Her head tips to one side as she watches him, and she's taken back to something her mother said. Sometimes you have to set them free. Elena has never really been good at that, wanting to keep everything as close to her as she can, but she doesn't want to hurt Matt either.

Even after all this time, Matt is the last person in the world she wants to hurt. Sweet, steady, strong Matt who takes the crazy life that Elena has thrust them into and is still sitting on her couch, learning how to deal with it.

"Matt, I know I don't make things easy." She wishes she could. She wishes she could just cast a spell, and all the vampires would leave her alone, but she's not a witch, and her face would always be what it is. "I'd understand if you needed ... space."

Space is what they never really got. Space isn't something you can get in Mystic Falls, but sometimes it's worth it to try.