Patricia Grisafi
Sometimes, you can do everything to help a family member and they still want more.
On Reddit’s AITA forum, one OP is questioning his decision to kick his stepbrother out of the apartment after the stepbrother played an extremely cruel “prank” on him.
The OP’s stepbrother, out of spite, decided to call the OP and tell him his sick mother had had a stroke. When the OP found out the whole thing was a “joke,” he lost his temper.
The OP says that he has a younger stepbrother, Kevin, who is 22. Kevin lives in the OP’s old apartment with two other friends and pays cheap rent. The OP says he also helps him by getting his car fixed, lending him money, and bringing him meals. The OP also takes care of his mother, who is sick and in the hospital.
“My fiancée and I decided to have a small celebration at a restaurant. 8 people. There were a lot of people I wanted including mom but couldn’t. I have high blood pressure that despite medication, gets worse. Kevin wanted to bring his friends to my engagement party. I declined and explained that we’re having a small celebration. He was upset but then dropped it.”
“We got to the restaurant. And just as we started eating. I got a call from Kevin saying he is at the hospital where mom’s staying. I asked him why and he sounded worry telling me mom was very sick and that I needed to get there because it seemed like she was having a stroke. I dropped my fork. My fiancée and parents noticed how pale I was. I hung up. And I was getting ready to leave. They asked what was going on I told them mom was very sick and I needed to go to the hospital.”
“I got there. I went to the nurses who were handling my mom’s care and they denied her having any sudden issues let alone a stroke. I couldn’t stand on my feet. I called Kevin several times until he picked up. He started laughing along with the others in the background. I was confused. He told me it was a prank and that I fell for it,” the OP writes.
Kevin said that makes the two even because his friends couldn’t go to the engagement party. The OP starts yelling at him and eventually he drove over to Kevin’s place and told him and his friends to pack their things and move out.
“Kevin started begging saying I can’t do this over a prank and they had nowhere to go. I told him it wasn’t my problem. They kept saying it was a prank and they didn’t expect me to react like that. Then they left. My aunt called me saying Kevin was an asshole for what he did but kicking him out was extreme and I was too harsh on him. Eventually that’s my brother and I need to be supportive of him even though he’s acting stupid. Kevin’s mom is deceased. I help him with whatever I can because I know he’s struggling. His aunt isn’t my biological aunt but I respect her enough to consider her family. But defending this behavior isn’t acceptable.”
I mean, it seems obvious that Kevin could stand to learn a little empathy. Will kicking him out of the apartment be a good way to teach him a lesson that his actions have consequences?
Redditors weighed in.
“What type of sick f**k plays this type of prank, then claims it’s to be ‘even’ for something so damn stupid. OP should cut all ties with him,” advised PlumbaScott.
“He sounds like the kind of immature, vindictive, low-empathy little s**t who excuses everything he does that causes offense as a jest, as if calling it a joke or a prank or ‘satire’ (without knowing what that actually means) creates a magic bubble that protects the jokester from scrutiny and criticism because they thought it was funny. 22 is too old to be acting 12. The best lessons he can get to correct his ways at this point are going to be the hard lessons,” said CCDestroyer.
“That was not a prank, it was downright cruel. Kick him out and sublease the apartment to someone else. If he thinks that’s even remotely funny you’ll be teaching him a valuable lesson by throwing him out,” said SevenLeafClov3r.
“NTA. Kevin sounds cruel and I wouldn’t want to live with that kind of nastiness. What he did wasn’t a prank. It was cruel, and on an important, meaningful day for you. He ‘didn’t expect you to react like that?’ He made you think your MOM was really sick, and disrupted your engagement dinner! He surely knows you’re on blood pressure medication. Anyone knows that you don’t purposely try to scare someone who has high blood pressure. It’s dangerous. Kevin is acting childish and needs to grow up. He can start by finding his own place to live on his own,” noted Rice-Correct.
“That was revenge. For not going to an engagement party they’d probably be bored at anyway. This is too cruel of a trick for anyone to do. For anyone or any reason. Never make someone believe their loved ones may die. And he put OP’s life at risk too,” observed SummerOfMayhem.
What do you think the OP should do?
Lead image: Pexels
