Two days went by and Sasuke made no attempt to contact me. I was relieved for the most part, but a part of me felt the need to talk to him.
Today was Friday. My weekend would more than likely consist of me lounging around my apartment while dishes and laundry piled up. I shut my computer down and gathered my things. I walked briskly to the elevator and made my way down to the lobby.
I stepped out of the cart and noticed a man with long dark hair stepping into another elevator a few feet down.
Of course, it was Sasuke. He turned on his heels in the elevator and pressed a button. He looked up into the lobby to find me staring at him. His arm paused mid air for a few moments, his eyes were locked onto mine. His gaze fell as his arm did, in a shameful way. And in that moment, I felt like an asshole.
I hurriedly stepped back into the cart I just removed myself from, and mashed the button to bring me to the top floor. My feet danced as I nervously moved about the small room.
"Oh, my god what am I doing?" I whispered to myself. My hands suddenly felt clammy as the door opened wide.
I took a deep breath in and maneuvered my way to Sasuke's office. There wasn't much to the top floor. A woman sat at reception, taking calls and directing them just as I did downstairs. A few offices filled the floor up, clear windows from floor to ceiling separated several offices. There were two doors two the right that caught my eye. They were not made of glass, but wood. I figured that was Sasuke's office, but asked for direction just to be sure.
"Excuse me, is Mr. Uchiha in?" I questioned innocently. The woman up front nodded and pointed to the wooden double doors. I bid her a thank you and made my way to the entrance. My hand paused at the golden handles, my hands still sweaty from before.
I pushed through the door to find Sasuke walking back and forth behind his desk, looking out through his windows which stretched from floor to ceiling. Wow, what a view. He was on the phone with someone, talking about some business deal. At the sound of his door opening, he shot his head over in my direction. He stopped walking and froze in place. He muttered a couple of words to the person over the line and hung up. He put his cell phone in his pocket and looked at me with puzzling eyes.
"We need to talk about what happened." I blurted out.
"Okay, then. Please, sit." He said as he ushered me over to a lounge area off to the side. Sasuke's office was very spacious. He had a seating area that consisted of two sofas and a small coffee table. Behind the seating arrangement was a decent sized bar, filled with several brands of alcohol and glasses. On the other side of his office stood massive bookcases.
I sat on the far side of one sofa, and Sasuke moved past me to grab two tumblers to fill with drinks. He came back and sat directly across from me, sliding the drink he made me across the coffee table. I hesitated to grab it, but gave in anyway, knowing damn well I'd need it after this talk.
Moments went by and nothing was said. I fumbled my fingers around the glass I held between my hands. Finally, I mustered up the courage to start the conversation off.
"Why did you kiss me?" I asked, my heart pounding so hard I could feel it in my ears. Why was this making me so nervous?
Sasuke looked at me and sighed heavily. What he said next kind of shocked me.
"I guess I just needed to know if I was making the right choice by choosing Karin. I don't know. When I say it out loud it sounds stupid." He rubbed his face with both hands. I knew it was stressing him out saying these words to me. "Karin has always been a wonderful woman to me, but I've just never felt complete with her. I mean, at one point, I did. She pulled me out of a dark place and I was just thankful for that. I guess I've just confused myself with my own feelings." His confession tugged at my feelings, but I had to know more. He wasn't making any sense.
"What does that have to do with me? If you're having doubts about marrying her then you need to take that up with her. Not your ex girlfriend." I spat out. How could he ever think that kissing me would be a good idea?
"The love I had for you was different than what I have with Karin, now. It's just so hard to explain in words." He murmured under his breath.
"Look, I don't know what you've got going on with your fiancé, but you need to leave me out of it. I'm not a tool that you can use to figure out what you want in life. You need to man up and speak to her yourself. Sounds to me like you already know what you want to do." I stood up and made my way towards the door, not wanting to be a part of this talk anymore.
"Sakura, please stop." Sasuke places his drink on the table and stood to follow me. I put my hand up in protest, not wanting him to follow suit.
"Sasuke, you JUST got engaged like a month ago. Are you telling me you're wanting to back out of it just because our paths crossed again? Because that's what it's looking like to me." I threw my hands up and turned away from him, unable to look at undoing.
"Sigh. I don't know how to explain it to you any better, Sakura." Sasuke sat back down in his seat, defeated.
"You need to pull yourself together, Sasuke. You're embarrassing yourself." The words came out of my mouth in a hateful tone. Ashamed of my negative attitude, I walked out of his office, and didn't bother to look back.
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A month went by and everything seemed to be back to normal. Ino and I made our daily walks to work, and I managed to avoid Sasuke for the most part. There were times where we'd see each other in the lobby, but only looks were given. Sasuke tried to get in touch with me a couple times after so last saw him. I told him to leave me alone until he got his shit together.
It was 10:30am on a Saturday. Time to go grocery shopping. I slipped on a simple white sundress and sandals and headed out the door. The streets of New York weren't as busy as they were during business days. Sidewalks were more so filled with families and tourists. I made my way to the local market via taxi. After all, I was only grabbing a handful of things.
The smell of the market made me feel refreshed. I walked around the aisles and picked up the few items I needed. The cashier was pleasant to me as I checked out. So far, this day was going pretty well.
"Thank you. Have a great day!" I called out as I walked through the sliding doors of the store. I held my hand up to catch the attention of another cab driver. I slid into the back seat of the car and pulled out my phone. I haven been in social media in a couple of days.
UCHIHA BREAKS IT OFF was the first thing to pop up onto my news feed. All of the blood left my face, and the hand holding my phone began to shake a little. My phone dropped to the floor and so sat there in a daze. He...broke it off with Karin?
I stumbled back into my apartment, accidentally dropping the bread I brought onto the floor. I picked it up and set it on the counter along with the rest of my groceries. I rushed to the couch and turned on the TV, looking for any entertainment channel I could find.
Surely they'd be talking about one of the most famous couples in New York, right? I thought to myself. I hugged my knees to my chest, feeling my heart pound. I finally made it to a channel I thought would satisfy my anxious thoughts. Minutes went by and still nothing had been said about the newly broken couple. Maybe it wasn't even true. It may have been just a rumor.
I pulled my phone out again and texted Ino. She always stayed on top of media like this. I shot her a quick text asking if she'd heard anything about Sasuke. She didn't reply right away. I sank into the couch and pulled a blanket over me. I grabbed the remote and switched it to a more appeasing channel. Ten minutes later, I was fast asleep.
About an hour later, I was woken up by a knock at my door. I threw the blanket off of me and hurried to the door, looking through the peephole.
Ino.
I swung the door open and she practically ran through the entryway, talking a thousand words a minute.
"Sakura, oh my God. How can you not know that Sasuke broke it off with his fiancé? You need to check your phone more often. I texted you like 30 minutes ago and called you several times. I've been dying to talk to you about this but I didn't want to be the one to bring it up. I mean-"
"Ino, geez, slow your roll!" I interrupted her. "Why did he break it off?" I questioned.
"Well, apparently, they were at a luncheon with some colleagues and Sasuke was being real distant with her. She because angry with him, and so they left early, arguing on the way out. And then the next day, Sasuke was supposed to arrive at some event with Karin, but showed up alone. And Karin went to that same event at a later time. No ring on her hand. Paparazzi got pictures of both of them. They both looked pissed." Ino explained. The story was very vague, but I knew Sasuke was a private man. There was more to this couple than meets the eye.
"I wonder what happened. I hope it wasn't because of me." I sighed to myself. Not realized I said that out loud.
"Why would it be because of you?" Ino interjected, curiously moving her way back to me, arms crossed.
I smiled sheepishly and said, "Well, I went into his office last month and told him he needed to leave me alone until he got everything figured out with Karin. He told me he felt incomplete with her and that the reason he kissed me was to figure out if he was marrying the right person or not. I know it sounds ridiculous. I told him that it sounded like he already knew what he wanted to do." I played with my hair as I looked back on that last memory between us.
"Are you serious? Sakura, that man still has a thing for you. How can you not see that?" Ino yelled out. Surprised by her outburst, I countered it.
"He does NOT love me. Don't you say that." I exclaimed. Ino gave me a look and I instantly apologized for my rude behavior.
Ino held up her hands and accepted the apology. "I'm serious Sakura. I know it's hard to see it from your point of view, but that man loves you. He just sucks at admitting it. But breaking it off with his fiancé is a great start. I've got to go get ready now. I've got a date with my man and I don't want to be late!" Ino waved goodbye to be and as quick as she came in, she was gone.
How could she think that he loves me? That was a bold statement to make. This man came back into my life not even two months ago, and he was causing all kinds of drama. It was always drama with him.
My thoughts made their way back to the day Sasuke and I broke up.
I walked up the walkway and up the stairs of our front porch. I swung open the front door and slammed it behind me. Sasuke was not far behind me, opening the door and slamming it shut himself.
"What is wrong with you?! Quit acting like a child, Sakura." Sasuke spat out. I whipped around and yelled right back at him.
"Me?! A child?! Says the man who cant even listen or communicate like a freaking adult! You always shut me out, Sasuke! It's like I don't even have a place to fit into your life anymore!" Tears swelled up into my eyes and onto my face. I couldn't take this treatment anymore.
"I need someone who talks to me. Who is actually there for me. Someone who treats me with the love and attention I believe I deserve. I don't think I'm asking for much and even still you can't seem to give anything to me in return." At this point I was sobbing. Sasuke stood before me, his fists clenched so tight his knuckles turned white.
"Sakura, I have been through a lot over the past year. I lost both of my parents. And I-" I interrupted him, knowing exactly where he was going with that next sentence.
"You think you're the only one who suffered during that time?! I loved your parents too, Sasuke! They treated me better than my own did! I tried, I REALLY tried being there for you, Sasuke, but you shut me and EVERYONE THAT LOVED YOU OUT FOR MONTHS." I screamed, tears still falling down my face and only my shirt. My chest felt tight, scared to say the words I so desperately needed to say.
"I can't do this anymore, Sasuke." I whispered. I wasn't sure if he had heard me or not, so I looked up at him. He was staring at me, tears stinging his eyes, his jaw tight, trying to hold them back.
"I just can't. You're never home anymore. And when you are you hardly spend any time with me. You're like a stranger around me. We don't communicate, we don't hang out, we don't have sex, hell we don't even sleep in the same room anymore so what's the damn point?!" I huffed, exhausted from my emotions.
"You're not being serious. Sakura, you know I love you, please." Sasuke reaches out for my hand but I backed away.
"I know you do Sasuke. I love you, too. But I need someone to SHOW me that love. I need it to be expressed outwardly." I stepped over to the couch, and took a seat, needing to catch my breath. Sasuke started to follow me, but I stopped him.
"Sasuke, it's over between us. I'm sorry but I just can't take it anymore." I stood back up and grabbed my purse. I walked out the door an never looked back. Leaving everything I owned and loved, behind.
My phone lit up and it was a text message from Sasuke.
"Hey." Was all it said.
"Hey." I responded back.
"Can we have another talk over coffee?" He asked. I waited a few moments before finally replying back.
"Sure. What time?" I messaged back.
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End of chapter four!! We'll learn more about Sasuke and Karin's relationship in the next chapter! Let me know what you guys think so far!