Three Days

"You have three days. After that, I want you out."

Eric waited, watching Josh. The smell of burned grease was lingering in the room, causing both men to look annoyed. It was a fitting scent for the day, a continuous flow of disappointment over simple things. 

For his part, Josh looked miserable. His hair was unkempt, his shirt covered in food stains, and his breath only added to the foul air. There was no reason for a man to look like this when he had running water, a working shower, and the freedom to use any amenities. Josh lived in a prison of his design, building walls only he knew about.

Eric sighed, running a hand through his hair, the sweat from a long day leaving his bangs somewhat damp. Eric fixed his gaze on Josh, the memory of the man conflicting with the reality that sat before him.

"Look, man, I've done what I can to try and help. I helped you move in, I stayed with you when she left, and I have been a shoulder you can lean on."

Josh said nothing, looking at his uncut nails with that same infuriating silence of someone who knew they were in trouble. When did he pick up that habit? It was far from the worst trait, but it made it difficult to know what was heard and what was ignored. Eric slumped into his armchair, his gaze boring into Josh. He wanted Josh to say something, anything. Was he even sorry? 

The silence stretched like a taunt thread, pulling between the two. Josh hardly moved. Eric couldn't look away. If someone could walk in, it would be as stiff as a mannequin set and just as unnerving. 

Eventually, the thread snapped, pulled taunt by the silence till Eric could take it no more. "Was it worth it? Talk to me. Do you even know why I want you out?"

Eric did his best to keep his emotions level, but that was a losing battle. He needed Josh to talk, to say something. Anything. 

Finally, Josh broke his silence, "Are you going to kick me out? I have nowhere else to go."

Eric didn't say anything for some time, leaning forward and clasping his hands together. He held Josh in his gaze, ensuring he had eye contact, "That is not my problem anymore. I took you in for a year. An entire year with two expectations: pay your share of the rent and keep this place looking like a home. You didn't deliver on either of those."

Now that the silence was broken, it was all fair game.

Josh looked wounded at those words, his mouth curling up in disbelief, "I told you, man, I've been having issues finding a job. And all this stress…"

Eric waved his hand, brushing aside this excuse. He had heard it many times by now, 

"You have had two months. Two months and not a single job has called you back. Even with how rough the market is, you can't tell me that you haven't had a single callback for any entry-level positions. I helped you write your rèsume and printed out copies for you to hand out. You have a computer and I've sent you at least a dozen application links."

Eric paused for a bit, letting it sink in. Over the years he had learned the way Josh spoke and he knew it took him a bit to come up with a counterargument. Flooding him with information would only frustrate him. While it was tempting to get Josh mad, this wasn't the time. This wasn't one of their friendly spats or disagreements.

After a moment, Josh had his response ready, "Yeah, but no one here in town wants to hire me. They got me on a list or something."

Eric was tempted to believe it considering how quickly Josh would start a job and then lose it. He would work well for a few weeks and then something would happen, someone would suddenly hate the way he was working. It was almost always a woman that he was working with. And it was always a woman that Josh was attracted to. Eric could instantly think of three jobs he had lost because 'insert name' was intimidated by Josh.

But over the last few months and Josh's worsening attitude, it was obvious now what the problem had been. Eric glanced over at the kitchen, the sink empty except for one pan. That pan. The one frying pan was still there, the slimy white bacon grease coating the inside. Seeing that was enough to wash away any doubts. Josh couldn't be trusted to give an honest account of the events.

"If how you live is any indication of how you work, then I don't blame them for not wanting to hire you. I'm trying to keep my apartment from becoming condemned like you last one, but you seem to not care one bit."

That one struck a nerve. Eric knew it was a low blow, but he was tired of holding his tongue. He had known Josh for years and had fond memories of going out to the lake and having a party. Seeing his friend become…this…over time was too much. He needed to give him a metaphorical slap, to do away with this child and find his friend. Unfortunately, it looked like Eric wasn't going to have any success here either.

Josh sat up as if Eric had physically hit him, his eyes darting to the pan in the kitchen, "I was gonna clean that. But then you had to go and stress me out and I had to play on my games to calm down and…"

That was the final bit that set Eric off. This whole thing could have been prevented with one simple task. One simple pan. Eric had the patience of a volcano, but enough pressure would cause him to blow. He knew that Josh knew that, but it was too late now.

"Stress? I stress you out? Do you know what I've had to listen to while I've kept you here? My wife is uneasy at night, my dad tells me that I need to go, and most of all. My coworkers feel like you are taking advantage of me. Do you know why?"

Eric pointed at the pan in the sink, the slimy grease glistening off the once pristine Teflon.

"That is why. I cleaned this kitchen last night. I had asked you to do it while I was working since you would be here. I figured that was a simple thing. You even agreed. Then I come home after dealing with customers all day, ready to make a big casserole, and my kitchen is a mess."

Josh was giving him that look. That damnable look was equally pitiful and infuriating. Eric didn't care, he was going to kick Josh out no matter what. Eric wanted to make sure that everything was out in the open so that when his 'friend' looked back, he would know exactly what had cost him his comfortable lifestyle.

Eric continued, "And after all that, you burned your breakfast so bad that it set off the smoke alarm at five in the morning. Have you ever had a smoke alarm wake you out of deep sleep? Not fun. And when I come out a few hours later, ready to head into my soul-sucking job and make out just enough to pay for mine and your part of the rent, guess what? The stove was a mess of grease splatters, that pan right there was on the burner. The grease had dried, so I knew it had been there for a while."

Josh finally had something to say, a tale of what had happened in his world, "I was gonna clean it later. You didn't have to go and put it on the couch while I was in the bathroom. That was very immature of you, treating me like a child."

Eric was having difficulty keeping his composure. The slimy pan in the sink was enough proof, but Josh felt vindicated. Now Mt. Eric was primed and ready to erupt, the only thing Josh could do was hope for some lucky shelter.

Eric pulled out his phone, pulling up the message log between him and Josh.

"I'm immature? Fine, we will play that game. Let's see what you sent me an hour into my shift, shall we?"

Eric glanced from his phone to Josh, his gaze full of restrained animosity. He read the texts word for word, never pausing except to take a breath. He impaled Josh with his gaze, daring him to say something. 

"You could have told me that you hate me. I don't feel welcome here and you treat me like a child and not like a man. I've gone through a lot of things too you know. But you get so stressed and take it out on me like I'm your punching bag. You leave dirty dishes in the sink too and then get mad at me when. Things don't go your way. You don't understand how it feels to live in a place where unreasonable things are expected of you. You even went into my room and put all the dishes onto my bed."

Eric stopped for a second, pausing in his reading, "You know as well as I do that the dishes I put on your bed were the ones you left in your room. I told you when we moved in together that I wouldn’t go into your room unless it became a matter that would affect me. When you have bowls of cereal left in a room for several days, that tends to affect me. So yeah, I went into your room because it became hazardous to me."

Josh was trying to look small. Not an easy feat for a man his size, but he was still trying to hold onto that precious victim card. Eric could tell Josh was trying to think of something to say. It was the same look Josh had that day too, trying to come up with a way to explain the spoiled milk away.

Eric continued his reading rampage, "After you put those things on my bed, I felt embarrassed. You didn't respect my privacy and treated me like a kid. So I started to sleep on the couch because you didn't want me sleeping on the bed. The couch is uncomfortable and it makes my joints hurt, but that is better than sleeping in a room I am not wanted in."

Eric just looked at Josh. Was there anything he could say to that? Still, there was more:

"You act all mad because you get stressed so easily, but you ignore how stressed I am. I can't get a job because no one likes me, so I can't pay the rent you need. Seems like you have it handled though, cuz you haven't been begging for money when rent comes close to being due. You are just as lazy, your room is a mess too. You are a horrible person who is taking advantage of me. If you don't want me here, then tell me to leave."

Eric clicked his phone off and tossed it down. Eric considered himself to be a patient person. He had to be patient to work in retail. This was coming from someone Eric once considered a friend. He was glad Josh didn't say something. Eric was barely restraining himself.

"This is my apartment. I let you stay here. Sure, some things were rocky and bad things happened along the way, but this? You wanted to pick this kind of fight?"

Eric held up his hand and began counting, "You haven't paid rent for almost three months. With the way we have it split, that is around fifteen hundred. You can't keep your room from smelling like rotten milk. You are the one who blows up at me whenever things get ‘stressful’ for you. You have no respect for me, my apartment, or anything I have done for you. I’ve tried to respect you and I have been ignoring things because I know you have been going through a rough time. And you threw it all back at me. I will remember you for the man you were. I will remember you as my best friend through high school. As of right now, You have three days.”

Josh looked set in stone, his expression solid. Good, it seemed that he finally understood, “I’ll be gone and you will never hear from me again.”

Josh didn't speak to Eric in those three days. Josh managed to get some boxes and then Josh was gone, just like he said he would be. Eric never heard from Josh after that. Sometimes he would come home, half expecting to see his old friend there. he would remember the good days from time to time, times spent running around and causing mischief. Despite the anger he felt at the time, there was a small amount of regret... regret of losing a friend he once held dear.