Chapter 20: The company we keep
717 Words
The following Sunday, Dodo went to church hoping to quiet the voices in her head. Instead, she saw the one person she’d been trying not to think about—Thuli.
Sitting in the pew just ahead, swaying slightly to the worship chorus, head tilted with what looked like peace. Her nails glimmered when she lifted her hands in praise.
Dodo blinked. Her throat tightened.
She couldn’t hear the sermon. Couldn’t follow the prayers. When everyone bowed their heads, she stared straight at the back of Thuli’s head, wondering how someone could look so unbothered after dropping her into such chaos.
When the service ended, Thuli turned casually and smiled like nothing had happened. Like they hadn’t last spoken through accusations and silence.
As they walked out into the sunshine, Dodo touched Thuli’s arm. “We need to talk.”
Thuli followed her toward the side of the church building.
“I lost everything, Thuli.”
Thuli frowned, mouth pulling into a defensive pout. “I said I’m sorry. Yoh, Dodo. I didn’t know this would happen. They disappeared on me too.”
Dodo folded her arms. “Did they really?”
“Yes. I also invested again. That second level. R5000 gone. I'm just hiding it better than you.”
Dodo studied her face. Her tone had just enough sadness to seem true. But the eyes… the eyes had a flicker of guilt that felt too rehearsed.
“So we’re both stupid,” Dodo said flatly.
“Don’t be like that.”
Dodo stepped back. “I believed you. I defended you to myself.”
Thuli shrugged. “Well, you followed me. That’s not my fault. It was your decision, sisi.”
Dodo laughed once, bitter and low. “Thanks for the reminder.”
From across the parking lot, Ma Gloria saw them. She didn’t call out, didn’t interrupt—just stood watching with her arms crossed and lips pursed.
Later, when they were home and the kettle was whistling, Ma Gloria spoke.
“What were you and Thuli talking about so seriously?”
Dodo didn’t look up. “Nothing.”
Ma Gloria waited a beat. Then nodded slowly. “Okay. If it’s not something you want to talk about, that’s also okay.”
That night, Dodo sat alone at her laptop again, her thoughts heavy with the weight of what trust had cost her this time.
She opened a blank blog draft.
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Title: Can You Trust a Friend Who Hurt You?
By Dodo M.
Friendship is a complicated thing. It lives in group chats and shared laughter, in emergency taxi fares and borrowed earrings. In secrets whispered over glasses of cheap wine. It lives in memories of loyalty, and it sometimes dies in silence.
This week I found myself asking a question I never thought I’d ask: Can you still be friends with someone you don’t trust?
The answer isn’t simple.
What happens when someone you trusted leads you into a ditch? When they hand you the match that burns your fingers and then say, “I didn’t know it would hurt”?
What happens when they smile like nothing happened, even as your house is still smouldering?
I don’t know if Thuli lied or if she was simply careless with my trust. But I do know this: Trust, once cracked, is never quite the same. You can still see through it, but it’ll never be clear. You’ll always second-guess the light.
I’m not saying I hate her. I don’t. But I’m learning that forgiveness doesn’t always mean restoration. And disappointment doesn’t always come from enemies. Sometimes it comes from the girl who lent you a dress when your ex left you stranded. From the woman who once fed your kids while you were sick.
We romanticise friendship like it’s bulletproof. But friends can fail you. Friends can mislead you. Friends can hurt you and still not understand why you're bleeding.
The real question is: Can I ever trust her with my softness again?
Today, I don’t know.
But I know I’m allowed to ask. I know I’m allowed to pause before I lean. I know I’m allowed to rebuild my circle with bricks made from truth and respect.
And maybe, just maybe, I’m learning to be my own friend first.
#TrustWounds #LessonsInFriendship #DodoSpeaks
- Writer
