Invisible To Her Bully (Jessa and Noah) novel Chapter 237

hapter 237

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Chapter 237

Jackson

The second Jessa disappeared after Mariah, my entire body went tight.

Like someone had pulled a cord inside my chest and tied it into a knot.

Mariah Morales didn’t run.

Mariah didn’t crack.

And she just walked out of the cafeteria like she couldn’t breathe.

I stared at the doorway for a beat too long, my leg bouncing under the table so hard it was shaking the bench.

Noah sat beside me, jaw clenched, eyes tracking the same spot.

Shane was still holding his phone like it was a weapon he hadn’t meant to pick up.

Nobody knew what to do.

Which, honestly, was the worst part.

Finally, I exhaled sharply and looked at the guys.

“How do we shut this down?”

My voice came out harsher than I meant, but I didn’t c care.

The post was already spreading. I could feel it in the way people were whispering even from across the cafeteria, like the whole room had turned into one big mouth.

Chris scratched the back of his neck. “I mean… it’s Ridgeville. People will move on in like two days.”

“Two days?” I snapped. “That’s two days too long.”

Shane muttered, “It’s always girls, man. They start this stuff and it just-”

Noah’s head whipped toward him.

“Stop.”

Shane blinked. “What?”

Noah’s voice was low, controlled. Dangerous in a different way than mine.

“Don’t do that. Don’t make it sound like girls are some enemy you ‘handle.‘ That’s not what this is.”

The table went quiet.

Shane lifted his hands. “I didn’t mean-”

“I know what you meant,” Noah said. “And it’s stupid. This isn’t about controlling anybody. It’s about people being cruel because they’re bored.”

I stared at Noah for a second.

God.

Chapter 237

He’d changed.

Or maybe he was just finally showing what was always underneath.

Chris muttered, “Okay, but like… how do you stop it?”

Noah leaned back, rubbing his jaw. “You don’t feed it. You don’t give it more oxygen.‘

I scoffed. “Easy for you to say. It’s not your girlfriend getting called-”

I stopped.

Because it was.

And it was also my girlfriend.

And my sister.

It was all tangled together now.

My foot bounced faster.

“What is taking Jess so long?” I muttered, craning my neck toward the cafeteria doors again.

Noah’s eyes flicked to me. “She’s with Mariah.”

“I know that.”

“She’s not alone.”

“I know that too,” I snapped, then immediately regretted it.

Noah didn’t react. Just watched me like he understood exactly what was happening inside my head.

I was spiraling.

I could feel it.

Because this wasn’t just gossip.

This wasn’t just some stupid post.

This was someone taking something good–Mariah and me, something real—and turning it into a joke.

And I was so damn tired of jokes.

Shane tried again, quieter. “Jess has this, man. She’s… tougher than you think.”

I shot him a look. “I know she is.”

My voice cracked a little. “That’s not the point.”

The point was she shouldn’t have to be tough.

Mariah shouldn’t have to be tough.

Jessa shouldn’t have had to be tough for years.

None of them should have to build armor just to walk into a cafeteria.

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He’d changed.

Or maybe he was just finally showing what was always underneath.

Chris muttered, “Okay, but like… how do you stop it?”

Noah leaned back, rubbing his jaw. “You don’t feed it. You don’t give it more oxygen.”

I scoffed. “Easy for you to say. It’s not your girlfriend getting called-‘

I stopped.

Because it was.

And it was also my girlfriend.

And my sister.

It was all tangled together now.

My foot bounced faster.

“What is taking Jess so long?” I muttered, craning my neck toward the cafeteria doors again.

Noah’s eyes flicked to me. “She’s with Mariah.”

“I know that.”

“She’s not alone.”

“I know that too,” I snapped, then immediately regretted it.

Noah didn’t react. Just watched me like he understood exactly what was happening inside my head.

I was spiraling.

I could feel it.

Because this wasn’t just gossip.

This wasn’t just some stupid post.

This was someone taking something good–Mariah and me, something real–and turning it into a joke.

And I was so damn tired of jokes.

Shane tried again, quieter. “Jess has this, man. She’s… tougher than you think.”

I shot him a look. “I know she is.”

My voice cracked a little. “That’s not the point.”

The point was she shouldn’t have to be tough.

Mariah shouldn’t have to be tough.

Jessa shouldn’t have had to be tough for years.

None of them should have to build armor just to walk into a cafeteria.

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Chapter 237

Noah shifted closer, lowering his voice.

“You want to fix it?”

I looked at him sharply. “Yeah.”

He held my gaze.

“Then you don’t explode in here. You let Jessa do what she’s doing. And when Mariah comes back…”

He paused.

(( …you stand beside her. Not in front of her. Not like you’re saving her.”

My throat tightened.

“And you make it clear you’re not ashamed.”

That hit.

Hard.

Because that was what this was really about.

The rumor wasn’t even about a baby.

It was about punishment.

Punishment for Mariah daring to be with the golden boy.

Punishment for Jackson Lombardi not staying in his lane.

I swallowed.

My hands curled into fists under the table.

“I’m not ashamed,” I said, voice low.

Noah nodded once.

“I know.”

The cafeteria doors opened.

My head snapped up so fast my neck hurt.