Public Sphere | H.S. | #Wattys2016

Chapter XVII

Author's note: I'm obviously going to thank everyone and tell you guys that you guys are the best, but you already knew that. The next few chapters don't really have Harry in them, so I apologize in advance. 

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Three weeks were spent in paradise.

Everyday I swam, read and ate amazing food. It was the dream vacation, but at the end of the day, I missed doing something productive.

So at the end of the three weeks, I found myself booking another ticket back to Chicago.

Fortunately, I made arrangements for people to move my personal items from my old apartment to the new one, and to bring my car to the airport parking lot with my new keys inside of them.

O'Hare was busy so I blended in with the crowd.

I found my car exactly where they said they parked it and programmed my GPS to my new apartment.

The new place was nice. The interior designer did a wonderful job on the décor, and everything felt right. There was even wine stocked in the wine fridge.

Before I could settle myself in, my new doorbell was ringing. I froze in my spot wondering who it could possibly be. I figured that it was a neighbor welcoming me into the building. Then I looked at the video intercom to see that it wasn't a neighbor.

"Jess Hansen," a voice shrilled out to me. "I know you're there, don't ignore me."

With a lot of hesitation, I opened the door.

"You're really hard to track down," Kendall grunted as she zoomed past me and plopped herself onto my new couch.

"Hello to you, too. How did you find where my new apartment was?" I asked her with genuine curiosity.

"You used same realtor as my mother," she rolled her eyes while giving me a dirty look. "Harry Styles has been searching everywhere for you."

I stopped dead in tracks hoping that she didn't tell him where I moved to.

"No, I didn't tell him," Kendall answered my thoughts. "But you should tell him that you're ok. Everyone was worried sick about you."

"I'm fine," I rolled my eyes as I popped open a bottle of Chianti to share with Kendall.

"You're not fine, Jess. You dissolved your incredibly successful company and then fled to god-knows-where for a month," she said dramatically.

"Three weeks," I chirped. The newly-relaxed Jess Hansen now chirped.

"Whatever," she said waving me off.

"How did you find out that I was coming home today?" I looked at her not being able to figure out how she did it.

"You used a private jet to get there, but used a commercial flight to come back," she rolled her eyes. "I had someone watching for your name to be registered on a flight for weeks."

"Wow, Kendall Jenner, how incredibly smart of you," I smiled at her resourcefulness.

"Don't mock, I was worried," she looked at me seriously.

"I swear, I am fine. I am fine for the first time in years," I laughed joyously.

"You do seem different," she commented. "You seem happier, and not because you're finally tan."

"I am happier," I said as I took a sip of my wine.

"So what happened?" she asked as she took a sip of her wine.

"Life?" I shrugged.

Kendall gave me an evil eye before she threatened to tell Harry Styles where I was unless I told her what had happened.

"I dissolved the company because it wasn't what I wanted to do anymore. Knowing that I made someone so miserable was enough for me to get out of that game. Then I realized that I was extremely unhappy in the situation I was in, so I changed everything. I uprooted from my old life to plant a new one. I left for a few weeks to realign myself. I'm healthier, happier and ready for new things," I told her like it was.

That was enough for her to stop with the threats. She then encouraged me to build up a social life, and to "get out there because the world is your oyster."

After Kendall left that night, I took some time to update a few people on my whereabouts. The first person on my list was Gemma.

Since I had called her with a new number, she didn't pick up. However, once she heard my voicemail, she ringed me back right away.

She didn't resent me for disconnecting for a few weeks; she rather praised me for it. She told me what she was up to, and what Anne and Robin were up to. Then she asked me if I wanted to know what her brother was up to. Apparently, Harry had been writing songs feverishly. Gemma said that he was worried sick about where I was and got into a lot of fights with her and his mom about petty things. Before I got off the phone, Gemma asked me if she was allowed to tell her mom and brother that I was ok. I eagerly agreed to her telling Anne but was a bit more reluctant about Harry. But in the end, I let her know that it was ok.

Then I called a few people from law school that had set up shop in Chicago. I wanted to practice law and that was what I was going to do.

After a long day of a surprise visitor and copious amounts of phone calls, I was ready for bed. It felt incredulous to know that I was free to do whatever I wanted for the first time in years. That feeling alone was enough for me at that moment. I never intended to get wrapped up in the public sphere; however, if it had taught me one thing, it was that I could handle anything that came my way. 

THE END.

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Ha, jk. I'll update soon, x.