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.

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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.”

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