Betrayed Trust That Saved Her Life

Who would have thought betraying her would save her life? I sat on my balcony reading the Inkwell prompt on my phone, thinking if the decision I made back then was the right one. I took a look at the prompt topic, gave a heavy sigh, then murmured to myself, "I really let the cat out of the bag."

I stood up, made my way to the kitchen to pick up a cold juice from the refrigerator, took a sip, and remembered the day we had our first bitter argument. This is a day I would never forget.

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Stop seeing him, Dorcas. I mean it.” I said to her that day.

She crossed her arms and looked at me with anger in her face. “Why do you care, really?”

“Because I care about you,” I said, trying to keep my voice straight. “And because you know your parents warned you about him. You know he’s not—”

“You’re just jealous,” she snapped, cutting me off. “You’ve always been jealous of Dare. Just admit it, you have a crush on me, and you can’t stand seeing me happy.”

Those words hurt me really badly, but I didn’t show it. I just stood there, swallowing everything I wanted to say because some of what she said was true. The truth is that I do have a crush on Dorcas, but saying I can't stand seeing her happy broke a piece of me.

“Why would you say such a thing to me? In fact, if you don’t stop seeing him, I swear I’ll tell your parents,” I warned.

“Then leave,” she hissed. “Get out of my house.”

I turned and walked out, trying not to slam the door behind me. Before leaving, I took a look at her.

"They don't advise those in love because they are never open to reasoning. I am only saying this for your own good and because you are my best friend, also---"

"Fash, just leave na, go to your house," she cut me again before I could finish my statement, so I left peacefully.

We stopped talking for a while, I stopped visiting her house, and several days later, I heard a knock at my door. I wasn’t expecting anyone, and when I opened it, I saw Dorcas ' eyes puffy, face pale, and hands trembling.

“Dorcas?” I stepped aside, and she walked in like a ghost, barely able to stand straight. “What happened?”

“I messed up,” she said, collapsing on the couch. “Oh my God, I messed up so badly.”

This time, I was scared; different thoughts started going through my head: "Did she finally break up with Dare?" I thought to myself.

I sat beside her, heart pounding. “Talk to me.”

She looked up at me, her voice barely a whisper. “I’m pregnant.”

Time froze. My breath caught. “What?” I was lost, and at the same time, my world was shattered.

“Dare got me pregnant. And now he wants me to get rid of it.” Her words came fast, and I began to panic. This was the first time I would have a conversation about abortion; I was so young. “He said he’s not ready. That it's my problem.”

My head spun. “What… what are you going to do?” I, myself, not knowing what to do.

“I don’t know!” she cried. “I haven’t seen him in weeks. I can’t sleep. I can’t think. I’m scared.”

“We have to tell your parents,” I said softly, carefully.

She jumped up like I slapped her. “No! Are you mad? I’d rather die than tell them!”

“Dorcas, listen to me—”

“No! I’m not telling anyone. If you care about me, you won’t either,” she said, and this put me in a tight position.

I watched her storm out of my house, just like I did to her several days ago.

Three days later, I was at her place. Her mom was home, smiling as she offered me some malt and biscuits. “Dorcas isn’t feeling too good,” she said while heading to her purse. “I’m going out to buy malaria drugs for her.”

“Have you done any tests?” I asked, trying to sound casual. “You know, just to be sure it’s malaria?”

“No,” she said, grabbing her keys. “But she has a fever, and she's been vomiting.”

I looked down at my drink. My chest tightened. I couldn’t keep quiet anymore.

“Mummy...” I hesitated, and that's what I do call her. “It’s not malaria. Dorcas… She’s pregnant.”

She froze, looking at me dead in the eyes, then I looked away.

For a moment, the silence was too loud. Then her face changed. “What?”

“She told me herself,” I added quickly. “Please don’t hurt her. She’s scared. I didn’t know what to do. I just didn’t want her to do anything harmful.”

"Dorcasssssssss, come outside now." Her mom screamed her name, and at that moment, I knew there was trouble, and I was the cause of it.

Dorcas came out, looking all worried when she saw me.

"So you are pregnant, ehnn. This girl has killed me." Her mom said, turning round and round like she was looking for a missing piece, then she turned to me, and without saying a word, I understood she wanted me to leave.

I turned to look at Dorcas, and I could see tears in her eyes, yet it wasn't just a sad look she gave me; there was anger and fire in them.

I made my way to the door, thinking about what I had just caused.

After some days, I got a text from her asking me never to show my face in front of her because I ruined her life. I tried to explain to her, but she blocked me, and she never spoke to me again.

After a while, she left the community, and I never saw her again not until many years later. We greeted each other, but the connection we had was lost.

I keep asking myself if I did the right thing. I betrayed her trust, yes, but I also know how fear can push people into dark places. I didn’t want her to go through that alone. I didn’t want her to hurt herself.

Maybe I should’ve kept my mouth shut. Maybe I should’ve fought harder for her to tell her parents herself.

But I loved her, and that was what made me do what I did, but really, did I let the cat out of the bag at the wrong time or I should have kept my mouth shut. I looked outside the window thinking about this.

The End.

Thanks for taking your time to read this story; my name is Fashtioluwa. It's nice to meet you