School had always been the one thing that had been holding me together, that had made me forget about everything that had happened to me, and now, without school, I could feel my mind going wild.

It was as if the world was closing in on me as I did nothing but sit in the house. I rushed to the toilet as the nausea took over me.

I rinsed my mouth and looked at myself in the mirror. Dark circles have found their permanent spot under my eyes, marking their existence and reminding me that I haven’t had a chance to get a good night’s sleep in ages.

I poured water on my face before flushing the toilet. I have been getting sick lately, making me think that it is the change of season, ignoring the fact that I might be pregnant.

As I stirred the pap, I wondered when was the last time I had my period, but then, of course, google had mentioned that when you are under stress, you might not get your period.

As I closed the pot lid, I bit my bottom lip so hard that I started feeling the copper taste of blood.

I sat on my bed, fiddling with my fingers. My hands then found themselves on my stomach. What would happen if it turns out that I am indeed pregnant?

I am only 15 years old. All I could have been doing was going to school, gossiping with my friends, and having boy drama, but instead I have been turned into a wife.

If you had told me two months ago that this would have been my life, I would have straight up laughed at your face and said that you were lying.

Sometimes, I wondered how God works. How can he allow this to happen? How can he let my own uncle take advantage of me? How can he take away my grandmother, the one person who loved us? I covered my face with the palms of my hands as I cried.

The knock on the door pulled me out of my own misery. I quickly wiped off my tears and went to open the kitchen. And standing there was my friend, still in her uniform. Lindiwe offered me a small smile as she walked inside.

“You weren’t in school today,” she said, placing her side bag on the couch, folding her arms and turning to look at me. “Why?”

Lindiwe has been my friend ever since 6th grade, and we have been close ever since. Not once have we kept secrets from each other.

“I..” I stopped myself before I could spill everything to her, even though I wanted to tell her everything so things would become better for me, better yet, my sister. I shrugged my shoulders, looking anywhere but my friends’ eyes.

Lindiwe held my hand. “You can talk to me,” she said softly.

I nodded. “I know,” I responded. “I woke up sick,” I said instead. It is the truth, even though it is not the whole truth.

“Why?”

I shrugged my shoulders and let out a sigh. “I don’t know, I have been feeling sick lately.”

“How sick?”

“Like throwing up,” I said. Lindiwe looked at me. “Do you think that you are pregnant? I didn’t know that you were sexually active.” She said, looking confused. “It doesn’t matter. Tomorrow after school, I’ll bring you a pregnancy test, okay?”

I nodded, and Lindiwe enveloped me in her arms. “We’ll get through this together,” she said. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” She took her bag from the couch and waved her goodbye.