This may take a bit to explain, so please bear with me.
With a massive student loan bill to pay each month, it became nearly impossible for me to survive on my own about a year and a half ago. Let me clarify something: I'm in a unique position of being forced to work part-time because if I work full-time, the other half of my student loans would kick in and I would be paying so much in student loans it would cripple me.
I was living with my best friend and she made me a deal two and half years ago. She wanted a new roommate because her old one wasn't paying the rent or anything because he lost his job. Sucks for him, but she gave me a deal. I pay slightly under half the rent and I didn't have to pay for utilities. At the time, she had a full-time job and was doing okay. Keep in mind, that I wasn't making very much money. This flat-rate deal was all I could afford. I told her this before I gave her a confirmation. If she couldn't afford this deal, I wouldn't move in. She insisted she could.
Three months after I moved in, she quit her job. She got two part-time jobs to try to continue to honor our arrangement. Things weren't going well for her. Three months later, just after we signed the new lease, she dropped a bomb shell: I would have to pay half the rent and utilities because it was "fair." Technically, this was true. But it meant her going back on her word to never increase the rent on me--unless the landlord increased the rent. So overnight, my expenses per month increased by $160. She waited until my name was on the lease to drop this on my lap.
I endured. I went many days without eating anything because I couldn't afford food. Despite the bills, I did enjoy living there and I loved having my roommate's company. My parents ended up having to give me money more times than I'm comfortable with in order to continuing living there, though.
Two years into living at the apartment, my parents told me they wouldn't support me anymore if I had problems paying bills. They suggested that I move into my sister's house and pay much less per month, but my sister's house was also less nice than the apartment. I didn't have much choice. I broke the news to my roommate and she wasn't happy with me.
I suggested that she could find another roommate. She said she was too old and didn't want to live with a stranger ever again. Then she told me that she would have to find a full-time job and try to make things work on her own. It wasn't the best, but I considered my part in this over. The months went by and my roommate didn't even try to find a full-time job.
Three months before I would move out, I talked to her about it to try to figure out her plans. After all, she's my best friend and I was getting worried. She told me that she talked to our landlord and she was looking into taking advantage of their transfer plan. Basically, she could find a cheaper place through them and then she wouldn't have to pay a down-payment on the new place. It sounded like she knew what she was doing, so I left it be. Still, I called my sister and asked her about my roommate moving with me. She was okay with it--kind of. She wasn't thrilled about a stranger moving into her house, but she let it slide because she was my friend.
A month before I was going to move out, I talked to her again. This time she was aggressive and angry about it. She ended up not even looking into the transfer deal. With a month left, she decided to take advantage of my sister's offer. Keep in mind that I had been planning my move and the schedule involved for the last five months. I knew what was happening and who was helping me. My roommate hadn't made any plans. A few months after I had moved in, I had once told her that I would help her move if I ever moved out. She was cashing in that favor, with some interest. She knew my dad was helping me move with his truck. She twisted my words from back then to make it seem like I would give her a MEANS to move, not just to help carry boxes--which was the original intend. Still, I didn't see a problem. I called my dad and he agreed to help. She could have just asked me to call my dad and ask him to help, she didn't need to try to manipulate me. That really didn't sit well with me.
I got started moving my things over to the new place about two weeks before the actual move date--which I wanted to reserve mainly for furniture. My roommate decided to move a week after me and she hadn't moved anything over in preparation. She got her furniture done, but not much else. We had two weeks before we needed to be out to clean the apartment.
This is where the story really starts to turn sour. So my roommate gave me a list of things that I'm responsible for cleaning in the apartment: the windows, the sliding glass balcony door, the light fixtures, the light switches, the power outlets, the baseboard heaters. A few months ago, my back went out because of complications with my scoliosis surgery. I got told by my doctor that I couldn't lift anything heavy anymore, others another back injury WOULD occur. Due to this, my roommate volunteered to do the more complicated cleaning: behind the oven and fridge. So my roommate had to clean the kitchen, dining room, and bathroom (because she wanted it done right). We each had to clean our bedrooms and we would clean the living room together.
I completed nearly all of my cleaning two weeks early, which actually included the living room. I was going back to put the finishing touches on my cleaning. Before I went over, my roommate asked me to clean the shower because she wasn't sure if she would have time. Keep in mind that this was the day before our inspection. The cleaning had to be done that day. When I got to the apartment, I found she hadn't even started cleaning. She was still moving out. And in doing so, she made the living room dirty again. So I finished off my cleaning, cleaned the living room again, and I ended up doing the entire bathroom. My roommate also asked me to help her clean some of the kitchen and the dining room. After that, she only had to finish cleaning the fridge, counters, vacuum the dining room, and clean out a bit of mess that was still in the dining room closets. For good measure, I even vacuumed my roommate's room for her. I figured she was nearly done and I already helped her out a lot. I was exhausted, so I left.
About a half an hour after I left, a friend of mine--and also my roommate's--got a call from her, asking him to come over and help her clean. I know this because I was talking to him over Steam when he got her call. Curious, I called my roommate to ask her what was happening that she needed help. These were her words, "Cleaning the kitchen is the hardest room to clean in the apartment, so yes I need help. I know you thought you did your fair share, so that's why you left, but..."
Let me clarify something: our kitchen isn't a full kitchen. It was basically a kitchenette in a cave. There was about 6-8 square feet of walking space. It wasn't a big kitchen. That "but" implied that she thought I had done [tornado fang] all. That was the straw. I seethed and fumed for hours. I had done all the legwork for the move. I put in all the effort. She didn't even try to find another roommate, another job, or another apartment. She didn't even finish moving until the day before the inspection. I ended up doing most of her cleaning duties, and I didn't help her enough? I didn't put in my fair share, let alone most of the work into cleaning? Are you kidding me?
That's not even the end of the story. I wish it was, but it's not. Ever since we moved here, she's been picking fights with my sister, complaining about everything--most of her complaints I found solutions for--and being frustrated over tiny things. Now my sister doesn't like my roommate and wants her out and I feel like I'm going to end up needing to pick a side. This house isn't perfect, but I got stuck here. My roommate had options. She doesn't have a crushing debt hanging over her. She can have a full-time job without any worries. She has told me that it is MY fault that she's living here now. If I would have stayed in the apartment, everything would be fine. I tried multiple times to clarify to her that isn't true. Everything would have been fine for her, but terrible for me. She's called me selfish and immature, while she acts like a brat having a temper tantrum. Keep in mind, she still can and is going to move out in a few months. I just don't know what to do...