Invisible To Her Bully (Jessa and Noah) novel Chapter 273

Chapter 273

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Chapter 273

Noah

I tried to do homework.

I really did.

But after Jackson’s call, that was pretty much a lost cause.

The same paragraph in my history book had been staring back at me for twenty minutes, and I still had no idea what it said.

Something about the industrial revolution.

Or farming.

Or possibly both.

I shoved the book away and leaned back in my chair.

Jackson’s voice kept replaying in my head.

Have you noticed your girlfriend acting weird this week?

Then the part that stuck even more.

You really need to talk to her.

Which was exactly the kind of vague warning that could mean absolutely anything.

And my brain had already decided to jump straight to the worst possible conclusion.

Breakup.

I rubbed my face.

“Okay,” I muttered to myself. “This is stupid.”

Because if Jessa was actually planning to break up with me…

Jackson probably wouldn’t be casually telling me to go talk to her.

Right?

Unless he was trying to soften the landing.

I groaned and pushed my chair back from the desk.

Now I was definitely spiraling.

Jackson literally told me not to overthink it.

And yet here I was doing exactly that.

I grabbed my jacket off the back of the chair.

Waiting lasted about ten seconds.

The Lombardi house lights were on when I pulled into the driveway.

Which meant either Jess was home or Jackson was.

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Possibly both.

I knocked once before opening the door.

“Hello?”

Jessa’s voice came from the living room.

“In here.”

I stepped inside and found her curled up on the couch with a blanket around her shoulders and her laptop open in front of her.

She looked up.

Her face lit up instantly.

“Noah.”

That alone knocked half the tension out of my chest.

Because if she was about to break up with me, she probably wouldn’t look that happy to see me.

“Hey,” I said, stepping further into the room.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

“Your brother called me.”

Her eyebrows lifted.

“Jackson called you?”

“Yeah.”

She immediately looked suspicious.

“What did he say?”

I dropped onto the couch beside her.

“He asked if I noticed my girlfriend acting weird this week.”

She groaned and dropped her head back against the couch.

“Oh my God.”

“Yeah,” I said. “That was pretty much my reaction too.”

She rubbed her face.

“I swear he needs a hobby.”

I watched her for a second.

“You have been acting weird though.”

She peeked at me through her fingers.

“I have not.”

“You have.”

She lowered her hands.

Chapter 273

“I’ve just been thinking about stuff.”

“Jackson said that too.”

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

“What else did he say?”

“Nothing helpful.”

“That sounds like Jackson.”

I leaned back against the couch.

“So what’s going on?”

She didn’t answer right away.

Which made my stomach tighten again.

Jess stared at the laptop screen for a second before closing it slowly.

“It’s just… college stuff.”

“That’s what you said at the ice cream place.”

“Because that’s what it is.”

I nodded slowly.

“Okay.”

She looked at me carefully.

“You’re not going to interrogate me?”

“I tried that already,” I said. “Didn’t work.”

That made her smile a little.

I bumped her shoulder gently.

“You’ll tell me when you’re ready.”

Her expression softened.

“Yeah.”

Silence settled between us for a second.

Then she tilted her head.

“You look like you were worried.”

I hesitated.

Then sighed.

“Okay, I’m just going to ask this before my brain makes it worse.”

Her eyebrows lifted.

“…Okay?”

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Chapter 273

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I rubbed the back of my neck.

“You’re not breaking up with me, right?”

For a second she just stared at me.

Then her mouth fell open.

“What?!”

“Listen,” I said quickly, raising my hands in defense, “in my defense your brother called me sounding like a secret agent and said I needed to talk to you, so my brain went to the worst possible conclusion.”

She blinked.

Then burst out laughing.

Not a polite laugh.

A full, uncontrollable one.

I frowned.

“Wow. Glad my emotional spiral is funny.”

She wiped at her eyes.

“Noah, why would I break up with you?”

“I don’t know,” I said. “That’s what I was trying to figure out.”

She shook her head, still smiling.

“You’re ridiculous.”

“Thank you.

“”

She leaned her head lightly against my shoulder.

“I’m not breaking up with you.”

“Good,” I said.

Because I hadn’t realized how tense I was until she said that.

The room went quiet again.

Then she said softly,

“I promise I’ll tell you soon.”

I didn’t ask what she meant.

Because something in her voice told me the truth was coming.

Just not tonight.

So instead I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and pulled her a little closer.

And for now…

That was enough.