(it's not enough to say that I miss you)
Ino slowly gained consciousness, an insistent ringing coming to foreground of her mind. Her alarm? She looked at the clock and realized that it was too early. She lay in bed, perplexed, before realizing it was Saturday so she wouldn't have set her alarm anyway. So what was the ringing?
Ah, the doorbell.
But who would come over so early in the morning? And why wasn't her lazy roommate answering the door so she could continue with her beauty sleep?
Grumbling incoherently, Ino threw her covers off and sat up, sliding her feet into the slippers she kept near her bed. Without bothering to put on a robe, she threw open her bedroom door and stalked angrily to the front door, ready to give whoever had the indecency to visit as such an hour a piece of her mind.
She wrenched open the door, not caring that she was being loud enough to wake Shikamaru, but her scowl disappeared the moment she saw who it was.
Sakura stood in the doorway, arms clutching her sides, looking disheveled and weary.
"Sakura?" Ino whispered. She hadn't expected to see her so soon—not even twenty-four hours—after their argument.
"Can… Can I come in?"
"Of course," Ino returned, a note of surprise in her voice.
Sakura nodded and Ino stood aside so Sakura could get past her. Ino shut the door then made her way to the small living room where Sakura had curled up on the couch. Ino sat down next to her.
"What's wrong?"
Sakura took a deep breath.
"Last night, after you left… Naruto and I… he stayed. And—" Sakura swallowed. "And—and we—" Sakura closed her eyes, fighting tears as she trembled. "When I woke up, he was gone. I tried to call him, but he wouldn't answer." Sakura's cheeks were wet now. She groaned and hugged herself tightly.
"He doesn't understand, Ino. He thinks I don't—" Sakura paused before looking Ino in the eye. "What have I done?" she rasped quietly.
Then she buried her head in hands as her shoulders shook harder.