Invisible To Her Bully (Jessa and Noah) novel Chapter 73

Chapter 73

Jessa

By Tuesday morning. I was running on fumes.

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Sleep had been impossible. I’d tossed and turned all night, thoughts chasing each other in endless circles. Daniel’s cruel words wouldn’t stop replaying, sharp and poisonous. Jackson’s eyes narrowing at me last night, suspicion written all over his face. And Noah…

Noah with his infuriating smirk. Noah with that kiss I couldn’t scrub from my lips no matter how hard I tried. Noah who confused me more than anyone else in my entire life.

By the time my alarm went off, I’d given up on sleep entirely. My head pounded, my body ached with fatigue, and the idea of facing another day at school felt impossible. But hiding wasn’t an option, not unless I wanted to deal with Jackson barging into my room again.

So I pulled myself together–barely–and dragged myself to school with Mariah at my side.

“You look like you wrestled with a demon all night,” she said as we made our way down the hall. “And lost.”

“Thanks,” I muttered, fumbling with my locker combination.

“I mean it in a loving way,” she said, sipping her energy drink through a bright pink straw. She leaned against the locker beside mine like she had all the time in the world, watching me wrestle with my lock like I was in some sitcom. “Seriously, though, you didn’t sleep, did you?”

“Neither did you,” I shot back.

“True,” she admitted, flashing a grin. “But I wear it better.”

Despite myself, a small laugh escaped me. That was the thing about Mariah–she had this way of pulling me out of my head, if only for a second.

I finally managed to yank my locker open, shoving books around like maybe if I kept busy, I wouldn’t feel the weight pressing down on me. But then… I felt it. That shift in the air when someone’s eyes are locked on you.

I turned.

And there he was.

Noah Carter.

His dark hair was damp, like he’d showered late. His backpack was slung over one shoulder, easy, effortless. But the thing that made my stomach drop was his expression. No cocky smirk. No sarcastic sparkle in his eyes. Just something unreadable.

Of course. Of course he would pick today of all days to show up at my locker.

I snapped my locker shut and crossed my arms, bracing myself. My nerves were already shot. I didn’t have it

18:32 Mon,

Chapter 73

in me to play whatever stupid game he had in mind.

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“What do you want, Carter?” The words came out sharp, edged with exhaustion and anger. “Because if you came over here to play one of your games or get a laugh at my expense, just don’t. Not today.”

The hallway noise seemed to fade. Even Mariah froze, her straw still halfway to her lips.

But Noah didn’t smirk. He didn’t even flinch. If anything, he looked… surprised. Like he hadn’t expected me to come at him with claws out.

“I wasn’t gonna make a joke,” he said finally, his voice lower than usual. Steady, careful. “I actually came over to apologize.”

1 blinked, sure I’d misheard him. “You… what?”

He shifted his backpack strap, looking uncomfortable in a way I had never seen. “I screwed up. A lot. And I just-“He exhaled, the sound heavy. “I wanted to say I’m sorry.”

This was Noah–the boy who made my life hell, who always knew how to get under my skin. But this was also Noah–the boy who’d kissed me like it meant something, who was standing here now looking like he actually cared whether I listened.

I wanted to tell him to leave me alone. I wanted to tell him I was done being the butt of the joke. But the words caught in my throat, tangled with a thousand unspoken feelings I wasn’t ready to admit.

The warning bell shrieked overhead, making me jump.

Noah’s eyes flicked toward the sound, then back to me. For just a second, I saw something flicker there- frustration, maybe even fear.

“I’ll let you get to class,” he said, voice tight. He stepped back but didn’t break eye contact. “Just… think about it, okay?”

And then he was gone, swallowed by the tide of students rushing toward their classrooms.

I stood frozen, my heart still pounding in my cars.

Mariah let out a low whistle. “Well. That was… something.”

I stared at the spot where Noah had disappeared, my brain still trying to catch up. “What just happened?”

“You tell me,” Mariah said, smirking. “Because I think Mr. Tall–Dark–and–Confusing just asked you out on an apology date.”

Heat rushed to my cheeks, and I spun toward my locker to hide it. “Shut up.”

“Don’t ‘shut up‘ me,” she said, poking my shoulder. “You were ready to bite his head off, and then he goes all serious and apologetic on you. I’ve never seen Noah Carter apologize to anyone. Ever. That was like… a solar eclipse.”

I didn’t answer, because she wasn’t wrong. And that was the part that scared me most.

As we walked to class, my chest ached with questions. Was Noah being real? Or was this another trick, another setup to watch me fall?

I didn’t know. And worse–I wasn’t sure if I wanted to find out.