Iris shut the door behind her into the little studio apartment that she shared with Theo, her boyfriend of two years. She had already stepped out of her work shoes and was slipping out of her lab coat.
"Hey," Theo said flatly without looking up at her. He was lying down on the bed in front of the TV, his fingers snapping at the controller in his hands. Next to him on the bed was a container that she had filled with leftovers from last night's dinner. It was empty now, but it looked like he couldn't have bothered to put it away.
"Hi, babe. How was your day?" Iris kept her voice cool and even.
"So fucking hot," he complained. "This air conditioner is shit."
Iris said nothing. It was a studio, so the apartment had no dividing walls, save for the bathroom and her one closet. There was an island that split the rest of her room from the kitchen. All that she had was basically a bed, a desk, a TV, and an air conditioner she had bought used. She was 24 years old and recently graduated and had been fortunate enough to be hired as a research assistant. It wasn't much, but it was something, and she still had student debt to pay off.
Theo, on the other hand, had even less. He was around the same age and had been juggling three part-time jobs when they first met two years ago. Now, he was "between jobs" (read: unemployed) and had been so since Iris had asked, out of kindness and love, if he would like to move in with her a year ago. She had offered to waive rent for the first couple of months until he got settled. She understood he wasn't in the best family situation, and she wouldn't have even cared if he didn't make much-- but she felt taken advantage of at this point.
Iris paid all of the rent, bought all of the groceries, and did all of the cleaning. Theo might help out once every two weeks or so. She was starting to grow resentful after having had a whole year gone by in this way.
And she noticed he hadn't even asked about her day yet. She had just returned from a long work day, and he was complaining about how hot it had been and how shitty the air conditioner he didn't pay for was while he stayed at home playing games.
With her lab coat hung over one arm, she walked the couple steps to the kitchen. What she saw made her stop dead in her tracks.
All the dirty dishes from last night remained piled in the sink, untouched save for an additional bowl or a cup or two that Theo must have used during the day while she was gone.
Since she had cooked dinner the night before, she had asked Theo to do the dishes, which he had sullenly agreed to do. That had been last night. Now, it was 7 PM of the next day. Theo had had well over 12 hours to do whatever he needed or wanted to do and to just get. The dishes. Done.
The worst of it was, this was not the first time something like this had happened.
Iris took a deep, calming breath and turned back to the bed.
"Theo. We need to talk."
"Give me a couple minutes. Thirty. I'm in the middle of fighting this boss."
"Theo, no. You actually have to leave right now. I'm sorry. I don't think I want to be with you anymore."
Theo finally turned his head to look at her. He put his controller down and sat up.
"You're breaking up with me? Right now?"
"Yeah... You have to go home."
"Do you... want to talk about it?"
"We already have, Theo. Please. So many times. Please don't act like you don't know why this is happening. I feel like I do everything around here."
"That's not true. I clean like you ask me to."
"You don't. You don't even do the bare minimum. Look, all the dishes are still in the sink. It's already almost 8, I have to shower and cook dinner, and I don't have anything to cook with. I asked you to do one thing today, and you had all day to do it, and you didn't. I'm just done."
"You ask for too much. I have things to do, too, you know. I have an interview coming up."
Iris fought to keep the rising heat of anger down. She had had enough of their shouting matches. She didn't like the person she was when she was with him.
"Please leave."
"Okay, okay."
Theo shut off his game and started packing. Iris sat on the edge of her bed and looked out of the window. They didn't talk, and Theo's footsteps and shuffling of items were the only sounds in her apartment.
Theo didn't have much, and when he was about done, he looked around.
"I can't take everything right now, but I'll come for the rest tomorrow."
Iris nodded.
A few more moments passed in silence, Iris curled up on the edge of her bed, and Theo standing by the door with his large laundry bag filled with his belongings.
"Okay. Well, good night," Theo said, turning the door handle.
"Wait," Iris said, finally looking up to meet his eyes. "Leave your keys."
Theo sighed. He reached into his pocket and drew out the apartment keys. He tossed them lightly, and they landed with a soft clink in the blankets beside her.
He shut the door behind him.
Iris stared at the door.
She had been in this position before. They had broken up and gotten back together countless times. She would bring up an issue. He would turn it on her. She would end things, and ask him to leave. He would move out. He would come back the next day with apologies. She would take him back. He would move back in. Sometimes, the whole process didn't even take 24 hours. Sometimes, the breakups were more violent and loud. This breakup was a relatively quiet affair.
Iris sighed heavily. It felt like she had been holding that breath for over a year.
