Man Promises Neighbor He Will Take in Her Package While She’s Away for the Holidays, but His Girlfriend Says He’s ‘Not Allowed’

Moving into a new apartment complex often brings the excitement of a fresh start — and the quiet nerves that come with not knowing the people living around you.

For many residents, those early days are filled with small moments that test trust and set the tone for what kind of community it will be. One Reddit post shows how even a straightforward favor — grabbing a neighbor’s delivery — can quickly turn into an unexpected headache.

A 20-year-old man said he and his girlfriend had recently moved into an apartment building where each floor has four units with separate entrances, and they hadn’t “interacted with any neighbors.”

Then, while he was walking upstairs one day, a neighbor approached him with a request. She told him she had “a package on back order” and asked if he could bring it inside for her while she traveled home for the holidays.

The man explained the complex is in “a very safe neighborhood in a very safe city,” but noted deliveries could still be at risk because “the main doors to each sub section don’t have locks.” He agreed right away, assuming it was simply the decent thing to do.

But when the package arrived, his girlfriend wasn’t on board.

He said she told him he “would not be allowed to bring it in,” arguing that “we don’t know what’s in the package, we don’t know the neighbor, and we don’t know when they will be back and need the package back from us.”

She also insisted that “in apartment complexes, bringing in packages isn’t standard behavior,” adding that she “would just take it back out if I brought it in.”

The man tried to talk it through, pointing out that he’d already agreed to help and didn’t expect any trouble. “I don’t imagine there’s anything heinous inside it, and even if there was I wouldn’t mind holding onto it for a week or two over the holidays,” he wrote.

Still, he worried that leaving the package outside could go wrong — either because “someone will steal it,” or because the neighbor might “think poorly of me if she comes back and the package is sitting outside even though she trusted me to bring it in.”

What began as a simple act of kindness turned into what he called a “silly” but ongoing standoff.

“I feel like she is getting angry at me because she is saying it will be bad for me if I bring it in, who knows what that even means,” he wrote. “Anyways, I fear if the package isn’t in the hall she will know I brought it in.”

In the comments, many Reddit users sided with him and encouraged him to follow through.

“You had the right idea; it is the neighborly thing to do,” one commenter wrote. “You’ve already agreed to take it in to make sure it doesn’t get stolen, so you should follow through and keep your word.”

Others went further, suggesting the girlfriend’s reaction might be rooted in something else — even calling her “jealous.”

“Your gf is being irrational, it doesn’t matter what’s in it since it’s never going to be opened by you,” another person commented.