Chapter 1

I'm sitting with an empty glass and a broken heart,
Thinking to myself what have I done,
Cause as my future got bright we started losing light,
And I couldn't see that you were the one.

Sakura's keys jingled merrily as she put them in the door lock to let herself into the apartment. It was half-past eleven o'clock at night, and she had just gotten back from a crazy shift at the hospital. It had been an incredibly long day – she had left home at seven thirty in the morning to go to classes and had gone straight from Konoha Medical School campus to the Konoha Hospital, where she was interning under the famous Dr. Tsunade, until just now.

The happy sound of the keys was almost cruel to her ears. Her body seemed to ache with exhaustion.

When she stepped into the apartment, she was greeted with darkness.

"Hello?" She called out softly. There was no answer.

Typical.

She turned on the lights to reveal a spacious living room with modern furniture, all tastefully decorated in black and white. Her home, which once had felt so inviting and comfortable, now appeared cold to her.

Automatically, she went to the phone that sat atop the table next to the plasma TV.

Beep – "Sakura, working late again. Don't wait up." – Beep.

She stared at the phone as if willing it to speak more, but after the second beep, the phone went silent.

The curt messages on the machine were the extent of the conversation between Sasuke and herself these days. Though they lived together, she felt as if she had gone days without seeing him for the past several months.

She knew that it wasn't unreasonable that he had to work so late so often. He had recently become the CEO of the Uchiha Group at the age of 24, and the new role came with many responsibilities. The business had belonged to his family for two generations and was one of the most prestigious finance firms in the nation, if not the world. Having lost his family early in his childhood due to a tragic plane accident, the firm had been looked after by Sasuke's uncle, Madara Uchiha, until Sasuke finished business school. Once Sasuke graduated from Konoha Business School, Madara had gone abroad to spend his days in leisure, saying that the business had always belonged to Sasuke and that he was glad to be stepping down.

Sasuke, who had graduated at the top of his class from the best business school in the country, quickly made headlines as the new, young CEO in town. Many rooted for his failure; after all, he was still "just a kid." What could he possibly know about being a CEO in the finance world at such a young age?

Plenty, as it turned out. The firm thrived under Sasuke, and it was more successful than it had ever been under Madara or Sasuke's parents.

But being so successful at work took its toll on his private life.

Sakura felt as if she never spent any time with her boyfriend of 3 years anymore. She was in her second year of the medical program at one of the best and most demanding schools around – Konoha Medical School. On top of the ridiculously challenging and abundant loads of school work she had, she was also working as an intern at the hospital.

Though Sasuke came from a family of privilege, Sakura had had to fight tooth and nail for everything she had ever gotten. She was from a low-middle class family, and while her education had always all been paid for by her scholarships, she still had to work for her living expenses. When she and Sasuke first moved in together, they had an enormous fight over sharing their expenses.

"Sakura, stop being so goddamn stubborn – there's no reason you should have to work when I have more than enough to cover everything." Sasuke had all but shouted at her, frustrated.

"I don't need your money," she had shot back at him, "and I want to be able to pull my own weight around here. I'm not going to be one of those girls who rely on their boyfriends to buy everything for them, Sasuke. That's not me. That's never been me."

In the end, Sasuke and Sakura settled on a compromise: Sasuke would pay for the rent, but she would pay for the utilities bills, and they would split groceries.

Sakura's lips began to form a tiny smile as she reminisced about that day. After arguing for so long, they had tired each other out and fell asleep on the floor against the couch together. When she woke up, she found herself tangled in Sasuke's arms.

When Sakura's thoughts made its way back over to the present and she eyed the quiet living room before her, however, her smile faded away. She glanced at the clock; it was almost midnight, for Christ's sake. Shouldn't he be able to leave work on the same day as he had entered it?

She picked up the phone and dialed his familiar number. If she couldn't see him yet again, she wanted to at least talk to him before she went to bed tonight.

"This is Sasuke Uchiha's personal phone. I'm unavailable right n –"

Straight to voicemail.

Again.

She stared stoically at the phone once more before she finally retreated into her – their – bedroom. She took a quick shower, slipped into one of Sasuke's old KU shirts that fell almost to her knees, and resigned herself to sleep. She wanted to wait up for Sasuke, but she found herself unable to keep her eyes open past 12:30 a.m., and she had another day of early classes and hospital work the next day.

The last thought she had before she finally succumbed to the deep sleep that engulfed her was that she was getting used to a half-empty bed.

And she hated it.

It was two in the morning.

Sasuke opened the front door as quietly as he could muster, knowing that Sakura must be asleep by now.

It was two in the fucking morning, after all.

He swiftly made his way to the bedroom, where he could hear the sound of soft, rhythmic breathing. He could discern Sakura's small shape on the bed in the darkness from the moon light that shone through their window.

It occurred to him, not for the first time, that the only version of Sakura he knew these days was one of her sleeping.

He couldn't be bothered with changing at this point. He tore off his already-loosened tie from around his neck and discarded his shirt, and pulled his tired body into the bed gently, not wanting to wake Sakura.

He had to be up in another four hours. Sasuke stole a glance at his pink-haired girlfriend next to him.

When was the last time he saw her green eyes staring into his? She was always asleep by the time he got home nowadays, since he worked such draconian hours. He reached out and took a few strands of Sakura's pink hair in his fingers.

She was so close, yet felt so far away at the same time.

With a sigh, he withdrew his hand from her hair and placed his arm across her shoulder, pulling her into him. Ever the sound sleeper, Sakura didn't wake up from the touch.

She also didn't hear the words that he whispered to her before Sasuke himself gave himself in to his fatigue and fell asleep.

"I'm sorry, Sakura."

A/N: Hey everyone! I've been feeling a bit uninspired with Outgrown lately, which is why I haven't updated in a few days - don't worry, though, I'll eventually get crackin' on it. But first I wanted to start this story - got the inspiration for it from the song, the lyrics to which is at the top of the story. I don't really like the actual song all that much, but I do like the lyrics. Please leave me reviews to let me know if you like the story and/or want me to continue with it! It's the best feeling ever when people say they actually enjoy the things you write :)