Man accidentally grabs friend's wallet, won't return it that night because of 'rain.'

There are few feelings more stressful than realizing you lost your wallet. In the flash of a moment, you're not confronted with the task of replacing your IDs, bank cards,and losing out on cash.

Finding out your wallet is safe and sound is a massive relief and can turn a whole week back around. But even when you know it's safe, you often have to make a journey to retrieve it.

In a popular post on the AITA subreddit, a man asked if he's wrong for not immediately returning his friend's wallet because he had an early morning at work.

He wrote:

AITA for not returning my friend's wallet?

So this guy that I hang out with has almost the exact same wallet as I do. Size, color, stitching, just the texture of our wallets is slightly different. So anyways, we were hanging with some friends and decided to call it a night. While I was grabbing my stuff to leave I grabbed his wallet by mistake, (I'd already thrown my own wallet in my gym bag I kept with a change of clothes because I go over straight after work.)

I got all the way home without realizing. I live 20 minutes away and it was raining at 11 o clock at night. So I get a phone call maybe 5 minutes after I get home. 'Hey man do you have my wallet?' Check my pocket and sure enough it's there. Tell him I'm sorry I have it. 'Well I need you to drive it back to me.'

He doesn't know this, but I have to be at work at 8 in the morning and leave at 12 the next morning, but I didn't say this. I just ask him if I can bring it to him early tomorrow. I know I messed up.

'No bud you messed up. I work early in the morning and I want to go out so I need my wallet. You've gotta bring it to me you messed up. You've gotta make it right.' Dude, it's raining and late, and 'I don't care man. That's my property.'

Well of course but we're friends and you should be able to trust me. 'That's not the issue. That's my property and you can't keep it. If you don't bring me my wallet you're no longer allowed at my house.' Oh? Well I guess I'm no longer allowed at your house and you can come get your wallet tonight if you really want to go out so badly this late.

Otherwise, you can wait til the morning before I go to work. And he decided to come get it. I ended up giving him 20 bucks as well since he drove out. And I guess we aren't friends anymore. Am I the a**hole?

EDIT: someone said to edit the post and talk about the visual impairment of the rain. It was hard to see at points in time I don't know what you want me to say. It's Florida, April, and if you live in Florida you know chaotic the weather can be here. Sunny one spot, pouring the next, a drizzle here, and more pouring. So like that, except dark I guess.*

Also if you say he could've gotten hurt coming to get his wallet in the rain but call me an AH for not wanting to do the same to EITHER of us...then you're kinda the AH.

The post inspired lots of responses.

GrubbyTopDashCarter wrote:

YTA, it was your mistake because you took your friend's wallet, and didn’t make right by it.

How hard is this?

Wouldn’t want to be “friends” with you either.

P.S. You even admit that you had already thrown your own wallet in the bag, were you too stoned to realize that when you took his?

Ok-Carpet5433 wrote:

YTA

And in every single one of your comments you find another excuse why you couldn't give the wallet back.

'He wanted to go out drinking bad enough he drove to my house in the rain with no license. Which I told him not to. Not cuz I didn't want him there. But because it ain't safe. And I'm not his daddy either but those drinks can wait another 24 hours man.'

It's not up to you to decide how your friend spends the night. It's his wallet and you took it (even if not on purpose). How do you even think it's reasonable to make him wait 24 hours until he gets back his wallet? That probably contains his money, ID, license and credit/debit card?

He would have needed his license to drive to work. He would have needed his money/credit card to pay at the coffee shop/supermarket. You messed up but refused to fix it.

Necessary-Day-3862 wrote:

YTA. I wouldn't be surprised he told people you stole it, because you weren't willing to return it immediately. If you make a mistake like this, you need to fix it immediately and not next morning because of rain. You have no idea if your former friend needed his wallet or not that night.

MiddleEarthFoak wrote:

YTA. Working at 8 in the morning isn’t early, like 5am and you might have an argument that you should be in bed already etc, but you should just suck it up and put right what you your mistake. Driving in the rain is no excuse, if it was walking 40 minutes in the rain (there and then back) yeah it’s sh*t but you still have got to put right your wrong.

Clearly, OP is a giant AH in this situation and refuses to see it.