When I moved in, the landlord said Milly was already living there and they just needed another roommate. I was happy\u2014I didn\u2019t want to live alone, and splitting bills sounded great.<\/p>\n
Milly was sweet and friendly\u2014asked about my day, remembered details, we watched movies. But she never brought anything basic\u2014no toilet paper, dish soap, or shampoo. I\u2019d buy them, and she\u2019d use them up fast. She\u2019d promise to buy replacements \u201cnext time,\u201d but never did.<\/p>\n
Then rent came. She was always late: first month, she was three days late and asked me to cover her. I did. Next week passed without a payment. She apologized, said she\u2019d pay next week\u2014but never did. Meanwhile, dishes piled up, trash overflowed, the bathroom was a mess. I cleaned; it went right back to chaos.<\/p>\n
I tried talking to her. She agreed to make a chores system and pay rent, promising she\u2019d improve\u2014but nothing changed. Then, when the lease switched to month-to-month, she disappeared. No calls. Her stuff was still there. We learned she\u2019d moved in with her boyfriend. Meanwhile, I covered both halves of the rent\u2014for May and June.<\/p>\n
I messaged her endlessly, but she just read my texts without replying. Then her mom texted, saying Milly needed time to sort things out\u2014I was done being generous. I gave her until July\u202f1 to respond. She didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
So I packed her stuff: I kept anything valuable and donated the rest. I called the landlord, who agreed to change the locks since she was off the lease. I felt relieved\u2014until three days later, Milly banged on the door, screaming that she \u201clives here.\u201d I calmly explained she\u2019d ghosted, didn\u2019t pay, and was off the lease. She burst into tears, desperate for a shower and her clothes.<\/p>\n
I told her her things were in a closet; the rest was donated. Then she realized her grandmother\u2019s wedding dress was gone. I hadn\u2019t known anything was special\u2014it was in an unmarked box. She screamed, threatened me, called me names, but had no case. She had no keys, no lease, and nothing she could do.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"