Invisible To Her Bully (Jessa and Noah) novel Chapter 62

Noah

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Saturday mornings were supposed to be about sleeping in, relaxing after a big win, maybe hanging out with the guys later.

Not today.

Today, I woke up with my jaw aching, my head pounding, and my stomach in knots. I’d barely slept. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Jessa’s face last night — the shock when I kissed her, the way she looked at me like maybe, just maybe, she saw me differently.

And then Daniel had to open his damn mouth.

His words still rang in my head, sharp and poisonous:

Did you really think anyone actually wanted her?

I’d wanted to shut him up right there, but before I could, everything spiraled. Jessa had bolted, Mariah chased after her, and Jackson… well, Jackson looked like he wanted to murder me on the spot.

I’d figured avoiding him for a day was the smart move.

Apparently, Jackson didn’t agree.

Because the second I opened my front door to grab the paper from the porch, he was there – my driveway like a storm ready to rip through everything in its path.

“Jackson,” I said slowly, my voice low, cautious. “What the hell are you doing here?”

His fists were already clenched, his chest heaving like he’d sprinted the whole way.

“You really gonna stand there and ask me that?” he snapped.

Here we go.

“Look, man, maybe we should-”

standing on

“You kissed my sister.” His voice was lethal, calm in a way that was way more dangerous than shouting. “And then, thanks to Daniel’s crap, she came home humiliated and locked herself in her room. She hasn’t come out all day, Noah. You did that.”

The guilt slammed into me hard enough to make me flinch.

But I wasn’t just going to stand there and take the blame for all of it.

“I didn’t do that to her, Jackson. Daniel did.”

His eyes went wide, and then the storm broke.

18:30 Mon, Oct 13

Chapter 62

24

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“You kissed her, Noah! You started this whole mess!” he roared, shoving me so hard my back hit the doorframe. “And then you just let Daniel twist it into a joke while she stood there in front of everyone!”

I shoved him right back, anger boiling over. “You think I wanted that to happen? You think I don’t care about Jessa?!”

“You don’t get to say her name like that!” he barked. “You don’t get to touch her like that!”

“Oh, give me a break!” My voice cracked with frustration. “You act like you’re this perfect brother, always looking out for her, but where were you every other time someone made her feel like crap? Where were you when people laughed behind her back? You let it happen because it was easier than standing up to your

friends!”

His face twisted in rage because he knew I was right.

–

That tiny pause was all I needed to keep going.

“You don’t get to dump all this on me, Jackson. You’ve been letting Jessa drown for years, and now that I actually see her-”

That was as far as I got.

Neighbors were yelling now, somewhere in the background, but I barely heard them over the roaring in my

18:30 Mon, Oct 13

I wiped blood from my busted lip, glaring right back at him.

“No.”

His head snapped up, eyes blazing. “What did you just say?”

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“No,” I repeated, my voice steady now. “I’m not staying away from her, Jackson. Because unlike you, I’m not going to stand by while everyone else tears her down. I see her. And whether you like it or not, she deserves someone who actually gives a damn.”

Jackson’s chest rose and fell like he was about to explode again, but before he could swing, a voice cut through the tension.

“Hey! What the hell is going on out here?!”

My mom was standing on the porch, eyes wide, a dish towel clutched in her hand.

We both froze, breathing hard, our fight hanging in the air like smoke.

“Nothing,” Jackson said coldly, wiping blood from his lip. “We’re done here.”

But as he stalked off toward his car, I knew we weren’t done.

Not even close.

Because one thing was crystal clear:

I wasn’t letting Jessa go- not to protect Jackson’s ego, and sure as hell not because of Daniel’s twisted lies.

宙

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