Sakura's POV
My laptop screen dims down as I click onto another website. The ones I was looking at before were small houses for sale or rent, now this one has apartments. It would probably be better to get a small apartment. After all, it will only be me living in it. Plus, they are easier to take care of and are closer to work.
As I scroll down at the listings, I reach for the half empty water bottle next to my note pad filled with houses that I was interested in and down the rest of it. I came across one that could be perfect. Small, one bedroom and bathroom, closer to work than my parent's home, and closer to Sasuke's apartment. What I really love about it though is the sliding glass door leading to a small balcony. I can't help but think about the flowers I could pot there.
I turn my body back to my nightstand where my notepad is, and grab it. "Sakura?" When I see my mother open my door slowly, I readjust my posture on my bed. "What are you doing?" she asks, then sits down on the corner of my bed.
With the notepad in my hand, I search around my bed for the pencil I was using before. "Looking at apartments."
"Are you planning on moving? You should save a little more."
A part of me agrees with my mother on saving more money, but another part of me thinks I should leave the house. I can't stay here forever, and I am getting tired of hearing her and Father arguing about me. "I know, but I think it's time for me to start living on my own. I have saved up since freshman year of college, and there are some nice places here. I want to at least look at them." While speaking to her, I keep looking around my bed. "Where is that damn pencil?" I mutter.
"Don't swear, and it's behind your ear." I freeze when she says that. I can now feel the pencil on my ear, and slowly slide it off.
"Thank you," I mutter as I write down the location and information of the apartment. My mother keeps looking at me when I write, making me feel uncomfortable and self conscious.
I drop the pad on my lap and stare at my mother too. "What is it?" I ask.
"... How is your relationship with that father?"
"Sasuke, and it is going very well."
"You guys have been dating for a bit. Have you guys ever...?" My eyebrows scrunch together.
"What?"
"Have you two... ever had intercourse?" My face reddens when I understand what she means.
"What? Mom, that's none of your business, and no!"
Saying that releases all the tension in her shoulders. "Sorry if I made you uneasy, but you know I'm not very happy about your relationship with him, and you have been sleeping over his house." As she continues, my mother puts her hand on the bottom area of my leg, near my foot. "I just want you to be safe. I don't want you to be put in a situation that you aren't ready for."
"What do you mean by that?" Before she can answer, my phone rings. I turn to my side to turn off the timer that I had set a while ago. "I have to go to work," I say and slide off my bed.
My mother also stands up from my bed and walks back to the door. "We will be having pasta for dinner," she claims as she opens the door, and closes it most of the way. Once she is gone, I grab my bag near my old desk and my keys hanging on a small hook on the wall.
"Bye Tenten," I shout at the exit of the restaurant, with Sasuke behind me waiting. We just finished our shift, and are leaving to pick Sarada up from school. I haven't seen her since her first day of school. Hopefully she feels better at school than she did at the beginning of the week.
"See ya Sakura," Tenten shouts back, making me finally close the front door completely and start walking next to Sasuke. The afternoon heat blasts both me and him, but I feel like I'm the only one bothered by it. Plus, my skin is very light and burns easily, so summer time isn't always great for me.
As we keep walking on the sidewalk, I wrap my arm around Sasuke's and say, "I'm ready for this summer heat to end."
Sasuke looks at me through his sunglasses. "Yeah, it can be annoying."
"Right? The sun can give me a bad headache. Also, sweating can be very uncomfortable. Thank God we are working in a place with air conditioning. I can't help but feel bad for the people who work outside." Sasuke only grunts in response.
A little bit of silence takes over the area for us, and the school is in our view. I release my grip on Sasuke's arm when we enter the parking lot, and pull out my phone and turn it on, revealing the picture of Sasuke, Sarada, and I at the amusement park as a background. Who knew that things would fall together the way they have. "How is Sarada?" I ask.
Before Sasuke answers, he steps a little closer to me because of the stares he is getting from the other parents. "Alright. I asked her if her stomach was bothering her again, and she said no."
The bell rings, and doors open with small children walking out. "Must have been nervous."
"Probably." I move my attention to my phone again and open my social media. I examine a few of the posts from old college buddies, and then notice a post Gaara made. It's him and a woman I've never met. He has his arm around her and is kissing her check, with her having a big smile on her face. I notice that this girl looks nothing like me. Her skin is quick darker than mine, and her hair is a dark brown too. I can't tell what her eye color is though since her eyes are shut from smiling, but she has such white and straight teeth.
She is very beautiful. I look down to the caption that reads, 'One month with this amazing girl!'. I guess we both moved on. Would it be weird to like it? I am his ex. I probably shouldn't even be following him still. "Sarada is taking longer than normal to come out," I hear Sasuke exclaim.
I turn off my phone again and put it in my bag so I can search for Sarada. More kids run out and go to their parents, making more cars start to exit. The crowd shortens and still no Sarada. "It has been taking longer than usual."
"Maybe she thought we were picking her up later, so she went to the art room," Sasuke suggests. "Let's wait first."
More and more people leave with their kids, and soon, there aren't any children exiting the school, and Sarada never shows up. This makes Sasuke and I walk up to the front entrance, and go into the front office to talk to the ladies behind their desks. The room is pretty clean with a lot of space, and probably the only room in the building with decent air conditioning.
All of the desks seem to be connected to the walls, and the front part is taller than the back where the actual desk is, so you have to walk directly to it and lean your head down. Each desk had a fancy computer and phone that has a wire. The decorations were mostly small fake plants, and pens that have fake flowers taped on its end. "Excuse me," Sasuke says, which brings one of the ladies' attention to him. "My daughter Sarada Uchiha didn't come out when school ended. I think she is in the art room."
The woman's expression changes from being bored to excited when she sees Sasuke. "Oh hi Sasuke," she says flirtatiously. "I haven't seen you in a while." She then starts to bite her lip. I'm feeling a bit uncomfortable because of her attempts to flirt with a man who is probably fifteen years younger than her, and I'm sure does as well, but I won't address it right now. "Of course I can help you find her. I'll make an announcement for her."
"Thank you," he mutters.
The woman grabs the phone beside her and presses one of the buttons, and holds it as she speaks through the phone. A bell different from the one that rings when school is over blasts through the building. "Sarada Uchiha please come to the front office." After making that demand, she lets go of the button and hangs up the phone. "She should be here soon, why not have a seat?"
Both of us turn around to find some vacant chairs next to a small table with magazines and another fake plant, but bigger than the others. "That woman seems to like you," I whisper as we sit down.
Sasuke grunts in disgust. "I know. It's always like this when I come by. I'm pretty sure she is married too." Hearing that makes me cringe.
"Well, maybe she will stop," I grab Sasuke's hand that lays on the arm rest, and intertwine our fingers. "When she figures out that you are taken," and then I kiss it.
Sasuke smirks at me. "I doubt it, but it is worth a try." He also kisses our hands.
Five minutes pass and Sarada still doesn't come by. At this point Sasuke starts to get a little anxious and impatient. I can tell by the way he keeps rubbing my hand and tapping his foot. I give him a reassuring squeeze and say to the lady, "Do you think she heard?"
"Let me try again." She once again picks up the phone, holds the button, and repeats exactly what she said before. Once she hangs up, the room is silent, and the only noise is coming from the ticking clock on the wall.
Three more minutes of intolerable silence and Sarada still isn't here. Sasuke bits his lower lip and squeezes my hand. His foot is still bouncing. I am about to kiss his hand again, when he then releases his grip on my hand and bolts up from his seat, and stomps towards the desk again. "Where is she?!" he asks sternly.
"I'm sure she is in the building somewhere," she tries to comfort. I then finally leave my seat and walk next to Sasuke.
"What do you mean you're sure she is still in the building?! Why wouldn't she?!" Sasuke is on the verge of freaking out. I try to calm him down by rubbing his back, but it's hard when I'm also very anxious. These past months that I've gotten to know Sarada, she became a part of my family. I don't know if I see her as a daughter, but I do love her, and I love Sasuke, so if something has happened, I don't know what to do. "Can we just go look for her on our own?" Sasuke suggests.
The woman behind the desk hesitates, but then replies, "Okay, but wear these," and hands us visitors passes that we can wear on our necks. We both put them on, and Sasuke speeds out of the office, making me fall behind.
"Let's check the art room and see if Sarada is in there first." I nod and attempt to catch up with Sasuke, but with his longer legs and fast pace, I struggle to keep up.
In less than a minute, we made it to the art room. No one is in here besides Sarada's art teacher, who is putting away brushes. "Has Sarada been in here?" Sasuke asks quickly, and since we came out of nowhere, the teacher jumps up before turning to us.
"Oh, . No, Sarada hasn't been here."
"Have you seen her at all today?"
"I saw her in class today."
Sasuke turns away and keeps walking right when she finishes, and I run up to him. "Sarada has social studies at the end of the day, so let's find her teacher." It takes us longer to get to that classroom, and the male teacher in there claims that Sarada was in class, but he hasn't seen her since then. "Maybe she is playing in the gym with the other kids who stay after school."
Sasuke continues to march and I continue to try to catch up to him. Once I finally do, I pull onto his arm to stop him. "Sasuke!" I shout. He stops and stares right at me, a bit angrily because we stopped. "Let's split up. We can take more ground that way. To stay in contact, we can just text each other,"
"...Alright. I'll go to the gym, you go to the library. There's a good chance she is in there too. I nod once again, and we go our separate ways.
At first I get a little lost trying to find the library since I've only been here once. I examine the hallway, when I then see it in the corner of my eye. I start to jog, passing some classrooms, and a bathroom.
Wait. Bathroom. I stop jogging when thoughts of my school days flood into my mind. When I wanted to be alone, or get away, I would go to the bathroom. I turn my head, but not my body to face the door leading to the girl's room.
Subconsciously, my feet and body drag itself to the door. Once I'm in front of it, I push it open slowly. Could she be in here?
I quietly enter the bathroom and close the door slowly, so I don't make a sound. To my right are a couple of sinks and mirrors, and father into the bathroom are the stalls. I stand there noiseless, waiting for a sound. Just then, I hear an uneven breath, trying to breathe normally.
My feet start to move slowly to the stalls. I then lean down a little, to try and find any feet, indicating that someone is in here. All the way at the end, in the large stall, I find not only feet, but a small body hugging their knees to their chest, and by the little black shoes that I recognize every time I'm at Sasuke's home, I know who is in here with me.
"Sarada?" The breathing stops as soon as I speak. I make my way over to that stall at the end of the bathroom, and place a hand on the door. "Sarada it's Sakura. Please come out." I don't hear any movement. "I just want to see your face." After a couple of seconds, I can hear her getting off the floor, and feet skimming it.
I drop my hand and take a step back as Sarada unlocks the stall slowly, and opens it. I am then faced with the small Uchiha daughter. Her eyes are puffy and red, along with her face. Her glasses off and in her hands. Tears dry on her face as new ones fall. She scrunches her face to try to stop them from falling, but fails, so she looks down.
"Sarada..."
Her voice comes out very squeaky when she says, "Wh-hy are t-hey so me-ean to me?"