"I've known you since college. We moved in together in a house that I bought, with you promising to pay for half of the mortgage and half of the utilities. I've been paying everything, feeding you, keeping the roof over our heads and you're telling me that I'm stressing you out?" I looked over the table at Bella, anger bubbling to the surface with everything that's happened.

"Well, i've been helping my mom pay the bills at her house so they can keep the house. You haven't really made it easy to live with you." Bella looks down at the table. "Like, come on Melissa, you don't even do your dishes right away."

I look at Bella and look around the kitchen. "You realize that cleaning the kitchen and doing the 5 dishes in the sink is the first thing you've actually done for the house, right? I've taken care of everything with you not keeping your promises to me." I glare at her, feeling everything from the last 5 months coming out, finally. "You didn't have to move in with me. I can take care of the house myself."

Bella looks up at me with that, her eyes seething with something. "I didn't ASK to move in. I didn't ASK you to pay all the bills. I have to drive an hour to work and an hour back. Gas is expensive." she pauses to wipe a tear from her cheek, but I'm not going to let her continue.

"You DID ask to move in. You kept PROMISING to pay half the bills. I even offered to lower them because I know that gas is espensive. Hell, i've offered to pay your damn gas bill so you can get to work each day!" I'm yelling at this point, standing from my chair with both hands on the table between us.

"Well you haven't made it EASY!" She yells back at me. "You think I want to keep breaking my promises with you? I can't talk to you anymore about what i'm feeling without feeling guilty over not paying you back and for you paying for everything. I feel like you're holding it over my head!" Bella sinks back into her chair again.

I'm not going to give her sympathy for feeling guilty about something she should have told me about. I could have helped. "I make you feel guilty without ever bringing it up that i've been paying for everything. I only have asked you for rent twice since you've moved in. That was AFTER giving you 3 months of free rides from me. You don't think i'm not exhausted from working all the time while you give everything to your parents and spend more time there than you do here?" Bella looks back up at me again. "I don't think I can do this anymore."

Bella's eyes say she's breaking inside. "I have felt like i've wanted to die since i've moved in here." As that bomb settles beside us, I take a deep breath.

"Then leave." I pause, taking a breath. "If you feel like you have wanted to die since you got here, leave. I'm not going to force you to stay. But this is it. I'm done with the emotional abuse from you. Get your shit. Get out of my house." I glare at her longer, until she gets up from the table and goes back to her room on the other end of the house.

I grab my cat and go back to my room, feeling the tears welling up in my eyes at the loss of a friend i've known for 4 years. How did this happen? Am I really to blame for this? I was there for her when her boyfriend broke up with her, when we spent endless nights up partying. What happened?

I get a text from Bella but choose to ignore it. I don't want to talk to anyone right now. I pet my cat, cuddling him close to my chest, his fur tickling my nose as he purrs and nuzzles deeper into my arms. After what feels like hours, I pull out my phone. I look at the message from Bella.

Bella: Im sorry. I can't do this anymore. I won't be a prisoner in your house. We can still be friends, but I just can't live with you. I'm leaving for my parent's house now. I'll let you know when I get there.

I breathe out a sigh, feeling the burden of caring for two adults on my small paycheck slip from me. I didn't know how stressed i've been from this. Bella had been trying to get me to stay home more, instead of visiting my Mom even though she was at her parent's house every night. She wanted me to not let anyone into the house she didn't approve of. The one time I had asked to bring one of my other friends over she agreed, then hid in the bathroom until he left, telling me that I shouldn't have brought him over because he made her uncomfortable in "her" house. Now she's telling me she wants to die while living here, throwing that at me like I should be in control of her emotions.

Thinking back over everything in the last 5 months makes me realize something. This was such a toxic friendship. She's been making me feel bad about things that I have no way of controlling. She says yes, then changes her mind about things all the time, saying I never asked her and she's not comfortable with my choices. I feel tears well in my eyes. I will Never let someone control me like this again. Bella will never have a say over how I live my life again. I quickly open her contact in my phone and think about blocking her. No. I need to wait until she moves out. Then I can block her. I set the phone back down and keep cuddling with my cat, hoping that this never happens again.