Social media users told a son who was kicked out of the house by his mother and her boyfriend the day after his high school graduation that he is under no obligation to move back in with her now that she is ill.
"AITA for not wanting to go back home to take care of my sick mom after [she] and her boyfriend kicked me out the day after my high school graduation last year?" asked Reddit user "Last_Astronaut_6032" in a Jan. 24 post on Reddit's "Am I the A--hole" subreddit.
In the post, the user said that last year, the day after he graduated from high school, "my mom and her boyfriend told me that now that I was an adult, I had to move out and find a place of my own."
This was "unexpected," said Last_Astronaut_6032, who added that his relationship with his mother "changed drastically when her new boyfriend moved in."
"I tried to make a good impression because I wanted her to be happy, but the guy just seemed to have an issue with me," he wrote. The boyfriend, he said, "convinced my mom to start charging me rent because I had a part-time job while still in school, even though he was jobless and living off my mom."
The boyfriend, wrote the young man on Reddit, would go into his room and use his things without asking — and even broke his laptop, he said.
"My mom saw nothing wrong with his behavior and always took his side," wrote Last_Astronaut_6032. "She would yell at me whenever I complained about how I didn't like him invading my privacy. He seemed very pleased with himself when my mom kicked me out."
TEXAS PARENTS REVEAL CHARGING 19-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER RENT AS TREND RECEIVES CRITICISM, SUPPORT
Last_Astronaut_6032 said he spent the next few months sleeping on friends' couches or outside as he did not have enough money to get a place of his own. (He did not disclose his location.)
"Thankfully, I was able to get a second job through someone I knew, and I was able to save up and I just moved into a new place [at] the beginning of this month after months and months of not having anywhere to call home," he wrote.
Then, Last_Astronaut_6032 wrote, things changed.
His mother's boyfriend would now like him to move back into the house, as his mother has become ill.
"A few days ago my mom's boyfriend reached out to me," said Last_Astronaut_6032. "Apparently my mom had a stroke and he tried guilting me into moving back to help her out, because he got a job opportunity and has to move."
The young man said no.
"I told him that unfortunately I'm too busy trying to be an adult, it doesn't look like I can take time off that schedule to do that," he wrote.
Then he hung up, he said.
Fox News Digital reached out to Last_Astronaut_6032 for further comment or updates.
Courtney Morgan, LPCC, owner of Counseling Unconditionally, a Louisville, Kentucky-based counseling practice, told Fox News Digital that the situation is a tricky one.
"There is not a ‘right’ thing to do here," Morgan said.
"It is completely valid to be hesitant to step in and support a person after they’ve seriously wronged you — even if that person is your parent," she said.
Last_Astronaut_6032 "really needed his mom's support, and she kicked him out instead," said Morgan.
Refusing to help in this situation "may stir up feelings of guilt and shame," said Morgan, even if the decision not to step in is the correct one.
"I think it is important to validate and acknowledge that guilt. That guilt can exist without impacting his decision," she said.
Those who are in a similar situation should "take a moment to consider their core values and beliefs," Morgan told Fox News Digital. "It is important that each individual reaches their own decision that aligns with their values, as that is the right decision for that person."
Reddit users came to a similar conclusion.
On the AITA subreddit, people can reply to posts and indicate the poster is "NTA" ("Not the A--hole"), "YTA" ("You're the A--hole"), "NAH" ("No A--holes Here") or "ESH" ("Everyone Sucks Here"). Users can "upvote" comments they find helpful, and "downvote" those they do not.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTER
Last_Astronaut_6032's post received over 400 comments before it was locked to further replies.
Nearly every reply said that he was "NTA."
"It sucks when your mom gets to reap what she sowed," said Reddit user "YouthNAsia63" in the top-upvoted reply. "Your mom kicked you out. It's kinda hard to get over that."
Others concurred.
"Your mom made it clear where her priorities are, and where yours should be. Don't feel guilty now that she's had a stroke," said Redditor "Ordinary_Mortgage870" in another reply.
Ordinary_Mortgage870 continued, "She should have made sure the guy she was banking on was actually a decent dude before leaving her own child out in the cold."
"NTA," said Reddit user "StormyMcGee68," weighing in as well. "He just wants you to take the responsibility because he can't mooch any longer."
For more Lifestyle articles, visit www.foxnews.com/lifestyle.
