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When you live near other people, it is natural to develop casual relationships with them, or even friendships.

What would you do if your neighbor, who you talked to sometimes, came over at night very upset, asking for a ride to the hospital to see his daughter?

That is what happened to the young lady in this story, but she was getting a bad feeling about the situation, so she said no. He left without a problem, so now she feels bad.

You really can’t be too careful. She did the right thing by trusting her gut. Read through the full story below and see if you agree.

AITA for declining to do a neighbor a favor?

I (F/28) live with my 3 kids alone, a single mom.

Seems like a good enough neighbor.

I have a neighbor (M/42-ish) a couple of doors away, his wife left him about 5 years ago, and he now lives alone.

He doesn’t work due to some kind of illness, which is not apparent from looking at him. We are friendly, but not friends, and I’ll stop to talk to him in passing if we cross paths.

What could he want?

So, a few days ago at about 10pm, I’m relaxing watching TV and my doorbell is rung furiously several times, and it’s him.

I peek my head round the door and look at him like, yes? His expression is weird and made the hairs on my neck bristle.

Something is suspicious here.

He says that his adult daughter has been taken ill and he needs a ride to the hospital to see her, and can I give him a ride.

The way he said it didn’t ring true, something just seemed off, like he didn’t know how to word what he was saying properly – he took several seconds to even start speaking when I opened the door.

What does he have in mind?

The only hospital I know is only 20 mins away by bus, or 5-10 mins by Uber. I was obviously trying to process wth was going on, and when I asked which hospital, he said it’s the one nearby, but that it’s fine, he’ll ask someone else if I can’t do it.

I said, no sorry I can’t, and shut the door. I just feel a bit freaked out, but at the same time I feel good for listening to my gut and not going out into the night in my car with this guy, as innocent as this request may have been.

AITA?

It is never wrong to put your own safety and comfort first.

Let’s see what the people in the comments have to say.

He asked, she answered. It doesn’t have to go beyond that.

This commenter says that it is smart to listen to your ‘spidey sense’.

Listening to your gut is usually a good idea.

She has kids that she can’t just leave behind.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a neighborhood that’s up in arms after HOA and city clash about whether or not homeowners can place cones.

The situation was likely innocent, but she doesn’t need to be uncomfortable.

She has nothing to feel bad about, even if it is very likely that he had no bad intentions.

In situations like this, it is best to be cautious. If he is a decent person, he won’t be upset at all.