Razor was my ex-boyfriend, we dated three years ago. Omphile had broken up with me so I needed a rebound and Razor was there. Omphile was staying in Rustenburg at the time. He told me he’d found a girlfriend who was way better than me, and he didn’t want a village girl. I was so hurt. He came for the December holidays and he wanted me back but I was dating Razor. But Omphile just assumed we were back together.

One day, Razor and I exchanged cell phones for a night. Apparently, Omphile called and insulted Razor, so Razor went to his home to confront him only to find that he was with his family. But Razor couldn’t care less – he wanted to fight Omphile. Omphile’s mother got in between them. Razor pushed her and she fell. That is the reason she hates me so much.

Omphile’s mother went to my home to ask me why I cheated on her son. I told her that I wasn’t cheating on Omphile because I was not dating him. She was so furious, she didn’t even want to hear my reasoning. My aunt was so angry, she literally chased Omphile’s mom out.

Omphile asked if we could meet to talk, but I refused. He went back to Rustenburg, and despite what happened he still wanted me back. As for Razor, I dumped him on the very same day of the fight, as my uncle instructed. I didn’t need someone with that temper in my life. If he could fight with an older woman, what would stop him from beating me up?

Omphile called me every day. He wanted us to talk about our future. This guy was so unbelievable – he almost got beaten up because of me but he still wanted to be with me. I was reluctant at first but I gave in. I loved him. It was a long-distance relationship since he was staying in Rustenburg, but he visited occasionally and it worked just fine. We talked daily. Finally, he came back.

I just couldn’t understand why he had to bring up what happened again. As much as I wanted to answer his calls, I was so angry at him. There was no need for him to bring that up. I mean, it was ancient history.

The schools were soon re-opening so I went back home to my gran’s. I did not even say goodbye to Omphile. I wanted to break up with him. How could I be with someone who didn’t trust me? It was pointless to continue whatever we had. Trust is everything in a relationship. As much as I loved him it was no use for us to continue. I loved Omphile so much that it hurt to think about breaking up with him so I cast the idea out. But he later apologised so everything went back to normal.

“Look who the cat dragged in,” Katlego said as I entered the door.

“Hello, Katlego,” I said flatly. I just wasn’t in the mood for her nonsense.

I went to my room to unpack and prepare my uniform for the re-opening of school the following day. My grandmother wasn’t home so I decided to cook – I didn’t want her to whine about me eating her food for free and being ungrateful. Being in the house really depressed me; it sucked the life out of me. I missed just being around her, though. She might treat me badly but she was still my grandmother.

I woke up so tired that I didn’t even want to go to school, but I did because it was the first day of the term. I got my report card for the first term and it looked great. I was proud of myself because I worked very hard and my hard work was paying off – I was the best performer in all of Grade 12.

After school, I called Omphile to share the news with him but he didn’t answer. I had no one to share the good news with but that wasn’t going to ruin it for me. Katlego was bitter because she’d failed dismally. I didn’t tell my grandmother about me being the best performer but Katlego did. She didn’t even congratulate me but I didn’t care.

I texted Omphile but he didn’t respond. This continued for three days. I was starting to get worried now. On the fourth day, he called. He said he was so busy that he didn’t even get time to call or text me. I believed him – I had no reason to doubt him.

***

Tell us: How long do you go without speaking to your boyfriend or girlfriend? What’s the longest you’ve gone?