She woke up with a jolt along with sweat covering her body. Her eyes were wide and dilated while her respiratory system kept her huffing and puffing for air. She slowed her breathing as she realizes that it was only a bad dream. Not again... She has had it with all these terrible images plaguing her mind when she needs to recharge her batteries. To be frank, it has been happening ever since he left, and he left her not too long ago.
Sakura got up and looked out her window. It was mid December and the sky was grey. Snow had fallen a few days ago and was slowly melting away. She took a deep breath and exhaled. It's a brand new day.
She quickly stripped her sleeping clothes and thew them on the bed. She walked to her bathroom and turned on the hot water. The water sprinkled all over body as she basked in it. She began to have deep thoughts as she cleansed herself. Why did it keep happening to her? Ever since he left she has had nothing but nightmares. How long has it been since she first started? Two weeks? Sounds about right. Why did he have to do this to her? Why? Why? Why!? Why her!? Why did he choose a whore over her!? She shook her head violently. Too dark. Stop. She took a deep breath and exhaled again.
She appeared out of her bathroom with a towel wrapped around her body. Sakura quickly used it to dry her hair and thew it on the bed and walked to her closet and precisely picked out an outfit for her day off. She dressed herself in a pink sweatshirt and black leggings. She admired herself in the mirror on her closet door. She frowned slightly at what she saw.
Sakura didn't see the beautiful person, but instead saw someone who had gained some weight. She blinked a couple of times to make sure she wasn't hallucinating, but it was useless. Sakura could not see the beauty in herself. What would he say about her now? An old memory splashed into her mind how he would wrap his arms around her waist from behind and snuggle his face in her neck and said, "You look beautiful". STOP IT. She shook her head violently and the memory shattered. She took a deep breath and exhaled.
She decided that she needed breakfast to help improve her day. She scanned over her fridge before deciding to eat a bagel and drink a glass of milk.
Sakura finished her bagel rather quickly. She grabbed her glass of milk and walked to her living room. She turned on the TV to watch something entertaining. With a remote in one hand, and a glass of milk in the other, she channel surfed until she realized there was nothing interesting to watch.
Another memory ran across her mind. She was watching TV with him and she remembers how he would kiss her ever once in a while during a movie or TV show. She would smile a little and kiss him back. Sometimes he would would go as far as being grabby and grab her - Stop this now, Sakura. She forced the memory out of her head and she knew she could never go back to that part of her life. He's gone!
Just then, her phone rang. She picked it up the receiver and held it to her ear.
"Moshi moshi" she said.
"Sakura-chan~"
It was Ino on the phone and she wanted to know if she was willing to go have some lunch with her.
She thought about it. Well, she just had breakfast. Maybe she'll get some coffee.
"Sure thing." She said and hung up.
She grabbed her pea coat and a scarf. She slipped into comfy boots and headed out the door of her apartment. As she walked down the hallways of her apartment building she realized she forgot something and walked back.
She quickly went inside and snatched her purse. How clumsy of her to forget that. She got a bit excited about going to have some coffee that she forgot the most important thing to women.
XxXxXx
She sipped her coffee and indulged in the sensational taste that it gave her. Her blond haired friend sat across from her and gave her an inquisitive look.
"What?" Sakura asked.
Ino began to question her about her well being. Wondering how she's been handling the break up.
Sakura couldn't tell her that she had been plagued by her own memories of him and her together. She simply said, "Eh, I'm okay."
"Are you sure?" Ino said asking for a confirmation.
"I'll get better with time."
That was what she believed. She will get better with time. She has to. In the back of her mind, she knew it was just one bad break up.
She sipped her coffee while her friend simply stared at her.
Ino knew that Sakura had been working to the bone. She knew Sakura wanted to forget about him. How could she when he was almost the best thing in her life. She had noticed the bags under her eyes and made a mental note of it. Did she even sleep? She eyed her friends body frame. Was she even eating?
Ino touched her pink haired friend's hand giving reassurance that everything will be alright. Sakura smiled. Is that even her smile?
XxXxXx
The door of her apartment opened and she walked in and closed it behind her with a slight sound. She turned on the lights and removed her boots.
She hung up her scarf and coat and quickly sat on the couch.
Sakura sighed loudly.
She stretched and her back popped a couple of times. What do I do now?
Her phone rang.
She picked it up and held it to her ear. It was Naruto on the other end wanting to know how she was doing. She smiled and told him that she was fine. He wanted to know if she wanted to go watch a movie with him and Hinata.
The two of them had been dating for a while and knowing that their pink haired friend had recently broke up with him, they figured they should help her get better. Sakura had other ideas and did not approve. She declined the movie date knowing that she'll be seeing them being all lovey-dovey to each other. She could not handle that.
She sighed and walked to her bedroom and turned on the lights and it immediately illuminated the room. She laid down on her bed and did nothing. Her mind, however, started to take over her train of thoughts. The memories flashed and played over her head, but this time she didn't bother to stop it.
She felt like she was dying a little inside while she was playing the tapes in her head. She wanted nothing to do with him anymore. How could he do this to her? She was so faithful to him and yet... He destroyed her. Sure, anyone could get over a break up but for Sakura, it didn't make sense. She believed that they were made for each other. He captured her heart the moment they had met! He wasn't always perfect, but she accepted every flaw in his character and knew that he could improve.
He was cool, strong, handsome and smart. She could still smell his cologne in her memories and she indulged herself in it. His striking black hair still burned in her mind. Her tears that were forming have spilled and she sat up on her bed with her back to wall. The tears continuously slid down her face at a fast pace. Droplets hit her bed and started to sink into the sheets forming a small dark puddle.
She closed her eyes and forced herself to remember how she caught him cheating.
XxXxXx
It was midnight and she had just gotten home from her job at the hospital. She was so tired that she could pass out at any moment but the thought of him welcoming her home was the reason she didn't. She opened the door to her old apartment and stepped inside.
Noises could be heard and she stopped to listen. Her heart was beating faster and she placed everything she was holding in her hands onto the kitchen table which included her purse and keys. She slowly walked towards her room and the sound of the noises intensified. She peeked behind her bedroom door and her heart dropped to the ground and possibly have been shattered into a million pieces.
There he was making love to another woman... IN HER BED. She gasped slightly as she heard the unknown woman exclaimed as she released.
The woman announced her love for her boyfriend and in reply, her boyfriend returned her feelings. Sakura's mind exploded into a million pieces. With such fury swelling up inside her, she burst through the door and yelled at the top of her lungs for them to get out with tears streaking down her face.
XxXxXx
How far did she fall? At what degree has she let him take over? At what magnitude has this affected her?
Sakura closed her eyes and more tears gushed out. She has to get over this somehow. She wiped her face with her sleeve and sniffed a bit to clear up her sinuses.
She laid back down on her bed waiting for to regain composure. She rolled around a bit. She simply did nothing and time went on faster than she had thought. How could this be? Shouldn't it be slower since she was sad and depressed? She didn't pay much attention to the fact that it was already nine.
Her stomach grumbled. She hadn't eaten anything since mid day. She didn't want to eat, but she knew she had to fill her stomach with something. Ramen... Her fridge was empty except for bagels and a carton of milk. She simply didn't bother to buy any grocery after she had moved into her new apartment. Yes, new.
After the incident she quickly burned her old mattress and packed up everything and left within two days. Her friends were informed of the situation and automatically agreed to help her with the move.
When Naruto heard the news, he got enraged. That bastard hurt his precious friend and he wasn't gonna let him off the hook. However, before Naruto could locate him, the bastard simply left radar. As of now, no one knows where he went. Naruto felt betrayed. How could that bastard hurt his best friend and just leave?
XxXxXx
She arrived at her destination. The convenience store was just within walking distance. She went inside and was greeted by the cashier. She scanned the area and noticed there weren't many people. Sakura went on ahead to find her ramen.
She searched the aisles before she finally found what she needed. She reached for the top one but another hand got to it first.
She turned slightly to see who it was. She was slightly shocked at first when she saw his striking bold red hair. He towered over her and he had a glare in his gaze as their eyes met.
"Ah, gomen!" She quickly said and broke off the gaze.
He didn't say anything and turned around and left.
Sakura quickly reached for the top of the shelf and grabbed what she needed. She hurried out of the aisle and headed to the cash register.
She paid the clerk quickly and she grabbed her grocery bag from the counter. She walked outside and let out a sigh of relief.
He looked so scary!
Her thinking was interrupted by a dark voice hidden in the shadows.
"Going somewhere, pretty?" A male voice said.
She quickly turned around and saw three men coming close to her in different directions. She was surrounded.
It's okay, we can take them on!
Quiet, you!
Her inner voice told her to fight, but she wanted to be as fast as an airplane and take flight.
One of the men, perhaps the leader, grabbed her arm with full force.
"Where you going at this hour?" He said.
She didn't know what time it was, but surely it couldn't have been that late.
"Let go of me!" She yelled as she tried to yank off his hands with full strength and miraculously, she succeeded.
"Hey, hey! She's a feisty one!" Another one called out.
"She'd be fun to play with..." The other said as each men have each other a lusty stare.
Both men grabbed her arms and held her down quickly. Sakura closed her eyes as she struggled with all her might.
"Let go of me!" She screamed and jerked a bit and her left arm was free. She was surprised and looked at the man.
What she saw was the red haired man that she kind of bumped into grabbing the back of the perp's neck to which if the red haired man was simply holding him by his neck, the perp's feet would just be dangling around. He was quite tall. He forcefully slammed the perp onto the cement ground while still holding onto his neck. Sakura saw a flash of what appears to be a red tattoo on his head. Cracks formed where the impact was hit and it was a definite KO.
He quickly knocked out the leader and the other with a high round house kick. Sakura sat there in amazement.
Amazing...
When he was done he turned towards her with an hand out for her and said, "Are you okay?"
His voice was quite deep and husky. She could see the red tattoo more clearly. Love? She regained composure and took his hand.
"Yes, thank you." She said.
In his eyes, she was really beautiful. She was an easy target for those men. She seemed small and frail. It was quite interesting how she was feisty towards them. Most women would automatically start screaming or cower in fear, but for her, she at least tried to fight them off, not that it was a good attempt.
"What?" She said as she caught him staring at her.
"Onamaehanadesuka (What is your name)?" he asked.
She was taken back. She expected him to say 'nothing', but instead he asked for her name.
"H-Haruno Sakura." she began. "You can call me Sakura."
"Gaara," he said as a way to introduce himself. He tore his gaze off of her. "I better walk you home. It's dangerous."
She looked at him for a moment, and then looked at the ground.
"Thank you." She replied and started walking in the direction of her home.