Invisible To Her Bully (Jessa and Noah) novel Chapter 244

Chapter 244

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I sat up straighter. “A talk?”

He muttered something under his breath.

“A confrontation. Whatever.”

My eyebrows pulled together. “About the I*******m thing?”

His laugh was short and bitter.

“Yeah. She saw it.”

“Damn.”

“She didn’t just see it,” he said. “She got it shown to her at work. By a coworker.”

My stomach twisted.

Of course she did.

Because Ridgeville didn’t just gossip inside the building. It spread like wildfire. It followed you home. It crawled into your parents‘ lives like it belonged there.

Jackson’s voice went quieter.

“She asked me if she was going to be a grandmother.”

I froze.

“…She said that?”

“Yep.”

“Jesus.”

“I know.”

I rubbed my face. “That’s insane.”

“It’s embarrassing,” he muttered. “All of it.”

And the guilt that had been sitting in my chest all day finally pushed up.

“Jackson…”

“What.”

I swallowed.

“This is my fault.”

That got his attention.

His voice sharpened. “What?”

I exhaled hard.

“I’m the one who made the stupid joke. The one about you and Mariah on the couch. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

Jackson didn’t respond right away.

I kept going, because once it was out, I couldn’t stop it.

Chapter 244

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“If I hadn’t joked around about it, none of this would be happening. Nobody would’ve had anything to twist into… whatever this

is.”

On the other end, I heard a shift.

Not a car.

Just… mattress springs. A drawer opening and shutting.

Jackson was probably sitting on the edge of his bed, staring at the floor like it might give him answers.

His sigh came through the phone, long and heavy.

“Noah.”

“I mean it,” I said. “I should’ve shut up.”

Then Jackson muttered, dry as hell-

“If it was reversed…”

I paused. “What?”

His voice was reluctant, but honest.

“If it was reversed, I probably would’ve done the same thing.”

I blinked, surprised.

“You would’ve teased me.”

“Yeah,” he admitted. “Of course I would’ve.”

I let out a breath.

“But that doesn’t make it okay,” I said.

Jackson scoffed.

“The problem isn’t you, man.”

“It feels like it is.”

“It’s not,” he said, firmer now. “The problem is Ridgeville.”

I could hear the frustration building in him, like it was finally spilling out.

“This school is full of bored busybodies who have to know everybody’s business, and the second they hear something, they blow it up into a whole damn drama just so they have something to talk about.”

His voice was sharper now, real.

“They don’t care if it’s true. They don’t care who it hurts. They just want entertainment.”

I swallowed hard.

“Yeah.”

Jackson exhaled.

“And I’m pissed. Not at you.”

His tone softened slightly.

Chapter 244

“I’m pissed that Mariah has to deal with it.”

That hit.

Because Jackson didn’t say stuff like that unless it mattered.

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Jackson exhaled.

“He told me it won’t ruin my scholarship. That it’s noise. But noise can mess with your focus.”

“That’s fair.”

“And he said cyberbullying like this is getting out of hand,” Jackson added. “He’s done pretending it’s just kids being kids.”

Good.

Finally.

I leaned forward, elbows on my knees.

“I’m sorry again,” I said quietly.

“No,” Jackson said immediately. “Don’t.”

He sounded tired now.

“You don’t have to apologize again. You already did.”

I swallowed.

“Okay.”

Another pause.

Then-

“I’m going to sleep.”

“Yeah.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Yeah.”

Then, softer, almost like an afterthought-

“And Noah?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m not pissed at you.”

Relief hit me so hard I almost laughed.

“I know.”

He hung up.

I stared at my phone for a long moment.

Chapter 244

Ridgeville could chew on whatever story it wanted.

But Jackson wasn’t breaking.

Mariah wasn’t alone.

And I wasn’t going to let one stupid joke become the thing that ruined them.

Not anymore.

P