𝒮𝑒𝒸𝓇𝑒𝓉𝓈 ♡𝒻 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝐻𝒾𝒹𝒹𝑒𝓃 𝐿𝑒𝒶𝒻 💋 [ℕ𝕒𝕣𝕦ℍ𝕚𝕟𝕒𝕊𝕒𝕤𝕦]

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven

May 26, 2011

Sakura stole a glance down the kitchen table, muted emerald sliding over the silent male at the other end. The soft clink of chopsticks against porcelain was rhythmic in the permeating silence, each clink slowly grating on her nerves.

He was silent as he ate, eyes fixated on the rapidly emptying bowl of rice.

Uninterested in conversation.

Unaware of her presence.

Uncomprehending that most couples conversed over breakfast.

Irritation jabbed at the tenuous control of her temper.

Pink brows furrowed as she watched him, grip tightening on her own chopsticks.

The marriage counseling had been a nightmare.

While the session had allowed them both to get some things off their chest, the resentment it spawned was palatable. They'd been ignoring each other ever since. Sitting in stony, unfriendly silence when they couldn't avoid each other. Speaking curtly and abruptly when conversation was unavoidable.

She hadn't wanted to talk to him, rancor deepening when he seemed content with her continued silence, unruffled by the cold shoulder she presented.

He had to know she was upset by the things he'd said during their therapy session.

Hurt even.

Burning with embarrassment.

She was embarrassed that he'd shinned a light on her most distressing insecurity.

That she was hanging on to a childhood fantasy of the handsome Uchiha. Trying to shove him into a mold created from the naive mind of a young girl.

That she didn't know the unguarded truth of the man she was married to despite the ring on her finger and new way she spelled her surname.

It scared her.

Filled her with the gut wrenching fear that their marriage was...

Pain lanced her heart.

"Sasuke."

He looked up, inky eyes reserved, chopsticks hovering over his bowl. His quiet regard felt unfriendly and unwelcoming. The aloof aura he exuded, that remote air that had once stoked her interest and fueled her girlhood fantasies now adding fuel to embers of aggravation smoldering in the pit of her stomach.

She took a calming breath, swallowing back the biting words on the tip of her tongue.

"About the other day," she began, "I think we should talk about it."

Sasuke carefully set down his chopsticks. The slight rise and fall of his shoulders, the sharp expansion and reduction of his chest reigniting the embers of irritation. His inaudible breath of impatience or frustration a slight she was unable to ignore. Rubbing like sandpaper against raw nerves.

"Or we can not talk about it." she snapped.

This was hard for her too. She didn't want to talk about it anymore than he did, but if they were going to repair their relationship they were going to have to have really tough conversations. He had to be open with her, he had to be as invested in changing their dynamic as she was.

"No," he responded coolly, "Let's talk."

Sakura scowled at the lack luster reply. Was it that difficult for him to at least pretend he was interested in healing their marriage? To feign that he meant what he said when he agree to working on communicating.