Invisible To Her Bully (Jessa and Noah) novel Chapter 131

The classroom clock ticked so loud it felt like a countdown.

Every second stretched thin, echoing in the quiet while I stared blankly at the whiteboard.

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Mr. Bennett was mid–lecture, pacing like he was trying to burn holes into the tile, but none of it was landing. The words on the board might as well have been in another language. All I could think about was Noah.

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e specifically, how weird he’d been this morning.

He’d still walked me to class, same as always now. He’d smiled, said hey, made small talk something off in the way he moved, the way he looked anywhere but at me.

He’d been there… but not really there.

I noticed it right away.

Yesterday, he’d been warm–funny, teasing, soft even. Today he felt miles away.

but there was

I tapped my pencil against the edge of my notebook, pretending to write while my brain replayed every second of our walk.

His hands in his pockets.

His eyes flicking to the lockers, the floor, anywhere but me.

The quick, “See you later, Jess,” before he turned down the hall.

It shouldn’t have stung, but it did.

I kept telling myself maybe he was tired, or had a lot on his mind. But the whisper at the back of my head kept saying what I didn’t want to hear:

Maybe he regrets it.

That kiss.

I could still feel it the warmth of it, the way my heart had raced. I’d thought it meant something.

Now, sitting in class while he acted like we were back to being just friends, I wasn’t so sure anymore.

The thought made my chest tighten.

“Lombardi,” Mr. Bennett snapped from the front.

I jerked upright. “Yes?”

He didn’t even look up from his notes. “Page forty–three; please. Join us whenever you’re done staring into space.”

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Chapter 131

A few people chuckled quietly. My face went hot. “Right. Sorry.”

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I flipped open my book, pretending to focus. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Mariah watching me from two rows over, her pen hovering midair. When the teacher turned to the board, she mouthed, You okay?

I forced a quick nod.

She raised an eyebrow – her silent way of calling me out – but didn’t push. Not yet.

When the bell finally rang, I shoved my things into my bag too fast, like I could pack up my thoughts along with them. But before I could escape the room, Mariah blocked my path.

“Mariah,” I hissed under my breath, glancing around. “Can you not?”

She grinned. “Then tell me what’s wrong.”

1 sighed, shifting my bag higher on my shoulder. “You were there this morning. Didn’t Noah seem… off to you?”

Her smile faded, and she leaned against the doorframe. “Off how?”

Mariah frowned, thinking. “He did seem kind of distracted. But that doesn’t mean it’s about you.”

“Jess-”

She crossed her arms. “You really think he’d back out that fast?”

Mariah’s shoulders softened. “Jess…”

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Chapter 131

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She didn’t answer right away. For once, she didn’t try to joke or tease. She just sighed and said, “You really don’t see it, do you?”

“See what?”

“How much he actually looks at you. How much you get under his skin.”

I shook my head. “He looked right past me today, Mariah.”

She smiled faintly. “Then he’s probably just scared. He’s never had to care about someone who actually matters before.”

Her words sank in, heavy and hopeful all at once.

But the fear was still louder.

“Maybe,” I said softly. “Or maybe he finally came to his senses.”

Mariah didn’t let go of my arm. “Jess. You can’t keep thinking everyone who sees you is going to hurt you. Let him prove you wrong.”

I wanted to believe her so badly it hurt.

But as we walked down the hall, passing the same people who’d whispered my name for weeks, 1 couldn’t stop replaying the look on Noah’s face that morning–distant, distracted, guarded.

And I couldn’t help but wonder if that was the look of someone already planning how to let me down gently.

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