I asked for rent and suddenly I was the difficult one

#Situations

This started in a two bedroom rental in Denver, and somehow everyone became an expert on lease law.

This started when a room switch was promised then denied. I tried to keep it normal and failed. I was dealing with the roommate recovering from job loss when food kept disappearing. An empty container sat washed in the rack. The whole thing would be easier if I did not also kind of want them embarrassed.

I thought I was protecting my budget without shaming hunger. That was what I told myself, anyway. They replaced some items with cheaper versions. We stopped sharing basic groceries. Now the lease feels like a scoreboard, and a parent is on the way over. I marked containers with dates.

Maybe I am using this to justify myself. Scarcity makes ordinary ambiguity feel intentional.