellent. Now you have one more reason to pack quickly.”
Claire returned to the bedroom.
The first suitcase was nearly full, so she took out the second one—the dark gray suitcase with the scratched wheel. Ryan had brought it with him, excited about beginning a new chapter of his life.
Now she filled it with his tracksuits, hoodies, sneakers, and the clothes still hanging in the closet.
Ryan followed her from room to room, protesting without pause.
First he demanded that they discuss the situation calmly.