Sakura's POV

"So, this is where you live," I mumble looking around at the small one-room apartment. Different size and color carpets litter the floor, the walls are grayish-blue painted stone, and I can feel the coldness of them just by looking. The few pieces of furniture in the room look just as ragged as I feel; the couch is dingy with a couple sewn patches on it, fold-up metal chairs near couch and a tall dark dresser in front of the couch with a TV resting on top that must be centuries old. A small round plastic table behind the couch rests with a sketch book and pencils on top. On the far opposite wall from where I sit on his bed, a four counter and four cupboard kitchen resides. The counters and littered with miscellaneous things like food, medical supplies, tea boxes, a notebook, a pack of pens, and a few other things I can't seem to make out. There are no windows and I wonder what time it is.

"Yeah, hm."

I watch Deidara stride over to the small kitchen and sift through what seems to be the medical supplies. He comes back over with a tube of something in his hand and sits down in the metal folding chair beside the bed.

"Here, face me," Deidara orders me. For a moment I hesitate then realize he didn't order me. Deidara's voice was soft when he said that, careful. I slowly turn my head away from his home and face him. He touches my face with a finger coated in the ointment.

"Ssssttt!"

Pain throbs through my face from his touch. I try to sit as still as possible as Deidara spreads the ointment on my face, I must have a lot of bruises because it takes him some time before he is done. I stare into his sad face. His eyes are filled with compassion and grief, but behind that is a fire of anger that makes me want to jump away from him. I hope he's not angry with me but with all I've done?... I'm the only one he would be angry with.

"Thank you," I whisper as I focus on his eyes, hoping to see some of the anger diminish from my gratitude.

"Of course," He responds, "Is there… is there anywhere else?"

I shake my head, lying, "No. That's fine. Thank you Deidara." He has already taken care of me enough. He has opened up his home to me with barely anything; he's willing to still do what he can with what he has for me. He has let me rest in his bed and is trying to take care of my wounds. I don't want him to do anything more for me. I don't deserve any of his kindness after all I've done.

"Are you hungry," Deidara asks.

Just as I'm about to say no my stomach grumbles loudly from the idea of food. I chuckle lightly but it comes out more like a choked sob, "Yeah."

Deidara stands up and walks over to the fridge, "What would you like?"

I don't want to eat too much of his food, certain that he only has a small amount. "Just something small," I tell him.

I watch Deidara open his fridge and am shocked to see its stocked full with food. He takes out an apple, a pear, cherries, and a few other fruits and cuts them up on the counter. He walks back over and hands me a large bowl of fruit salad and a fork.

"Wow," I mumble, taking to large bowl of fruit, "I did ask for something small," I say, trying to tease him.

Deidara chuckles nervously, "Yeah, un. Well… I thought you should eat a bit more."

I nod and take a bite, it's all fresh fruit and is delicious. Deidara walks over to the table and grabs the sketch book and pencils. I eat the fruit silently as he sits down in the chair next to the bed and begins to sketch. I hadn't realized just how hungry I was until I looked down at the bowl and saw it was half empty. I took one last bite of fruit and simply held the bowl as I looked over to Deidara. He sat still, staring at the sketchbook resting on his proper-up thigh from crossing his legs, intently drawing.

"I didn't know you draw," I tell him.

"Yeah… It's a new hobby I started recently…"

I nod and watch silently as he continues to draw. Deidara shoots a quick gaze up at me a few times as he draws. Each time he looks up at me, a nervous thrill goes through me.

"Done," he says. I gasp the moment he turns his sketch book and shows me the drawing he had been working on so intently. On the paper is a sketch of a woman sitting on a bed, her clothes baggy and stained. The woman has short uneven hair that hangs around her bruised sad face.

"Is… is that me," I choke out, a lump forming in my throat as tears rush to my eyes, "Do I… Do I really look like that?" I stare into Deidara's sad eyes looking for any sign of a no. I want him to say that it is just a random woman and a random sketch. I want him to tell me that I don't look anything like that. But he doesn't. He stares back with his sad eyes silently.

"Why… Why did you draw that," I cry out, no longer able to hold the tears in.

"Because," Deidara replies softly, placing the sketch book back on his lap, "You need to remember what he did to you… If you ever want to go back to him, I will show you this drawing… You can never forget what he did to you…"

The softness of his voice does not make me feel any better. Anger and sadness roar at him inside me. "But I want to forget! I want to forget everything about him! I never want to remember!" My voice comes out in strained yelled sobs and I feel everything around me collapsing. I begin to cry harder than I ever have and shout as loud as I can. "I will never go back to him! I will never remember him!" I tear the gold ring with a large diamond off my marriage finger and throw it across the room, "I hate him! I hate him! He did all that to me! He beat me so many times I've lost count! He never stopped! He accused me of murdering our son! Our little baby boy! I loved him! I loved him so much! And he beat me! I've had bruises lasting on me for weeks! I lost my best friends Ino because of him! I want to forget it all!" I can't yell anymore as my sobs take over me. I shake with the pain and the tears that flow from my eyes. Two gently arms wrap around me and I lean to the side, resting my head against the warm stomach.

"Sshhh… It's okay. It's all going to be okay now, yeah," Deidara whispers to me, his hand begins to stroke my head and lace through my greasy hair. For some reason his comfort makes me cry harder, my nose runs and my tears flow. Deidara's shirt begins to get damp from my tears, but I don't move. I can't. Deidara's hold from above me and gentle whispers of hope and safety warm me inside and out. Deidara stands like that holding me and rubbing my head for awhile as I cry ever tear I never allowed myself to cry while with Itachi. After what seems like years, the tears stop coming. I've shed all the tears inside me and I can't shed anymore yet the tears continue to flow, just invisible.

"You can sleep here, I'll sleep on the couch," Deidara tells me gently as he pulls away from me. The warmth vanishes with his absent hold. I sit on his bed staring at his feet, exhausted. "Come on, lay down."I do as he says and layback down in his bed. Deidara pulls the covers up around me.

"I'll never let anyone hurt you again," He whispers. I look up into his nearing eyes and close my own as a set of soft lips gently graze my forehead. "Goodnight."

I ease awake after an almost sleepless night and sit up. My body screams in protest as I stand up and try to stretch, all over aching. I take a few steps on the random-carpet floor and walk to the end of the bed. On the floor resting against the bed is my beach bag full with stuff. I crouch down despite my pain and look inside.

Did Deidara really grab all of these things for me?

I take out a few pairs of my shoes and begin to sift through the bag. I find a pair of sweat pants and a baggy shirt and underwear. I feel heat rise to my cheeks as I think about Deidara going through my drawers and grabbing my underwear and bras. I close up the bag and walk past a sleeping Deidara to the only open door in his apartment. Directly in front of the door is a toilet that looks as though it hasn't been cleaned in months, a square mirror rests on the wall above it. I close the lid and place my clothes on the seat that looks cleaner than the inside toilet bowl.

I turn and look at the shower. It's a simply rusty shower head coming out of the wall and over a 2ft by 2ft tiled square, separated from the toilet and grayish-blue painted stone floor by a simple shower curtain. I know I shouldn't be picky or complain after all Deidara has done for me but I can't help feel a bit uncomfortable by his bathroom. I close the bathroom door and undress myself, letting my clothes collect in a dirty smelly pile on the cold floor. I step into the small shower and close the plastic almost-see-through shower curtain and turn on the hot water. A blast of cold sprays down on me and I flatten myself against the wall. I reach over to the hot water knob and turn it all the way down as goose bumps pop up all over my cold body. I reach my hand into the water after a couple seconds and immediately pull my hand back from the water that's hotter than devil's piss. I turn the hot water knob half way up and turn the cold water on a small amount. I test the water with my hand and it's still too hot. After multiple adjustments to the water knobs, I finally find the perfect placement of them for nice warm water. I stand under the rushing water as it flows down on my body. A wide shelf inside the wall holds a bar of soap, two different shampoos (one special for hair) and two different conditioners.

I use the simple shampoo and conditioner and scrub myself with the bar of soap, and then I just stand under the water and allow myself a moment to take in everything that has happened in the past few days. Everything feels as though it moved so quickly. I want to press the pause button, rewind, and watch it all in slow motion but at the same time I want to turn it off and never watch it again. I look down at my body and see my pale skin littered with spots of discoloration. There was no makeup packed in the bag Deidara brought over for me, there will be no way for me to hide the bruises this time.

I turn the water off and get out of the shower and just then realize I don't have a towel. I look around the tiny room, as if I'll see something that I didn't see before. I can not walk out into Deidara's apartment naked and I don't want to anger him by waking him up. I know the consequences of waking up those who are sleeping. I stare down at my dirty pile of clothes on the floor and sigh. I turn them inside out and dry myself off with the sticky and stained cotton. I feel as though I have jumped right back into a mud pit after climbing out and being hosed off. I put my clean clothes of my body and hold my dirty –now damp- clothes and step out into the large room.

"Morning," Deidara calls out. I look over at the direction of his voice and see Deidara at the stove making what smells like French toast.

"Wh-what are you doing," I ask him confused. Deidara places the now complete French toast on a plate that already has one on it. He turns off the stove and brings a full bottle of syrup out of the cupboard above him. "You like maple syrup, right?"

I nod slowly and walk over to my bag against his bed on the floor. I wrap my dirty sweat pants around my other dirty clothes and place it inside my bag in a dirty ball. When I turn around Deidara is placing the plate on the round plastic table with a paper towel and a fork. He walks over to the fridge and pulls out and apple and sits down opposite the plate at the table.

"Who's is that," I ask.

Deidara looks at me as though the answer should be obvious, "Yours, yeah."

I'm shocked that Deidara made food for me as I walk over and sit down. "Are you going to eat anything?"

Deidara smiles and raises his apple, "I am."

"Oh," I respond, feeling rather stupid. I quietly take a bite of the French toast. It's delicious. "Thank you," I mumble.

"You're welcome, hm."

I continue to eat the French toast slowly, unsure if I am supposed to finish it all or not but Deidara seems perfectly contempt as he stares off while taking bites out of his apple.

"You didn't have to cook for me Deidara," I murmur, "I'm used to cooking for myself."

"I wanted to cook for you," Deidara tells me simply. I look up at his face, stunned, yet he looks completely serious, as if him wanting to cook for me is a simple every-day fact. I look down at the almost empty plate and nod.

I finish the plate of food silently just as Deidara sets his apple core on the table. "Deidara," I address him without looking up, "Thank you for bringing me and my things over here. And I'm sorry for-"

"You don't need to be sorry Sakura. I want you to stay here as long as you want. I won't let anyone hurt you anymore, hm."

I nod but refuse to look up. A warm sensation spreads throughout me as I stare at the plate.

"Oh and Sasori grabbed your stuff, you'll have to thank him for that."

"Sasori came and got me too?"

"Yeah, He was worried."

I nod and stand up, I reach for his apple core and my plate but a different set of hands beats me to them. I watch as Deidara walks over and places the plate in the sink and tosses the apple core into what must be garbage in a bag on the floor next to his stove. It looks like a simple grocery store bag. Deidara walks back over to me and I still refuse to look up at him.

"Sakura, hm, It's going to be okay. I will not hurt you."

I look up into Deidara's sincere sad eyes and wrap my arms around him. I push myself against him, hoping to take in all his warmth. Strong but gentle arms wrap around my waist. The hugs ends too short as Deidara pulls away and looks at me with eyes that seem to reach out towards me.

"I have to go to work, I took another job. I won't be home until later today around four. Will you be okay?"

I smile up at him, "I will be okay," but Deidara doesn't remove his gaze.

"Sakura, If you don't want to be alone right now I can call someone to come over with you or see if one of the other people in the building mind spending the day with you. I'm not close to any of them but I do know some nice people who live here."

I drop my fake smile, it's obvious Deidara isn't buying it anymore. "I'll be okay by myself Deidara. I'm not going anywhere."

"Okay, hm," Deidara nods. Before I realize what he is doing the same familiar gently lips graze my forehead and warm my cold head. Once again all too soon Deidara backs away from me. I watch him go over to the counter and grab a set of keys then open the only closed door in his apartment that leads out to a grayish-blue hallway. Deidara looks back inside and we catch each other's eyes for just a moment. Deidara opens his mouth as if about to say something then closes it and his sad eyes return. He turns and closes the door.

The next week goes by rather simply and slowly. Every morning I go to take a shower (this time making sure to ask Deidara where he keeps his towels which happen to be in the top drawer of the dresser where he also keeps some of his shirts) and every morning when I come out Deidara is making something for me to eat for breakfast. We both sit at the table and eat silently; he always eats an apple for breakfast but makes me a large breakfast. Then he leaves for work and asks me if I will be okay alone for the day. I always tell him I will be and he walks out the door, but each morning just as he's about to close the door Deidara looks back inside and seems like he's about to say something but he never does.

I've found different ways to keep myself busy like first cleaning whatever I could starting with the toilet (for which he thanked me multiple times for doing), or watch TV (which has such horrible reception I end up toning it out and thinking). I have walked around the neighborhood a few times (making sure to wear a jacket and cover my face with my hair and the hood. It was a bit awkward at first when I realized that Sasori hadn't packed me a jacket and I borrowed Deidara's. It was strangely comforting to wear his large jacket that smelled just like him. The first time after he got home I apologized multiple times but he only laughed and told me that I could wear whatever I wanted as long as I was comfortable which shocked me) and identifying myself with the local corner store and pharmacy and a supermarket about a half hour walk away. At other times I skimmed through his sketch book without telling him, admiring the realistic sketches. The beginning of the sketch book had rather simple drawings but the father I got the more detailed and complex the realistic drawings got. I would specifically avoid the latest drawing of his though.

Around four-thirty five-ish in the afternoon Deidara would come home. He would tell me how his jobs as a cashier and as a waiter really sucked and about the different people he would have to deal with. Some of his stories were quite funny like the one where a teen girl who was obviously higher than a kite walked in and demanded to have a slushie- to which he told he multiple times that this was not 7-eleven and they did not have a slushie machine. Finally the girl turned and stared off into space and Deidara had taken this time to let her know that she had a large pen drawing of a penis on her shoulder and she proceeded to grumble about hurting a couple different people in awkward and abnormal ways. After that we would watch something together or just talk. Then Deidara would make dinner for both of us while I sat at the table and watched him. We would eat with casual talk and make a few jokes here and there. Deidara also washed, dryed, and folded the dirty laundry (both his and my own) one night after I had gone to bed. I woke up to find my laundry folded on the round plastic table. Deidara offered that I use one of his dresser drawers to put my clothes away but I felt as though I was over-stepping my boundaries even though he insisted. At night I would sleep in Deidara's bed and he never complained once about sleeping on a couch that was much too short for his rather tall body.

It was nice spending so much time with Deidara, I felt comfortable with him. I was able to laugh with him and not be on edge. Deidara cooked food for me without me ever asking and I would wash the dishes with him thanking me and smiling. We could just talk for hours or sit in silence and it was not awkward at all. Not once did Deidara get angry with me… And then came the weekend.

It started as a really nice Saturday morning but little did I know about how drastically my life was about to change. I woke up to a delicious smell. I sat up to see Deidara intently cooking at the stove with chopped up fruit on the counter. I groggily made my way to the bathroom with a change of clothes and relieved myself. I decided to wait to shower until later because it seemed as though Deidara was almost done cooking. I walked out and placed my ball of dirty clothes in a plastic bag next to my large beach bag. I walked over to the table and sat down as I watched Deidara adding the fruit to the two plates of food and walking over. He set one plate down in front of me and another at his spot then went back to the fridge. On the plate there were two pancakes with syrup sliding off and blue berries sprinkled on top. Next to the pancakes were slices of orange and apple. Deidara came back over with two cups of milk and two forks. He then sat down and we began to eat.

"What's the special occasion," I asked him.

"Well, hm," he began cheerfully, "I thought it might be nice to have a special breakfast because your face is becoming more gorgeous every day."

I felt a heat rise to my cheeks and I knew I was blushing, and warmth bubbled in my stomach. "Oh-oh. Thank you."

Deidara smiled and continued to talk, "And I think we've had a nice week together."

I nod nervously.

"What's wrong."

"Well… It's just that…," I try to tell him what I'm thinking without upsetting him, "I really appreciate all you've done for me Deidara… Opening up your home to me and all…" Deidara nods, his expression masked with a serious frown, "But I… I shouldn't stay here… have my own apartment…"

Deidara curses under his breath and looks away from me.

"I'm sorry Deidara…"

"No," He snaps back. Fear shoots through me. "Don't apologize to me." I watch him anxiously as he walks over to the dresser and opens one of the drawers. Deidara walks over with his sketch book and flips to a familiar drawing. "Be sorry for yourself," He says as he holds the sketch book in front of me. Although Deidara is clearly angry, I don't feel threatened by him yet anxiety still surges through me. I physically prepare myself in case I get smacked. "Say sorry to yourself, un. Because it's yourself who is going to get hurt if you go back to Itachi."

I feel tears slide down my cheeks before I can stop them. "I… But…" I try to think of some way to defend Itachi but I can't. I know Deidara is right.

"Sakura, your bruises are healing and almost gone. I don't want your beautiful face to be hidden behind new ones," Deidara tells me softly, sadness in his eyes.

"But I can't stay here," I mumble.

"Why not, yeah?"

"Because… because this is your home… You've done enough for me and I should leave you be now."

Deidara is silent for a moment then speaks quietly, "Sakura, I want you here if you want to be here… I… I love you Sakura."

I look up into Deidara's emotion filled eyes. For the first time since I've been at his house it seems as though he is the one about to cry. I want to jump up and wrap my arms around him and hug him and kiss him and tell him I love him too, but I'm scared. I'm terrified to.

"I… I don't know what to say…" I admit.

Deidara's shoulders go lax as he stares down at me, "That's okay. Just… please think about what I said, all of it, yeah?"

"Okay," I promise him and then speak again after a moment, "Is it… okay… If I go for a walk for a little while? To clear my head?"

"Of course, be safe, hm…"

I nod and grab his jacket that seems to have become our jacket from off the back of the couch. I step out the door without looking back and walk up the familiar grayish-blue stone stairs.

I walk silently down the sidewalk in a random direction, not concerned about where I am going. Thoughts of Deidara and of Itachi swim through my head. Happy memories with Itachi are quickly replaced with memories I'd rather not remember. Then happy memories with Deidara, serious memories with Deidara, but no memories of me being truly scared of him, no memories of him being extremely angry with me, no memories of him ever hitting me.

I walk into the corner store and browse the shelves, looking for something but nothing in particular. I come by a shelf of different brands of condoms, then of pregnancy tests. On an anxious whim I buy a box.

"Do you have a bathroom," I ask the women at the counter as politely as possible. She looks me up and down with a sneer on her face.

"In the back honey," She replies with sass.

"Thank you," I reply politely, ignoring her rudeness. I walk into the back of the store and find the restroom. I lock the door as I enter and although the bathroom is not very clean, it's the largest bathroom I've been in for a week. I leisurely walk over to the toilet and lower myself down and open the box. I pull out the pregnancy test and then relieve myself. Once done I bring the pee-stick up and look at the little screen for one red line or for two red lines.

I walk into the apartment to find Deidara sitting on the couch drawing. I shut the door behind me.

"Did you have a nice walk, hm," He asks.

"Yeah…"

There's an awkward silence as I take off the jacket and lay it over his chair at the table. I walk over to the bathroom and shut the door. My heart races as I look in the mirror at myself. I'm not ready for this. I don't want this. This changes everything. I stare at my healing black eye, the bruise now a slight discoloration of a yellowish color. I pull my hair back and put it in a pony tail (mentally thanking Deidara once again for buying me the useful fabric-wrapped rubber bands). Once again I stare at myself in the mirror.

"Everything all right in there," Deidara calls through from the other side of the door, his voice anxious.

"Yeah," I reply back, not opening the door, "Everything is fine."

"Sakura, are you sure your okay," Deidara persists.

"Yeah, I'm fine Deidara," I try to say back calmly but I hear my voice come out in a more frantic tone.

"Sakura, please come out from there, I'm worried about you."

"I'm fine Deidara!" I should back getting annoyed, my voice once again is filled with the fear that is jumping through my veins.

"Sakura, Please," Deidara pleads. I turn and open the door, almost hitting a scared Deidara with it.

"Deidara… I'm…"

"What, yeah, you can tell me."

I stare into his worried eyes wondering if I can really tell him. He shouldn't be the one who I tell first. The fear in my veins begins to use my insides as a trampoline. I wonder how he is going to react. What will he think of me? Will he be angry? Will he kick me out? But wasn't I just saying this morning I was going to leave? Where would I go? Maybe if Itachi knew he would be like he used to?

"Deidara… I'm… I…"

The words get caught in my throat by fear's strong hands strangling my vocal cords. Deidara waits silently, looking at me as if I'm about to tell him I have cancer. A small part of me wishes I did have cancer, the other part tells me how stupid it is to wish for cancer. I force myself to speak the shaky words.

"I'm pregnant Deidara."

BOOM! HIYA! YACHATACHAHAAA! WHOOP DER IT IS! SAKURA IS PREGNANT!

Thank you to all those who have read my story and stayed with me. This long chapter was a gift to all of you for putting up with my weird notes at the end of short chapters. Thank you so much. Special thank you to all those who reviewed as I've written this story. You're guy's reviews made me so happy. Thank you to mizzanimequeen, TheSakuraCherryBlossom1998, LazyStudent, Guest 1, (possible) Guest 2, (possible) Guest 3, (possible) Guest 4, Sanna, meem, Sakuragirl915, Sakura45509, (possible) Guest 5, yeather, Kvhee, Guest 6, Guest 7, and ineversleep123. You're reviews made me so happy.

I am currently trying to write the sequel a few chapters in so while I'm busy with school work now, I can still post a chapter for you all. The chapters for the sequel witll likely be updated much more spaced out than this story.

Keep following this story because I will be posting another chapter letting you know the name of the sequel! Go check out my page for other fanfiction. I have written fanfiction for Creepy Pasta, Naruto, Harry Potter, Avatar The Last Airbender, and Percy Jackson.

once again THANK YOU ALL! And I hope to see reviews and favorites on my other stories from you all. ^_^