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AITA for leaving my brother and my hunting life behind and not telling my girlfriend the truth about my past? I think my brother hates me as well.
I (29m) am married to a lovely wife (29f). On our sixth wedding anniversary, my wife wanted to go on a month-long road trip across the USA.
So we visited some states and tried out the famous bed&breakfasts in the area where we stopped.
My wife last year had made a friend online through gaming and she wanted to visit her. So we decided we’d head to Lebanon, Kansas.
As usual, we looked up on the internet the most frequented B&Bs and we decided to stay at B&B. It’s a short form for Bon Jovi dine-in and bar.
I thought nothing of the name. I grabbed my bags and made my way inside the B&B along with my wife. We were greeted with the sight of a teenager who was acting as a receptionist.
Now the teen (17f) looked bored as she looked up from whatever she was doing. I politely asked for a king-sized bedroom.
The girl, let’s say her name’s Clarence. She wasn’t sure about the room and called out for her dad. So The dad came running outside the kitchen to see what his daughter needed right?
It took me a second to process as I observed the owner of the establishment with a sense of familiarity. Who was he? Why did he look so damn familiar?
The man asked if he knew me. I shrugged. He looked familiar but it’s been years since I’ve been to Kansas.
And then the daughter, Clarence pointed out to me, Called me by my nickname. I paled.
My brother was the only one in the entirety of the universe that called me by that nickname.
And I had left him all those years ago. My wife looked at the man standing in front of her and just knew. She called out his name and there was the reveal.
That was my brother and he didn’t look like he was doing good after hearing my name and the stuff I had said to my wife about him.
So to give you guys a little background story on my brother and my relationship with my family. My mother was murdered when I was six months old.
My father being a retired marine decided to hunt the killer by himself when the police stopped looking for answers.
So he dragged me and my older brother across the states to find the killer. We were moving places every month or two months give or take, maybe even in ten days. I hated it.
My older brother had to gamble and hustle pool to help feed me sometimes. He was practically my mother and my father at 4 years old. But he preferred obeying my father every chance he got. I didn’t like it. I was a free-minded kid when I was young. I wanted freedom from my father.
It was suffocating to live with a man like him. So I secretly applied to a few colleges and left. The day that I decided to leave, my father and I fought. The last words I ever heard from that man were if you walk out of the door, never come back again. So I didn’t.
I forgot about them and moved on with my life. I got accepted into Stanford. It was easy to forget my father but my brother on the other hand? It was hard. I was homesick. I missed him. He was always there for me.
For the first three years, I felt lost without him. I stopped listening to rock music, wearing leather jackets, and watching old movies because they reminded me of him.
My brother (33m) looked disappointed and sad as he found out that it was me. His daughter shouted at me, said some effed-up things to me, and gave me a nasty glare.
Why was my brother ignoring me like that? He used to love me. He would drop anything for me but now what changed?
Sure I said some stuff to my wife about my brother but that bit was true. But this was my older brother. The one who raised me. Why did he sound so disappointed?
Then suddenly my brother looked dizzy. He had to sit down as he was holding his head. He said something to his daughter and she ran inside.
My brother never got migraines. What was going on? I kept asking him if he was okay. If I could do anything to help but I got ignored.
As I was speaking, A man with a thick scruffy beard and piercing blue eyes walked in.
Clarence, my niece called him Papa? And I was shook. MY BROTHER WAS GAY?
Listen I don’t have a problem with the lgbtq+ community but like my brother who was a womanizer who never turned down a woman, was gay? I didn’t think so. I thought that the guy was probably co-parenting with my brother.
If I was honest, the man looked as if he was a Russian mob boss.
The way he glared at me with those intense eyes made me feel weak. He looked like he ate babies for lunch.
What did my brother get himself into? Then after the momentary shock, I was hit with a bigger shock???
The man carried my brother bridal style and led him inside the building like a princess??? I was absolutely flabbergasted. My brother was gay?
The straightest man alive on this planet turned out to be gay? I apologize for my little rant. I’m just speechless.
Now onto the last interaction I had with the family, their daughter led us to our room and once again gave me some snide remarks.
She said something along the lines about how I left my brother with my dad and She just looked so angry.
It got me thinking did I do something wrong when I left? But to the best of my knowledge, I didn’t do anything wrong. I’m writing this as I’m sitting in the b&b room.
My wife is angry with me. I wish I could figure out what I did wrong. AITA? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.