Then and Now: A Harry Styles Fanfiction

Chapter Forty-Two

I'll let you guys read because I left a cliffhanger. Hahaha.

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“Oh my God!” I exclaimed, picking up my now empty coffee cup, “I’ll call housekeeping to clean that up.”

Mackenzie Hanson’s face twisted into a smirk, looking delighted at the sight of my shaking hands. I thought I would never see her again. I thought I’d never see the face of the girl that had so easily ruined my entire life in school. She left me with internal scars that I doubted would ever heal.

“Jenna Matthews. I heard that you would be here.” A grin twisted on her face, and I felt all the memories I had carefully hidden in a dark corner of my brain coming back to light.

Lily seemed to notice something was wrong, and looked at me curiously. I took a deep breath, hoping to calm myself down and allow me to talk. Mackenzie might look normal and sweet, but I knew that in reality, she was happy to see how nervous I was around her.

“Hello Mackenzie. Nice to see you.” I lied, setting a tight smile on my face. “Lily, can you go call housekeeping?”

Lily looked suspicious, but complied with what I asked and left us alone. My hands felt clammy, but I tried not to let my emotions show on my face.

“What do you even do here? Be the slut you are and sleep with everyone?” She said viciously, the moment Lily disappeared from sight.

“Actually, I’m your boss.” I smiled, ignoring her jibe, “You have to answer to my orders.”

“Like hell I will.” She said, sneering, “You’re nothing but trash.”

I smiled at her again, “Unless you want to be on the next flight home, I suggest you start respecting me. I am your boss, whether you like it or not.”

Another smirk lit up her face, “I know all your secrets. I know your story. I’m sure the press, and your darling Harrywill love to know what a skank you were.”

I felt my blood freeze and all my insecurities, that I had thought I had gotten over, came back, like a slap to the face. All the rumors, the venomous words of my classmates; everything. I remembered all the days I had looked at the bottle of pills I kept stashed away in my cupboard, and wonder if I should use them all. All these memories came rushing back at me, and I didn’t know what to do.

“Hey, housekeeping’s coming—” Lily’s voice broke through and I snapped my head towards her.

Her eyes widened at the sight of my pale face, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” I sent a fake smile her way and turned back to Mackenzie, who was smirking victoriously.

“Nice to see you again Mackenzie. I’m sure you’ll be a great asset to our team. I’m sure you can introduce yourself to everyone on your own. I’ll assign you your duties another time. Have a nice day.”