Chapter Thirty Six

"Roses? That's so sweet of you, Neji."TenTen said with a smile on her lips, while wrapping her arms around her boyfriend.

It was Valentine's Day, and as happy couples filled the hallway of Konoha highschool, Sasuke waited at Sakura's locker with an assortment of peonies, and a flocked box that contained a pearl bracelet.

Today would be her first day back to school, and they were also celebrating her almost being a month sober. So he stood there, waiting to see her walk through the front entrance.

  Though he'd normally be walking in with her, because he spent the night with her, Sakura decided to have some quality time with her mother. It would be her first Valentine's Day without her father, and she knew that it wouldn't be easy.

A few feet away, Karin watched him with a blush on her face, as a boy handed her an assortment of chocolates, alongside a teddy bear. Things had changed since everyone found out about Sakura, and though she tried not to care, all she wanted to do was apologize. They weren't friends, if anything they were enemies, but she oddly felt bad for her.

As his onyx eyes watched the front entrance with anticipation, he saw Sakura walking in between Shikamaru and Sai. She wore her favorite sunglasses, and though he couldn't see her Emerald eyes, he saw a beautiful smile on her face. Everyone in the hallway stared at her, while whispering about how they thought she had died, and other rumors that had spread; But, when she took off her sunglasses, and looked into his caring onyx eyes, she seemed to tune them out completely.

"Sasuke, you shouldn't have." Sakura said while hugging him tightly, and though he wanted to smile and hold her in his arms, he asked, "Where's your cane, Sakura?" Like he expected, she immediately rolled her eyes while pulling away from him, "I feel fine."

Before he could say how he disapproved, she cupped his face into her hands, and kissed him passionately. With a smile, she slightly pulled away from his lips. "Thank you, Sasuke. Peonies are my absolute favorite." He smiled, "I got you this too, I seen it and was just reminded of you."

A blush came to her face as he said that, and a bright smile followed when he opened the box. "My goodness, Sasuke. it's so beautiful." Taking it from the box, he gently grasped her hand, and placed it against her wrist before kissing the back of her hand.

"I'm glad you like it, Sakura." She smiled brightly,  "I have a gift for you too, you'll just have to wait till tonight." A blush came to his face as she whispered that to him, and he felt her lips lightly brush against his neck.

Clearing his throat, he looked into his girlfriends seemingly innocent eyes, as she subconsciously pressed her body against his. "You're so cute when you blush." Sakura said with a giggle, "How are you feeling?" He asked her, "I'm okay, I guess more people know what happened than I realize."

  He nodded while subconsciously caressing her face, with his thumb. "Tell me if anyone teases you, okay? Because I'll deal with it." She laughed, "Is that how you hurt your wrist?"

What started off as a bruised fist led to him having to wear a brace, and he still hadn't told Sakura the truth about how he injured himself. Almost on cue, the bell rang and they were off to their first period, with Sakura wondering why he wouldn't tell her the truth. "It's nice to have you back, Sakura."

Mr. Hatake said with a polite smile, making her smile too. "It's nice to be back, Mr. Hatake." Taking her normal seat, she smiled at her friends. "How are you guys?" They all smiled, "Good, how are you?" Her eyes glanced at the back of Sasuke's as he sat in his seat. "I'm good really."

Her friends smiled at her seemingly honest response, before Ino gushed over the gift on Sakura's wrist, as if she hadn't advised Sasuke to get it. "Alright class, today we'll be preparing for our seminar discussions this upcoming week. Sakura, I'm trusting that you'll try and get caught up on the reading, so you can be apart of the discussion on Monday?" She nodded with a smile, "Yes, Sir."

"Great! As for the rest of you, break off into your respective groups, and start brainstorming topics for our discussion. Remember, whoever comes up with the best one gets extra credit." His students nodded, before doing as he said.

"Alright, Guys. Any ideas?" Ino asked her friends, only for them to be interrupted by Kakashi walking over. "Naruto and Sasuke? You guys need to head to the principals office." They both gave him a questionable look. "I have no idea why, I'm just doing what I was told to do."

With that being said, they both reached for their backpacks. "What did you guys go?" Sakura asked with a groan, making Naruto laugh. "Nothing?" Hinata sighed, "Oh Naruto." Winking at her, he followed Sasuke out the door as he said, "We'll keep you ladies posted." The minute they left they room, they asked each other in unison, "What did you do?"

Naruto's eyebrows frowned, "What did I do? You almost killed a man." Sasuke's face made the same expression, "And you've been pushing for Hiashi for months now." He rolled his blue eyes, "I'm not doing that. Regardless, what are we telling them? Are we sticking to what we talked about when it happened?"

Sasuke sighed deeply, "I guess we have to now. There's no time to come up with anything new. I doubt they'll believe a word we say though, you look like shit, Dude." He said, referring to his bruised face, and hands.

Before they knew it, they both walked into the principals office, where they were met with their principal, and Sergeant Iruka that Naruto had spoke to briefly before. "Sorry to interrupt your first period, Boys. This is sergeant Iruka of Konoha police department, he's hoping you guys can answer a few questions for him."

They both nodded their heads, bring a small smile to Iruka's face. "Great. If you both would like, I can sit in during the questioning, because in situations like this it's protocol for a parent, or guardian to be present."

"We're fine." Sasuke answered on behalf of the both of them. Yamato looked at Naruto for confirmation, "Stay, please." With that, he nodded, and stayed seated in his seat.

"Alright, for starters, I have accounted for your whereabouts the night of Sakura Haruno's overdose, Naruto. But, Mr. Uchiha? Where were you?" He asked, making Sasuke's mind instantly drift back to that night.

"I was coming home." Sasuke answered conclusively, "From where?" He sighed deeply in sn attempt to clear his head, "A few hours out, I was visiting....a friend." Yamato nodded, while writing on his notepad. "Since everyone is a potential suspect, can you provide a name of the person you were with? Or some evidence that shows you were outside of Konoha at the time of the OD?"

Clearing his throat, he nodded, "I have a voicemail from Sakura. She called me because I was out of town, a-and she needed me. It got everything up until the point where her phone died, but by then Naruto and Hinata had already showed up."

Noticing the way his demeanor had changed, he tried to change the subject. "And that brace on your hand?" The officer asked Sasuke, "I was sparring with Naruto, and I just couldn't keep up." He answered, making Naruto nod in agreement, "Yeah, it happened a few weeks ago."

"Well if you both happen to suddnely know of Sasori's whereabouts, don't hesitate to reach out to me. We all just want justice for your friend." The detective said to the young men, although he felt like they were lying. "Yeah, thanks, Detective." Naruto said, while Sasuke  stayed completely silent, trying to think of anything else.

"Alright, then that's all the questions I have. Thank you both for being so understanding." With that, the both of them left the room and headed towards their second period class.

"I should tell her, shouldn't I?" Sasuke asked in a tone hardly louder than a whisper. Naruto nodded, "I think you should. She deserves to know what happened, you know? Besides it's not like she'll have that bad of a reaction, you'll be there if things get too bad, and she said she's trying rehab."

Though he tried to believe that he was right, he knew that she would be rightfully angered, and he wasn't sure what that anger would entail. At the moment, he wasn't sure what their relationship was becoming, but he knew that it was the furthest thing from healthy.

Sasuke felt like their end was coming, but he didn't want the strain of breaking up with his girlfriend who almost died just a month ago. He loved her, so much that he'd continue to suffer in such a relationship for the sake of her, only he knew that the minute he told her the truth, she would no longer reciprocate those feelings.

With a sigh leaving his lips, he followed his friend down the hall. "Are you doing okay?" Naruto asked, and as Sasuke parted his lips to tell a lie, his voice cracked. "Y-yeah." Looking at his best friend, Naruto stopped a few feet away from their classroom door.

"You're obviously not, so what do you need? Can I help?" Sasuke just shook his head, "N-no. I'll be right back, okay? I just need a second." Before he could try and talk to him, he walked into the bathroom, while Naruto walked to class.

"Hey." He said to his girlfriend with a smile while sitting in his seat. "Where's Sasuke?" Sakura asked, "Restroom." He answered, making her nod and pay attention as Hinata asked, "What was that about? Are you guys in trouble?" Naruto chuckled at her worried face, "Everything's fine, Princess."

Once class ended, and Sasuke still hadn't returned, Sakura started to worry. Looking down at her phone while walking out of class, she started typing away, without realizing that he was right in front of her.

Bumping right into his chest, she looked up into his onyx eyes. "O-oh, there you are. Are you okay?" She asked him, seeing that his face was wet from what appeared to be water, if not his own sweat.

Without answering her question, he kissed her forehead, and grabbed her hand, before silently walking her to her third period class. The rest of their day consisted of odd encounters, and though she tried to ask for answers, she was always met with nonchalance. Until, they got home that night from Naruto's second round fight of his tournament.

"Sasuke, come upstairs please." Sakura said from from the doorframe or her bedroom. Though she didn't sound hurt, Sasuke rushed upstairs. "Is everything okay?" He asked in a rushed tone, before walking in the room, and seeing her naked body.

"Not yet." She said with a smirk, before walking towards him, and delicately kissing his handsome face. "I'll be okay after you make me c-" He cut her off by cupping her face in his hands, and passionately kissing her lips.

Feeling her smile as they kissed, Sasuke grabbed her by her waist and picked her petite body up. He tried not to notice the fact that she was noticeably lighter than before, because it would make him feel guilty as he remembered the way she looked in the hospital.

Pulling away from her lips, he shook his head to try and clear his thoughts, before kissing the delicate flesh of her neck, while walking towards her bed. For a moment, he was able to focus on nothing but the present, as she unbuckled his belt, and moaned as he left hickies on her soft skin. "Oh, Sasuke."

His moment of clear thoughts was ruined the second she moaned that, because he was reminded of the night that she attempted. Immediately he got off of her, and had to take a deep breath in order to prevent his second anxiety attack of the day.

Not sure of what he was going through, Sakura sat up in her bed. "What's going on?" She asked him, seeing the way his chest rose and fell from his breathing. "Can I help?" Her voice seemed to help him, and he realized that as he grasped her hand.

It caught her off guard initially, but she didn't question it. "I'm sorry." He apologized, making her shake her head and look him into his eyes. Offering him a kind smile, she said in a soft tone, "Don't be. Just tell me what's going on, Sasuke."

After a moment of pure silence she sighed, "Is it us? You've been acting weird all day." She said while groaning, and getting up from the bed before reaching for her robe that she had just dropped to the floor. "N-no, wait, Sakura don't think that. I just want you to take your time after everything."

Rolling her eyes she said, "Seriously is there something wrong with me? Do I just not do it for you anymore? I-I'd understand if I don't." He shook his head frantically while grabbing her hand. "You're the epitome of perfect, Sakura. If anything I-I have a problem."

His favorite set of emerald eyes stared into his, waiting for him to continue, and it only made him more anxious. "I-I've been keeping the truth from you, and I wouldn't feel right about us being so intimate without you knowing. So, I will just come clean, and I accept anyway you handle this, okay?"

She nodded and sat next to him on her bed, as he grasped her smaller hands in his palms , "You're making me nervous." "I-I'm sorry, this is just going to be harder than I thought." He mumbled, without looking into her eyes. Seeing how nervous he was only made her more nervous, though she tried not to show it. Cupping his handsome face in her hand, she smiled beautifully.

"Whatever it is. We'll handle it together, as a team, Sasuke. Don't worry." Sasuke knew that would go out of the window the minute his lips formed, to say what needed to be said, and that's exactly what happened. Instead of saying it though, he pulled his phone from his pocket, and let her listen to the voicemail that had been haunting him.

Like everyone expected, she started to unravel right before his eyes, and his world seemed to move in slow motion as she ranted quickly. "You knew, and you didn't tell me? All this time, I thought that I was imagining what happened, I-I thought I was going crazy, and you didn't think to tell me? Are you fucking kidding me? Seriously, Sasuke!"

She yelled at him, so angry at his dishonesty that she couldn't comprehend his reasoning. His phone was in the palm of her hand, before she tossed it on her bed angrily. The look on his face, made her even more angry as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Let me explain."

"Explain what? Seriously? You knew that I was raped, you knew that I had been going out of my mind, over something that I thought I had been imagining, and you didn't tell me? God, Sasuke, is that why you're getting questioned by that cop? What did you do to him?"

Her questions were met with his usual calm tone, which would normally calm her too, but now it just filled her with more anger. "Sakura, I promise I can explain. Seriously, can we just talk?" Bringing her hand to the bridge of her nose, she lightly pinched it in annoyance. Since she was quiet, he took that as his turn to explain his actions.

"For one, I did know, and I'm sorry. I know that probably won't mean much to you, but I really am sorry for not telling you, because I saw how it's been killing you. After I found out, I just paid him a visit, and I'm going to be honest with you.....I almost killed him, Sakura." A look of pure shock came to her face, and for the first time that night she was speechless.

"As for why? When I found out, you hadn't woken up yet, everyone was just worried about that, and I didn't want to put your mom under any more stress than she already was." He said, purposefully leaving out the conversation they had, knowing that it would hurt their relationship.

His eyes looked into hers with pure worry, because she hadn't said a word in the last five minutes, and there was no emotion on her face. "O-okay. This is a lot to take in. I-I-I fuck, I can't even speak." She mumbled to herself, unintentionally stumbling backwards while her mind raced.

Her mind subconsciously desired the pill bottle underneath her bed, knowing that it would instantly calm her anxiety that was starting to creep up on her. Taking a deep breathe, and running her fingers through her long hair, she looked up at her turning ceiling fan.

"I'm getting dizzy." She mumbled more to herself than him, while closing her eyelids to try and stop the room from spinning. Her anxiety filled her head with a dozen thoughts, and she tried to calm down, but every time she even thought about what she wanted to say, she was filled with doubt.

"Have some water. I know this is a lot to take in." Sasuke said while placing his hand on her lower back, as the other held a cup of water that was on her night stand. Listening to him, she took the cup, and tried not to focus on the fact that she was starting to have a ptsd episode as he touched her.

Though his touch was gentle, it brought goosebumps to her skin, and triggered her flight instincts. He assumed that her sudden movement away from him, was because she was upset, and as he parted his lips to apologize again, he noticed the way her hands trembled with fear in her emerald eyes. The flashback clouded her mind, as she relived the events she had been having nightmares about. "Stupid. Stupid." She mumbled to herself, with tears rolling down her face.

Not sure of what was happening, Sasuke spoke her name, "Sakura?" When her eyes looked into his, it was almost as if a switch had flipped, and she was relatively okay again. "Are you okay? What was that about?" They had been spending time together nonstop lately, and he hadn't ever seen her that disassociated from reality.

It scared him, because it seemed as if things were getting bad again. "Have you talked to your therapist lately?" He asked, making her roll her eyes and walk past him, towards her window. "Stop trying to change the subject. If anything I should talk to her today, because I seriously can't handle this right now."

Her ranting continued, "I really trusted you, Sasuke. How is this going to work if I can't trust you?" She asked him, while sitting on the window sill watching the rain hit the pavement outside.

  "Let's just face reality, Sakura." Tears fell from her eyes, and even when she wasn't facing him, he could tell that she was crying. "We've known since the beginning that we'd eventually end up here."

He said, making her finally look over her shoulder and into his eyes. "Did we now?" She asked rhetorically, wondering why he had faked his feelings for her for so long.

"If you had no faith in us from the beginning, why did you even ask me to be your girlfriend? W-why did you say you loved me, Sasuke?"

Shaking his head, he took a step toward her, but hesitated in reaching out to grasp her as he looked into her Emerald eyes.

"I don't want to seem like I wanted to lie to you, because when I said it the first time, I really thought I did." He started, and before he could part his lips to continue, his onyx eyes watched as she tried to compose herself even though her heart was breaking.

The way her forehead started to tense was proof of it, and it made his heart drop to see her in such obvious pain, but he knew it had to be done.

Honestly for a moment he didn't know what to say, but he just knew that if he didn't break up with her now, they both would be in states worse than where they were now. "We've just become too dependent on each other, Sakura, and I'm sorry if this comes off as me being selfish, but for the sake of both of us, it's not healthy for either one of us to depend on each other, as much as we have in the last few months."

"I can't even be mad at you, Sasuke. You weren't ready, and I knew that, I should've followed my gut instead of letting my brain rationalize it all." She said with a laugh leaving her plump lips, as she managed to keep her clear tears at bay.

"I can't force you to love me, and I won't. I know you love me the best you knew how to, and frankly we both know that it isn't enough."

A sigh left her lips as she played with the bracelet that sat around her wrist. "I'm not okay, and I've been relying on you to keep me sober, when that's so incredibly unfair to you. So I'm sorry, Sasuke."

They both knew the end was best for their relationship, only they didn't think that it would end so soon. "I understand that you're in no place to take on the emotional toll, of a codependent drug-addict girlfriend, and I'm not going to penalize you for it."

He shook his head, "W-why are you making it seem like I'm leaving you? Do you think I want to do this?" She shrugged her shoulders and asked him, "What am I supposed to think? It's not like you've said much."

"Because I just don't know what to say. There's just so much on my mind, it's racing." Sakura nodded in understanding, as he stared off into space for a while.

As her anxiety started to eat away at the silence, she had to pinch the flesh of her hand to keep from going crazy, but she didn't want to annoy him anymore than she already was.

His silence was sickening, and she could feel her heart breaking every moment he parted his lips to speak, and then closed them, because he feared that it would be too harsh. "If you don't say something soon, I'm going to explode, Sasuke."

"You're the best thing to have ever happened to me, Sakura." He said truthfully, making her look up at him with a blush on her face, and tears in her eyes.

"But I'm afraid that if we continue to depend on each other as much as we are, then we'll bring out the worst in each other."

Her tears fell when he said that, and he instantly wanted to take it back."I-I'm sorry, I don't want to make you cr-" She cut him off, "N-no you're right, Sasuke."

Sakura agreed, wiping her face, and nodding her head in agreement, trying to stay strong. "I'm sorry, Sakura, I-I've just been having a hard time recently, a-and I just realized that since my brother... died....I just have to learn so many things."

It broke her heart by the second as she watched his lips form, to form the words she presumed he would say from the beginning. "I guess what I'm trying to say is, Sakura? I can't love you the way you need me to, the way I want to, at least not now, because it wouldn't be a healthy relationship."

Sakura sighed deeply, and brought both of her hands to her beautiful hair, where she grasped strands at the root in pure frustration. "You promised me that you lo-"

Sasuke cut her off while trying to take a step toward her, "I do, Sakura. I swear that I'm being honest, when I tell you that I love you. You're the only person I've ever felt this way for."

She pressed the palm of her hand against her forehead, and had to take a deep breathe. "I can't believe you." He sighed, "You're such a liar."

"Come on, Sakura, I-" She angrily cut him off, "I'm not gonna come on, Sasuke! You've been faking this for months." He face palmed in frustration while she continued her rant, "You knew what saying that would do to me, I told you what it would do, and you did it anyways."

"I said it wasn't on purpose! That was then, and this is now, and shit, Sakura I'm in love with you. I love you so much that I can't let this relationship destroy you. We're both so messed up right now." She laughed before asking.

"We've always been messed up, seriously what are you saying? I respect the fact that you need time, but why won't you be honest? You don't love me. You don't break up with someone you're in love with, Sasuke."

That almost made him roll his eyes, "This is what I mean, you don't even really know what love is. Seriously, listen to yourself, for months you were telling me to love myself, while you were poisoning yourself with drugs, and dying in this very room, just a few weeks ago. Y-you said you loved me, and you were about to leave me forever, and you think that's love?"

The moment he said that, he wanted to take it back.Tears fell from her emerald eyes, and her knees grew weak from her prolonged standing. "O-okay, wow. You win, Sasuke."

She said in a tone that wasn't louder than a whisper, as her body swayed a little, making her grab the wall for support. Seeing her struggle, Sasuke tried to reach out, and help her sit on her bed, but she smacked his hand away, before falling to the floor.

"Are you okay?" He asked her, genuinely worried about her, only to be met with her tearful gaze.

"Leave." She said abruptly, "W-wait, Sakura, can we talk abou-" Cutting him off, she yelled this time, hoping that it would be enough to get him to leave. "Leave."

  Turning around, she watched his back as he started toward her door, watching as he hesitated when he stood in front of it. With her vision blurry with tears, she let out a sob that she had tried to hold back, with her eyelids closed. She was under the impression that he left as she heard her door open, until she felt his arms as they picked up her body.

Her body was stiff as he sat her on her bed, while she gazed into his onyx eyes. "I'm sorry, Sakura." He said in a tone hardly louder than a whisper, before raising his hand, gently caressing her wet cheek, before actually leaving.