Brianna,
I'm so sorry about your friends and hope you're feeling a bit better today.

With regard to Dude, I'm thinking that you should move on. If the guy is treating you this way when you are friends, how is it going to be if you have a disagreement when you're together? It's not a good sign. Saying you're out of town for 'a while' also sounds very evasive. If I had a friend call me up and I was away I'd be more likely to say "I'm out of town seeing relatives/on business/having a break for a while, I should be back in a few days/weeks and will give you a call"

I know he's only a neighbour and doesn't need to justify himself to you but if I can't do something for someone I find it more respectful to explain why. Maybe I'm old fashioned!