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"Hello?" I greet sleepily, rubbing my eyes.
"Morning. It's Gabrielle from the clinic. Is this Addison?"
I stretch my back, swapping hands to hold my cell. "Yeah, it is."
"We've got your test results back and were wondering if you had time to pop down to the clinic today."
"Yeah, I can do that. What time?" I ask, covering my mouth as I let out a yawn.
I can hear Gabrielle tapping on computer keys in the background. "Does 11am work for you?"
Pulling the phone back from my ear, I check the time. "Yeah. That's fine for me. See you then."
When the phone call clicks off, I lay back down for a second to gather my surroundings. It's 8am, and I'm surprised to find the bed next to me empty. Aaron must be out running, as he does some mornings. I personally don't see the appeal but to each their own.
Crawling out of bed, I stumble into the shower, standing under the stream of cold water to help wake me up. The apartment is already warming up and I can tell today is going to be scorching hot.
I decide to make an iced coffee, dumping some ice cubes into my portable cup and taking it with me as I head out the door a few hours later. I'm not rostered on today to work, so I was planning on relaxing at home and watching some television or reading a book.
As I arrive at the clinic, I notice it's busier than it was the other day. Almost every chair is taken but thankfully, I'm taken back by Gabrielle fairly quickly.
"Got your coffee, I see," she says warmly, gesturing to the cup in my hand.
"Absolutely," I laugh. "But it's iced today. I'm not sure I have it in me to drink anything hot."
We head into the same room as the other day and I sit down in the chair like I visit the clinic every week. Gabrielle plops down in her chair, turning to face me.
"I just wanted to go over your results, if that's okay."
I nod, taking a sip of my drink. "Of course. I thought you guys were just going to call, to be honest."
Her face tightens slightly. "We usually call if there's nothing abnormal on the results. But something was flagged in your panel."
I lower my coffee, looking at her curiously. "Oh? What's wrong?"
I have no reason to be concerned. I’ve been in perfect health all my life. I barely even get sick in winter.
Gabrielle gives me a small smile, opening up my file on the computer. "I'm really sorry to be the bearer of bad news. But you've tested positive for chlamydia."
My eyes shoot open as I splutter into a cough. "What? That's impossible."
"Are you having sexual intercourse?"
"Well, yes," I mutter embarrassed. "But I'm in a long term committed relationship."
Gabrielle nods in understanding. "Females can often remain symptomless for months."
I blink slowly. "But my partner is the only person I've ever had sex with."
It's true. When I met Aaron a year ago, I was a virgin. It's not something I want to admit – most people try to lose their v-cards before college, but I had been happy to wait until I had met someone decent and worthy.
"I see," Gabrielle mutters softly, looking at the computer. "Maybe your partner picked something up before you got together. Did you have a health screening last year?"
"Yeah, I did," I answer slowly, trying to remember the date.
Pressing some keys, Gabrielle nods. "You were checked early last June. Looks like you were negative then."
"But I didn't meet my partner until the end of June," I mumble quickly before shutting my mouth.
