Invisible To Her Bully (Jessa and Noah) novel Chapter 236

Jessa

Lunch had been… almost normal.

Almost.

The table was crowded in that familiar way now—Noah leaned back in his chair like he owned the air around him, Jackson was halfway listening and halfway scanning the room like a quarterback still reading defenses, and Mariah was doing what Mariah did best: talking enough for three people.

I was mid–bite of my fries when one of the guys–Shane, I think–cleared his throat.

It wasn’t loud.

But it was the kind of sound that made the whole table pause anyway.

“Uh… hey. Guys?”

Noah looked up first. “What?”

Shane’s face was… weird. Not amused. Not smug. More like he regretted opening his mouth at all.

“There’s this account on I*******m,” he said slowly. “Ridgeville Gossip?”

Jackson’s jaw tightened immediately.

Mariah blinked. “That account is a disease.”

Shane nodded like he agreed with his entire soul.

“Well… they just posted something.”

Noah leaned forward. “What kind of something?”

Shane hesitated, then unlocked his phone with a quick swipe.

“It’s about… you guys.”

Mariah’s posture went stiff. “Me?”

Shane didn’t answer right away.

He just turned the phone around.

The screen showed an edited photo–badly morphed, like someone had taken a picture of Jackson and Mariah standing together at the game and warped it into something grotesque.

Mariah’s stomach looked rounded.

There was a caption in bold, obnoxious font:

BABY LOMBARDI LOADING… O

Underneath were laughing emojis.

A poll.

A comment section already exploding.

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Chapter 233

Jackson went completely still.

For a second, I thought he might actually flip the table.

Mariah’s face drained of color so fast it scared me.

“What…” she whispered.

Noah swore under his breath. “Are you kidding me?”

Jackson’s voice came out low, dangerous. “Who the hell runs that account?”

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Shane lifted his hands like he wanted no part of this. “I don’t know, man. Everyone follows it. It just–shows up.

Mariah stared at the phone like it might bite her.

Then she stood so abruptly her chair screeched against the tile.

“I can’t,” she said, voice tight.

“Mariah-” Jackson started, already pushing back from the table.

But she was moving.

Fast.

Out of the cafeteria.

Jackson was on his feet immediately.

“I’m going after her.”

Something in me snapped into place.

Not panic.

Not helplessness.

Clarity.

I reached out and grabbed his wrist.

“Don’t,” I said.

Jackson blinked at me like I’d lost my mind.

“What do you mean don’t?”

“I mean…” I swallowed hard, holding his gaze. “Let me.”

His expression flickered–confusion, frustration, protectiveness.

“Jess-”

“She needs her friend right now,” I said quietly. “Not her boyfriend ready to punch through a wall.”

Noah’s eyes softened just a little.

Jackson’s jaw worked like he was chewing on the fact that I was right.

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Chapter 230

Finally, he exhaled sharply.

“Fine,” he muttered. “But if she needs me-

>>

“I’ll come get you,” I promised.

Then I stood and followed her.

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The hallway outside the cafeteria was brighter, quieter.

A wall of windows overlooked the courtyard, where the snow had melted into slush and bare trees stood like skeletons against the gray sky.

Mariah was there.

Just standing.

Her arms folded tight across her chest like she was holding herself together by force.

She didn’t turn when I approached.

Didn’t wipe her eyes.

Didn’t do anything dramatic.

Which somehow made it worse.

I stopped beside her, letting the silence sit for a moment.

Then, softly-

“Hey.”

Mariah let out a shaky breath.

“Hey,” she said back, but her voice sounded wrong. Smaller.

I leaned my shoulder lightly against the window frame.

“That post is disgusting,” I said.

Mariah gave a humorless laugh.

“Disgusting is one word.”

She stared out at the courtyard like she could disappear into it.

“I thought…” she started, then stopped.

I waited.

She swallowed.

“I thought I was tougher than this.”

My chest tightened.

“Mariah…”

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She finally turned her head just slightly, eyes glossy.

“This is hurting a lot more than I realized it would.”

There it was.

Not anger.

Not sarcasm.

Just honesty.

And it hit me right in the ribs.

I nodded slowly.

“I know,” I said.

Her brows knit together.

“You know?”

I let out a breath, looking down at my hands.

“I know better than anybody.”

Mariah’s expression softened.

“I might’ve acted like it didn’t bother me,” I admitted. “Like I could roll my eyes and move on.”

I looked back up at her.

“But the truth is… it hurt more than I ever showed.”

Mariah’s lips parted, like she didn’t know what to say.

Because she’d been there for me through it all.

But being in it?

That was different.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

I shook my head immediately.

“No. Don’t. You didn’t do this.”

Mariah’s voice cracked. “I just… I hate that people can do this. Like it’s funny.”

“It’s not funny,” I said firmly.

“It’s cruel.”

She blinked hard.

“I’ve spent years thinking I’m untouchable,” she said bitterly. “Like if I’m loud enough, sharp enough, no one can get to me.”

Her laugh was shaky.

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“But it gets to you anyway.”

I nodded.

“Yeah,” I whispered. “It does.”

We stood there for a moment, the hum of the school faint behind us.

Then Mariah said, quieter-

“I don’t even know who started it.”

“Does it matter?” I asked.

She frowned.

I continued, voice low but steady.

“If the tables were turned… if the people who start this stuff were the ones being talked about, they wouldn’t laugh.”

Mariah’s eyes flashed.

“They’d fall apart.‘

“Exactly,” I said. “They do it because it’s not happening to them.”

She exhaled sharply.

“And because they’re bored,” she muttered.

“And because they’re insecure,” I added.

Mariah glanced at me.

I shrugged, a little sad.