The fact he is hugging her back tells her more than he thinks it does, whether he gives her straight answers or not.

Worry starts to gnat at the pit of her stomach, though she doesn't pull away immediately. Whether it's wrong or not, Elena has missed him too, has missed what they had despite every possible reason she has to not do so. They both changed in Chicago, their friendship changed, and she isn't sorry for it. She isn't sorry for anything they shared in that city, but - she also knows his own question is going to come with answers that he isn't going to like. Answers that she will own and she claims for her own, but will change the tone of their reunion regardless.

It's why she holds him that much tighter, closing her eyes against the skin of his neck; she lets out a soft breath, before she pulls back. "I was... " her voice trails off. God, there is so much that happened in the span of a year. How is she going to explain it all? "I was in New York. I ended up alone there at first, but - "

Elena licks her lips. "Ethan fell through after I did."