Invisible To Her Bully (Jessa and Noah) novel Chapter 205

Chapter 205

Noah

I’d been pacing my room for twenty minutes.

Which was ridiculous, because there was nothing I could physically do from here.

But my phone felt like it weighed a hundred pounds in my hand, and every time I thought about what Jessa must be hearing at school, my chest tightened like someone was cinching a strap around my ribs.

Girls can be brutal.

I know that sounds stupid coming from a guy who plays football and has been in more than one locker–room shouting match, but this wasn’t that. This was quieter. Meaner. The kind of thing that spreads in whispers and screenshots and side–eyes.

And it was always girls.

Sure, Daniel was an ass. Loud. Obvious. The kind of jerk you could see coming and brace for.

But this?

This was different.

This was jealousy dressed up as jokes.

This was insecurity pretending to be “just saying.”

And it made me want to put my fist through a wall.

I finally hit call.

It rang three times before she picked up.

“Hey,” Jessa said softly.

Just that one word and my shoulders dropped an inch.

“Hey,” I said. “I was… uh. I wanted to check on you.

There was a pause. Not a bad one. Just a quiet one.

“I’m okay,” she said. “I’m at home.”

“Good,” I said. Then, more honestly, “I’ve been worried about you all day.”

She exhaled. “Yeah. It’s been… a day.”

I sat on the edge of my bed. “Jackson told me you left school kind of quiet.”

“I talked to my mom,” she said. “It helped.”

I was glad to hear that. Still angry. But

glad.

“I’m really sorry this is happening,” I said. “It’s stupid. And unfair. And-“I cut myself off before I said something that would probably get me suspended.

She laughed a little. “You sound mad.”

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“I am mad.”

“At them?”

“At everyone,” I said. “But mostly at the girls who started this. I swear, half the drama in this school is just people who can’t stand seeing someone else be happy.”

She was quiet for a second. “It’s weird, isn’t it?”

“What is?”

“It was always guys who said stuff to my face,” she said. “But the rumors? The really cruel stuff? That’s always girls.”

“Exactly,” I said. “Daniel was a jerk, but at least he was honest about it. This is just… cowardly.”

She didn’t answer right away.

Then she said, “They’re saying you wouldn’t be with me unless I paid you.”

My jaw tightened so hard it hurt. “That’s such garbage.”

“I know,” she said. “I do. It just… still gets in your head.”

“I hate that it does,” I said. “Because it’s not true. Not even a little.”

“I know,” she said again. Quieter.

I rubbed my face. “Jess… you don’t have to prove anything to anyone.”

“I know,” she said. “But sometimes I wish I didn’t feel like I had to.”

That hit harder than I expected.

We were quiet for a few seconds.

Then I said, “I’m going to fix this.”

She blinked. “Fix what?”

“The rumor. The stupid narrative. The idea that what we have is some kind of joke.”

“Noah-”

“I’m serious,” I said. “I’m done letting people talk.”

She hesitated. “You don’t have to… like… make a scene.”

And me not caring.

“It looks like me not letting anyone pretend we’re anything other than what we are,” I said.

“And what are we?” she asked.

I smiled. “Together.”

She laughed. “That’s a very non–specific answer.”

“Your boyfriend,” I said. “Very specifically.”

Her breath caught. I could hear it.

“Oh,” she said.

“Yeah,” I said. “That.”

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She was quiet, then said, “I like the sound of that.”

“So do I.”

We talked a little longer about nothing. About school. About Jackson being grumpy. About Mariah being dramatic but in a good way.

And when we hung up, I didn’t feel calmer.

I felt resolved.

I wasn’t going to let a bunch of bored, jealous people define what Jessa and I were.

I wasn’t going to let her walk through school feeling like she had to justify being with me.

And I definitely wasn’t going to let anyone think she wasn’t worth choosing.

I stared at my phone and muttered, “Yeah. We’re done with this.”

I didn’t know exactly how I was going to do it yet.

But tomorrow?

People were going to get the message.

Loud and clear.