THE SHOWER HAD HELPED a little, but I still looked like hell. I threw on black leggings and a T-shirt and towel dried my hair and sprayed a little salt spray throughout. It was a lifesaver on my thick hair. I wanted the day to go fast, that’s all I wanted. I pinched my cheeks to bring a little color to the surface.

I heard Elodie’s voice as soon as I stepped into the hallway. It sounded like she was hushing someone, but she was alone with her laptop. Phillips voice was coming through the speaker.

“Don’t lie to me,” he said.

I thought I heard him wrong, but he said it again. “Don’t lie to me, Elodie. Cooper’s wife told me that you were over there. His wife tells him everything, unlike mine.”

Elodie was crying. I had to hold onto the doorjamb in the hallway to stop myself from getting into her business. I didn’t know what Philip was talking about, but I knew I didn’t like the sound of his voice. I had never seen that side of him, or heard it. I couldn’t tell if his wife was used to it or not.

“I’m not lying. We stopped there for an hour at most. We went to the meetings, then to that house. There weren’t any men there,” she told him.

I tapped my fingers against the wall to let Elodie know I was coming. She perked up and wiped at her tears as I knew she would.

“Phillip, Karina is here,” she said. To warn him, I guess.

I didn’t know what was going on between them, but I knew I didn’t like the way he was speaking to my friend, who was swollen with his child.

“Hey, Karina,” Phillip said, his voice nice and friendly, opposite of what it just was.

I threw him a bland “hey,” and walked into the kitchen. Dishes were piling up in the sink. The laundry in the corner of the kitchen was overflowing in the basket. I couldn’t even blame the mess on my emotional despair, because the breakup had happened barely twelve hours ago. I managed to take one bite of an orange before he surrounded me again, the taste of his lips on mine the first time he kissed me. I felt the warmth of him, tasted the sweet citrus that clung to him the first time he kissed me and I tossed the orange in the trashcan.

This was getting to be a habit, tossing things into the trashcan.

Elodie signed off Skype and met me in the kitchen. Her eyes were bloodshot; the tip of her nose was red as fire.

“Everything okay?” I asked, licking the last of the orange juice off of my lips.

She nodded and sat down across from me at the kitchen table.

I didn’t want to press her, but she was obviously not okay.

“Elodie, you know you can talk to me?”

“You have enough problems.” She tried to smile, to be strong.

“Elodie, we can talk about anything. I have time for you.”

She shook her head. “No, no. I’m fine. Really, it’s just drama from the other soldiers. Why is there so much drama? Don’t they have anything better to do?” she asked me, sniffling and rubbing her nose.

“How are you?” she asked, reaching for me. I pretended not to notice as I lowered my hands onto my lap.

“I’m fine. Just tired,” I lied.

If she could lie to my face, I could do the same.