Pink With Envy Ch. 7
Sakura reconnects with one frenemy and comes clean with another. A little dramatic, I know. Eh. But this is the kind of situation where a little drama is allowed.
A/N: I do not claim ownership of or infringe upon the copyrights of the Naruto series. I merely use popular characters for recreational, non-profit fan-fiction.
This chapter is rated M for profane language, violence and non-sexual adult situations.
FLASHBACK TO MAY 2004, THE AFTERNOON BEFORE HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION
Sakura's POV in entirety (in the entire chapter)
Ino and Karin caught up to me as I approached a stairwell connecting two different portions of the school building's east wing. There wasn't a security camera in this particular nook, but I wasn't thinking about that at the time. I was trying to escape or to find a teacher. Someone. Anyone. I couldn't fight in my condition, but I couldn't tell them about the baby.
Determined to run, I grabbed the railing. But Karin was right on my back. She got a good grip on my backpack. But the strap broke on the right side, pulling me backwards. The left-side strap was still around my shoulder, but the force from Karin's grip on the backpack stripped the strap off my shoulder. Already off balance, the strap removed my hand from the railing in the process of being stripped off my body. I remember hearing Ino's voice calling my name after she gasped. Then I felt her grip my shirt sleeve. . .to pull me back. But her surprisingly good intentions came all too late. Head first, I tumbled down the flight of 12 tile steps on cold, hard concrete slabs. The first impact between the steps and my head did hurt, but the second was incredibly painful. I don't even remember feeling the others. My body laid crumpled and twisted in a mangled pile of blood and torn flesh. I don't even remember hitting the landing.
I only remember . . .Ino. . .trying to pull me back. . .
END FLASHBACK
I woke up with a start, springing up forward in one fluid motion. My breathing was rampant; I could feel my heart beating in my ears. I couldn't help myself. My stepmother was right. I needed to tell him. I wanted the peace of mind - now.
I looked over to my phone, currently lying on my nightstand. I reached over to grab it and laid back down on my sweat-soaked pillows. Ew. I'll have to get those washed tomorrow. . .later today. I glanced at my digital alarm clock on my dresser. It was almost 2:30 in the morning.
I searched my address book for the number, but I just couldn't find it. I opened Safari and searched for her in the Yellow Pages. That's when I found her. She still had a local home number.
*ring*
*ring*
*ring*
"Hi! You've reached Ino! I'm not at home right now. Please call me on my cell or leave a message! Thanks!"
*beep*
"Um, hi, Ino. It's me. Uh, Sakura. Please give me a call later when you get this. I'd like to talk with you. Just with you. It isn't about the. . .wedding."
I hung up the phone with that. I wasn't guaranteed that Karin wouldn't intercept the voicemail message. She was staying over there, after all.
To my surprise, I received a call right back. My ringtone was placed on vibrate, but I heard the vibration on my nightstand. It was from a local Rockport area cell phone, considering the area code and first three digits of the number. But I didn't recognize the number.
"Hello?"
"Sakura?" It was Ino. Oh, good. Wait. Karin is probably standing right next to her!
"Hi."
"Um, hi."
"Is. . .Karin. . ."
"She isn't here." Huh? Why wouldn't she be?
"Well, I thought Naruto dropped her off at your place earlier tonight. She's staying with you, isn't she?"
"Oh. . .yes. She is. She just. . .stepped out. . .to check on Naruto." Karin must've known about the bachelor party at Kiba's.
"Oh. Well, that's good news. Could we. . .meet sometime tomorrow? When it isn't the middle of the night? I'm sorry about this. You could've waited until morning to give me a call back."
"No, I'm glad you called. It's been a long time. I think that just us getting together sounds great. Just us two, right?" Hinata isn't very threatening, but I'm guessing Ino surely didn't want to be in the same room as TenTen without being guaranteed she wouldn't be mauled to death and ripped to shreds like a gazelle on the Serengeti.
"Yeah, just me and you. My treat. I have lunch plans, but could we meet later in the afternoon?" 'I think I should meet Sasuke for lunch, then spend the rest of the day with Ino.'
"Yeah, sure! I'm working at the shop tomorrow until 2:00, anyway. Anytime after that will be great."
"That's just fine with me. How about the Ice Cream Bar? We loved going there when we were kids."
"Oh. That closed down. They turned it into a sandwich shop now. They're terrible."
"Oh, really?"
"Yeah. But there's a frozen yogurt bar in the new shopping center downtown. It's more modern than the old one; but it's an ice cream bar, with soft-serve ice cream and yogurt. You fill your own cup with whatever flavor you want, then you add your toppings from the bar. They have coffee and baked goods, too."
"That'll work. Where is it, again?"
"It's in the second block, around the side. It's next to Ann Taylor."
"Oh, then I'll find it easily!"
She giggled. Even when we were friends, we enjoyed shopping. Of course, that definitely wasn't my style back in those days. I didn't have a style, unless looking like a homeless kid some days and a nerd another day was considered a style.
"Okay, then. We'll say 2:15, maybe around 2:30?"
"Sounds great. I'll see you then."
"Alright. Thanks, Ino."
"Thanks. I'm. . .I'm glad you called. I really am. I've changed a lot. I hope you'll notice. I'm ready to make a new life for myself, and for Evan."
"Evan?"
"I have a son." You have got to be fucking kidding me. After they took my baby from me, she turns around and. . .no, Sakura. Don't lose your cool. After all, Ino didn't do it. And she actually tried to help me. So I can't forget that.
"Wow! You're a mommy? That's great! I hope I get to meet him."
"I'm sure you will. He's my little angel, sent from Heaven."
"I'll see you tomorrow afternoon, then."
"Sure thing. Bye."
"Bye." I clicked and ended the call. That was not as satisfying as I hoped it'd be. I still needed to get things off my chest. That really wasn't even the bulk of my inner turmoil. I know who I have to face. And he's currently lying unguarded in the other room.
Before venturing out, I walked into my bathroom and splashed my face with cold water, effectively waking me up and washing away the fogginess of my terrifying dream sequence. I used a clean washcloth from the linen closet near the sink to pat my face dry. I re-fixed my ponytail, since it was barely hanging in there at this point. Then, with a clear head, I still felt like I needed to go ahead and get things off my chest. I needed to tell him. I couldn't chicken out now. What if I chicken out later, too? Then I'll never get to clear the air. I needed to do this not only for Sasuke, but for myself, as well.
Still only wearing my cherry blossom pajamas, I silently skulked around the hallway until I came very close to Naruto's bedroom door. It was closed. Was it locked? Should I knock, whether it's locked or not? Well, I'd at least see if it was locked. I took the doorknob in my hand and painstakingly turned the knob, careful not to make a racket. Everything sounded like it was several decibels higher than it should be. But I soon found out that the door was not locked. I turned it too far, and the door creaked open under the pressure from my hand. I could see that Naruto's room was very dark. Sasuke must be in bed right now. Well, why wouldn't he be in bed at 2:30 in the morning, huh? Just because I wasn't in bed. . .hm. I wonder what he wears to bed nowadays.
I curiously opened the door a bit more, cautious of the hinges creaking. Naruto's window curtains were pulled back, and Sasuke had raised the blinds. The moonlight was peeking in to shine borrowed light into the bedroom. Once my eyes adjusted, it seemed lighter than it was in the hallway with the safety nightlight.
There he was, splayed on the bed. He was fast asleep. Sasuke laid on his back. His head was slightly cocked to the right, towards the windows. He could have fallen asleep while stargazing. No, not Sasuke. He isn't that romantic or insightful. His upper torso was bare, though the blanket encircled his waist. or all I know, he could've just crawled into bed after stripping off the towel. Why was I worrying about that, though? It ain't like he has something I've never seen before. Or touched, or tasted. . .oh, damn. What the Hell was I doing in here, again?
I walked over to the bedside opposite the window. His face was directed away from me. Now that I was closer, I did seen the outline of an elastic waistband. That told me Sasuke was likely wearing shorts or boxers. Good. No surprise revisiting, then. But how to wake a sleeping Uchiha? Waking up a 1,000-lb. grizzly bear in the middle of January would probably prove easier, and would possibly be less fatal.
I perched my left knee on the edge of the mattress, looking to see if he was in a deep sleep. My eyesight zeroed in on the bone structure of his masculine, sophisticated face. He looks so aristocratic, like royalty. With Itachi dead, Sasuke is now the last remaining direct heir to the Uchiha fortune. He might as well be a prince. That's a funny thought, considering how I once considered him my knight in shining armor. His face was turned fully to the right. 'Man, he's definitely going to have a neck cramp in the morning.' I inched closer and brought my other knee onto the bed. Now my body was fully on the bed. In retrospect, this was likely not a good idea. But I needed to figure out the best way to wake Sasuke up and talk with him. Well, gently knocking on the other side of the door would've been a lovely option. But what the Hell, right?
He really looks peaceful when he sleeps. His cold, demeaning face softens. His lines on his forehead, from narrowed eyes and angry faces, are all smoothed out. He isn't able to ignore me, scoff at me, berate me or just say, "Hn."
Oh, wait. Did he just say that?
"Hn."
Oh, God! I've been caught! What do I do? Can I make it to the door? Oh, God! Oh, God! Dammit, Sakura! Jump off of your brother's bed, then sprint to the door and run for cover!
"Hn."
Wait. His eyes. . .they aren't open. His head hasn't moved. Is he. . .he's grunting in his sleep? Really? I slapped my forehead in embarrassment and sudden realization of my stupidity. I used said hand to rub my eyes a little, since I'm still a bit drowsy. I pulled my hand away and let my eyes refocus.
And there before me is a wide-awake Sasuke, sitting up in bed and staring at me with a whole lot of interest, curiosity. . .and amusement. I don't like the flicker in his eyes.
"What are you doing in my bed, Sakura? Don't tell me the storm scared you. There is no storm. Are your afraid of the bogeyman? Is that it?"
I glowered at him, though I'm not too sure if he got to see it. I noticed that his eyes haven't focused yet. He brought his large, masculine hand up to his face and rubbed the sleep away in one swift slide of his hand.
"What time is it?"
"It's still really early, before 3:00."
He looked around, but didn't find a clock. He grabbed his phone, which was also kept close by as mine was, and slid his thumb across the surface to open to the main screen. The cool illuminating glow reflected onto his face, giving him a light blue glow. Every button he pressed made the reflection in his eyes dance.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm checking my email. I have two missed messages from my office, and-" he looked up at me and stared. "Wait. What are you doing? Why did you wake me up?"
I looked down at my hand as it wrapped around my ankle. I kept fidgeting.
"I wanted to talk to you."
"Can it wait until morning?"
"I can't sleep."
"That's not my problem."
"I can make it your problem."
"And I can toss you out of here." 'I guess he forgot this was my parents' house.' Come to think of it, why wasn't he at his parents' house instead of mine?
"Why aren't you at your own house?"
He stopped, his focus traveling elsewhere except in my direction. He didn't say another word, though he was being very cross and short with me not but a few second ago. I must have pressed a button that I shouldn't have pressed. I didn't even mean to.
"I'm sorry. Does it have to do with. . .you know. . .him?" 'Itachi?'
"Yes."
"Oh." I continued to play with my ankle and now my toes, trying to find a way to talk to him. Now I was distracted by my thoughts on Itachi. What happened there? Do I want to know?
"Is there anything else, Sakura?" Sasuke's voice lost a bit of its edge. He was no longer sharp, though he did sound very annoyed.
"Yeah, there is. I wanted to talk to you about what happened."
"At dinner? I already apologized for your wrist." He grabbed my arm again and inspected his mark. It was indeed still quite red, but it didn't leave a bruise. He let my arm go, and I pulled it back.
"That's not what I wanted to talk about. You're wrong about how I lost the baby." Come on, Sakura! Concentrate, and do what Mom said.
"Hn." I think that was Uchiha-grunt for 'Oh, that.' But he didn't say to stop, so I'll continue.
"I was wrong."
"Sakura, I don't even think 'wrong' can cover what you did. Don't tell me you actually wanted it. You were just a silly little girl. I was your first, and you fell in love with me. Everything else was an accident. But you took care of it. Without even consulting me."
"That's not. . ." I couldn't believe it! What was I hearing? He still thinks I did it on purpose! That night. . .was just as bad as finding out I had lost the baby. . .
FLASHBACK TO SAKURA'S SECOND DAY AT HOME, RECOVERING
I can't stand it anymore! This cast is so fucking itchy!
"Naruto! Help!"
My brother burst into my bedroom. He had been waiting on me hand and foot, constantly checking on me and following my every command. It's kind of nice, actually.
"What is it? What is it? Pain? Dropped something?"
I pouted and fake-cried. "My nose itches!"
Naruto sighed, but smiled. He broke his arm when he was 13 years old, and he did remember having an itch he couldn't scratch. It's pure torture. And right now, I can't reach my face. One arm is in a brace and sling for a broken collar bone, and the other is in a cast due to a broken fibula.
"Here." Naruto rubbed my nose a little too hard, just to pick on me. Then he brushed my loose pink strands away from my face to prevent further itches.
"Thank you."
He sat down on my bed with me. "How much longer do you have before physical therapy?"
I thought for a minute. "Well, I go back for x-rays in a week or two. It shouldn't take more than a couple of months for my bones to heal. Then I can go to therapy just as soon as I can be upgraded to crutches or I'm able to put weight on my ankle. My collar bone won't be so bad, but my left arm is going to need help after it turns to jelly under this thing." I banged the cast against the hard surface of my wooden nightstand to further my point.
"Well, I think you're just lucky that you could get that chipped tooth fixed at the dentist's office in your current state."
"Oh, they just did a quick repair on it. It was pretty quick."
"Oh. Well, your nose may be swollen and you temporarily have limited mobility. You're stubborn, though. So was. . .Sasuke."
"You're not mad at him, are you?"
"Huh? Why would I be mad at him?" Oh, my parents really didn't tell him! But they still wanted anything between us to end. Quick. I supposed they preferred for the Uchiha to be Naruto's friend instead of my boyfriend. Well, he did get me pregnant at age 15. There's that, I suppose. But my stepmother didn't share that with anyone else. I don't know why, but I think I can really trust her on this one.
"Oh. Never mind, then. I thought you were mad at him."
Naruto shrugged his shoulders and let out a big sigh. "Well, I have a bit of bad news to share with you."
"What else could be worse than my current predicament?" I raised an eyebrow at his stupid statement.
"My orientation starts in a couple of weeks. I'm on the team at school, and I need to be there a little earlier than usual. My dorm room is already set up for me."
"When are you leaving?"
"Not next Saturday, but the next after that."
"Oh. Well, I really hope you enjoy it. I can't wait until I get to go, too. Soon."
I was a little depressed at thinking that this was it. We were growing up and parting ways. What would happen?
"You'll get there soon enough, don't worry." He ruffled my hair like a little kid, but then he had to smooth it down for me because I wasn't fully ambulatory. "Listen. Mom and Dad have to accompany me to a dinner meeting tonight. I'm accepting my scholarship. I really wish you could come, but it would only cause you more pain. Are you going to be okay for just a couple of hours? Mom is going to leave right after the good parts, so it may be even less than that."
"Yeah, sure. I'll probably just take a nap."
My family left around 6:30 p.m. As predicted, my pain meds kicked in, and my groggy and exhausted self fell fast asleep. But I wasn't alseep for long. I thought maybe someone had forgotten something and came back. No.
My door slowly swung open, and in walked Sasuke. He looked like death warmed over. He had a little bit of young stubble, his hair was not really fixed so was even more unruly than imaginable, and his clothes looked like he had slept in them. His posture was even a little off. None of these things are ever found to be attributed to an Uchiha.
Sasuke had somehow broken into my house!
"What. . .how. . ."
"Naruto was right. Your Mom always leaves a key under one of the potted plants on the porch. How convenient of her to do so."
I was scared. Terrified. Utterly petrified. This wasn't Sasuke. I don't know who this was, but it couldn't possibly be my Sasuke. The lok on his face. . .the look in his eyes. . .he sent chills down my spine. He made me swallow a lump in my throat, though I was too afraid to dare speak.
Sasuke, playing off my fear, gracefully glided over to the other side of my bed. He pulled my desk chair out from under my desk and painstakingly dragged it slowly across my floor. He stopped right next to my bedside and gracefully took a seat in it. Sasuke had a look on his face. . .not one I could uite put a finger on. He didn't seem angry. He didn't appear to be sad, either. He just wasn't generally upset. But he definitely wasn't happy. He had no smile, no smirk, no frown, nothing. He was just blank, an empty being with no soul. He couldn't take his eyes off me, though.
I waited for several minutes, though it seemed like an hour. It was eating away at me. He was making me so freaking nervous! He was literally driving me insane. I think I even started to sweat. It was getting to the point that I wanted him to speak, to get whatever it is over and done with. It didn't matter whether he came here to say something or to hurt me - just do it! Something! Anything! Finally, after about ten minutes of just blankly staring at me, he spoke.
"So, what have you been up to?" That's what he said, after all that time staring at me.
"Uh. . .hospital." I barely whispered my answer, but he was close enough that he could hear whispers. I almost felt his breath on my cheek.
"The hospital, huh? I'm guessing that's where you got those." He pointed to my cast and arm sling.
"Um. . yeah." He wasn't making too much sense. And he didn't really seem too concerned for my well-being, which was odd. He's always worrying about me, especially since I told him I was carying his child. Boy, I don't know how I'm going to break the news to him when he's like this. Is he drunk? Or is he high?
"So you got injured at the hospital?"
What? "No. . .no, I f-fell." What did he want me to say?
"You fell, huh? How did you fall?"
"Um. . .Sasuke?"
"How did you fall, Sakura?"
"My. . .M-Mom and Dad d-don't want us t-to see each other anymore."
Sasuke looked at me intently. His eyes narrowed this time. He didn't like what he heard, evidently. I could see a flicker of red in his eyes., which was the only indication to me that he was very angry. No, he was furious. I had defied and angered an Uchiha. Was that it?
"Is that so? And what do you think, Sakura?"
I looked away from him. I couldn't take any more of his piercing stare.
"I don't know."
"How can you not know what you want? You'd always want what's best for your baby, after all. Don't you?"
I froze and quickly panicked. "I. . .uh. . .uh. . .um. . ."
"Well?"
"S-Sasuke. . ."
"Yes? What is it?"
"There is no baby."
Sasuke's expression went blank again. Had I not known better, I would have said his pulse stopped. He could have been flatlining, for all I know.
"I see." He sat back in my desk chair, maintaining perfect posture. After looking at my digital alarm clock multiple times, I learned Sasuke had sat in my desk chair, motionless and soundless, for twenty-three minutes. I couldn't sleep, I couldn't talk, and I couldn't move. It took me a few seconds of swallowing hard and breathing in sharp intakes to calm my nerves and speak to him.
"Sasuke, my family is going to be back soon."
He silently stood up, though I wasn't sure if he heard me or not. It didn't seem like he was communicating with me at all. At that moment, I was afraid for my life. He looked insane.
Sasuke put one knee on the bed, then the other. His hands loomed until he shimmied far enough onto my bed to place them on either side of my head. I was defenseless; I couldn't push or kick him off of me. There was no point in yelling or screaming; I'd likely just make him angrier. I couldn't cry, because I didn't think of it. My brain was not communicating with the rest of my body. I was frozen in place. He straddled my legs, as if he was keeping me in place. He was controlling me, dominating me. Then the slithering snake spoke in a hiss.
"What is all this, Sakura?" His face was to my left, whispering in my ear. It was terrifying. I thought he had come to kill me. "Answer me. Now."
"Wh-wha-"
"Don't play stupid, little girl. I know what you did. Pregnant teenagers don't just fall down stairs and 'accidentally' lose their pregnancies. Your fall was much too violent to have been the result of tripping over your shoelaces. It that what you told your family? Huh? I'll bet you told them that, yet you weren't even wearing laced shoes. You're a liar, Sakura. You killed what was inside you. A baby. Your own baby. My baby. How can you live with yourself after that? Huh? Don't cry, you weakling. Worthless. You did this. You're not allowed to feel sorry for yourself. Why don't you feel sorry for the baby, instead?"
"No!" Tears poured down my face. I tried to hold in my sobs; they were just pissing Sasuke off even more. I turned my face side to side, trying to get him off of me. I didn't know what to say. I don't know why I didn't tell my family what Karin did. But I remembered Ino trying to pull me back. She didn't know I was pregnant - she just didn't want me to fall and to see me get hurt. I didn't want to hurt her, either. If I told on Karin, she'd be in just as much trouble. And everyone would know I was pregnant. I didn't want this to get out of hand. I thought I was doing the right thing. . .I didn't think Sasuke would assume the worst of me.
Sasuke pulled away from me, then, not looking me in the eye. He had said his peace, and was pretty much done with me. I didn't think we was going to kill me at this point. He did murder my self-esteem and self-worth, however. Sasuke sat back on his heels, still hovering over me.
"I loved you, Sakura. Why did you do this? To me? To the baby? We could have talked about this. But you took it in your own hands and made a horrible decision. Now you're going to have to live with it. I will, too. I wish I didn't have to, but there's no way I can put this behind me. I'll never forget what you did. I don't know how I can stop loving you, Sakura, but this. . .is unforgivable."
Sasuke quietly removed himself from the bed and left my bedroom, closing the door behind him. I heard his footsteps on the stairs, then I heard him walk out the front door. That was the last time I saw Sasuke Uchiha in person.
END FLASHBACK
"Sasuke. . .I don't know how to tell you this. . .but I need to know you'll realize this is the truth. You already think the worst of me, so I have nothing to lose by telling you the truth. I only think you deserve to know what really happened that day. Will you listen to me? It's only the truth."
"Hn."
"I need more of a commitment than that, Mr. Uchiha." I minimized the sarcasm in my tone. I didn't want to infuriate him before I get to confess to him.
"Alright. Go ahead." He didn't make eye contact with me, but his head did return to my general vicinity. That was a good sign, so I went with it. I took a deep breath and began.
"It was close to your graduation date. I was about seven weeks along. I. . .was happy about it. I hadn't told anyone except for Hinata and TenTen, and they were happy, too. Everyone was going to stick by me and help. Including you." I looked at him, but he seemed unaffected. I knew better, though. I continued. "This was the same day Karin approached you outside the vending machines near the cafeteria. You said you were between classes, getting a soda or something. She grabbed you from behind. You thought it was me and pulled the two of you off to the side, a closet, maybe. But it was her, and she. . .well, she sexually assaulted you. You're a lawyer; you know what the charges are." I chuckled, and I saw he was remembering. He looked amused at the memories. I was glad he was more amused than annoyed or infuriated at the memories. He had told me what Karin did to him on the night of the dance, just before Sasuke and I first got together.
"Is this going somewhere? I don't think I want to remember Karin's hands in my pants." I thought I was going to choke or hurl, possibly both. So I continued.
"Well, Karin targeted me every chance she could get. That day was no exception, especially since you must've humiliated her somehow. She was pretty pissed off at the both of us."
Sasuke looked like he was mulling over a few memories in his mind. "Oh!" His hand came up to his face to cover his eyes. "I pushed her off of me, and she hit the floor - hard. During the middle of classes changing. Yeah, she was humiliated. You'd think being known as the biggest whore in the school would've been humiliating. I was surprised that bitch was actually capable of shame."
"Oh." I held back a snicker. I would have laughed so hard I started bawling, but it wasn't the right time. Later, though.
"Later that day. . ." I looked to make sure I had his attention, "Karin approached me in the hallway. It was the end of the day. Past, actually. I stayed behind in my class - I can't remember if my last class of the day was English or Science - but I found myself leaving the classroom to face Karin." I looked over to Sasuke. He was looking at me now, interested in what I was telling him.
"Please continue." He barely raised his voice, but it was enough for me to hear. He didn't whisper; he's too confident to whisper.
"Um. . .Karin has always used a very. . .colorful vocabulary. Especially with me. She wanted to tell me how no one, namely you, would ever think of touching me. She continued along those lines, then chased after me when I tried walking away. She. . .followed me. . .to the stairs."
Sasuke had apparently had enough of what I was sharing with him. He threw his legs over the side of the bed and stood up. He rested his hands on his hips, though one hand came up to wipe his brow. He looked perplexed. He must not have had any clue that someone would have pushed me down the stairs. He was too quick to blame me for it. Sasuke began to mull things over as he paced back and forth, parallel of the other side of the bed.
"You. . .she. . .you. . .you NEVER said anything! Never! All this time. . ."
I panicked. He started yelling in the middle of the night!
"Sasuke, please! Shh! My parents are sleeping downstairs. Please don't wake them up. Do they know you're here?"
"Yes. Yes, they probably do. You stepmother does, anyway." He stopped pacing. He looked exhausted. I still sat on the bed, barely out of arm's reach from him. I wanted to reach out to him, to touch him or comfort him. But I didn't think that was a great idea at the moment.
"Sakura, why didn't you say anything about this before? What did she do? Did she hit you? Did she push you? What happened?"
I exhaled. "She wasn't able to grab my arms anymore, like she had been earlier when she was jerking me around in the hallways. She grabbed my backpack when I was on the stairs, but then she let me fall. She pulled my backpack off of me. I don't even remember hitting the landing, where they found me, unconscious and bleeding. They found my backpack sitting next to me, which means Karin didn't immediately run away with my bag. . I don't know what happened after I fell." I looked up at Sasuke. He was leaning in, close to me. "I never saw Karin again after that. She. . .made me lose the baby. She didn't know I was pregnant, but she took it, nonetheless. Oh, God, Sasuke!"
I broke down. My head hit the mattress, and I cried. I remember how horrible I felt when I learned I had lost the baby. "I wanted it, Sasuke - I really did." My hands drew up close to me. Now I'm in more of a fetal position, bawling my eyes out. I don't even really know who I'm crying to, but I need to cry. "Nothing, none of my injuries, hurt more than that loss. I-I haven't even cried since. . .since you came into my room!"
I cried a little more for maybe two whole minutes, until something very surprising happened. I felt Sasuke's hand on the back of my head. He wasn't trying to crack my skull open, no. He was comforting me. He was stroking my head to console me. It was. . .a little upsetting. I don't think I can handle Sasuke Uchiha being nice to me. As terrifying as my trips down memory lane have been, this is way too psychotic for me to process. I mean, I'm not terribly angry at Sasuke. He is a total jerk, though. He thought I lost the baby on purpose, then the things he said to me. . .unforgivable, or so I thought. He was just really upset. He really wanted the baby. He wanted to marry me, he once told me. He wanted to wait until I turned eighteen, though. The baby would've been a toddler. He could have been a senior undergrad or would've already started law school. We were going to buy a house by then. All that. . .a family. We were going to be together. . .
I jerked straight up and looked at Sasuke. He was bewildered by my sudden movement.
"Are you okay? I. . I. . I had no idea." He looked away. So, I suppose an apology from an Uchiha is out of the question.
"I'm fine. I don't need you to comfort me. I'm a lot stronger than the girl you left in the other room. I had to be."
With that said, I stood up and left Naruto's bedroom, quietly shutting the door behind me.
I cried myself back to sleep, until my alarm clock woke me up for breakfast the next morning. My digital alarm clock read that it was 7:45 a.m.
I trudged in and out of my bathroom, picking up my pair of fuzzy flip-flop sandal-style house slippers along the way. The hardwood floors in the hallway and the tile of the bathroom were kind of cold. Remembering last night vividly, I crept to Naruto's bedroom door. It was closed completely. I pressed my ear to the door. I heard nothing, so I assumed Sasuke was either still asleep or out of the bedroom. I slowly and cautiously opened the door. I first looked over to the bed as I slid a little bit into the room. It was still messy, but no one was in it. I walked further into the room and saw the bathroom door was open. The light was turned out, so it wasn't likely that it was occupied. Sasuke wasn't in here. I noticed the floor looked a little less crowded, too. Some of the bags were missing.
Sasuke was gone.
I slowly walked downstairs to breakfast, my head held down. My stepmother greeted me in the kitchen with overt cheeriness.
"Good morning, sweetheart! Sleep well?"
"Mmm. No, not really. I. . had an argument last night. But I do have plans for lunch later today, so there's that."
"Oh. Well, that's good. Everything that happens just has to happen. You can't always stop it, and I can't guarantee the truth will always make everything better. But getting it off your chest should at least make you feel better. You can't let things stay bottled up inside you."
I nodded in understanding, or at least in confirmation that I was listening to her. Sometimes she gets carried away with her long-winded advice and opinions.
"Good. Now, I hope you're hungry! Chocolate chip waffles, buttered toast, scrambled eggs, hickory-smoked bacon, cranberry and orange juice, skim milk, and anything else I can whip up!"
"Oh, I missed this! Breakfast for me usually means wither standing in line for a muffin and coffee at Starbucks or grabbing the good doughnuts and bagels out of the conference room before meetings. It's always too hectic to even sit down and enjoy it."
"Now that's a crime." She set a glass in front of me and presented me with cranberry juice, knowing it's my favorite.
"Thanks."
"So, who do you have lunch plans with? Sasuke?"
I sighed. "No. Ino."
She tossed her dishrag on the counter in a momentary burst of excitement. "Ooh! Yeah! I knew you could do it! That's my girl!"
"Let me go check something real quick. She might've sent me another text message."
"You'd better not use that phone of yours to be checking you email at breakfast. You know my rules, and they still stand: no work at the table."
I sprinted up the stairs, afraid my eggs were going to get cold before I made it back downstairs. I walked into my bedroom, in search of my beloved cell phone. My phone was still on my nightstand. It had its screen illuminated, letting me know I had a missed call or a message. It was a message. A text message from Sasuke. It read:
Sakura, you told me Karin
cannot marry your brother.
I agree.
Meet me for lunch today,
around 11 a.m. The café downtown,
across from the old furniture store.
It's now called "Brewed Awakening."
Quite ironic, huh?
I texted back:
I'll be there.
A/N: Thank you for more reviews! And many, many more are welcome! I love the feedback!
BTW, I'm still looking for opinions as to what to do with Itachi. What do you think? Sasuke killed him - we already know that. We still need the how and the why. Was he murdered? Was Sasuke justifiably defending himself. . .or someone else? I narrowed down possibilities of scenarios leading to Itachi's demise by A) Itachi went crazy, was bipolar or was otherwise evil and committed an act that prompted Sasuke to slay him; or B) Itachi was pure of heart, just like Sakura thought. He merely sacrificed his family (save for Sasuke) for the common good because he stumbled upon. . .something. Opinions? I could really work either/or into this story, since Itachi is not a main or supporting character. And Sasuke is going to be a little messed up after taking his own brother's life, regardless. What the heck - what sounds like the best fit for Itachi's path to destruction and ultimate demise? He ain't getting a whole chapter to himself. He just gets an honorable mention, of sorts. Or maybe a dishonorable mention.
