[SLAM!] the front door crashed.

Milk was quietly reading a book on the living room sofa, and was startled. She looked up just in time to glimpse the back of her roommate Chiao's head, bobbing angrily down the hall.

"Chiao?" Milk called after her. She followed her into the kitchen, where her friend was gulping down a glass of water.
"What's up with you?" she asked with a stitch in her brow, annoyed at the disturbance. Letting out a deep, shaky breath, the blonde girl looked about ready to explode. She stared at her friend in silence until angry tears welled up in her eyes.

"Woah...ok, ok...are you okay?" Milk took on a softer tone as she put her hand on Chiao's shoulder.

And then the eruption.

A mess of angry words spilled forth until Chiao's tears all but choked them silent. Her tall friend reached over Chiao's head to grab a tissue from a box on a shelf behind her. She handed it to the very distraught Chiao. But Chiao simply stood, letting hot tears pour down her face. Milk's heart broke ever so slightly, as she grasped her friend by both shoulders and pulled her close.  The smaller girl hiccupped her sobs into Milk's sweater and muttered "I'm so stupid". Milk smoothed Chiao's hair and reassured her that she was not stupid at all.

The two went back to the living room and sat in silence for a moment. Chiao leaned her head on Milk's shoulder and sighed.
Milk asked, "Are you certain she told you the truth?". Chiao sighed again and responded, "I'm sure. I can't believe it."

Milk was sad for her friend but couldn't resist an I-told-you-so:
"I KNEW she was a jerk. You know I never liked her - "
Chiao interrupted with pleading, wet eyes, "Stop. Okay, I know now, she's a cheating who couldn't wait to move onto someone else and then blame ME for the breakup. Happy?"

Milk felt lousy. "No I'm not happy. Stupid - I didn't want her to hurt you," she announced, giving Chiao a bear hug.
The blonde girl whimpered into Milk's shoulder for a while, as Milk cried inwardly. She really felt terrible for her roomie. That she saw this breakup coming in advance didn't soften the blow. For two years now, any time Chiao was in pain, it hurt Milk too. Though this news made her feel awful, she cared so much for her friend and needed to be strong for her.