A/N 2007: You guessed it, again small changes. This time I changed some sentences though :P and took out some small errors and the note I put between the story
A/N: Okay, okay I know I'm late with updating this chapter too, but if you read my note you know why. If you haven't, I'll tell you now. I just got a new editor and she wanted to read the whole story before I posted this chapter. Anyway, of course my thanx go out to all those people that reviewed and those people who didn't review but read my story anyway. Okay here's chapter 8
Chapter 8
Sakura's apartment was located on the tenth floor of an apartment building. When she closed the, door late at night, she sighed, relieved.
'Finally home,' she thought.
She pulled off her shoes, went to her bedroom and put her bag on her bed. Grabbing a towel and a bathrobe, she went to the bathroom to take a nice long and hot shower.
After the long shower she walked to the kitchen and poured herself something to cold drink With a drink in her hand, she moved towards the living room. Her small bookcase was filled with books on how to cook. On top of the bookcase stood the answering machine. The red light was blinking, indicating that she got some messages. Sakura pushed the button and seated herself on the couch listening to the messages. While she was listening Sakura took small sips of her drink. Six people had called. As usual there was nothing exciting, they were all friendly chitchats. The guys were just good friends, not lovers.
But since Syaoran came waltzing back into her life, things weren't as calm as they were before. Her carefully built up balance could be disrupted by him. She felt shivers run down her spine by just thinking about him.
Quickly she put her glass down and stood up. She decided to call Naoko. Good thing she still had friends!
The week had passed all too soon for Sakura. It was yet again Friday. She was still sitting behind her desk at school, looking over some essays her students made. She sighed as she stopped checking them. There was a soft knock on the door and it slowly opened.
"You're still here?" asked the concierge.
"Yeah, but not for very long anymore. I'm calling it a night and I'm going to the cottage again,"
The concierge grinned. "Lucky you, but I'm gonna go right now, so do you mind locking the place up?"
"Nah," Sakura replied, "leave it to me."
"Great! Thanks! Have a nice weekend!" The concierge flashed her a smile and then disappeared.
Sighing Sakura looked back at the stack of papers. She didn't feel like checking and grading them anymore. Stuffing them in her back she walked out of the classroom, closed the door and locked it. Slowly she walked to the exit of the school, grabbing her coat on the way and locked the place up
When Sakura arrived at the lake, it was already dark. She drove the car to the driveway when she saw Syaoran walking. Her heart made a leap and her pulse quickened. She slowed down to take the curve but Syaoran stepped in front of the car and made a stop sign with his hand.
She cursed softly under her breath and hit the brakes. Syaoran walked towards her and tapped on the window. She opened the window of her car and looked up at him. He was leaning against the car and in the light of the dashboard they looked at each other.
Sakura wondered, by the look in his eyes, if he was thinking about their last meeting.
His voice, however, sounded distant and cold. "Mei Lin has already gone to bed," he said. "She was cooking and baking this morning. She's done way too much, so she decided to go to bed early. I was waiting for you to tell you not to wake her."
"She's not sick, is she?"
"No, she's just tired. She'll be fine in the morning."
He was standing so close that Sakura imagined she his felt his body warmth. She could smell his cologne and began to panic.
"Thank you for telling me." she said taking her foot off of the brake.
"Wait," he said and reached out his hand to the window, "Have you already eaten?"
"Yeah, on my way here. If you'll excuse me... I've had a very busy week and I'm tired." she replied.
"Why don't you stop by for a drink? I want to ask you something, Sakura."
"Why don't you ask me now?" she asked.
"Jesus, woman! Can't you just stop by for a drink without making a scene?" he bit out.
"Look who's talking," she taunted, "What's wrong anyway? Can't get a woman to satisfy you? Well if you're looking, just go to a whore, I'll look after Hao for you."
"Was I talking about sex? No, I was just inviting you for a drink." he said, trying to control his anger.
Sakura closed her eyes and rubbed her neck. "Sorry," she mumbled. "Just forget it. I'm really tired, but if you have something important to tell I'll come inside." She wanted to get her keys out of the contact but Syaoran stopped her by saying: "Never mind. I'm sorry too. I should've considered that you were tired. I won't keep you up any longer, Sakura. What I wanted to say is this: I've contacted an agency. There'll be some nannies coming by this week to try out for the job. I'm taking Hao with me to the city and I wanted to ask if you could look after him on Wednesday, so I'll have the opportunity to select a few."
Sakura looked at him, speechless. So he was coming back to live in Tomoeda, otherwise he wouldn't need a nanny. So what to do with the summer cottage? That could be put aside. What about her lífe? That's the main point. Syaoran back in Tomoeda, which meant she could bump into him any time of the day...O god!
"Can you arrange that for me, Sakura?"
Breathing a deep breath, she tried to gain control over emotions once again. "Does that mean that you'll be coming back to Tomoeda?"
"Yeah."
"And you're planning to go through with this?" Her voice turned cold and harsh. "After you've hired a nanny, will you go look for a mistress?" Syaoran took a step back, the moon illuminated his face. She saw the expression in his eyes: pain and frustration.
"Have you got a better proposal for me?" he asked cautiously.
"I think that Hao deserves a mother," she said resolutely. "A normal family life. What you're planning to do is heartless, businesslike and cruel. Heartless Syaoran! Not the best way to raise your child."
"So do I understand it clearly that you're not available to be Hao's nanny?"
'I'm available! I'd love to be the nanny! No problem with that.' her heart cried out, 'but with the mistress thing, no way I want that!!' She said out loud: "It'll be fun to spend some time with Hao. When can I expect you?"
"We'll leave on Tuesday and we'll be staying at the Hotel Halens. The first meeting is at 9 o'clock at the agency in Shini Lane."
"You can bring Hao at 8 o'clock then. I'll leave my address."
"Thanks, I really appreciate it." He took another step back. "Good night."
"Night Syaoran." Trying to make as little noise as possible, she drove to the parking lot. She stayed in the car a little while longer before getting out. She then walked towards the backdoor of the cottage. Suddenly she heard a scream, when she closed the door. She stood there, frozen and startled by the scream. What was that? It sounded like the scream of a child and it came from the direction of Syaoran's cottage. There, another scream from a child having a nightmare. She wanted to go there and comfort him, but he was Syaoran's child and his responsibility. She promised herself to spend as much time as possible with Hao, He needed a female person in his life, but not a nanny and not a mistress.
Hao needed tenderness, the warmth of the people that loved him. She and Mei Lin would offer him that.
"Mei Lin, Hao cried last night."
"Oh, poor boy." Mei Lin was sitting in her bed with a mug of steaming tea in her hands. Sakura walked to the window in the bedroom and looked outside. It was only 8 o'clock. The little Hiiragizawa's were playing with the water; Eriol was keeping an eye on them, while sitting on the raft and Tomoyo was probably cooking breakfast.
Would Syaoran make Hao's breakfast too? How was Hao? Should she have followed her maternal instincts last night? She sighed deeply.
"Something wrong?" Mei Lin asked. Sakura turned around. "No, not really. I heard Hao cry last night and I was wondering if I should've gone to check on them or not."
"Syaoran knows how to take care of himself, but the child is a whole different story." Mei Lin said. "I didn't see him much this week. I didn't feel too good. I convinced the others that I was standing in the kitchen too long, but the truth is that my stomach has been upset for the past few days. I can't seem to keep my food inside my stomach. But I'm feeling better today, so don't worry about that."
Sakura frowned. Mei Lin still didn't look too good. She was still a bit pale, but Mei Lin was as stubborn as always so she dropped the subject and instead she promised herself to help Hao, at least today.
"Sakura," Mei Lin broke her out of her train of thoughts, "Syaoran told me he wanted to sell his business in China and start a new one here. That's great news don't you think? And he's so kind. He thinks we should keep the cottage a few years longer. I can always catch a ride with him and Hao when I want to come here. Isn't this great?"
Sakura forced a smile. "Yeah. Would you like anything to eat?"
"No thanks. I think I'm going to sleep for a while, so I'll be feeling okay again tonight. You didn't forget about that did you?"
"No, of course I haven't."
"Good." Mei Lin put the mug on the nightstand and slipped under the blankets again. "So what are you going to do?"
"Clean the kitchen and go for a swim." Sakura pushed an auburn lock behind her ear. "Then I'll go look for Hao and try to get him to talk to me."
In her marine-blue bikini and a green towel swung over her shoulders, she walked out of the cottage, when she heard someone calling her.
"Pssst, Sakura" she turned around, looking for the person who called her. It was Eriol. He seemed to be hidden behind a tree and he motioned her to come over.
"Sakura," he whispered again, "I couldn't find Mei Lin yesterday so I couldn't bring the snacks over. I waited for you, but I didn't hear you coming. Did you arrive really late or something?"
"No," she answered, "But Syaoran was waiting for me and told me that Mei Lin wasn't feeling too good and that she had gone to bed early.
"Is she feeling better?"
"Yeah she's looking forward to the party."
"That's good to hear. Well anyway, can I put this in your fridge?"
'Sure follow me." and they walked back to the cottage. A few minutes later everything was put away in the fridge. Sakura said that he should keep the bag here to avoid suspicion. It was a surprise after all.
"Good idea." Eriol put the bag behind some crates. "You know, you would make a great criminal, Sakura, everything under control!"
They laughed merrily and walked out of the cottage, still laughing. Walking towards the tree Sakura stopped Eriol from walking away.
"Eriol," she said, "What if Mei Lin isn't feeling good enough to lure Tomoyo away? How will we surprise her then?"
Eriol leaned against the tree, a thoughtful expression on his face. "Well, you've got a point there..."
"Don't worry," Sakura cut in his train of thoughts. "Well think of something. We'll lie if necessary. Anything in the name of love!" she said.
The sound of footsteps approaching warned them that they weren't alone anymore.
Sakura turned around; her heart missed a beat when she saw Syaoran standing there.
His face was grim. "Well, well," he said with a cruel smile, "Look what we got here."
It could have been worse, but before Eriol or Sakura could say anything there was a loud yell: "Eriol Hiiragizawa, get your butt over here right now and eat your breakfast before I burn it!" the threat was followed by the laughter of the children.
"Morning Syaoran." Eriol looked at Sakura questioningly. She shook her head softly. Eriol relaxed. "I better get going now," he said laughing, "otherwise my wife will surely carry out her threat." and he walked away.
Left alone with Syaoran, she looked up at his face. It showed nothing but loathing for her.
"Morning to you too." she said. He stood there, in his swimming trunks, with a light-blue shirt covering his upper body. His amber eyes showed his fury.
"Excuse me," she said haughtily, "but I'm going for a swim."
And she quickly walked away, but Syaoran wouldn't let her off that easily. He followed her, with his long strides and walked with her to the water.
"How's Mei Lin?" he asked out of the blue.
"She's feeling better," Sakura answered, "and now she's resting in her room for the night. We're going out for dinner." Sakura looked at Cherry's Lodge, indicating that they would be eating there.
They didn't speak to each other anymore while they were walking, but the tension increased with every step they took. Sakura braced herself for what would come. Angrily she looked up at Syaoran when they reached the lake.
"It seems you follow my moves intentionally," she said. "Why?"
"You know damn well why!" he almost yelled. "How many times have I told you to stay away from Eriol? Haven't you caused enough trouble? Haven't you learned your lesson 8 years ago? When you acted like a slut by-"
Sakura felt like he punched her in the stomach. She looked at him defiantly.
"Since when have you become my guardian?" she bit out. "What I do isn't any of your business!"
"It is!" he raged, his voice becoming louder, "I've been friends with Tomoyo since I don't know when and I won't allow you to-"
"You don't have the right to say to me what to do, Syaoran Li! If I were you I would be looking after my son instead of spying on me! Hao needs you, I don't!"
When he paled she knew she had hit a sore spot. She ran away up to the pier and dove straight into the water.
'Syaoran is so blind!' she thought bitterly, while she swam towards the raft. He hurt her deeper than he could ever imagine.
He was a terrible man indeed. Then why did she still love him ?
TBC...
Well that's it for chapter 8 folks! And I'm happy to announce that I've already started on chapter 9, so it'll probably be posted sooner than the last 2 chapters. And remember, review!!!! I love to know what the readers think of my little story! And it doesn't take much effort. Just press the little button there that says "go" and type something.