"Kip hasn't replied to any of my messages," Felix said, staring down at his shoes.
Carter shrugged. "So what? He's always been a prick, Felix. You're better off without him."
"He's my friend, Carter." Felix sighed. "I wish I'd gotten that job at the grocery store instead of Jared—"
Carter's eyes widened. "You'd seriously rather stock shelves than have a place like this? Trust me, minimum wage isn't paying for a condo like this. I can't express how jealous I am that you got the opportunity to work with Jacob!"
"Yeah, but… I'm not with Nova," Felix muttered.
Carter pointed at the black wooden‑framed photo on the wall. "Who's that?"
"That's from the staff party with Jacob Kennedy. I'm standing next to my coworker Fawn."
Carter leaned in with a grin. "Damn, she's cute. Forget Nova. Ask Fawn out."
Felix shook his head. "She doesn't even like me like that. Besides, my heart's always been with Nova."
"Felix," Carter groaned, throwing his hands up, "you've got to move on. I'd rather see you with Fawn anyway. I can't stand Kip, and Fawn is hotter."
"What makes you think that?" Felix raised an eyebrow.
"When Nova smiles, she gets dimples," Carter said. "Fawn doesn't. It just looks…nicer."
"Well, I think Nova looks cute with her dimples—"
"Yeah, but she's not into you," Carter interrupted bluntly. "She's into Jared. You need to face it, man."
"Maybe you can talk to Nova about me, make her change her mind about me-"
"No way," Carter said, voice tight. "I'm not going anywhere near her. Not with Kip in the picture. He wanted me dead during the war."
"Well, you were the enemy when we were deployed at Grey Island—"
"If you hadn't stepped in, Kip would've blown my head off!" Carter burst out. "I was terrified, Felix. That's why I drugged you guys. I needed him unconscious, or I was dead."
"Yeah, but what if we didn't wake up?" Felix scratched his head.
"Felix, I'm a medic. I knew the dosage. I'd never kill you. You saved my life — I owe you everything."
Felix's eyes grew watery. "When I woke up, I was terrified of your sergeant… But I just wanted to go home to Intermarium. To see my sister. My mom."
Carter exhaled slowly. "Felix… that wasn't possible. Once you were with me, Technate was the only place you could go."
Felix sighed. "Maybe if you were from Intermarium… then we could've been brought home."
"Felix!" Carter snapped. "Intermarium lost the war. You were never going back to your family. That's not how it works when your country loses."
"No… If we've been awake, we might've reached Intermariam patrols. Some were still on the island."
"Felix!" Carter exploded. "There were no patrols left."
Felix blinked. "What? How do you even know that…"
"Because the sergeant told me, Felix!" Carter's grip tightened on his shoulder. "There was no home to go back to. He showed me the casualty logs, the drone footage, and the full sweep reports. Every Intermarium position on that island was cold. Your entire unit was annihilated."
Felix shook his head, backing away. "No… I saw Sgt. Seth on the island. When your sergeant carried me out of the cellar, Seth was waving at me—"
"You didn't see him, Felix." Carter's voice dropped, gentler now, as he stepped closer. "It was a hallucination from the sedative. Your side was dead on that island. You, Nova, and Kip were the only breathing things from Intermarium left on that island."
The last thread of denial snapped. Felix's shoulders folded inward as a ragged sob tore out of him. Carter closed the distance and pulled him into a tight, steadying hug.