Impure: The Protectors of Astromica

1

"Hello?"
"Hello! Is this Mr. Atticus Stone?"
"...yeah?"
"Good afternoon, Mr. Stone! This is Jessica from the Green Hills health clinic. I wanted to follow up with you about your recent visit."
"Oh, okay"
"Well, the good news is, it seems you have tested negative for all permanent sexually transmitted diseases."
"Oh...sweet."
"Unfortunately, Mr. Stone, you did test positive for chlamydia."
"Wait...what?"
"You have chlamydia-"
"Yeah, I heard you the first time. It's just-how the hell did I get chlamydia? I thought I was exempt from that or some shit."
"Yes, it is true that angels do not typically contract diseases such as chlamydia, gonorrhea, etc., but there is a small chance of contraction if you are continuously exposed to the bacteria that causes it."
"..."
"Well, since you did test positive, we are going to prescribe you a little cocktail of healing potion and antibiotics and your problem should be solved within days. Just give us a call when you're ready to pick up that-"
*Call ended*

Atticus rolled over onto his back and stared at the ceiling of his bedroom. He pushed his hair out of his face and wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead.

It was still early in the day, 5:32pm to be exact, but he was already waiting for the next day to begin. His girlfriend of 3 years, Lily, had been out of town for 3 months on a family thing. To his delight, today he received a text from her saying that she would be home soon.

Soon meaning tomorrow.
He let out a loud sigh.
He never knew he could feel guilt this deeply.
Fucking chlamydia.
He thought about lying to her, but she would know eventually when she came home. Lily and Atticus were extremely sexually active. If he just evaded her for a week, especially after not seeing her for months, she would know something was up. He didn't want to hurt her like that.
He loved Lily. He loved her more than he loved life itself. Since the first time they met in primary school, she had been his everything. Lily was the type of girl to cure cancer or build an orphanage. Her only flaw was her deadly temper, but still, Atticus saw only perfection.

She was a saint, and she was brilliant. She had a future and goals. She wanted him to become something great so they could build an empire and run it together. And what was he? Scum.
"Scum.", he thought to himself.
He was drawn away from his thoughts by the sound of his phone dinging.
He picked it up and squinted at the message.

"Come hang with me at the valley, I'm bored as shit.", his best friend Ja'far texted him.

Atticus sighed and smirked lightly.

"Maybe lol. Just found out Layla gave me an STD, FML.", he texted back. He tossed his phone to the side of him and gazed at his ceiling again.

The glow-in-the-dark stars he glued to his ceiling still twinkled like they did when he was a kid; It still looked as though if he'd just put them there yesterday. His father and his friends made fun of him about them, saying that grown man shouldn't still have a 6-year-olds nightlight. They even tried to get him to bet them away (he lost the bet), but he refused to take them down.
The truth is, they were the last thing his mother was able to help him with before she passed. It was also the last time she stepped foot in his father's house.

He took a deep breath and thought to himself.
Now he has to tell Lily that he has fucking chlamydia. What was he supposed to say? "Hey babe, glad to see you! Also, I cheated on you with a girl with scales and got a fucking STD, are we on for a movie later?"

Hell no. She was going to murder him, like, actually murder him.
He arose from his bed and sat at the edge of it, running his hands down his face and gripping his curly hair roughly.
He cursed aloud and stood up, still taking deep breaths. It was darker in his room now, the setting-sun reducing the natural light by the minute. He noticed that his room reeked of marijuana still, and he didn't care. If he was going to be stuck with his father, he was going to find any way to ease his misery.
Atticus reached over his bed and grabbed a half-smoked joint from the ashtray on his nightstand.
*Knock Knock*