Invisible To Her Bully (Jessa and Noah) novel Chapter 45

Noah

The hallway was loud as usual — lockers slamming, sneakers squeaking on the linoleum, and the steady hum of a hundred overlapping conversations. It was the usual pre-class chaos, but for once, I wasn’t part of it.

I leaned against my locker, arms crossed, keeping to myself while the rest of the guys crowded around Jackson like they were hyping up for a big game. Daniel, of course, was in the center of it all, holding court like he was king of the freaking world.

“Man, I’m telling you,” Daniel said, his voice carrying over the noise, “if I make that big play Friday night in front of the recruiter, it’s gonna be a done deal. Full ride, baby.” He smirked, running a hand through his hair like he thought he was already signing NFL contracts.

One of the other guys clapped him on the back. “Yeah, assuming you don’t choke like you did last time.”

The group erupted in laughter. Daniel didn’t find it nearly as funny.

“Whatever,” he scoffed, shoving the guy lightly. “Watch and learn, boys. I was born to play under pressure.”

I rolled my eyes, biting back the urge to say something. Daniel wasn’t a bad player, but his ego was way bigger than his talent. And after everything he’d said to Jessa at lunch the other day, I could barely stand to look at him.

I’d been keeping my head down, doing my best to avoid drama. Between the mess with Jessa and Coach breathing down my neck at practice, I didn’t have the energy to be my usual self. No joking around, no teasing, no showing off. Just… surviving.

Jackson, meanwhile, seemed oblivious — or maybe he was just better at pretending than I was. He laughed at Daniel’s nonsense, his usual easy grin plastered across his face, even though I knew him well enough to recognize the slight stiffness in his shoulders.

And then Mariah appeared.

She came striding down the hall like she owned the place, her chin high and her ponytail swinging behind her. She didn’t even hesitate before cutting right into our circle, planting herself squarely in front of Jackson.

“Hey,” she said, her tone sharper than I’d ever heard it. “We need to talk.”

Jackson blinked, clearly caught off guard. “Uh… okay? What’s up?”

“What’s up,” she said, crossing her arms, “is your sister. Jessa is finally starting to come out of her shell — and it would be really nice if her twin brother actually supported her for once instead of hanging out with his idiot gang and letting them tear her down.”

The hallway went dead silent.

My eyebrows shot up so fast they practically hit my hairline. Daniel’s smirk faltered, and even Jackson looked like he’d just been smacked upside the head.

“Whoa, Mariah,” Jackson started, holding his hands up. “That’s not fair—”

“It is fair,” she snapped, cutting him off. “You know how much crap she takes from people every single day. And where are you? Laughing it up with the same jerks who make her life miserable.”

She threw a pointed glance at Daniel, who bristled but didn’t dare say anything back.

“Maybe try having her back for once, Jackson. She’s your sister. Start acting like it.”

And with that, Mariah spun on her heel and marched off down the hall, her ponytail swinging like a victory flag.

For a beat, none of us said a word. It was like the entire group was processing the fact that someone had just come into our territory, dropped a verbal grenade, and walked away without looking back.

Then, slowly, all eyes turned to Jackson.

I just leaned back against my locker, watching the scene unfold with a knot tightening in my chest.

Part of me wanted to laugh along, to pretend like everything was fine. But another part — the part I’d been trying to ignore — couldn’t stop thinking about Jessa. About the hurt in her eyes this morning. About how Mariah had just said out loud what I’d been too much of a coward to admit: Jessa deserved better.

Jackson finally dropped his hands, glaring at all of us. “You guys are idiots,” he muttered, grabbing his books and slamming his locker shut.

“Idiots who are right,” Daniel sing-songed, earning another round of laughter.

As they teased him, my gaze drifted down the hall.

And there she was — Jessa.

She was at her locker with Mariah now, head tilted as she listened to something her best friend was saying. She didn’t see me looking, and for a split second, I let myself just… watch her.

The way she laughed softly at whatever Mariah said. The way she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. The way she seemed lighter, freer than she’d been in days.

And my chest tightened even more.

I dragged my eyes away before anyone noticed, silently telling myself to get my head back in the game.

Because if Coach thought my focus was slipping before, I couldn’t imagine what he’d say if he knew the reason why.