Chapter 10: Age 19 Part 1

Rating: T for language, mention of drugs/illegal activities

Sakura remembered the first time Itachi had comforted her. He told her the truth even though she wasn't ready for it. She was barely nineteen years old; he was still twenty-two years old.

Tears threatened to spill from her glistening eyes as she stared at him. Sakura shook her head. Her lip quivering, she whispered, "No."

Itachi stared firmly back at the pink-haired woman. His lips were in a thin line and his own black eyes showed how much he hurt on her behalf. "Yes," he nodded grimly.

Sakura took a ragged breath and flung her arms, "I… I don't want to believe it, though!"

Watching her from a distance, Itachi frowned while replying, "I know. But it's the truth." She shook her head more and a sharp inhale finally erupted from her bitten lips. He remained facing toward her as he continued, "You know it's the truth."

Streams of tears were now freely flowing down Sakura's face. Her shoulders hunched forward and she messily wiped her nose on the back of her hand not caring what Itachi thought about her. Her heart hurt too bad to worry about her appearance – the world she had grew comfortable with began to crash around her. She brought one hand over her heart and covered her face with the other as nearly silent sobs rocked her body.

Before she could comprehend anything else, Itachi placed his hands on her shoulders. When she wouldn't uncover her face for him, he used his right hand to bring her arm down. Shakily, she looked up at him. She had no words.

Itachi swallowed before speaking, "Sakura, don't you find it odd how often Sasuke's at the restaurant but never comes home smelling like food anymore?" She looked away from him and he brought her gaze back with his finger under her chin. "I called the restaurant last week," Itachi confessed. "He hasn't worked there in three months."

Sakura bit her lip and huffed out of anger, "What? So you're telling me he's been screwing around on me?"

The black-haired male's eyes softened as he shook his head, "No, I have no proof of that. But he's still bringing home money." Sakura's eyebrows scrunched. Itachi sighed, "We're on the same phone plan. Sasuke's been in frequent contact with Orochimaru."

She gasped and her eyes widened in shock. Sakura had suspected for some time that maybe Sasuke was cheating on her. She knew, realistically, they were not expecting him to work at the restaurant every night of the week as he had claimed. Lately, Sasuke had seemed so stressed he wasn't even interested in sex with Sakura when he did return home. He often fell asleep as they watched a movie. Sakura had summed it up to a more attractive woman keeping him warm.

"On the nights he doesn't ask you to come over and wait for him," Itachi began, "he's not home until two or three in the morning."

"You don't think…," Sakura started to ask but let her sentence trail off.

Itachi continued, "Last night, I found a baggie of cocaine in his jacket." Sakura let out a loud sob and covered her mouth again. "I don't think he's using but I definitely think he's dealing under Orochimaru," the man whispered.

Not fully thinking about her actions, Sakura fell against Itachi's hard chest. In that moment, she needed comfort somehow. His arms went around her without question as she squeezed him close. They never hugged before, although at the time, it felt as natural as breathing. Itachi began to stroke the back of her head as she dampened the front of his shirt with her cries. He said nothing as he held her close to him. Closing his eyes, he rested his head on top of hers.

Eventually, once Sakura's sobbing had subdued, Itachi thought aloud, "Orochimaru is into some really dark shit, Sakura. He's not a petty gang banger like the Akatsuki."

Sakura pulled away to look at him. She shook her head, "I-I don't want to know."

"You need to know," he said firmly. Sakura opened her mouth but before she could beg him to stop, Itachi spoke. "Orochimaru's got deep underground connections. He doesn't just stop at drugs. His hands are into everything – dog fighting, sex trafficking, hitmen services."

The tears stung the back of Sakura's eyes and throat. "No," she repeated the same mantra in denial.

However, a part of her knew Itachi's words connected all the dots. Sasuke had recently bought her an expensive necklace and when she questioned how he could afford it, he avoided answering. Sometimes, Sasuke would leave the room to answer his phone and get irrationally upset if Sakura followed. She still cared for Sasuke, even if their relationship was far from perfect. He was her first everything in life. Despite knowing their relationship had been rocky for quite some time, Sakura only wanted good things for him.

Sakura removed herself from Itachi's embrace. He silently watched as she hugged herself and bit her lower lip. Looking into the distance, she whispered, "I don't want to accept it."

"I don't either," he agreed. "But you can't hide the truth forever."

More tears fell down her face as she forced herself to look at Itachi. Shakily, she asked, "When are you going to talk to him?"

"Tonight."

She let out a deep breath and shook her head, "I can't. I can't face him tonight."

Nodding, Itachi agreed, "You're not able to drive. I'll take you home."

Irrational anger filled her as she spat, "No, you won't."

Itachi raised an eyebrow at her before reasoning, "Sakura, your eyes are so wet I know you can't see the road. Your vision must be blurry and you aren't thinking clearly."

Sakura was so upset. So upset at everything – Sasuke for getting involved with Orochimaru and Itachi for unloading all of the information on her. But above all, she was furious with herself. She should have picked up on the clues that something hugely important was off with Sasuke. She should have cared more about her own boyfriend and noticed the details. She should have been more concerned over the past few months that their relationship was falling apart. She should have known better than to get so close to Itachi because it felt like she was cheating on Sasuke with his own brother. At the same time, she wanted to curse Itachi for treating her like his little sister in wanting to drive her home.

Instead of unleashing all of her rage on Itachi, Sakura turned from the living room and started to walk toward the front door foyer. Itachi followed. As he grabbed his keys from the small table near the door, Sakura turned on her heels.

Looking in his eyes, she mustered up as much bravery as she could. Enhanced by the silence, she could hear her heart beating in her ears. "I'm driving myself, Itachi. Do not follow me. I want to be alone."

Itachi said nothing as he watched the door close behind her. Despite both enjoying their new found closeness, they knew it was over. Nothing would ever be the same.

Luckily, the ride home was uneventful. Sakura was consumed by her thoughts and didn't bother to turn on the radio in her car. She wanted to scream but when she tried all could she muster was a small croak. Instead, she drove in silence while replaying the interaction with Itachi in her mind.

When she arrived home, Sakura slipped in the back entrance so her mother wouldn't see her disheveled appearance. The first thing she did after locking her room's door was plop down on her bed. She stared at the ceiling before crying again. However, her sobs were softer because she didn't want her mother to suspect anything. After a few minutes of self-pity, she sent Sasuke a text saying she went home because she felt sick. It wasn't a lie. She was so distraught she was physically ill.

The next thing she did was scroll through her phone's contacts. Her finger hovered above Ino's name and seeing it made new waves of guilt wash over her. Sakura had neglected their friendship lately. But in that moment, she didn't need someone who would try to boss her around and tell her how to "fix" everything.

And even though she knew he would be outraged, Sakura pressed Naruto's name. Naruto would let her vent and she was confident he could be convinced to not confront Sasuke. After all, the two friends weren't close like they used to be. She bit her lip as she listened to the phone ring.

"Sakura!" Naruto finally answered. She could hear the smile in his warm voice and couldn't help but give a small smile herself. "Long time no speak, buddy!"

She closed her eyes and sunk further into her bed, "I'm sorry about that, Naruto." She prayed her voice didn't betray her because of her stuffy nose.

"No worries!" he replied in a carefree manner. "What's going on?"

"Um… you're not busy with Hinata right now, are you?"

Naruto hesitated a moment before responding, "No, I'm home alone. What's wrong?" His tone made her realize he could definitely hear the crying in her voice. When she didn't reply quick enough, Naurto spoke again, "Do you need me to come to you? Where are you?"

"No," she quickly spoke before exhaling. "No, I uh, I'm home. I want to be alone but talk to you. If that makes sense."

"Ok," he stated before she heard him readjust the phone. "I'm all ears."

Sakura poured her heart out to Naruto. She told him everything. She revealed what Itachi told her about Sasuke. Not wanting pity, she confessed she was embarrassed she didn't realize sooner what his weird behavior meant. She told him she had been spending more time with Itachi than her boyfriend and how she felt ashamed for it. Briefly, she mentioned how she felt like a slut because she would rather spend time with Itachi. She revealed she was scared because she didn't like change and now her whole world was upside down.

All while she spoke with through her tears, Naruto remained silent laying in his own bed. He would occasionally add an "ok" and encourage her to continue. But he didn't judge her. He allowed her hash out all her thoughts. Out of respect for Sakura, Naruto repressed the unyielding urge to drive to their residence and smash both Uchihas' faces.

Although, his own heart hurt at her words. Not just because his childhood best friend was going down a dark, dangerous path. Also because the first girl he loved had been living a lie for so long. Naruto always thought Sakura was happy with Konoha heartthrob Sasuke. However, he then accepted what he secretly knew since they were thirteen – she had special, taboo feelings for Itachi Uchiha.