Invisible To Her Bully (Jessa and Noah) novel Chapter 284

Chapter 284

Jackson

I should’ve known it wasn’t going to stay simple.

Nothing ever did.

Not with us.

Not in this town.

Not when it actually mattered.

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Mariah’s TV room was quieter than usual.

Not awkward quiet.

Just… settled.

We were on the couch, her tucked against me like she belonged there, the TV playing something neither of us were paying attention to.

My arm was around her shoulders, her fingers loosely tangled with mine.

Normal.

That word still felt weird.

Normal didn’t happen often for us.

Which was probably why my brain decided now was the perfect time to ruin it.

I glanced down at her.

She was focused on the screen, but not really watching.

Just… existing.

Comfortable.

And for some reason, that made what I was about to say feel heavier.

“Hey,” I said.

She hummed slightly.

“Yeah?”

I hesitated.

Then-

“Jess told Noah.”

She went still.

Not dramatically.

Just enough that I felt it.

Chapter 284

“About what?” she asked.

“Oregon.”

Her head tilted back slightly so she could look at me.

“…Oregon?”

And yeah.

There it was.

Confusion.

Real confusion.

My stomach dropped a little.

Right.

She didn’t know.

“She didn’t tell you?” I asked.

Mariah pulled away just enough to sit up straighter.

“No,” she said slowly. “What are you talking about?”

I exhaled.

“Jess got accepted to a school out in Oregon.”

Silence.

The kind that builds instead of fades.

Mariah blinked once.

Then again.

“She… what?”

“She applied. Didn’t think she’d get in. She did.”

“And she didn’t tell me.”

It wasn’t a question.

It was a statement.

And the shift in her tone was instant.

I rubbed the back of my neck.

“She only told me first because I caught her acting weird.”

“That’s not the point.”

“I know.”

Mariah stood up from the couch.

Not angry.

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Chapter 284

Not explosive.

Just… processing.

Which, honestly?

Was worse.

Because when Mariah didn’t explode, it meant something actually hit her.

“She told Noah,” she said, more to herself than to me.

“Yeah.”

“And she didn’t tell me.”

I stayed quiet.

Because there was nothing I could say that wouldn’t make that worse.

She paced once in front of the couch, arms crossing over her chest.

“That’s… weird.”

“She was trying to figure things out.”

“She tells me everything.”

Her voice cracked just slightly on that word.

Everything.

And yeah…

That landed.

“I think she didn’t want to say it until she knew it was real,” I said carefully.

Mariah looked at me.

“Or she didn’t want to tell me.”

“That’s not it.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I do,” I said, firmer this time. “Jess doesn’t shut you out like that.”

Mariah held my gaze.

Then looked away.

“She told Noah.”

There was something different in that sentence now.

Not just hurt.

Comparison.

I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees.

“She didn’t plan it,” I said. “He pushed her. She finally told him.”

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Chapter 284

Mariah didn’t respond right away.

She just stood there, staring at the floor like she was trying to rearrange something in her head.

Then she let out a slow breath.

“I hate that I didn’t know.”

“I get that.”

“We always talk about everything.”

“I know.”

“And this is big, Jackson.”

“I know.”

She shook her head slightly.

“Oregon? That’s not like… a small thing she forgot to mention.”

“No, it’s not.”

Mariah turned back toward me.

“Do you think she didn’t tell me because she thinks I’d judge her?”

That question caught me off guard.

“What? No.”

“Then why wouldn’t she tell me?”

I stood up now, stepping closer to her.

“Because she’s overwhelmed.”

Mariah’s eyes searched mine.

“She’s trying to figure out how to afford it. She doesn’t even know if she can go.”

That slowed her down.

“Money?”

“Yeah.”

Her expression shifted again.

Less hurt.

More understanding.

“Of course,” she muttered.

“Exactly.”

“She’s been on her laptop nonstop.”

“Yep.”

Mariah let out a breath, running a hand through her hair.

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Chapter 284

“Okay… that makes more sense.”

I nodded.

“She wasn’t hiding it from you. She was trying to figure it out before it became real.”

Mariah was quiet again.

But this time it wasn’t that sharp, stung kind of silence.

It was softer.

Thinking.

Still hurt, but not spiraling.

“She still should’ve told me,” she said after a minute.

“Yeah,” I admitted. “She probably should’ve.”

Mariah glanced at me.

“You’re not helping.”

“I’m not supposed to lie.”

She rolled her eyes.

“Annoying.”

“Accurate.”

That pulled the tiniest smile out of her.

Which was progress.

She sat back down on the couch, this time leaning forward instead of settling into me.

“I just… hate feeling like I’m out of the loop.”

“I get that.”

“She’s my best friend.”

“I know.”

Mariah sighed.

“I’m not even mad,” she admitted. “I’m just… a little hurt.”

“Yeah.”

She looked at me.

“Don’t tell her I said that.”

I smirked.

“I’m definitely telling her.”

“Jackson.”

“I’m kidding.”