I'm a mess.
I sat at my art studio. I'm a professional painter. A lot of my paintings can be seen around the city of konoha. Sakura and I started this studio together. She had such a strong love for artistic things like me. Her love for it was probably stronger than mine. We use to run painting classes here for young children and adults.
We saved up money for months to buy this studio. It was a lot of work, twenty-five thousand dollars' worth of work for this studio. It was worth every penny because I was with her.
We handed the bag of money to the man who was selling the studio to us. He handed over the key to me. The studio was official ours. Sakura and I walked inside together. The place needed a lot of work. A new paint job mostly.
Sakura walked in front of me and pressed her lips against mine. Whenever Sakura kissed me she had to stand on her tippy toes to reach my lips. She was excited about our accomplishment. I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her in closely.
She broke the kiss between us and looked into my eyes. I could see every ounce of joy in her beautiful green eyes.
"We did it."
"I know, Sakura-chan."
"It's so exciting. You don't have to keep doing those things to get us money. We can start a business of our own. Something that's pure." She smiled at me brightly.
I came back to my sense, missing those bright smiles that she use to give me. I put up my paint and the brushes. My mind was too clouded with thoughts of Sakura. I wanted to see her today. Sakura worked at Ino's flower shop. Every so often I would pass the shop and peer in to look at Sakura.
I closed up the studio for the day and made my way over to the flower shop. Today I finally got some guts to go in there. As I walked into the shop, the scent of floral was strong and overwhelming. I looked around at the flowers placed on wall, stands, and the floor.
My eyes peered back up and I see Sakura staring directly at me. Her eyes widened and she turned away from me. I picked up a small pot with a little plant in it. The plant was small, but its aroma was strong and sweet. I walked up to the counter where Sakura was standing. Beads of sweat rolled down the back of my neck when I went to open my mouth.
"What kind of flower is this? Does it grow?" There was nothing, but silence coming from her. She turned around towards me with her head lowered.
"I'll get the manager to help you…" She spoke in a low and swallow like voice. I know Sakura didn't want to see me, but I needed to make more of an effort to get her back. While we stood there another costumer in the store walked up to the counter with us.
"Excuse, What kind of flower is this? It smells really nice."
"Rosemary. Rosemary is an herb used in a lot of cooking. It's also the flower of remembrance." When Sakura spoke to the person, she spoke sweetly. The tone of her voice wasn't genuine. Maybe it was because I was there.
"Thank you, Miss."
"You're welcome."
The costumer walked away from the counter. I placed the small flower pot down. As I placed it down, Ino walked from the back store holding a clipboard in her hands. When she seen me, she paused, and stopped in her tracks. Her eyes immediately went over to Sakura.
Sakura turned around. I could hear Sakura say "I need to take a break." She started to storm off. Watching her storm off like that made me remember the first time she stormed off away from me.
"IS IT TRUE? IS IT FUCKING TRUE NARUTO!? PLEASE TELL ME IT ISN'T…"Sakura was yelling with frustration in her voice.
"Sakura, listen…"
"ANSWER MY QUESTION!" Her voice was getting louder. I could see the tears building up in her eyes.
"It's true… I didn't mean for things to get like this Sakura. I swear." I had no other choice, but to tell her the truth. I couldn't lie to her anymore about what was going on.
"How could you ruin something that we took so much time to build together? And you started using it too?" Sakura stood there in silence waiting for my answer. The tears that were building up in her eyes finally rolled down her cheek. She stormed away from me running towards the front I could do was stand there and watch her leave.
I made the mistake of not stopping her the first time, but I won't let it happen again. When she started to storm off towards the back, I extended my hand to grab her wrist. Ino grabbed my hand before I could reach Sakura's wrist.
Ino looked directly at me before she released my hand from her grip.
"What are you doing here, Naruto?" She held the clipboard close to her chest and lowered her eyes.
"I wanted to see Sakura. I'm sorry."
"You shouldn't be here. She isn't ready to see you. I know she misses you dearly, but you have to get yourself together Naruto. Change your lifestyle."
"I know. I'm trying. Can you just tell Sakura, I love her and I'll be on my way."
"I will."
"How much for the small flower in the pot by the way?"
"Five bucks."
"Alright." I pulled some money out my wallet and placed it on the counter. I picked up the small flower pot and left the store. On my way home the aroma from the flowers stayed with me. I have no idea why I bought the flower. The thing doesn't even look like it's going to bloom into anything.
Being a block away from my house I could see a familiar black car parked in front of my house. That black car could only belong to one person. When I finally got to my house, I walked inside. The light in the living room was on. I walked directly into the living room to see Sasuke sitting on my couch.
"You're finally home. I've been sitting here waiting for you."
"I had to make a stop."
"What's that shitty little thing in your hand? Where'd you even get that from?"
"I got it from a flower shop." I placed the flower in the middle of a table in the living room.
"I never saw you as the type to like flowers."
"What's wrong with flowers?"
"They smell horrid. The sweet smell makes me sick."
Sasuke pulled a cigarette out of his pocket and lite it. A cloud of smoke left his mouth. I sat down in a chair across from Sasuke. "Change your lifestyle." Those words kept running through my head. I knew if I wanted to be with Sakura again, I had to change. I had to find some kind of control.
"Sasuke... I can't do this anymore."
"Do what anymore?
"You know what…"
"Now, now, Naruto you know you can't stop. You're my best friend and my best costumer. Who was there for you when that bitchy girlfriend of yours left you high and dry? I was."
"It's not true. Sakura isn't bitchy. She was concerned about my well-being."
"I care about you as much as she does." Sasuke paused. "No I don't care about you as much as she does. I care about you more." All I could do was shake my head. I could hear Sasuke making his way off the couch. He walked over to me, grabbed my hair, and tilted my head back. He blew some of the smoke from the cigarette into my face. I kept a straight look on my face.
Sasuke leaned in closer to me. He put the cigarette in his mouth. With his free hand, he pulled out a bottle of pills. He started to shake the pill bottle near my face.
"You want these don't you? They take away all the pain." Sasuke let go of my hair and sat back down. When he sat down, he started chuckling. I sat there with my head still tilted back trying to remember how I got here. Missing the love of my life and being caught up in these games with Sasuke.