Obligation (18+)

dies octo

-

Cecilia

James grabs the remote from my hand and I chuckle remembering my dad always doing that with my mom. Those were the good old days. Everyone was happy. Everyone lived a better life back then. I dream to live in the past. But if I did, I wouldn't be where I am today. I wouldn't be living in a mini-sized 'house'-like the Painted Ladies in San Francisco-in downtown Detroit. I wouldn't be a therapist. Even more, I wouldn't have met James.

"What do you want to watch?" he asks me, interrupting my thoughts.

"You're the guest, whatever you want."

"It's too hard to choose on my own," he whines. It's too hard for you to do anything on your own.

"Poor baby," I pout. "do you need some help choosing?"

James nods. "Yes."

"You're outta luck," I give him an innocent smile. "Can't help you here."

He sticks his tongue out at me and I roll my eyes, playfully. Put that tongue back in your mouth. "Fine, how does Brooklyn Nine-Nine sound?"

"What?" I raise my eyebrows at him. "Are you joking?"

"Nope," he shakes his head.

"James."

"Cecilia."

"That show is literally a trap," I tell him.

"Your point is?"

"B99 consumes your life two minutes into an episode," I tell him.

"Your point is?" James jokes. I roll my eyes. "What? It's hilarious!"

Well, I can't fight him there. Brooklyn Nine-Nine is one of my favorites.

Suddenly, James's phone starts to ring, loudly.

He glances at the screen and curses, answering the call. "Hello?"

He furrows his eyebrows. "Yes, this is James...wait, what?"

I look at him, getting worried.

"Okay, thank you for calling, goodbye," he sighs, running his free hand through his hair after tossing his phone onto the chair beside us.

"What's wrong?" I question.

"It was the doctor," James mutters, looking to the side into my kitchen.

"And?" I question.

"I tested positive for Syphilis," he replies. His eyes search for anything but me to look at.

"Hey, that's okay," I tell him, my eyes regretfully glued to the television. "It's better than nothing."

"What?" he furrows his eyebrows at me.

"Hmm?"

Moments later it finally dawns on me; James has Syphilis.

"Oh my god."

"What's wrong?" James asks me.

"We need to get you some medication," I declare.

"Yes, we do," he chuckles.

"Like now."

"Well, yeah," he says. "But, if you'd like to finish this episode, we can."

"No," I turn the television off. "Let's get going. I refuse to wait any longer."

I stand up, grabbing a pair of black combat boots and slip them over my feet.

While putting my coat on, I glance over to see James checking his phone. His face distorts into a frown and I try to see what he's looking at but the words on his screen are so small.