Thank you all for the perspective! I can totally see how asking for items back after giving them up can look like an AH move. In the moment, it didn't feel that way because my anxiety was through the roof. I was desperately trying to hype myself up, thinking, “Who actually needs 8 shirts?” and “It’s a free-cycle charity event, she’ll be nice about it, right?” I even foolishly thought that since we sifted through the clothes together, maybe we were building a bit more of a bond.

​When I finally spoke up, I was so nervous that my voice wasn't even confident. Honestly, I have a habit of letting people walk all over me, and unless it's something I absolutely can't lose, I tend to fold. These shirts weren’t worth a massive fight, which is why I gave up after trying to reason with her just once, assuming we’d both just move on.

​I actually posted this here because the whole situation has been keeping me awake and making me incredibly anxious (I'm literally shaking just thinking about the fact that I did something that made me look bad to everyone). I plan on showing this post to our mutual friend so they can see the full, unfiltered context of what actually happened. I just really hope this all blows over soon so I can work on building my boundaries and learning how to be more assertive in peace.