Invisible To Her Bully (Jessa and Noah) novel Chapter 91

Noah

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The locker room buzzed with noise – metal clanging, cleats scraping, voices overlapping. The kind of chaos that came before every game. Normally, I thrived in it. The noise, the adrenaline, the smell of turf and sweat

all of it was fuel.

But tonight, I just wanted quiet.

I sat on the bench in front of my locker, taping my wrists, forcing my breathing to stay steady. The noise around me felt too loud, too sharp. Daniel was in the middle of the room, doing his usual pregame performance – flexing, trash–talking, and laughing like he was auditioning for his own highlight reel.

“Big night, boys!” he yelled, slapping his chest. “Time to show Ridgeville who the real stars are.”

He winked at one of the sophomore players, who just looked uncomfortable. I kept my head down, focusing on the tape, trying to tune him out.

The thing about Daniel – he needed an audience. And lately, I’d stopped giving him one.

I was done with the noise. The drama. The crap.

I was done pretending things were normal when nothing felt that way anymore.

I tugged on my pads, adjusting the straps, trying to block out everything but the sound of my heartbeat.

That’s when Jackson dropped down on the bench beside me, his helmet in his hands.

For a minute, neither of us said anything. The silence between us was awkward, heavy. We hadn’t really talked since that explosion at his house. Every word we’d exchanged since then had been clipped, cautious. Like we were both afraid to light another match.

Then, out of nowhere, Jackson said, “Renegade.”

I glanced at him. “What?”

“Renegade‘ by Styx,” he said, like it should’ve been obvious. “The Steelers use it as their hype song. Helps me block out the stupid shit Daniel’s doing.”

I blinked, caught off guard by the casual tone. “You’re serious?”

He shrugged, a ghost of a smirk tugging at his mouth. “You got a better method?”

I couldn’t help it – I laughed. Just once, short and low. It felt strange after everything between us, but good.

“Didn’t think you’d ever admit Daniel drives you nuts,” I said.

“Oh, he does,” Jackson said. “He’s like a walking migraine with shoulder pads.”

We both looked toward Daniel, who was now shadowboxing with his reflection in a locker door.

“See what I mean?” Jackson muttered.

I shook my head, still smiling a little, and adjusted my helmet strap. The tension that had been coiled between us for weeks started to loosen. Just a little.

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