When we’re growing up, our parents naturally impress on us the importance of taking precautions to be safe – which often extends to how we behave in public, especially late at night. This is the case for everyone, but if you grow up female, you’re likely to have learned the vital importance of taking your own safety – and that of your friends – on a very serious level. Because while danger can be present at any time of day, when you’re alone – especially late at night – the world can be a scary place to be a woman, and naturally we’re cautious as a result.

As part of this, it’s very common for women to travel in groups, or insist on staying on the phone to their friends as they make their way home. Every woman is familiar with a friend requesting a text to let them know that you’ve got home safety – and that friend likely won’t go to bed until they have that confirmation, since they are all too aware of the dangers out there too. For some, it can stop them having fun, lead to them drinking less or going home earlier, all out of a desperate desire to stay safe.

So when we have safe people around us, we can feel that little bit more secure. These are men that we know have no ulterior motives, are trustworthy, and have our best interests at heart. Whether they’re friends, colleagues, siblings, or romantic partners, having men or women around us who care for our safety and ensure that we get home safely can be a game changer. And the guy in this story was that for his friend of three years, and had been throughout their friendship, always making sure she got home safe at night.

But then, something changed between them – and suddenly his regard for her safety was gone.

Read on to find out what happened.

AITA for no longer walking my friend home to her dorm after she rejected me?

I am a 21-year-old man, and I have been friends with Annie (21, female) for three years now, since the start of college.

We usually chill at one of our friend’s places every Saturday night with our friend group.

After we’re done, I walk her to her dorm first before heading back to my dorm.

This has been the default and I never really thought too much of it.

But then, things changed in their friendship.

A month ago, I asked her out, but she just wanted to remain friends.

It did not bother me too much, but I obviously wanted to cut back on our friendship a bit.

We were still amicable and part of the same friend group and still joked around with each other.

However I’ve stopped walking her back to her dorm, and just walk back to my dorm.

Let’s see how Annie felt about this change.

The first couple of weeks, she did walk back on her own to her dorm.

However, last week, she asked if I could walk her back, because she was extremely scared walking alone at midnight especially when she was drunk.

I told her to just get an Uber or ask someone else, because I was getting too tired to walk her home to her place, and then walk back to my place. The conversation was sort of awkward, and we left it at that.

AITA?

You have to ask why he was walking Annie back to her dorm.

Was it because he was a good guy who was concerned about the safety of his female friend? Or was it just because he hoped that one day she’d invite him in, or otherwise develop feelings for him.

If it was the former, you’d think he’d still be walking her home?

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a man who was totally humiliated when he learned the real reason his friends had ditched him.

Let’s see what folks on Reddit had to say about this.

This person agreed that he had clearly been walking her home with ulterior motives.

While others pointed out what a bad guy this made him.

Meanwhile, this Redditor explained the right thing to do.

When walking home at night – especially when drunk – women are uniquely vulnerable in ways that some men cannot comprehend. Some men, that is. The majority are totally understanding of this, and would happily help their female friends get home safely, drunk or not, no questions asked. And this is the kind of guy that he was making himself out to be, with Annie presumably believing that he was a good friend that she could rely on.

Now however, because she wanted to keep him as a friend rather than a romantic partner – as is her right to request – he’s taken away all the privileges of his friendship. Now that she has said no, he’s not interested in walking her home to ensure her safety – even when she was drunk and vulnerable, clearly scared at the thought of walking home alone. Naturally, she turned to the person who had always kept her safe in the past. It must have been quite the blow to realise that just because she didn’t want to take their friendship further, he didn’t care about her safety any more.

This guy sucks. Was he playing the long game and hoping for three years that she would want something more than friendship, and keeping her safe for those reasons? Or is he just so stung by her rejection that he’s behaving spitefully? Either way, this is not a good look for him at all.