First of all, thank you to everyone who commented on my original post. I read through most of the responses, and a lot of you suggested that I start documenting my work instead of getting into arguments with my coworker.

I'm glad I listened because something happened this week that I honestly wasn't expecting.

For context, my coworker took credit for a presentation I'd spent several evenings preparing. Our manager praised her in front of senior management, and when I confronted her privately, she acted like I was being selfish for wanting recognition.

After that, I stopped helping her with assignments that weren't part of my responsibilities.

Well, apparently, she wasn't happy about that.

On Monday, our manager asked me to come into his office because she'd complained that I was refusing to collaborate with her and making the workplace uncomfortable.

I was honestly nervous because I knew she'd already been telling people I was jealous of her success.

But instead of getting defensive, I calmly explained what had happened with the presentation.

I also brought the original files, the document history showing my edits, and some messages where she'd asked me to prepare specific sections.

My manager looked genuinely surprised.

He asked why I hadn't brought this to his attention earlier, and I admitted that I didn't want to create drama or damage our working relationship.

He then asked whether I'd be comfortable having a conversation with both of them.

I agreed.

The meeting happened yesterday, and it was uncomfortable from the beginning.

My coworker immediately said she'd never claimed to have done everything herself and that everyone knew we'd worked together.

But when our manager asked why she hadn't mentioned my contribution during the presentation, she said she simply hadn't thought it was necessary.

Then he asked her to explain some of the analysis from the slides.

She struggled to answer several questions.

I didn't interrupt or try to embarrass her. I just sat there while our manager asked questions.

Eventually, he told her that collaboration doesn't mean presenting someone else's work as your own and that recognition needs to reflect actual contributions.

He also made it clear that I wasn't obligated to complete her assignments for her.

I felt relieved for about five minutes.

Then things got worse.

After the meeting, she approached me near the break room and told me I'd deliberately humiliated her in front of our manager.

She said she hoped I was happy because I'd probably ruined her chances of getting promoted.

I told her I hadn't tried to ruin anything. I'd simply defended myself after she complained about me.

She responded, "I thought we were friends."

That honestly hurt more than I expected.

We'd worked together for almost three years, and I genuinely considered her a friend before all this happened.

I told her that friends don't take credit for each other's work and then accuse them of being jealous when they ask for recognition.

She walked away without responding.

Later that afternoon, my manager called me back into his office.

He apologized for not realizing how much work I'd contributed to the presentation. He also said he wanted me to present part of our next project directly to senior management so my contributions would be visible.

I appreciated that, especially because I hadn't asked for anything beyond being treated fairly.

But there's still one thing bothering me.

Two coworkers have told me that she's been crying at work and saying I betrayed her over something that could have been resolved privately.

Now some people seem to think I went too far by showing our manager the evidence.

I keep reminding myself that I only did that because she reported me first.

Still, I don't enjoy seeing someone I've known for years become so upset, even after what she did.

For now, I've decided to keep our relationship strictly professional. I'll collaborate when our actual responsibilities overlap, but I won't be doing her work for her anymore.

I never wanted her to lose opportunities.

I just wanted my own work to count.

TL;DR: My coworker complained to our manager after I stopped helping her with assignments. I showed him evidence that I'd done most of the presentation she took credit for. He acknowledged my contribution and offered me more visibility on future projects. Now she's accusing me of ruining her promotion chances, and some coworkers think I went too far.

My brother has a 15 year old son who's really into cars. They'd been planning to go to a big car show together for months and my nephew was looking forward to it. I was supposed to join them too.

About a week before the trip, my brother told him he couldn't go because something came up at work. My nephew was disappointed but accepted it.

Except my brother wasn't working. He went on a fishing trip with his friends instead. He'd been invited last minute and apparently didn't want to miss it.

My nephew found out after seeing pictures on Instagram and called me asking if I knew. I told him the truth because I wasn't going to pretend I didn't know anything.

Now my brother is furious with me. He says he was planning to make it up to his son and that I had no business getting involved. He also thinks I deliberately made him look bad when I could've just told my nephew to ask him directly.

I get that it's between him and his kid, but I also think 15 is old enough to deserve an honest answer.

AITJ?

TL;DR: My brother canceled a trip with his son to go fishing with friends and lied about having work. My nephew found out and asked me about it, so I told him the truth. My brother thinks I should've stayed out of it.

Apologies in advance for any confusion, English is not my first language.

So my friends invited me to join them for a weekend trip in the mountains. There are 8 people in total, two of whom I know, and the rest I met during that trip. We had fun, and everyone enjoyed it. The trip ended, we got back, and it was time to split the bills. I noticed I was asked to pay for liquor, which I didn't drink any of.

Being sober was my personal decision, hate the taste of alcohol. I'm paying for soft drinks, and I'm sure it's already included in the grocery bills. I don't know whether to bring it up in the group chat, since I'm afraid people will call me cheap. I can afford it, but I don't want to pay for something I didn't even enjoy. Should I just suck it up and pay, or should I bring this up and renegotiate? Is it the norm for people to split bills like that? Thanks for any advice.

TL;DR basically the title, I'm deciding between telling my friends I won't pay for liquor I didn't drink during the group trip, or shut up and pay

Thank you so much for the suggestions! I just want to clarify that I made it very clear during that trip that I didn't drink, and everyone saw me sipping sparkling water or coconut juice so I was a bit confused when I saw the bill. I will reach out and let yall know if anything happens lol.

Hey guys so here’s the story my girlfriend at the time was planning on going overseas she had this big plan to leave when her lease ran out a month before she was planning on going she decided not to go ( she runs her own online business that’s how she makes money) she tells me she hasn’t been doing payslips for herself as she apparently forgot to do them she asked if I could rent her a place with my name on the lease while I live at home and she lives there ( I live away due to work)
I say no because here in Australia it’s illegal to rent a place with your name on the lease and let someone else live in it without telling the landlord/ I offered to be here rental guarantee as a person if she missed rent I could help or be a co-signer I had no problem doing it the right way as I don’t want to be blacklisted for other rentals I also don’t know why she didn’t just make the previous payslips to counter the lease and I know that she is making money my best guess is something to do with tax etc cash other stuff I didn’t really dig into her business as I was not that interested.

We said some words and I left her as she trying to guilt trip me into renting her a place.

Where I stand is how pussy whipped can you be to rent a place and if you get caught she would get evicted and blacklisted from many rental companies

EDIT she was going to pay me to pay the landlord

To give some pretext, I (24NB) am currently a first year apprentice at a transportation company to become a truck driver soon. I'm 5'3", around 90lbs or so and AFAB. I don't look like much but when push comes to shove, I do pack a punch. Trust me, this is important. I started with another apprentice, let's call him H (21M), who's about 5'9", definitely heavier than me although still somewhat scrawny and, well, male in a male-dominated field, unlike me. We're in Germany.

Two days ago, I tagged along in the truck with the only other female driver in the company. She taught me some very useful tricks and helped me get better at what I do at a rather quick pace. As we were on our way back home, she got a call from dispatch. They chatted for a bit, talked about important stuff before the dispatcher inquired if I could hear him as well, to which I said yes. He told me that, instead of the original plan, which was for H to tag along instead of me the following day (which was yesterday), I should tag along again, should I want to, once more, to which I agreed - I could use the experience, after all.

He then started complaining about H. Saying that he was sick too often, didn't seem enthusiastic enough about the apprenticeship and was overall not great with logic or math. I could almost taste the dissatisfaction in his voice. In return, I was told that I'm currently doing quite well in the company and that I learn quickly. Everyone there seems to be quite proud of my quick progress. Meanwhile, H is on the verge of getting the boot, so to speak.

The dispatcher off-handedly allowed me to relay this message to H, too, but the driver I was with said I shouldn't. That he might retaliate, which isn't too far off for any woman and generally female presenting person like me in a male-dominated field such as truck driving. So now, I'm kinda torn between wanting to let him know, but also being scared to do so in lieu of him taking revenge on me for spilling the beans.

WIBTJ if I told him? Should I keep my mouth shut? I don't really know what to do.

TL;DR: I'm one of two apprentices at a transportation company to become a truck driver in about three years time. The other apprentice isn't doing well at all, whereas I, a petite AFAB person, am. Dispatch is incredibly dissatisfied with him and wants to kick him to the curb soon should he not get better quickly, and I've been given permission to tell him this. The driver I tagged along with basically told me to just give him a vague warning in fear of him retaliating against me, though. I'm at a loss for what to do.

I (18M) am currently in a transitional period in my life where I’m trying to figure out what to do next. My plan is to go to college, but my finances aren’t exactly where they need to be yet, so I’m currently looking for a job. And as I’m sure most people know, the job market right now is absolute dogwater, especially for 18-year-olds with little to no work experience. Since I’m home most of the time right now, my mother has apparently decided that I’m going to be her backup childcare plan.

For some context, my mother has been out of work because of carpal tunnel, but her doctor has given her the green light to return to work in January. I know January is still a few months away, but she’s already worrying about what will happen with my five-year-old half-brother (5M) when she goes back. She recently started telling me that I’m going to have to watch him after school, and I immediately told her no because there’s a good chance I’ll have a job by then. She responded by asking what would happen if I didn’t have a job, and she even offered to pay me $30 a day, but honestly, that still wasn’t enough to convince me.

Now, I want to explain why I’m so against this arrangement, because it isn’t simply a matter of me not wanting to spend time with a child. My half-brother is extremely rambunctious, has ADHD, and struggles to sit still for more than a few seconds, which has gotten him into trouble at school and resulted in him getting hurt on multiple occasions. On top of that, he barely listens to our mother, let alone me, and the only person he consistently seems to respect is his father, who I absolutely cannot stand. My half-brother also regularly tells me things like, “You can’t tell me what to do,” “You’re not my mom,” and “You’re not my dad,” whenever I try to correct his behavior.

The biggest issue, however, is the double standard when it comes to supervising him. If he’s running around and I tell him to stop before he hurts himself, he ignores me, and if I physically try to make him sit down, he starts crying and throwing a tantrum. Then I’m the one who gets yelled at because apparently, every time I watch him, he ends up crying, and I’m supposedly the one starting problems. But if I leave him alone and he ends up running into something or falling, suddenly I’m also at fault for not watching him closely enough.

And before anyone thinks I’m exaggerating, I have actual examples of this happening. There have been times when my mother and her soon-to-be ex-husband were home, but her husband would leave my half-brother with me without even asking or telling me he was doing so. If I tried to take him back to his father or stopped supervising him because I hadn’t agreed to babysit in the first place, I’d get yelled at for that, too. Basically, I’m expected to take responsibility for a child who doesn’t listen to me, even when nobody has actually asked whether I’m willing or able to take on that responsibility.

One incident in particular really stuck with me because it showed just how ridiculous this dynamic has become. My mother and I were in the kitchen together, and we could both see the living room, where my half-brother was playing. He put a laundry basket upside down, climbed on top of it, and started jumping off it, even though my mother explicitly told him to stop. He eventually fell and hit his head, and the first thing his father did was come downstairs asking where I was and why I hadn’t been watching him properly.

The problem? I wasn’t even supposed to be watching him, and my mother had been right there when it happened. She had to explain that she was present and had witnessed the entire incident herself before her husband stopped blaming me. When my mother later asked him why he kept holding me responsible whenever something happened to my half-brother, he explained that he was raised to believe that if one sibling got hurt in front of another, both would get in trouble so they’d learn to look out for each other. In my opinion, all this has accomplished is making me want to keep my distance from my half-brother because I don’t want to be blamed for every little thing that happens to him.

I understand that he’s only five, and I’m not expecting him to behave like an adult. I also understand that children with ADHD can have difficulties with impulse control and sitting still, and I’m not blaming him for having ADHD. However, I don’t think that automatically makes me responsible for providing childcare, especially when his parents have consistently undermined my authority while simultaneously expecting me to take responsibility for him.

There’s also the issue of his father potentially having to pick him up from our house on certain days. My mother and her husband are in the process of separating, and neither my grandfather nor I wants her husband coming to our house. I don’t want to be put in a position where I’m expected to facilitate that arrangement, either. Between the behavioral issues, the constant blame, my own plans to find employment, and the possibility of having to deal with someone I don’t want around, I simply don’t want to agree to this arrangement.

I explained all of this to my mother, particularly the fact that I don’t want to be held responsible if my half-brother gets hurt after ignoring my instructions. Instead of understanding where I’m coming from, she’s now saying that I’m not supportive of her, that I’m selfish, and that I’m unwilling to compromise. I understand that going back to work after being out for medical reasons can be stressful, and I’m not trying to make her life harder, but I don’t think that means I should automatically become her childcare solution.

So, AITJ for refusing to babysit my half-brother after school, even if I end up not having a job by the time my mother returns to work in January?

TLDR: My mother wants me to babysit my five-year-old half-brother for $30 a day when she returns to work in January, but he rarely listens to me and frequently gets hurt doing things he’s been told not to do. His father repeatedly blames me for incidents even when I’m not responsible for supervising him, and I get yelled at whether I try to discipline him or let his parents handle things themselves. I’m also looking for a job and don’t want to deal with my mother’s soon-to-be ex-husband coming to our house, but my mother says I’m selfish and unsupportive for refusing to help. AITJ?

Title: Am I wrong for being genuinely disgusted by my family’s hygiene habits to the point where I struggle to tolerate my own mum?
I’m 18M and live at home with my family. I want some honest opinions because I genuinely don’t know whether I’m overly sensitive or whether other people would feel the same way living in my situation.
There are several things my family does that genuinely disgust me, and over time I’ve developed a lot of resentment, particularly towards my mum.
The biggest issue is our dog. My mum regularly lets him lick the plates we’ve eaten off, sometimes even letting him eat food directly off them at the dinner table. My brother also has this thing where he lets the dog lick his teeth and mouth, which I find absolutely disgusting.
I’ve repeatedly said that I don’t want the dog licking my plate, but I’m either dismissed, spoken to rudely or ignored completely. They let him do it anyway, as though my opinion doesn’t matter. I understand that plates can be washed afterwards, but I don’t think it’s unreasonable to not want a dog licking something I’ve eaten off.
There’s also the way my mum expects me to interact with the dog. Whenever I get home, the dog is persistent about getting attention and licking my face, and my mum seems to get annoyed with me if I don’t make enough effort with him. I feel like I’m expected to show affection towards him on demand, even when I don’t want to.
When I’m eating, my mum also puts on a baby voice as if she’s speaking for the dog and asks me, pretending to be him, whether he can have some of my food. It irritates me enormously. I just want to eat my meal without being pestered, and the fact that this happens alongside the other things I’ve mentioned makes it even more frustrating.
But the dog isn’t the only issue.
My mum regularly leaves the bathroom door open while she’s using the toilet, including when she’s having a poo or doing a wee. I can hear her using the toilet and farting, particularly in the mornings, and I find it genuinely revolting. It’s not something I want to hear or be exposed to in my own home.
She also smokes and coughs constantly. Every morning, she has these incredibly loud coughing fits that I can hear throughout the house. Between the coughing, the farting and hearing her use the toilet with the door open, mornings have become something I actively dread. I know coughing can be a consequence of smoking and that bodily functions are normal, but the constant noise and lack of privacy make me feel incredibly uncomfortable.
I know some of these things might sound relatively minor individually. People fart, people cough, and everyone needs to use the toilet. But it’s the combination of everything, the frequency of it and how little consideration I feel is shown for other people in the house that gets to me.
I’ve reached a point where I feel genuinely disgusted by my mum. Sometimes even thinking about her makes me feel physically sick. I realise that’s an extreme reaction, and I don’t particularly like feeling that way about my own mother, but I can’t pretend the feeling isn’t there.
What makes it worse is that when I raise concerns, particularly about the dog licking my plate, I’m dismissed rather than listened to. I feel like I have no control over my own environment, even when I’m asking for what I consider basic consideration.
I want to make it clear that I’m not expecting my family to be perfect or to behave exactly how I would. I just want some privacy, basic consideration around hygiene, the ability to eat without being pestered, and the freedom to decide whether I want the dog licking my face.
Am I being overly sensitive, or would other people also struggle with this? And, more importantly, is it normal for resentment to build up to the point where you start feeling physically disgusted by a family member?
I’m genuinely looking for honest opinions, including if people think my reaction has become disproportionate.

my nephrologist had to literally beg me to quit working. I've decided to end my schooling too. I'm trying with disability but I can't make that go any faster. She's planning to kick me out all because I'm not giving her anymore money. It's not fair.

TL;DR A group of my friends blocked another friend of mine without explanation and I was in the middle of it.

Back in September, Red (a friend of mine) was recently blocked by three of my closest friends on Instagram. I had known these three friends for about 4-ish years and I had no idea that this was happening until one of the friends, Blue was bringing it up to another friend, Yellow, in passing conversation.

Yellow didn't block Red but was definitely on Blue's side when they were explaning everything.

I asked them what they were talking about and they filled me in that they had basically blocked Red for two reasons. The first one was that Red had supposedly thrown a tantrum at their parent when they were driving home from a convention about going to see an actor. The other one was that Red's friend group (that doesn't include the three friends that blocked them) was organizing this huge event and was strict on the fact that they could only plan for the people they had listed.

After I had been told all this, that night, Red texted me if I could chat with them. They had basically told me that the three friends that had blocked them had just suddenly done it, without an explanation. I was scared and didn't know what to do so I texted Blue what should I do.

Blue wasn't happy that I texted Red because Blue said that everyone is trying to ignore her right now because of the blocking. Personally, I thought it was ridiculous that they couldn't even spare an explanation to Red, so I did respond to them and got on a call with them. I asked them if they knew any reason they might have been blocked and they said no, they couldn't think of any.

I was on that call for a long time, crying with Red about the possibility of our friendship ending and I was thinking of the worst case scenario where I would have to pick sides. But in the end, Blue had been ignoring me for the past few weeks with Yellow. I had been texting Red and checking in with them since they weren't doing well mentally during those weeks Blue and Yellow haven't been meeting with me.

Eventually, after getting nothing from Blue or any of my friends for that matter, I ended up texting Red why they were blocked.

I did tell them that if they ever needed someone to talk to, I was here but also they should try to talk to someone they trusted like another friend or family.

But after that, I got a huge text bubble from Blue. During the week they had been ignoring me, I shot out a text asking if they were alright, and if there was anything I did, I was sorry. I also texted them saying that Red was incredibly sorry for what they did since I told them.

Blue basically said to me I was no longer friends with them, Yellow, or any other friend in their group. Blue said that I was not allowed to speak with them anymore because I was fatphobic, racist, colorist, misgendering, and not a good friend because I would always go on my phone when the whole friend group was there.

I was called fatphobic because I'm incredibly scrawny and Blue is plus-sized, I always tried to use words that weren't negative towards fat people but I guess even my words made an impression on them. I was also called racist because I would make occasional jokes about certain races including my own. I wouldn't call myself racist because I've been open minded to all sorts of cultures but I guess I wasn't trying hard enough. I was also called colorist because I would make self-deprecating comments about how I am Chinese yet I have a very deep tan and in China, it's seen as beautiful to have pale skin. I also misgendered people a lot since I would forget to ask and they wouldn't tell me, for example, Blue used to use they/them but later started to use he/him and I had no idea.

As for the phone accusation, they aren't wrong, I would go on my phone when the group is out having fun but the problem is I don't try putting myself into the conversation since my comments beforehand were mostly ignored and they wouldn't include me on certain topics even though I was there. I was crying for hours about the text until I had a talk with my family. They told me that my friends were unjustified to just kick me out of the friend group, but I think personally, this was all my fault because I reached out.

I (29M) have been doing pub trivia with the same group of friends for a few months. It's become our regular weekend thing.

Last week we were doing pretty well until the host asked our team to step aside. At this bar they hand out question sheets and give everyone 15 minutes to submit their answers. Turns out one of my friends had been taking pictures of the questions and looking up answers on his phone during bathroom trips. Another friend knew about it. A staff member spotted him doing it.

The host explained what happened and told us our team was disqualified from winning any prizes that night. He handled it privately and didn't embarrass anyone.

The next morning one of those friends posted a negative Google review claiming the bar had accused us of cheating without evidence and embarrassed us in front of everyone.

The owner, who clearly didn't know the full story, responded apologizing and offering our group a free evening of drinks.

I messaged my friend privately and told him the review was unfair and he should delete it. His response was literally "hey dude free drinks is free drinks, whatever." I brought it up again later but he brushed me off and left the review up.

This is also my favorite pub and I really didn't want our entire group to become unwelcome there over a stupid review, especially when the staff hadn't done anything wrong.

So I eventually posted my own Google review explaining that I was on the team, what actually happened and that the host handled everything privately.

Now my friends are furious because his review has his real name on it and people we know have seen both reviews. They're saying I could've handled it privately instead of humiliating everyone over a stupid trivia game.

I told them I already tried handling it privately and got nowhere.

AITJ?

TL;DR: My friends got caught cheating at trivia and one left a fake negative review to get free drinks. I asked him privately to delete it but he refused, so I posted my own review explaining what happened. Now they're mad at me for exposing them, but I didn't want our whole group becoming unwelcome at my favorite pub.

My boyfriend got invited to a Halloween party from someone in his grad program. He just started this program in August and everyone in his program is invited. I asked to see the invite and it says that it will be at a bar and is open to everyone and invite anyone (this is for people in grad school as well as people not in the program). It is on Halloween night. 

I asked my boyfriend if he was going to go and he said “I’m not sure” and I said “do you want me to go too?” And he said “I’m not sure”. That hurt. I asked why he wasn’t sure and he gave three reasons:
1 ⁠he really hasn’t hung out with his peers at all and wants them to have a better shot getting to know him. He thinks that if I’m there he’ll be less inclined to put himself out there and socialize.
2 he doesn’t want to be distracted from socializing by making sure that I’m ok and having a good time. He said it would be different if he was already friends with these people and was sure I’d like them, but he doesn’t know them very well, only several people.
3 this one requires some backstory: I have relationship ocd which causes a lot of anxiety. In the past, I’ve given him a hard time (in private) about a few different things in social situations and it has (rightfully) put dampers on the majority of our shared social interactions since we started dating (it’s been about 10 months). Additionally, I have a habit of, whenever he mentions a woman’s name from his program at home, asking if he has a crush on her, finds her pretty, etc. He doesn’t want to have to potentially deal with that on a night when he wants to make new friends.

And since I struggle with OCD, I can’t really make any promises that that type of stuff won’t happen as the compulsions are hard to control- though I’ve never done this in front of people, all of this is done in one on one conversations.

On the one hand, I get where he’s coming from, but on the other, it’s Halloween and open invite! Plus I’m new(er) to the city we live in and don’t have many friends—good chance if I don’t go and he does, I’ll spend Halloween alone.

He said his initial reaction after reading the invitation was “oh it looks like I can invite my girlfriend” and then he started to reconsider if that’s what he really wanted.
In the past I’ve often worried about him cheating or emotionally cheating with zero evidence. I understand his reasoning, including not wanting to deal with my OCD, but still I feel like as a couple we should be working together.

I’m in OCD therapy with an ERP specialist and taking Zoloft (started about 2 months ago) but my OCD is spiraling right now and I’m thinking things like “what if he just wants people to think he’s single” or “what if there’s someone he’s interested in that he wants to talk to more and couldn’t if I go”.

Since he’s been in grad school, we do not get to spend as much time quality time together and he is often pulling all nighters. He’s not definite on a decision of me going or not (or even if he wants to go), but just the fact that he isn’t sure is what hurts. Any advice on if I should give him space to go or how I could address my concerns? Am I the jerk in this?

TLDR:
My boyfriend wants to go to a Halloween party someone in his grad program invited him to and he isn’t sure he wants me to come because he wants to be able to make new friends, not worry about me, and not deal with relationship OCD questioning afterwards. Am I the jerk for being sad he doesn’t want me to come?

My cousin is 13M and in 8th grade. He has no friends at all, but he isn't shy or antisocial he just hasn't made any friends. His parents wanted him to have a birthday party because he's in middle school and they want him to have friends expecially going into high school next year but they made flyers and literally put them around the school, inviting everyone who wants to come They're inviting all types of people they dont know literally nice people, mean people, popular people, wannabe gangsters, 67 types kids literally anyone. I understand that his parent thinks this is good but they naive literally I really don't want to go to this party because I have a bad feeling about it. Like I was in middle school like 4 years ago I have little sister in middle school these kids are literally a different breed now and I am not going I already made up my mind aitj for this?

Sophie of the trio here. A few Saturdays ago I brought home my new triplets from the hospital & I’ve had help from a nanny my husband & I hired to help with the babies. Since my nanny started she’s been an incredible help with my babies, helping with getting the trash out & getting the mail for me. But every single time she gets the mail my neighbor across the street approaches her saying to put the mail back it doesn’t belong to her, my nanny has had to call me to put me on speaker so I can watch my triplets but I tell my neighbor who I will call Britney for the sake of this story, “Britney this is my new nanny Kendra (not her real name) my triplets are home. She’s just helping me with household chores that include getting the mail for me stop harassing her.”

It has gotten to the point that I’ve had security cameras installed by my husbands friend facing the mailbox & has caught Britney several times confronting Kendra. Yesterday my husband watched the triplets while I went to the store & Britney was waiting for me when I got home by my mailbox asking where’s the nanny, I said not expecting her today. Britney before anyone asks if she has dementia or anything she is a woman in her mid-forties. I told her, “I had security cameras installed & I have footage of you harassing Kendra. I’m going to give you an ultimatum: either you let Kendra do her job or I’m going to report your harassment to the police.” As I went inside Britney shouted, “You can’t tell me what to do & I bet you didn’t get neighborhood approval for your security cameras! I’m reporting you to the head of HOA!”

I actually spoke to the HOA & I got the approval for the cameras to be installed. But am I the jerk for giving the ultimatum? Kendra has been an amazing nanny I don’t want her to quit.

I (17F) used to talk to a guy (17M) for two months, and things were going great until he told me he wanted to get pegged…

I was super weirded out that I started to distance myself until we ultimately stopped talking. Many of my friends have been saying that it wasn’t a deal breaker, but I think it was pretty reasonable for me to not like him after that.

(He also has a HUGE fixation on talking animals???)

Was I a jerk for not being interested anymore?

P.S. I had been giving him VERY clear signs, like telling him I didn’t want to talk to him, and that I didn’t want a bf, as a way to tell him I wasn’t feeling him anymore. It even got to the point where I unfollowed him, but he still followed me again and asked if I unfollowed him…..

It's been less than a day since I posted, and I already have an update.

This morning, HR emailed me asking if I could come in for a meeting tomorrow. They didn't give me any details, just said they wanted to follow up on my complaint.

Mark has also been acting differently around me. He hasn't said anything directly, but he's stopped making his usual jokes when I'm nearby.

The coworker who told me I should have handled things privately approached me during lunch. He said Mark was worried about the complaint and asked if I'd consider telling HR I didn't want anything to come of it.

I told him that wasn't what I wanted. I hadn't asked for Mark to be fired, but I wasn't going to pretend the incident hadn't happened just to make things easier for him.

My coworker said I was being stubborn and that I could end up making everyone uncomfortable at work.

What surprised me was that another coworker pulled me aside afterward and told me she'd been on the receiving end of Mark's comments before, particularly about her accent. She'd never reported him because she didn't want to deal with the drama.

She said she was glad someone had finally spoken up.

Now I'm wondering whether HR will actually do anything or whether this will turn into a situation where everyone blames me for making a complaint.

I'll update again after the meeting.

TL;DR: HR wants to meet with me tomorrow about my complaint. Mark's worried about the consequences, a coworker is pressuring me to back off, and another coworker has privately admitted Mark has made similar comments to her.

TL;DR: My twin brother and I have spent most of our lives bouncing between relatives because our biological mother was unstable and we experienced abuse and CPS involvement as children. We eventually found stability with an uncle who raised us for 12–13 years, but he tragically passed away in an accident in October 2025. After his death, another uncle and his girlfriend came from Florida to supposedly help us. This was the same uncle who had previously been ordered not to live with us when we were younger. Things went downhill quickly: they pawned our late uncle's belongings to buy weed, verbally abused us, neglected responsibilities, and eventually got into a physical altercation with my brother. After CPS failed to help us, we stayed with other relatives, but our next aunt began pressuring us for money. Eventually, my brother and I got our biological mother to sign paperwork allowing us to stay with our current aunt in Georgia, bought FlixBus tickets, and left Florida. We've now been in Georgia for about two months, and life has improved tremendously. Today, October 14, 2026, a judge officially granted my emancipation petition. So, were my brother and I wrong for leaving?

For some background, my twin brother and I have had a pretty complicated childhood.

When we were little, we bounced from person to person because our biological mother was apparently on the run. We initially stayed with her, and according to CPS records I've since seen, both my brother and I experienced abuse. One report even stated that I had a large knot on my forehead for weeks without receiving medical attention. My twin brother was also born with an STI that he contracted from our biological mother.

Eventually, we went to stay with one of our biological aunts, then with a biological uncle and his girlfriend. I don't remember much from that period, but there was another CPS report. That situation ended with the uncle receiving an order prohibiting him from living in the same home as us because of his involvement in selling illegal substances. From what I understand, though, he continued sneaking into the house while we stayed with his girlfriend.

Our biological mother eventually took us to Georgia. Around that time, there was also an entry into foster care in our records, but I couldn't find a corresponding exit date.

Eventually, we ended up living with another biological uncle in Georgia. I'll call him Uncle A. He was genuinely one of the best people in our lives. He did the best he could with what he had, taught us a lot of important lessons, and raised us for approximately 12–13 years. He eventually married the woman I'll call Aunt A.

Unfortunately, that all changed on October 14, 2025, when Uncle A was involved in a terrible accident and passed away.

The days following his death were devastating. We were grieving someone who had practically raised us, and we had no idea how much our lives were about to change.

A little after Uncle A died, another biological uncle and his girlfriend came up from Florida, supposedly to help us through everything.

I'll call him Uncle B and his girlfriend Aunt B.

For context, Uncle B was the same uncle I mentioned earlier who had received an order prohibiting him from living in the same home as my brother and me when we were younger. That order was connected to his involvement in selling illegal substances. From what I understand, he continued sneaking into the home despite the order.

At the time, we believed they were genuinely coming to help us. We had just lost the person who raised us, and we needed family support. We weren't thinking about our uncle's history or expecting the situation to turn into what it eventually became.

Before I explain what happened next, there's another person in this story I'll call Lauren. Lauren had four children with her husband, who was someone Uncle A strongly disliked.

When we returned home from the hospital after Uncle A's death, we discovered that his bedroom had been broken into. Lauren's husband had apparently broken in through a window and stolen things from the room. I noticed the window blinds were messed up, which made me realize something had happened.

The police were at the house approximately two hours after Uncle A died to deal with the situation. I'm not entirely sure what happened afterward, but I do know that Lauren's husband had a warrant and was later arrested.

Lauren's four children were eventually removed by CPS and placed with relatives from Tampa. That becomes relevant later.

Unfortunately, the problems involving Uncle A's belongings didn't end with the break-in.

Uncle B and Aunt B also began pawning some of Uncle A's things to get money to buy marijuana.

Let that sink in for a second. The uncle who had raised us for most of our lives had just died, and the relatives who came to supposedly help us were pawning his belongings to fund their weed purchases.

It was upsetting enough to lose someone who meant so much to us. Seeing his belongings being treated that way made the entire situation even worse.

In the meantime, we had to move belongings out of Uncle A's house and close everything down. My twin brother and I went to stay with Aunt A, who had been married to Uncle A.

The plan was for us to eventually go to Florida with Uncle B and Aunt B toward the end of the year. We also had several dogs, who ended up going to Florida with us.

At the time, we thought this would be a fresh start.

Unfortunately, it wasn't.

Moving to Florida

When we arrived in Florida, we discovered that Uncle B and Aunt B were staying in a hotel room. The plan was for my brother and me to stay with Aunt B's mother until they managed to get their own place.

We stayed there for about two weeks.

During this time, several people who had known Uncle A continued helping us out. They bought us food and helped pay our phone bills whenever they came due. I genuinely appreciate those people because they helped us so much over the following months, especially when the people who were supposed to be taking care of us weren't doing their jobs.

Eventually, Uncle B and Aunt B found a place.

We moved into a three-bedroom, one-bathroom home. They received some kind of housing assistance that brought their rent down to approximately $1,620 a month, which was relatively inexpensive for the area and size of the place.

My brother and I were responsible for moving a lot of the belongings into the house.

As for sleeping arrangements, Uncle B and Aunt B got a huge air mattress for themselves, while everyone else was expected to sleep on the floor with blankets. This was during the middle of winter, so it wasn't exactly comfortable.

Eventually, a church donated furniture to us, which helped somewhat.

Then Aunt B's mother got kicked out of her own house and moved in with us. She slept on the couch for months. Even after she found another place in April, she continued coming back because she didn't like staying alone.

The house was already crowded, and things were getting increasingly stressful.

The way we were treated in that house

One of the biggest issues was the verbal abuse.

Whenever one of the kids did something wrong, or the adults thought someone hadn't heard them calling, they would call the kids useless, say they would never amount to anything in life, and complain about why they were even taking care of us.

My brother and I were also expected to handle practically everything ourselves. A family friend of Uncle A actually bought all of our clothes because Uncle B and Aunt B weren't buying us anything beyond food.

We were responsible for our own expenses and had to figure out a lot of things without much help.

The dogs were another major issue.

I kid you not, I can barely remember the dogs consistently having enough dog food during the approximately six months we lived there. They would go through bags of food, and when the food ran out, they were sometimes fed rice or whatever happened to be in the refrigerator instead.

I had already been thinking about letting the dogs go to someone else after Uncle A died. A friend of his wanted them, and I knew that person's dogs were well cared for. I was completely okay with the dogs going to a home where they would be properly looked after.

Unfortunately, that never happened, and the dogs continued living in those conditions.

Then there was the incident with one of the babies.

One afternoon, I came home from school at around 4 p.m. and noticed that the baby's diaper was completely full. From what I could tell, she hadn't been changed all day.

I went to ask the adults what was going on, only to discover that they were in their room drinking. Instead of doing it themselves, they told me to change the baby.

I didn't mind helping a child who needed help. What bothered me was that a baby had apparently been left in a dirty diaper for hours while the adults responsible for her were drinking.

There was also frequent marijuana smoking, and from what I observed, buying weed sometimes seemed to take priority over basic responsibilities.

This was especially frustrating considering that they had already pawned some of Uncle A's belongings to get money for marijuana.

At one point, while my brother and I were at school, Uncle B sent me a text complaining about the dogs repeatedly pooping in their cage. He blamed us and threatened to get rid of the dogs if we didn't fix the problem.

I responded that caring for the dogs wasn't supposed to be our responsibility because he had said he would take care of them.

He didn't respond, and he never brought up that particular conversation again.

But by then, I was exhausted.

My brother and I were trying to attend school, work toward our futures, and deal with the loss of the uncle who had raised us, all while living in a house where we didn't feel respected or properly cared for.

Eventually, I decided to make a CPS report.

The physical altercation and our first attempt to leave

Around that same period, my brother and Uncle B got into a physical altercation.

From what I understand, it started over a door being closed and my brother not giving up his phone when Uncle B tried to take it.

For context, my brother and I paid our own phone bills, and we had paid off our own phones.

The police arrived, and Uncle B claimed that my brother had been the one hitting him. From our perspective, the officers believed his version of events despite our concerns about Uncle B's history of violence, drinking, and substance use. He had also previously been convicted of a felony.

That night, my brother and I left the house and went to stay with a family friend.

Honestly, those two weeks were some of the best we'd had in Florida.

We had fun, felt more comfortable, and learned quite a few things about hygiene and taking care of ourselves. It was a relief to be somewhere that didn't feel like a constant source of stress.

But that didn't last.

On the day I graduated, we received the news that we had to return to Uncle B's house.

Apparently, our biological mother had been located and signed a notarized letter expressing her wishes for us to return.

The letter was presented as authorization for Uncle B to have custody of us until we turned 21. From what I understood, however, the letter itself did not establish legal custody. My understanding was that a notarized document and a court order granting custody are two different things.

Regardless, we were told we had to go back.

We didn't want to.

After returning, I made another CPS report. A worker visited the following day, and my brother and I explained what had been happening.

Unfortunately, we didn't feel that the worker helped us. After speaking with Uncle B, the worker's attitude toward us seemed to change completely.

At that point, we left to stay with another aunt.

Things seemed better with our next aunt, until money became an issue

Initially, things were pretty good at our other aunt's house. She did a lot for my brother and me and gave us somewhere to stay.

However, over time, we began noticing that she had a serious gambling problem and financial issues.

She received approximately $1,500 a month in retirement income, and her rent was only around $280. She would get upset with her daughter for giving her only $200 every two weeks.

Once my brother and I started working, she began asking us for more and more money.

I tried to help when I could, but it became increasingly difficult to keep up with my own expenses.

At one point, I was late paying my phone bill in August because she kept asking for additional money.

Then she showed me her eviction notice.

I felt pressured to help because she made it seem like I would be a terrible person if I didn't contribute. So I sent her $150.

Afterward, she asked me for another $100.

I sent her $50 more and explained that I couldn't help beyond that.

I wasn't refusing to help out of spite. I was working, trying to pay my own bills, and attempting to build some financial stability for myself and my brother. I couldn't keep giving away money that I needed for my own expenses.

By this point, I was tired of moving from one relative's house to another, never knowing whether the next place would actually be stable.

We had already lost the person who raised us. We had dealt with multiple homes, CPS involvement, mistreatment, and a physical altercation. All we wanted was somewhere we could live without constantly worrying about what would happen next.

The decision to get on a bus

While all of this was happening, I was also going through the legal process of getting emancipated.

My brother and I eventually got in contact with our biological mother and had her sign legal paperwork giving our current aunt in Georgia permission to care for us.

Once we had that paperwork, we made our decision.

That Saturday, my brother and I got on a FlixBus and left Florida for Georgia.

We weren't trying to hurt anyone or make some dramatic statement. We simply wanted to live somewhere we felt safe and where we could actually focus on our lives.

We returned to Georgia, where our aunt welcomed us.

And honestly? Life has been amazing since then.

We've been here for approximately two months, and the difference is incredible.

Our aunt buys us things we actually need. She doesn't constantly demand money from us. I contribute $150 a month toward the internet, additional electricity, and the food my brother and I eat.

She doesn't make us feel guilty for existing or treat us like we're burdens.

She genuinely cares about us.

For the first time in a long time, I feel like my brother and I can actually breathe.

I'm working, making decent money, attending college, and planning for my future. I'm hoping to join the Air Force next July, and I'm working toward building a stable life for myself.

My brother and I have been through more than most people our age should ever have to experience. We're finally getting the opportunity to move forward instead of constantly trying to survive whatever family situation we're placed in next.

One year later: I finally got emancipated

Today is October 14, 2026.

Exactly one year after Uncle A passed away, I received the news that the judge had granted my emancipation petition. As I'm writing this, it happened approximately an hour and a half ago.

I'm officially legally emancipated.

It's hard to explain how much that means to me after everything we've been through. I can finally move forward with more independence and continue working toward the future I've been trying so hard to build.

I'm working, making good money, attending college, and planning to join the Air Force next July. I finally have things to look forward to instead of constantly worrying about where my brother and I will end up next.

I wish Uncle A could have been here to see this. He was one of the people who genuinely cared about us, and I think he would have been proud of how far we've come.

My brother and I have had a difficult life, but we're finally getting back on track.

So, are me and my brother wrong for getting on a bus and leaving the state to stay with our aunt?

Tl;DR my friend is cutting me off over things I didn't do and she's saying I did

My friend ( 13 f) is cutting me (14 f) off saying I was making two of our mutual friends (both 14 m )uncomfortable but also me and them were joking the whole time I asked if he was uncomfortable and he said no he thought we were just joking, so I asked the next friend he said "no we just talk like that we always take jane at each other" she's cutting me off after she outed me to my friends for being gay, I sit by her in 2 classes she's saying that I'm being immature for trying to fix the friend ship even after she said it's over but I really care about her. Am I the jerk?

(Yes I know my grammar is bad and please don't just comment about my age I am within reddits age rules)

I've always been fairly careful about how I spend money. Not cheap, exactly. I'll happily spend on things I enjoy, treat my friends occasionally, and contribute to group plans. But I don't believe that just because I can afford something, I should automatically have to pay for it.

I'm currently on a trip with a group of friends, and something happened that's made me question whether I'm being unreasonable.

I don't drink alcohol. My friends do, which has never been an issue. They can order whatever they want, and I'm perfectly happy sitting with them and having a good time.

The problem came when we started dividing our expenses.

Everyone wanted to split the total equally, including the alcohol. I pointed out that I hadn't had a single drink and would rather pay for my own food and my share of the actual group expenses. But a couple of my friends pushed back, saying we were on a group trip and that splitting everything individually was making things unnecessarily complicated.

Then someone brought up how much I earn.

Apparently, because I make decent money, I shouldn't be making a fuss over a few thousand rupees.

Why is my salary even relevant here? I work for my money, and just because I have enough to spend doesn't mean I want to spend it on alcohol I don't consume.

I wasn't asking anyone to subsidize my food or cover my share of the hotel. I was perfectly willing to pay for everything I actually participated in.

I also understand that on group trips, you can't calculate every single expense down to the last buck. Sometimes someone orders an extra dish or someone else takes a longer cab ride, and you let it go. That's part of travelling together.

But alcohol can be a significant expense, especially over multiple days. It feels different from someone ordering an extra plate of fries.

Now I am being tagged as the mood killer of the entire trip somehow, I don't believe I deserve this treatment.

Maybe I'm being too rigid about this. Should I just pay to maintain the peace of the trip? IDK. AITJ here?

TL;DR: Friends asking split bill equally for alcohol and I don't drink. This is causing problems.

TL;DR I allegedly made fun of my bfs friend while drunk and my bf is pissed at me

Last night I was really drunk with my friend, when I came home from the bar my bf was asleep. Apparently I was making fun of his friend when I was drunk. I don't remember this at all my bf swears it happened and he's super pissed at me.

I'm going to ask my friend in the morning if I did (it's 6 am), which I don't think I did. I don't think I should be blamed for something I don't remember regardless, he's adamit that I should. In the past he's made fun of my friend soooo many times I don't think its fair to judge me for something I don't remember saying when he's said way worse sober. I allegedly called his friend fat which I don't think I would do because I don't think he's fat at all. Apparently I also mentioned he's only had one gf he met off of Reddit.

I think my bf was asleep and mis remembering but he's adamit I did it. I told him I was sorry but don't think I should have to apologize for something I don't remember saying. Which pissed him off even more and he stormed out to go to work. So am I the asshole here? I don't think he has a right to be upset with me over this.

She refused to acknowledge my birthday. I turned 20 yesterday and she only said happy birthday because she was pried to.

Instead she went on some rant on me being ungrateful and said that since I’m 20 i need to be out of her house especially since I stopped giving her money. I stopped giving her money because she wasn’t using it for rent. She was using it to fund her and my brother’s shenanigans. I can’t even afford to move out and i haven’t even worked in a while so i’m especially limited on money right now too.

I’m just frustrated why was it such a crime to acknowledge my birthday?? And you use it as an excuse to get rid of me.