Real Talk: My Pregnancy Scare

The summer after my senior year of high school, I started talking to one of the guys I’d graduated with. We’d been best friends throughout the school year, but I never really thought of him as more than that until that summer.

He was leaving for the army in just a few short months, so I thought I’d just see where things went. Ultimately, it’d ended up as a friends-with-benefits situation. Any time we were together, we’d always end up having sex one way or another. We were always careful, though. I was on the pill, and we always used condoms.

One night, we’d went to a bonfire together with a bunch of our friends, and we snuck off because both of us just wanted each other, and we couldn’t stand the tension anymore. As things got hot and heavy, he realized he didn’t bring any condoms. At that point, both of us were too into the moment to let that stop us. I reassured him we’d be fine since I was on the pill, and we went for it.

This was the biggest mistake. My period was due in three weeks after we had sex, and when the three weeks rolled around, my period didn’t come. I was never late, so I began to panic. I didn’t know what to do. I was too afraid to take a pregnancy test, so I just told myself I’d wait a few more days.

The next few days were absolutely agonizing. I didn’t want to tell him, just in case it was just a scare, and I was too afraid to go to anyone else, so I suffered in silence.

Finally, my period came after being almost a week late. It was the biggest relief of my entire life. Now, I make sure I’m prepared before I get intimate with anyone.

– Lyssa, 22