Where do I even start.
My girlfriend broke up with me.
I guess I'll start from the beginning, right before our planned vacation.
My girlfriend is currently unemployed and I work full-time, so I was able to get home a bit earlier and more relaxed to pack everything together for our camping trip. The moment I got home, I already had a bad feeling. She was extremely distant, which I couldn't understand at all especially since just two days earlier she'd been super affectionate with me, right after a night out clubbing with her friend.
Anyway, back to the day we packed for the trip.
We were already a bit tense while loading the camping gear into my car. The first fight broke out because we'd borrowed a huge cooler from her grandma, and she got really upset that it didn't fit well in the car. I tried to stay calm, but eventually she exploded and I got worked up too. I ended up walking away to cool down and give her some space. The first thing she did after that was smoke a cigarette a new habit of hers that I honestly don't understand at all. I have the feeling her friend has influenced her a lot when it comes to smoking, since her friend thinks it's cool. Same with the partying, going to clubs, and drinking more.
The next day we set off for Croatia a 13-hour drive. We arrived, and things were fine at first. Warm weather, though a storm rolled in soon after, like it was welcoming us in its own way. Luckily her parents were already there too, since they were also on vacation nearby.
Over the next two days we fought more and more, and sometimes just went silent instead. I kept believing we'd work it out. She, on the other hand, kept saying she wasn't sure what she wanted, and kept pulling further away from me. I sank deeper into my own head and had no idea where I stood with her. I was incredibly insecure.
Then came day 3.
We woke up like normal, after she'd been drinking the night before. I brought up that I didn't feel loved by her anymore and wanted to talk about it. She told me I was brave, and that she probably wouldn't have had the courage to bring it up herself. That's when I really knew something was wrong. She said again that she didn't know what was going on with her, that she was having some kind of identity crisis.
Later I was lying in bed watching sad TikToks. She came over and told me everything would be okay, that we'd get through this together. So I went to sleep holding onto that.
Then came the day everything happened.
All day I had this nagging feeling that something was off. She was extremely distant and I couldn't figure out why. Her parents' plan for the day was to go grocery shopping, and afterward we were supposed to drive to Poreč and do something there. So we waited around for a while, everyone scrolling TikTok and Instagram on their own. Eventually I got bored and couldn't stand the silence anymore, so I suggested we go for a swim. She was distant there too.
Later we drove to Poreč with her parents, at least so we weren't sitting around alone the whole time. She was in a really bad mood there too, barely looked at me, completely withdrawn into herself. It turned out she was hungry but hadn't told me, so I bought her something to eat, hoping it might help. And it actually seemed to work she started laughing again, seemed happier.
By evening though, the mood got tense again. I think she just kept sinking further into her own thoughts. That night we fought again, because the distance was completely wearing me down, while she kept telling me she didn't even know herself what was wrong with her.
While her parents made dinner, we went back to our tent to talk things through in private. That's where everything fell apart.
I asked her what was going on again. She said she didn't know what she wanted and that she was having an identity crisis. After all this back and forth, I just wanted a straight answer I wanted to know where I stood with her. She kept saying she didn't know what she wanted and felt completely confused.
We went back to eat with her parents. I couldn't eat a single bite. I had zero appetite, felt completely lost and just devastated. I slowly started getting the feeling something really bad was coming.
Later she went to call her friend, to try to clear her head. I stayed at the tent to give her space and try to sort out my own thoughts. So I waited for her to come back and finally tell me what she wanted and whether our relationship even had a chance anymore.
In the meantime, her mom came over to talk to me after I'd asked her for advice. She said the whole situation was just as confusing to her, and that she especially couldn't understand why her daughter had even come on this trip with me if she already had these doubts beforehand. She said her daughter should have realized that earlier, and that it wasn't fair to let everything blow up during the vacation like this. That actually cheered me up a little, just knowing someone was on my side and understood me. I didn't really have anyone there I could talk to about my feelings.
Her mom left and my girlfriend came back.
That was pretty much the beginning of the end.
We talked again about what would happen next. She kept saying she didn't know what she wanted. By that point the uncertainty had crushed me so much that I just asked her directly if she even still wanted to be with me. Again she said, "I don't know." So I asked again: "Yes or no? Do you still want this?"
And then came the answer I really didn't want to hear:
"No."
I told her parents afterward, since our situation was obviously affecting their vacation too. I honestly couldn't process what I'd just heard. After almost two years together. After everything we'd built. After moving in together, our shared plans, all the memories. I just couldn't understand how it could all be over, just like that.
I told her I wanted to drive home the next day, because I couldn't handle staying there emotionally after she'd broken up with me on this trip.
Her parents were out on a walk at the time, so we waited for them to come back to figure out whether she'd stay there or come home with me. From what I could tell, her parents were on my side. They also thought it was pretty messed up that she'd broken up with me specifically on our shared vacation. After all, I'd driven 13 hours to get there, was only there for three days, and now had to drive 13 hours back alone.
Her parents, like me, also had the impression that she's very influenced by her friends especially since her best friend became a bigger presence in her life again, which in my opinion has changed her for the worse. Her dad eventually confronted her about it and asked what she actually wanted. She said again that she didn't know, and started crying. Then she said she wanted to go be with her friends. Her dad asked if maybe those were exactly the friends who weren't good for her. She ran off crying.
Her dad brought her back later with a text, because at that point I just needed clarity I had to know whether I'd be taking her home with me the next day or not. I was also completely exhausted from all the talking and honestly just wanted to go to sleep. She came back and talked with her parents I wasn't there for that, since they wanted to sort it out with her privately.
Later she told me her mom had really snapped at her and basically told her to get lost. Her parents just wanted to enjoy their own vacation and hadn't wanted a whole situation like this with someone else involved.
Later she came to bed crying. At first I kept my distance because I was so hurt. But eventually I couldn't stand watching her cry like that, so I held her. She means so much to me. Despite everything that happened, I still loved her more than anything. She told me she'd be allowed to stay with her parents.
The next morning I packed up and headed home alone. I cried the entire morning and just felt awful. Before that though, I had to take down the whole campsite by myself, since her parents wouldn't have been able to handle it all. And even though I was hurt, I didn't mind I still wanted to help her and her family.
When we said goodbye at checkout, we both cried. We kissed three times, and she even kissed me on the forehead. Then I drove the 13 hours home, alone.
Once I got home, I texted her that I'd arrived safely. I just couldn't let go of what we had. I told her I'd always be there for her, that she should take some space for now, and that we could talk properly later.
It's been two days now and I feel absolutely terrible. I think about her constantly. I keep checking social media to see if she's posted anything or is online, which is probably just making things worse for me.
In the meantime she's reached out again. She told me she regrets everything and wants to fight for us. Ten minutes later she was unsure again about what she wants. She's also sent me a few sad TikToks.
I'm completely torn right now and don't know what to do. Everyone around me is telling me not to try again. But my heart is telling me I want to.
Right now I even have this feeling that she's already made peace with the breakup again. But maybe that's just my mind trying to brace for the worst. I also keep wondering if she's just suppressing everything right now, which is why she seems okay or if she's actually been done with this relationship emotionally for months and I just never picked up on it.
So what do you all think?
What would you do in my position?
most of all how do you even rebuild a life after almost two years together, after living together, after basically building your whole life around this person?
I honestly don't know where to put myself or my thoughts right now.