Invisible To Her Bully (Jessa and Noah) novel Chapter 143

Chapter 143

Noah

The sound of cereal crunching was the only thing filling the kitchen that morning.

I was halfway through my second bowl when I noticed something off

Jessa was humming.

— or maybe different.

My sister- the one who’d spent the last few years trying to disappear behind oversized hoodies and sarcasm – was standing by the counter, buttering toast, humming under her breath like life wasn’t heavy for once. Her hair looked different too, soft and loose instead of tied up in a messy bun like usual.

It was weird.

Good weird, but still weird.

I frowned into my cereal. “Okay. What’s with you?”

She glanced over her shoulder. “What do you mean?”

“You’re… happy,” I said slowly. “And that’s new.”

She rolled her eyes, but her smile gave her away. “Maybe I’m just having a decent morning.”

“You don’t do decent mornings,” I said, smirking. “You do late mornings, grumpy mornings, and ‘someone- drank–the–last–of–the–coffee‘ mornings.”

“Wow, you’re hilarious,” she said flatly, spreading butter across her toast. But she was still smiling, and I couldn’t help it – I smiled too.

“Did something happen last night?” I asked, keeping my tone casual.

Her shoulders tensed for a second before she said, “Why?”

“Because you’re glowing,” I said. “Like, full Disney–princess–level glowing.”

“Oh my God,” she muttered, grabbing her toast. “Please stop talking.”

“So, it’s Noah,” I said.

She froze mid–bite. “What?”

“It’s Noah,” I repeated, grinning now. “You’re glowing and humming. That’s Noah behavior.”

She turned red enough to match the sweater she was wearing. “You are literally the worst.”

“I’m also right,” I said. “You and Noah went out, didn’t you?”

She sighed. “We just talked.”

“Sure,” I said. “Just talked.”

1/4

Chapter 143

25 BONUS

She tried to look annoyed, but it didn’t stick. There was a softness in her eyes I hadn’t seen in years – the kind that said maybe someone finally made her feel seen.

And as much as I wanted to be happy for her…

I was also fighting that uncomfortable protective big–brother itch.

My best friend.

My teammate.

And my sister.

It was a lot to process before 8 a.m.

“Look, Jessa,” I said carefully, “I’m not saying I don’t trust him-”

“Yes, you are.”

“Okay, maybe a little,” I admitted. “But you know how guys can be.”

“You mean how you can be?” she said pointedly.

Touché.

I wanted to argue

And I’d missed it.

+25 BONUS

Mom came down the hall, mug of coffee in one hand, looking half awake. “Did Mariah just pick Jessa up?”

“Yeah.”

“She looked happy,” Mom said with a sleepy smile. “That’s a nice change.”

“Yeah,” I said quietly. “It is.”

She took a sip and squinted at me. “Don’t start giving Noah the third degree. I know that look.”

“I don’t have a look.”

“You have the look. The one your father used to get when you were little and tried to keep Jessa from falling off the monkey bars.”

I groaned. “I’m not-”

“Jackson,” she said gently, “she’s growing up. You can’t protect her from everything. Just be there when she needs you.”

I didn’t have an answer for that.

Because she was right.

And that was the part that scared me.

After Mom left for her shift, I leaned against the counter and stared out the window again. Mariah’s car had just pulled away. Jessa’s head was turned toward the passenger window, smiling about something I couldn’t hear.

—

And despite everything – despite my worry, my overprotective instincts, my fear of things changing too fast- I felt proud.

My sister wasn’t invisible anymore.

She was finally shining.

And if Noah was the reason she felt that way…

Then maybe – just maybe

–

– I could learn to be okay with it.