I Overheard What My Sister REALLY Thinks Of Me At Her Bachelorette

[00:00:02] [SPEAKER_00] Hey Waffle Gang, I do hope you are well. My name is Mark and today we're checking out some more Reddit Stories. And if you do love a Reddit Story, why not consider that like, subscribe, maybe that notification bell too. Let's crack on with today's first story. Much love guys. Now today's first story comes from Bubblybug2502 from the Am I The Arsehole Here subreddit. And it says,

[00:00:27] [SPEAKER_00] Am I The Arsehole Here for refusing to attend my sister's wedding after what I overheard her say about me? This is a throwaway account, as I don't want this getting back to anyone in my family for obvious reasons. I've also made a few edits to clarify some things that I forgot to mention to help explain. I, 26 female, need an outside perspective because my entire family is split and I honestly don't know if I'm overreacting or finally standing up for myself.

[00:00:57] [SPEAKER_00] My sister, Emily, 30 female, is getting married in two months. Growing up, we were never super close. She was always the golden child. If you know, you know. And I was kind of just there. Not ignored per se, but definitely not celebrated the same way etc. Still, I agreed to be a bridesmaid because my mum begged me and said it would mean the world to Emily.

[00:01:23] [SPEAKER_00] Planning has been stressful but nothing crazy. Until last weekend. Emily had a small bachelorette weekend at an Airbnb. There were seven of us total. And on the second night, I went upstairs early because I had a headache and wasn't feeling well. Around midnight, I realized I left my charger downstairs so I went back down. Quietly though, because I didn't want to wake anyone who may have been asleep.

[00:01:47] [SPEAKER_00] That's when I overheard Emily talking to a maid of honor. She didn't know I was on the stairs. She was drunk, laughing and said, I only asked her to be a bridesmaid so my mum would shut up. She's always ruining things anyway. I swear to god, if she shows up looking for attention, I'll lose it. Her friend laughed and said something like, well, at least you'll look better next to her. So, Emily said, exactly. It's kind of a win-win.

[00:02:13] [SPEAKER_00] I froze. I felt like I couldn't breathe. For context, I've struggled with my confidence for years, especially compared to Emily. She knows this. She's made comments my whole life about my weight, my hair, my clothes and always framed it as helpful advice. I went back upstairs and didn't say anything the rest of the weekend. When we got home, I sent her a message saying I was stepping down as bridesmaid and wouldn't be attending the wedding.

[00:02:39] [SPEAKER_00] I didn't explain why at first. I just said I needed space and wished her the best. Edit for clarification. But after I stepped down, she kept pushing for a reason and why I stepped down and that it didn't make sense that I was once again being dramatic as always. I didn't tell her exactly what I heard, but I did tell her that I overheard a conversation at the bachelorette party that really hurt me.

[00:03:02] [SPEAKER_00] She put two and two together on her own after that. Then, she lost it. She called me crying saying I was purposely sabotaging her big day. That I was being dramatic. That everyone says things they don't mean when they are drunk. Shake my head. My mom called me next and said I was punishing the whole family over a misunderstanding. My dad says I should be the bigger person. And here's where it gets worse.

[00:03:27] [SPEAKER_00] Yesterday, Emily posted in the bridesmaids group chat that I forgot I was still in, that she's heartbroken, I'm abandoning her, and that she never meant to hurt me. That she never apologized. Not once. Now, half my family is texting me saying I'm selfish and the other half is telling me I finally did what they wish they had the courage to do. I haven't responded to anyone yet. Am I the asshole for refusing to go to a wedding after overhearing that conversation? I'm conflicted and don't know what to do.

[00:03:56] [SPEAKER_00] And part of me is telling myself that I am. Edit, I'm going to take some of y'all's advice. I will update soon. Now, that drunk truth defense just sounds like absolute bollocks to me. Alcohol, as far as I've ever seen, doesn't make these mean thoughts. It just removes the filter, if you like, on the already existing thoughts.

[00:04:19] [SPEAKER_00] And Emily just admitted that she just views OP as kind of a prop in her wedding that's going to make her look better, whilst also keeping their mum happy. They're all just trying to keep each other happy and OP's the victim in all of it. And just look at Emily's actions after all this went down. There was no immediate apology. There was no, I'm sorry I hurt you. It was basically, you're sabotaging my day. You're ruining my day now and then getting people to gang up on you because of it.

[00:04:49] [SPEAKER_00] Dad turning around and saying, you know, be the bigger person. Again, let yourself be treated like shit so no one else has to deal with your problem. That's all that says. But one of the big lines that jumped out to me was the family turning around and saying, we wish we had your courage. It just said a whole lot about what's been going on in the background, doesn't it?

[00:05:09] [SPEAKER_00] And just as I get older, the more I read these stories, I think OP has to ask themselves what Emily actually offers OP in any term of relationship. Because it doesn't sound like anything. The commenter said to OP, not the asshole. No, you didn't mean to hurt me, but you did. And you didn't bother to apologize. In vino veritas, which in Latin means in wine there is truth. OP then says, I never knew what that saying meant, but now I do.

[00:05:39] [SPEAKER_00] Thank you. I truly appreciate it. A commenter says, your sister sounds like a two-faced yunt. Hindsight, you should have recorded her saying all that garbage and sent it to your whole family and her fiance. Fuck them all. OP says, I wish I did. My phone was dead and that's why I was going to get my charger, which led to all this BS. A commenter says, I'm so sorry, OP. OP, your family sounds like they've taken you for granted for a long time now. Time to stand up for yourself.

[00:06:09] [SPEAKER_00] Be honest. They can choose to take it or leave it. It must really hurt. It will never stop until you make a stand. Ask for an apology and see what happens. OP says, I'm trying really hard. It's always been hard for me because I hate confrontation and this is how things usually go. Somehow, some way, I'm always the bad guy no matter what I do. So most of the time I don't even try. But I am now.

[00:06:35] [SPEAKER_00] The OP comes in with an update and says, so firstly, I want to say I don't really know how to update so I'm doing it this way. Sorry if it's not right, but wow. I did not expect my post to blow up the way it did. And I've read almost everyone's comments. And I wanted to clarify a few things and give an update because things have escalated and very quickly. First, thank you to everyone who validated that what I overheard wasn't nothing. I genuinely started questioning my own sanity after my family got involved.

[00:07:05] [SPEAKER_00] It's been rough and I've been drained. Now for the update. Emily showed up at my apartment unannounced about an hour-ish ago. Like Jesus, can it get any worse? I was ignoring all the calls and texts, so she thought this would be the next best thing to do. Like what? She said she wanted to talk like adults and clear the air. Well, against my better judgment, I let her in. At first, she cried. A lot.

[00:07:33] [SPEAKER_00] This is the usual go-to, just want to say. She said she felt attacked and that I'm being unreasonable and that I'm trying to turn our family against her. Which is not at all what is happening. I let her speak until then. Then I asked her directly if she remembered what she said at the bachelorette party. And she went quiet and just stared at me. It was awkward as heck. After that awkward long pause, she admitted she remembered it, but said I took it out of context.

[00:08:00] [SPEAKER_00] According to her, she didn't mean that I always ruin things, just that I stress her out because I'm sensitive and need reassurance. She said the comment about my looks was obviously a joke and that her friend didn't mean it that way. I swear to God, it took everything in me to not lose my shit. I asked her why. If it was harmless, did she never apologize? She said, and I'm not exaggerating because apologizing would mean I did something wrong and I didn't. Are you kidding me?

[00:08:31] [SPEAKER_00] That's when I told her I wasn't coming to the wedding. Period. And that she needed to leave my place now before I did something I regret. Yes, I know. I let my anger get the best of me. She snapped. She accused me of being jealous of her life, her relationship and the attention she's getting. She said I've always played the victim and that this was just another example. Then she said something that honestly broke whatever was left of our relationship. You should be grateful I even included you. People would notice if you weren't there.

[00:08:59] [SPEAKER_00] I'm assuming that meant to say people wouldn't notice if you weren't there. I told her to leave. Get the fuck out now. And that she was a vile human being and she got up, slammed my door and left. About 20ish minutes ago, my mom called me screaming. Apparently, Emily told her I attacked her. I called her a narcissist and that I threatened to ruin the wedding. None of that is true. But my mom will not listen to me no matter what I say. It's like talking to a brick wall and it hurts.

[00:09:29] [SPEAKER_00] My cousin, who was also at the Bachelorette weekend, texted me. I'm talking with her now. She said she overheard the same conversation I did but even more was said than what I had heard. According to her, Emily also complained that I'd look bad in photos. Said she hoped I wouldn't get emotional and cry and joked about putting me at the end of the bridesmaids line so I'd be easier to crop out. Like, I genuinely don't know how to handle my emotions right now.

[00:09:56] [SPEAKER_00] My cousin is apologizing for not telling me sooner and she said she feels sick about it now. So yeah. As of now, I'm officially not attending the wedding. Emily has blocked me. Good riddance, honestly. My mom says I've destroyed the family which I feel guilty for but like, what else am I supposed to do? And I'm being uninvited from future family events unless I fix this. I feel awful but I don't feel wrong. I guess I will update more tomorrow or whenever I can.

[00:10:25] [SPEAKER_00] Sleeping tonight is going to be rough. I'm being blown up and just need a damn break. My commenter says to AP after the update, thanks for the update. Not surprised she started out crying to get sympathy then did a 180 and got mad to make you back off then piled on accusations, justification for what she claimed she didn't mean and finally whined to the rest of the family. Always gets her side of the story out first. Typical narcissistic behavior.

[00:10:54] [SPEAKER_00] You didn't call her a narcissist but she's acting like one. Opie says yes. I tried so hard to keep my composure. And sure, I def did say I didn't want to do anything I will regret. But I refrained from saying so much more. And I really wanted to say because I was just hoping that she would realize how much this hurts and how bad it is. But of course not. And now it's going downhill even more.

[00:11:17] [SPEAKER_00] The irony of her, of Emily accusing OP of calling her a narcissist even though she didn't. But then to actually act like a narcissist. And I just look at these relationships like from OP's perspective and I think what actually is there? I know it's so, I know it's really, really difficult because you know, this is her family and she's been conditioned for years and years and years with this kind of behavior. But you just, I think at some point you have to ask yourself what are they actually offering?

[00:11:47] [SPEAKER_00] Because I don't think that mum would have believed OP even if she had like video evidence of what was said. It would have still been twisted round back onto OP in some way, shape or form. I mean the mum already believes that Emily's version of everything is gospel without even hearing OP's side. I think the only thing that would be interesting to do is getting that cousin involved and posting their side of the story in that group chat.

[00:12:13] [SPEAKER_00] That OP should just block them and but ask the cousin to do this if they'd be willing to do so. So I think that'd be interesting but again, it might be just more aggro for OP at the same time. But again, I just find it, I just keep asking myself time and time again after this is like, what is there in terms of relationship? Could you actually ever see yourself in the future having like a loving, caring, trusting relationship with these people?

[00:12:42] [SPEAKER_00] Again, I know I'm seeing like five minutes of someone's life here so it's always incredibly difficult. But from the five minutes I've seen, they seem awful. But now I'm going to turn this one to you guys. What do you guys make of this situation? Maybe you can see a different solution to it. Let us know your thoughts down in the comments below and let's move on to another story.

[00:13:08] [SPEAKER_00] Now our next story comes from the Entitled People subreddit from Jesse Book who says, My friend took advantage of me when I was in the hospital. I was away from home for a month for a planned surgery plus recovery. This was a very intensive surgery. I'm six weeks out right now and I can still barely walk. At the last minute my hired pet sitter cancelled on me and I was desperate to find a replacement. I offered that money to a friend who was having housing difficulties.

[00:13:36] [SPEAKER_00] She was to take care of my house and pets. I let her stay in my home while I was gone and I even bought $300 worth of groceries for her. The agreement was for her to take care of my kittens and fish and to have the house tidied up before I got home. My car would be there in case of an emergency. But otherwise please avoid driving it. It's a lease and have an allotment of miles I can drive before I have to pay extra. After I was admitted into the hospital, she moved her own cat in and also her boyfriend in.

[00:14:07] [SPEAKER_00] When I got home, my house was an absolute disaster. Dishes piled up in the sink. Took me four loads to clear. Dishes and leftover food scattered around the house. Cat vomit left to dry on the floor. Bags of cat litter clumps in the hallway. Half full trash bags left in the entryway. Stains on the couch. Floors and counters filthy. There was a three foot circle of wood ash on the floor around the fireplace. I used up about 80% of my winter wood pile.

[00:14:36] [SPEAKER_00] So now I didn't have enough wood to last me the rest of the winter. So here I am, post surgery and barely able to walk. Scrubbing the floors, doing dishes, taking out the trash, sweeping and mopping and vacuuming. And there's only so much I can physically do before I'm in massive pain. Well, you guessed it. I've been in massive pain every night since that first night, doing too much trying to clean up after her. It hasn't even been a week.

[00:15:03] [SPEAKER_00] She tried to negotiate with me to stay at my house for several more weeks or longer. To help with the kids and take care of you. No, not a chance. But I'm so weak right now that I had to play it as tactfully as I could. What resulted was her staying an extra two days. Her useless boyfriend sitting on my couch, eating my food, watching me clean up and not offering to help. She at least cooked food for me the next day.

[00:15:28] [SPEAKER_00] I called my two besties, a married couple, and asked them to come by to ensure these two left my house when the Lyft arrived to take them home. I told them hours beforehand to pack up and be ready to leave. They waited until 10 minutes prior to finally start packing, and the Lyft driver had to wait a half hour for them. As they were leaving, the boyfriend was questioning my friend and asking him how long they were staying. He grey-rocked with excellence.

[00:15:54] [SPEAKER_00] The boyfriend was all, I'm just concerned about her and want to make sure she has the help she needs, and I'll be back to help out as much as I can. The asshole did absolutely nothing to help and made everything harder on me. As soon as they were gone, my real friend sent me to bed and helped me clean up my kitchen and living room. My kids also helped out. Even with that, I would still end up having to spend time over the next several days cleaning up after them.

[00:16:19] [SPEAKER_00] I still haven't tried to remove the couch stains, but at least my son vacuumed all the crumbs and such out of the cushions and cleaned up the fireplace. And then, I discovered my car. I'd given her permission for two non-emergency trips into the city, about 30 miles away. She also admitted to using my car a little bit while I was gone. I was too weak to make a fuss of it. Well, it turns out they drove my car over 1,100 miles.

[00:16:45] [SPEAKER_00] These parasites took absolute advantage of me while I was at my weakest. So today, I sent a text requesting they pay me 30 cents per mile of unauthorized use, which adds up to $255. I'll either get some money back from my troubles, or I'll scare them away so badly that I'll never have to see them or deal with them again. Either way, it's a win. My word, that was just so infuriating to read.

[00:17:11] [SPEAKER_00] And I just, like, whenever we read stories like this, I'm just like, these people are out there somewhere. And they knew exactly what they were doing. The absolute audacity from the very start, like, moving a boyfriend and a cat into your home while you were in the hospital having major surgery. And then left you to return to all this shit that happened. I just wish there was something legal that could be done about that, because that's just taking the piss, isn't it?

[00:17:37] [SPEAKER_00] But your approach on this, either getting some kind of compensation or never seeing them again. We know what's going to happen there, right? You're not going to see them again. It is, that is a win, right? Not totally ideal, of course, because, you know, getting some accountability from them would be absolutely amazing. I think, you know, I know it's not always the best way, but I'd be out for my revenge. And that reading that was just pissing me right off.

[00:18:04] [SPEAKER_00] I think I'd have been taking photos of everything that they left and show anyone that knows them those pictures. Because, as I said, it's taking the piss. Billy says, Jesus, I'm sorry this happened to you, OP. Baby says, thank you. It's hard for me to enforce boundaries, even when I'm at my best. But I'm trying to get better. I've been learning and practicing ever since I divorced my cheating ex. Rated says, why in God's name didn't you ask your two besties right from the get-go? Why did you ask some scumbag friend? And, OP says, yeah.

[00:18:34] [SPEAKER_00] They asked me the same thing. I was stressed and panicking and didn't think they'd be available with their jobs, especially since I live a good 45 minutes drive from them. I figured it was easier to help a friend in need than to impose upon them. I suffered for my choice. Nutt says, how old are your children? And where were they when these slobs were at your house? OP says, elementary school age. I have 50-50 custody of them, so they stayed with my ex while I was gone. Someone said, why ex couldn't help.

[00:19:00] [SPEAKER_00] OP says, my ex is a cheater and a liar and deeply hurt me with multiple affairs. I would really, really prefer not to have to rely on my ex for anything other than what is strictly necessary regarding the children. Someone says, are the fish okay? OP says, fish are doing well. Oh, and my water filter broke the night before I left and I had to spend another $70 on a new one. I'm just glad the pet store was still open when it happened. Someone says, is your cat okay? OP says, kittens are doing well.

[00:19:29] [SPEAKER_00] Happy, healthy, well socialized. At least she took care of them well. People aren't all bad. And as much as she and her boyfriend used me, at least my pets were taken care of. I'm forever the silver linings girl. And the nightmare says, I'm so sorry this happened to you. When you were just trying to help out a friend. Even at a time when you needed the most help yourself. Though we all of course need to be discerning. Please don't lose your beautiful kindness over this. Hope your surgery went well.

[00:19:59] [SPEAKER_00] Please take the best care of yourself and allow yourself to rest. Saying that the last party because I messed up my own c-section scar two weeks after I had my baby by cleaning and walking. I'm guessing you had something at least as invasive if not more so to contend with. OP says, thank you honey. It's been a little rough having to both clean up after my help and also take care of the kids. Fortunately, my older two have been incredibly helpful. And I've been feeding them with the slow cooker. Super easy meals that last for days.

[00:20:28] [SPEAKER_00] My girlfriend stopped by on Wednesday to take me to the pharmacy and go grocery shopping for me. Then she spent the evening playing with the kids. Helping with homework and even made dinner for us. She was amazing. And I hired a nanny yesterday. And she's starting Monday to take the kids to school for me. And help me around the house for a bit. I'm just going to have to bleed money for a little while. OP replies to a longer comment who says, I love your advice. Thank you so much. I do have external cameras. I've been meaning to get internal ones for common areas.

[00:20:57] [SPEAKER_00] But there's only so much I can afford at once. And right now, all of my funds are going towards divorce and medical care. Once my divorce is finalized, I'll be spending funds on a restraining order against my abusive parents. I do have quite a few friends who have since offered genuine help. Just most of them live far from me. They were just unavailable at the moment I needed them. When my hired help fell through. I was desperate to find someone. I was too stressed to think of all my options. Someone says to OP to change the locks.

[00:21:25] [SPEAKER_00] So OP says changing locks is something I know how to do. I had to do it after the divorce when my ex's parents decided they could just waltz into my house whenever they wanted. Because it's the same house our grandbabies are in. I just bought the house off my ex in the divorce. Someone says, is anything stolen? OP says I was so scared my medicine would have been taken. That it was the first thing I looked through. Fortunately, the only valuable jewelry I have, I wear. My ex never bought me jewelry. They were all pieces I bought for myself after the divorce.

[00:21:55] [SPEAKER_00] I still have to check out the garage and see if things are where they're supposed to be. And yes, searching the house for anything illegal is definitely something I should do. It's just hard to do everything while recovering from surgery. I move slow. I'm in a lot of pain. And there's always something that needs to get done. Including bed rest. And another commenter says,

[00:22:40] [SPEAKER_00] So OP did come back in with an update. and says, I didn't expect an update to happen so quickly. Honestly, I didn't expect an update at all. You may call me naive. You're probably right. I just always try to see the best in people and hope they choose to be good. It's time to use some names. Her name is Raven. I don't know if it's a real name and that's why she introduced herself to me and that's how I know her. Her boyfriend is Angelo. The cat's name is Alvin. He's a sweetheart.

[00:23:10] [SPEAKER_00] A bit of background on me. I grew up in an abusive household. One of those never rock the boat homes where image was more important than anything else. If someone harmed me, hurt me, insulted me, anything and I got upset, I was forced to apologize to them. My dad is also an explosive man. He was fine most of the time except for when times he wasn't. When I was 18, he strangled me. I fled to the army, got away for four years,

[00:23:38] [SPEAKER_00] sent to war and got PTSD. My dad has only assaulted me a few times since. Over the years, the most recent was last June. The time before was last February and he left bruises on me. I ended up marrying an emotionally unavailable person who would later become a serial cheater and blame me for the affairs. For years, I accepted that blame, tried to change myself and make myself better so they wouldn't cheat anymore. I finally filed for divorce at the end of 2024.

[00:24:07] [SPEAKER_00] When I called my mom for support, she took the side of my ex, downplayed the affairs and told me to cancel the divorce and beg my ex back for the sake of the kids. It took me a long time to be able to admit to myself that none of this was my fault and most of that was just this past year while I have been in therapy. Despite everything that happened, I always blamed myself, not them. I tried over and over to explain to them how they harmed me. It never worked. It's not my fault that I've been abused,

[00:24:36] [SPEAKER_00] but it is my responsibility to take ownership of my healing. Fault is past-focused and responsibility is future-focused. We learn from the past, but we focus on the future. I am now estranged from my parents as of three months ago. My mom does not respect that and keeps trying to find ways to contact me, including showing up at my house unannounced. My dad has been shit-talking about me to anyone he can. He battered my ex, threatened to sue us both for grandparents' rights.

[00:25:05] [SPEAKER_00] As soon as my divorce is signed by the judge and finalized, I'll be talking to a lawyer about getting a restraining order against my parents. All that is to explain what happened between me and Raven and why it was so hard for me to kick her out. Not only am I bad at boundaries in general, but also with major surgery, I'm in a severely weakened state as I slowly recover. I'm so thankful for my best friends for coming in to help me. I say all of this to preface what happened last night. I'm too nice. I know I am,

[00:25:34] [SPEAKER_00] but it's not something I want to let go. People do take advantage of me sometimes, I know. It's a risk of being kind, but I refuse to let my kindness go. I want to live in a world with kindness, and that always starts with yourself. I don't want to grow into a bitter old hag. Despite posting my story only yesterday, the events took place last weekend. I returned home from surgery last Friday, and it took me until Sunday to actually get Raven and Angelo out of my house.

[00:26:02] [SPEAKER_00] I couldn't have done it without my two best friends, who helped enforce it for me. Even then, they left behind several things. Some clothes, her prescription medicine, her cat, etc. This was likely so they could worm their way back into my home, though I didn't realize it at the time. Then I spent all week taking care of my kids and slowly trying to clean the house. Yesterday was custody exchange day, so I finally have some time to just relax and recover. Yesterday, I also ran out of pain meds.

[00:26:30] [SPEAKER_00] I've been desperately trying to get more all week, but my surgeon is unavailable. My primary care physician is out of the office. My gynecologist never called me back. Finally, I just went to the ER for pain management. The doctor and staff there were wonderful, but it still took a total of seven hours. I didn't get home until after 9pm. At 11.45pm, I got a phone call from a local number I didn't recognize. I answered, and it was Raven. She was in tears.

[00:26:58] [SPEAKER_00] She said the house she was staying at ended up being a meth house, and they were trying to kill each other, and she was scared that I was the only person she knew, and she needed me to come get her. I told her I can't. I can't get her. I can't drive that much. I just got out of the ER. I'm on pain meds that make it so I can't drive. I'm not going to put myself around druggies, especially in my current state, and I can't bring her back to my home. I need my home to be for me. Her attitude immediately shifted. The crying immediately stopped.

[00:27:27] [SPEAKER_00] The pitch of her voice dropped, and she said something about, fine, I get it. I'll figure it out. It's not your problem. She hung up. I didn't remember exactly, as my pain meds made my head fuzzy. After that, she texted me. I'll copy and paste the response, as this sub doesn't let me post pics, and I can't share the screenshots. Raven said, I'm sorry I asked. And also you can tell me, are we not friends anymore? Did I do something really bad? Fucking cheeky so-and-so. Opie says,

[00:27:57] [SPEAKER_00] Call 911. You're in danger, and so is everyone around you. Get the police to arrest them, and get you to safety. Raven said, I already did. Opie said, Good. Raven replied saying, I don't know what to do anymore. The cops are here, but they won't help. It looks like the cops left doing nothing in the process. I'm sorry. It's okay. I'll figure out something. Opie says, At this point, I wrote a long message about how I can't have her back. However, I took a lot of advice given to me on my last post, especially the criticism calling me a doormat, calling me naive,

[00:28:26] [SPEAKER_00] and saying this was my fault for being too kind. So I copied what I wrote into an AI, and had it rewrite it for me, so I could better enforce boundaries. Here's what I wrote originally, but didn't send. You have to figure that out yourself. I'm not your rescuer. I have my own health to take care of, and my own children. Besides, I have given you a lot already, and you abused that. You left my house in shambles. It's taken me all week to clean up after your stay, and there's still more to do. I've torn stitches trying to make my own home safe for my kids.

[00:28:56] [SPEAKER_00] I'm not safe around you and Angelo. He especially scares me. I'm fairly certain he's an addict. For the time being, you're not welcome at my home. If you show up, I will call the cops, ditch that man, get stability in your life, and I may reconsider. For now, Alvin will be taken care of. Here's what I actually posted with the help of the AI. I'm really sorry you're in a frightening position. I'm not able to help beyond encouraging you to work with emergency services and local resources. I need to be clear that I cannot be your rescuer,

[00:29:26] [SPEAKER_00] and I cannot take on crisis support, transportation, or housing. I'm recovering from surgery, and need to focus on my health and my children. Due to what happened during your stay, including the condition my home was left in, and the negative impact on my recovery from it, you and Angelo are not welcome at my home going forward. This boundary is firm. If you show up here, I will call the police. Alvin will be cared for. I wish you safety, but I can't be involved beyond this. So, Raven replied saying, so the stuff I left I can't get back.

[00:29:55] [SPEAKER_00] Not even my cat. Me? I replied, please send me a list of the personal items you want returned, and an address where they can be shipped. I'm not able to arrange in-person pickup. For Alvin, I will coordinate a drop-off at a vet or shelter, and you can retrieve him from there. If you have a preferred vet, please let me know. Otherwise, I select one. Raven said, the stuff I don't care about, can you please just drop my cat off? Then I can get him. I'm sorry that I didn't take care of the house well enough. Just please don't throw my cat away.

[00:30:25] [SPEAKER_00] Can you just drop him off at a local vet like on Monday? Whatever time, I'll be there. Just don't take my cat away from me. And that's it. I spent the rest of the night so scared that they would show up to my house anyways. I already have PTSD from the army, which leaves me super paranoid that people are going to attack me and harm me. So whenever conflict comes up, I end up spiraling and panicking about it, imagining scenarios over and over. Fortunately, my anxiety meds help. I locked all my doors and windows.

[00:30:55] [SPEAKER_00] I eventually fell asleep at 1am, and I've been up since 5. On Monday, I plan to ask a friend to come with me to drop the cat off. And then after I leave, I'll inform her that she can get him. And if she can't, well, it's not my problem. As for me, today I have some different friends dropping by to cook me dinner and help me clean my house some more. I've also asked them to help me change the locks, thanks to all the advice I received in my last post. Hopefully this is the end of it. I really just want to be able to recover in peace. Edit to answer some of the questions

[00:31:24] [SPEAKER_00] that keep coming up. One, yes, I have cameras. Two, yes, I'm changing the locks, but haven't been able to do so yet. I didn't get home from the emergency room until last night until 9pm, and I'm not in the position where I can keep running errands all day. Went to the grocery store this morning and that took about everything I have out of me. I have friends coming tonight to help. Three, yes, I have a credit monitoring subscription set up and I'll be going through that when I have the time and energy. There's only so much I can do in a day before my body shuts down. Recovery from major surgery

[00:31:53] [SPEAKER_00] is absolutely exhausting. Four, no, I will not keep Alvin. I do not want to have anything that will invite Raven back into my home. For all of you saying I need to keep him, I welcome you to take him for yourself and subsequently invite Raven into your lives. Then you can deal with all of this and I can recover in peace. I'll let you know what location I drop him off at and you can go pick him up before she does, if she does at all. Bloody hell, what a time for OP

[00:32:21] [SPEAKER_00] and it sounds like things are going in the right direction. It sounds like they're looking out for things with cameras changing locks, all that kind of stuff and I really hope that they do because, you know, we've just seen some absolute stories, haven't we? There was that phone call from her where she was in tears and then went to ice cold the second that OP was like, then no, I can't do this. Just, it just felt so manipulative and I don't know if she really was or wasn't in danger but to me, it just felt like, you know,

[00:32:51] [SPEAKER_00] testing those boundaries. As for the cat, I'm absolutely gutted for the cat but I don't blame OP one bit at the same time because keeping him means keeping Raven's chaos in her life. The cat can be used as potential leverage and I think it's just that simple. OP's already got a ton on their plate, major surgery, PTSD and then also dealing with their past as well. So all I can say after all that chaos

[00:33:20] [SPEAKER_00] in your life is that I really hope that things start moving in a more positive direction for you. Continue to lean on those support systems that you have around you. They sound like wonderful people but now, I'm going to turn this one to you guys. What do you guys make of this situation? The absolute audacity of some people, right? Let us know your thoughts down in the comments below. Just a huge thank you for being here today, getting involved in the stories, your love, your support, your time.

[00:33:50] [SPEAKER_00] It always means the absolute world to me. So thank you so, so much for being here. It's absolutely amazing and hopefully, I'll see you in the next one. Take care and much love. Take care.

[00:34:01] Take care.