Long Distance

Fourteen-Austin

(A/N helloooooooooo!! It's been a while...but I'm happy to say I finished chapter 14! I wanted to update it for you guys as soon as possible. 109 reads, wow...thanks everyone! Please remember to vote! And if you read the first chapter of my new fanfic, 5 Boys and a Dreamer, I hope you liked it! It will get better, I promise, and I will update chapter 2 soon. Long-Distance will get better too. So, presenting, chapter 14!)

MY HAND PAUSES before I push the doorbell. The past two days have been hell, without her, and I have made my decision.

Watching Taylor cry and run from me two days ago, after I broke to her the truth about Lexi, I realized something. My feelings for Taylor are much, much stronger than I thought, and it has taken two days of being away from her for me to realize it. I need her. I need her beauty, her light, her kindness, her humor. I need her emerald eyes, I need her perfect smile, her curtain of beach-blonde hair. I need her, I need Taylor.

It has been about two weeks without Lexi, but it seems like so much more. My time with her feels like a lifetime ago. And honestly, I don't know if my old feelings for her are even there anymore. I have been broken all over again by Taylor's absence, and Lexi...she is amazing, but I don't have the spark with her now.

Yes, I moved on quickly. But hopefully, she has moved on too. We barely talk, we never text, it's like we have forgotten each other. Eventually I will tell her about Taylor. But now isn't the time. Now, I just have to focus on getting Taylor to trust me again, and to forgive me. I can't be without her any more.

I take a deep breath and ring the bell. When it is not opened, I bang my fist on the door until it is cracked and I see a single green eye peering at me through the opening.

It widens when she sees me and the door begins to close, but I block it with my hand.

"Look," I say. "Taylor. I need to talk to you."

"Austin-"

"Please. We'll go out back, so your parents don't hear us-"

"My parents are still in Sydney."

Her voice is exasperated, yet shaky and sad. I want nothing more than to hold her and beg for her forgiveness.

"Good, then we can talk inside."

Obviously stronger than her, I push the door open and step into her entryway, shutting it behind me. Taylor stands in front of me with her arms crossed, dressed in striped pajama pants and a baggy T-shirt. She wears no makeup and her hair is brushed, but falls lankly into her eyes. Amazingly, she still looks beautiful to me.

"Austin, what can you possibly have to say?" she exclaims impatiently.

I run a hand through my hair. "That I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, okay? Can we sit down, and I'll explain everything?"

Annoyed, Taylor sighs and strides through the hall to the living room, taking a seat in a red chair. I sit on the couch, going over words in my head.

"Who is she?" I hear Taylor ask quietly, her tone different. Now it is curious and hurt, rather than exasperated. It makes my heart break into even more tiny pieces.

"Her name is Lexi...Lexi Patterson. We dated for a long time. But a few days before you got here, she moved to Oklahoma."

"So that's why you were asking me about Oklahoma."

I nod, taking a deep breath. "But,

listen-when I got to know you, everything changed. I don't talk to Lexi anymore. We haven't even discussed whether we're still dating. As strange as it feels to admit it, I'm over her. Honestly, I think I was over her the moment I looked into your eyes."