Moving On

Chapter 27

"Well, the night of Thanksgiving, after everyone left I asked him if he was breaking up with me. He said 'You know I love you, right?' so it seemed like he was going to then but he told me that he wasn't going to. He was kind of distant then, too." Elena let out a long breath and hearing herself say those words made her have another sinking feeling in her stomach for the second time that day. "I just ... I don't know what to do." She finished.

She heard Jenna sigh on the other end. "Long distance relationships aren't easy, Elena. They are tough and can drive a wedge into a relationship. I think that's what's happening in yours. He works five days a week plus takes care of Arianna so it's got to be tough. I know that it's tough on you, too. Maybe you should call him and talk to him about this."

Elena nodded her head as if her aunt could see her. "Okay." She started saying. She heard a beep and pulled the phone away from her ear and saw Stefans name flashing across the screen. "Hey I have to go. Stefan is calling me." They said their good byes' and she clicked over to the other line.

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After finally making a decision on what he had to do and what he thought was best, he took his phone out of his pocket and dialed her number. When she answered her phone, he felt his stomach do a flop.

"Hey, Stef." She said. He couldn't tell if she was happy or sad and that's something he was always able to do.

"Hey, Elena." He started. "I've been doing some thinking." He started saying. He hated having to do this but he thought that it would be best for the both of them. Distance was wearing them both down and making them grow apart.

"I think I know what you're going to say." She said, tears forming in her eyes. She didn't want this but if he didn't want to be with her anymore she couldn't force him.

"Then let me say it." He said interrupting her before she had the chance to say anything. Hearing nothing but her breathing on the other end he continued. "I love you so much. You know that I do." He paused feeling his own eyes well up. "And you can call me a coward if you want for doing this over the phone and not face to face and I'm sorry for that but I know that if I tried doing this in person, I wouldn't be able to." He paused again, hearing a choking sound on her end indicating that she was crying "I'm not strong enough to do this face to face. I can't do this anymore, Elena." He finished.

"There's nothing I can do to change your mind?" She choked out in between her sobs, totally disregarding her earlier thoughts about not making him be in a relationship with her if he didn't want to.

"I wish I didn't have to do this, Elena." Was what he said in response. "I thought that we could make this work with distance. But it's just you are too far. And the travel is getting to be too much." He used his free hand to wipe the tears off his face. He didn't want to do this. But he thought that it had to be done.

"I understand." She said. "Before you go, I just want you to know how much I love you and always will." She finished.

"I know." He said. "Goodbye, Elena."

"Bye." She said before she heard the sound of the dial tone indicating that he hung up. Stefan leaned back against the couch and let what he just did sink in. It's not that he didn't love her and want her in his life. It's the exact opposite of that. He loved her so much and wanted her in his life. But he did what he thought was best for the both of them.

Now he had to think of how he was going to break the news to Arianna. She loved Elena so much and now she's not going to be in her life.

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Elena was laying on her couch, covered up and watching a movie on TV. She cried out every tear that she had. She doesn't hate Stefan for breaking up with her. She could never hate him. And she had a feeling that he was going to end up breaking up with her.

Maybe if she had said yes to him when he offered to move him and Arianna out there with her this could have all been avoided. But she couldn't let him just move out of state leaving Arianna with her family and friends from school being three hours away. That just wouldn't be right.

Hearing her phone ring brought her out of her train of thought. When she picked it up off the coffee table, she saw Caroline's name flashing across the screen. After debating with herself if she should answer it or not, she decided to.

"Hello?" She said into the phone even though she really wasn't in the mood to talk, especially to Caroline who is usually so bubbly.

"Elena," She said sadly. "She must know." Elena thought to herself. "I just talked to Stefan." She finished. "I knew it." She thought to herself. "You know that he didn't want to do it, right?" Elena sat up on her couch and curled herself into the corner of it, pulling her knees up so that they were level with her chin.

As if Caroline could see her, she nodded her head before speaking. "I know, Care." She said. "He told me that he wished he didn't have to do this. But I understand why he did. We were foolish in thinking that we could make our relationship work. It's too far in distance and some weeks we don't see each other at all." She finished.

"Just remember that absence makes the heart grow fonder." Caroline said. "I believe that one way or another you two will end up getting back together. He found you for a reason, 'Lena. Trust me, you are good for him." She finished.

"Yeah, I'm just not good for him now." Elena said sadly. "I should have never taken this job." She finished.

"He wanted you to take it." Caroline said. "It's your dream, Elena and he is so proud of you. We all are. It just so happens that your dream is three hours away. At least you can say that you tried to make it work. And it worked for a couple of months. It just came to be too much." Caroline continued. "It's not like he doesn't love you, Elena. He loves you so much which is another reason why he thought this had to be done. He doesn't want to hold you back." She finished.

"I don't know why he thinks he's holding me back. I have the job that I always wanted. He's not holding me back from anything." Elena said. "But I told him that I understood why he did what he did. The distance was becoming too much. Not just for him but for me, too. The traveling back and forth was getting too much for him. I understand why he broke up with me." She finished.

"I know." Caroline said. "But I believe that you two are meant to be and will find a way to be with each other again. If you're meant to be then you will find your way back to each other. And I truly believe that you two are." Caroline finished. She wanted the two of them together since the day they first met so she's taking the break up hard too even though it has nothing to do with her.

"We'll see what happens in the future I guess." Elena said. They talked for a little bit longer before they both said good bye and hung up the phone.

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