If you grew up in a home and caused you a lot of trauma, would you agree to go back to that house to pet sit for your parents?

In this story, one woman’s friend does just that and wants moral support. The plan was for them to go together, but the friend didn’t seem to understand that there are boundaries.

Let’s read the whole story.

AITA for bailing out from helping my friend through her week she has to spend in her childhood trauma home because she flipped out when it turned out I’ll only be there for 3 days (as I said from the start) ?

So I have this friend that comes from a trauma home and she agreed to pet-sit for her parents for over a week.

It’s devastating for her emotionally to be there, my advice was not very much not to agree, I really tried but she cant set a boundary.

It’s the 2nd time this year, I already went with her last time for 2 days.

Now, I work remotely and free hours so technically I can do that, like she’s not asking me to sacrifice my job.

There was a clear boundary from the beginning.

So when she told me she agreed to pet-sit again for over a week and asked if I can come with her to help manage it I said okay, I can come for 2 days, maybe 3 maximum.

From the start I said that.

Now when we were supposed to go to the house, the day prior when I said I’m going back on Sunday because I have a fairly important social thing going on she flipped out on me HARD, telling me that then I shouldn’t come at all, saying things like “oh suddenly you’ve got plans? exactly when I want help?”.

Wouldn’t she rather have some support than none?

I set a boundary here, I reminded her we pre-agreed for 3 days max. I have my life and a cat that’d have to be alone and a myriad things.

I said firmly but politely something like “ok, you can have my support for 3 days now as we have agreed, either now or after Sunday, which one do you prefer?” (not to mention that latter choice would inconvience me significantly because I scheduled around Thursday-Saturday but I still gave her that option)

She finally said “f… you, I don’t need your charity of 2-3 days”.

That was it.

They are both waiting for an apology.

I didn’t reply to that message. Didn’t go. Gave her a chance to calm down and apologise but she didn’t.

I think she expected an apology from me instead.

All I did was said I’m gonna do what we agreed previously, that is 3 days. She knew about this.

As a result she had to go face her traumas alone. AITA?

OP set clear boundaries, but her friend must not have been listening or assumed she’d change her mind and stay longer. The friend is clearly the one in the wrong for getting mad about nothing. Also, if she has that much trauma, she shouldn’t agree to pet sit.

Let’s see how Reddit reacted to this story.

Here’s a suggestion for her friend to get therapy.

It’s not like OP changed the agreement.

Another person thinks the friend was being manipulative.

Maybe “trauma” is an exaggeration.

You’d think some support would be better than nothing.

If you thought that was an interesting story, check out what happened when a family gave their in-laws a free place to stay in exchange for babysitting, but things changed when they don’t hold up their end of the bargain.