Invisible To Her Bully (Jessa and Noah) novel Chapter 90

Jessa

:.

By Wednesday, something felt off.

:

65 vouchers

It started the moment I got to school. Mariah wasn’t her usual whirlwind self. She walked up to me at my locker wearing an oversized hoodie that I swore looked suspiciously like one Jackson owned. It made my brain trip over itself for a second.

“You good?” I asked, eyeing her.

“Totally,” she said a little too fast, then flashed that smile that said don’t ask questions.

I didn’t press, but the feeling sat weird in my chest. Mariah didn’t do “subtle.” If something was bothering her, she said it. If something good happened, she practically sang it. But today… she was quieter. Thoughtful.

And then there was Jackson.

I passed him in the hallway before first period. Normally, he’d say something–some sarcastic jab or half- hearted “hey.” But this morning, nothing. Just a stiff nod and eyes that didn’t quite meet mine.

I tried to shake it off, but it stuck with me all morning. Like there was a shift I couldn’t explain, like the air had changed between all of us.

By mid–morning, I was leaning against my locker, trying to psych myself up to survive the rest of the day, when Mariah appeared again.

“You’ve been in a mood all day,” she said, pulling a stick of gum from her pocket. “What’s going on with you?”

I shrugged. “Nothing.”

She snorted. “Right. You always get this weird pouty thing when you say ‘nothing.”

“Maybe I’m just tired,” I muttered.

“Or maybe,” she said, stepping closer, “you’re tired of everything. Tired of the whispers, the looks, being stuck in everyone else’s shadows. Jackson’s. Noah’s. All of it.”

I blinked at her, surprised by how accurately she’d just called me out.

Before I could say anything, she leaned her shoulder against the locker beside me. “You know what I think?”

“What?”

“I think you’re finally growing a pair,” she said, popping her gum. “And that’s not a bad thing. You’re pissed, you’re tired, and for once you’re not pretending everything’s fine. You’re starting to take your power back.”

I laughed under my breath. “You make it sound so heroic.”

18:37 Mon, Oct 13

Chapter 90

She grinned. “Hey, for you? It kinda is.”

I rolled my eyes, but I couldn’t help smiling a little.

That was when two girls walked by, talking just loud enough for us to hear.

2

“Then let’s steal it back,” she said, eyes gleaming. “You show up, you look good, and you stop hiding. We’re going to test a little theory I’ve been sitting on.”

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify