Invisible To Her Bully (Jessa and Noah) novel Chapter 104

Noah

I needed air.

:

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Not the kind that came through cracked windows or the hum of the AC real air. The kind that cut into your lungs, that reminded you the world existed outside the noise of your phone.

So, I grabbed my keys and slipped out before Mom could ask more questions. The house was too quiet anyway, like even the walls knew something was off.

The morning light was sharp and too bright when I stepped outside. I squinted, walked straight to my truck, and climbed in. For a second, I just sat there gripping the steering wheel, feeling that knot in my chest twist tighter.

–

Usually, when I got like this restless, pissed, wired – I’d call Jackson. We’d go shoot hoops, hit the field, or just drive aimlessly until whatever was eating us died down.

But after last night… I didn’t know if that still worked.

We’d said a lot without really saying much. Sitting in that diner, staring at cold fries, both of us pretending we weren’t thinking about the same thing. Jessa. Daniel. The way everything exploded in one night.

Still, before I could overthink it, my phone buzzed on the console. Jackson’s name lit up the screen.

JACKSON: You good?

I stared at it a second before answering.

ME: Not really. You?

It took him a full minute before the dots popped up.

JACKSON: Same. Feels like the whole damn school’s talking about us.

—

He wasn’t wrong. Even if I hadn’t checked, I knew what was out there the whispers, the reposts, the screenshots of the punch heard ‘round Ridgeville.

ME: Yeah. I can’t even open my phone without seeing someone’s “opinion.”

JACKSON: Want to get out? Go somewhere that doesn’t suck?

I hesitated. “Somewhere that doesn’t suck” sounded like a fantasy right now.

ME: Like where?

JACKSON: GameTime. Arcade, food, terrible lighting – basically heaven compared to this.

That actually made me smile. Barely, but still. GameTime had been our place since middle school. Loud

15:15 Sun, Oct 19

Chapter 104

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enough that no one cared what you talked about, dark enough that you could disappear for a while.

ME: Yeah. I’ll meet you there.

I shoved my phone into my pocket before I could second–guess it and started the engine. The truck rumbled to life, and I pulled out, letting the wind whip through the cracked window. For the first time since last night, I could breathe.

–

GameTime was nearly empty when I got there just a few kids in the back mashing buttons on the fighting games and a couple on a date by the air hockey table. The neon lights flickered against the walls, the scent of pizza grease thick in the air.

Jackson was already there, leaning against the counter with his hood up, staring down at his phone like it had personally betrayed him.

When he looked up and saw me, he gave a short nod. “Hey.”

“Hey.”

We stood there for a second, the awkward kind of silence that didn’t used to exist between us.

“You look like hell,” he said finally, like that counted as a greeting.

“Thanks. You too.”

He snorted, then shoved his phone into his pocket. “Man, this whole thing is insane. I can’t even look at my feed. Every other post is some version of ‘Did you see what Lombardi and Carter did last night?‘ Like we’re trending or something.”

I shook my head, jaw tight. “Yeah, well, I didn’t do it for clicks.”

Then Jackson spoke, his voice low. “You know, part of me thought I’d wake up and this would’ve died down. Like, okay, maybe a few people talk about it, but it blows over.”

He blinked, like I’d caught him off guard. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t know. Things felt weird last night. Between us.”

Jackson looked down, rubbing the back of his neck. “Yeah. I was an ass to you. You didn’t deserve that. I just—” he exhaled “I felt guilty, man. About her. About all of it.”

—

I nodded slowly. “You and me both.”

He cracked a faint grin. “Guess we make a good team. Just not the kind the school board wants.”

That got a laugh out of both of us. The first real one since everything went to hell.

We played another few rounds – air hockey, some racing games, even a zombie shooter. For a while, it was easy to forget that outside these neon lights, the world was picking us apart one post at a time.

At one point, Jackson checked his phone again, groaning. “Dude. Someone made a meme out of Daniel getting hit.”

I rolled my eyes. “Of course they did.”

He showed me the screen anyway – a blurry freeze–frame with ‘When you talk too much and karma answers first‘ plastered on it.

I couldn’t help it. I laughed. “Okay, that’s actually kind of funny.”

“Yeah,” Jackson said, grinning now. “Maybe this blows over faster than we think.”

15:15 Sun, Oct 19

Chapter 104

“Maybe.”

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But even as I said it, I knew the truth – this wasn’t going to disappear overnight. Not for me. Not for Jessa.

Still, for now, with the hum of games around us and the weight of the last twenty–four hours starting to lift, it was enough.

Just two friends, killing time, pretending everything was fine.