Invisible To Her Bully (Jessa and Noah) novel Chapter 95

Chapter 95

Jackson

For a long minute after Noah walked off, everything just… stopped.

like it was underwater.

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The music still pulsed through the walls, but it sounded far away

Daniel was leaning against a truck, one hand pressed to his split lip, muttering curses under his breath. A few kids hung back, whispering, eyes wide, phones still raised like this was just another piece of Ridgeville drama to post about later.

And me?

—

I just stood there, heart pounding, watching Noah disappear into the dark my best friend since third grade, the guy who’d always had my back, walking away like I was just another stranger.

It didn’t feel real.

“Guy’s psycho,” Daniel finally said, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “All that over your sister? He’s lost it.”

That did it.

Something inside me snapped clean in two.

“Shut up, Daniel.”

He turned, giving me that smirk he always wore when he thought he was being clever. “What, you gonna hit me next? Jesus, what’s in the water tonight?”

I took a step closer, jaw tight. “You think that crap you said was funny?”

He shrugged. “It was a joke, man. Relax. Everyone laughs about that stuff. You have before.”

My stomach twisted. “What did you just say?”

Daniel straightened a little, seeing the shift in my face but too dumb to stop talking. “Since when do you even care? You’ve laughed along plenty of times when people talked about your sister. Don’t pretend you’re suddenly Saint Jackson.”

His words hit harder than any punch Noah threw.

Because deep down – he wasn’t wrong.

I’d laughed it off.

I’d let people talk because it was easier than standing up every damn time.

And now that truth burned in my chest like fire.

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Chapter 95

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I swallowed hard, voice rough when I finally spoke. “Yeah,” I said quietly, “I did. I laughed. I didn’t stop it. And

that’s on me.”

Daniel looked confused, maybe even nervous at how calm I sounded.

“But it stops now,” I said, stepping closer, eyes locked on his. “You don’t talk about her again. Not her, not anyone like that. Got it?”

He blinked, backing up a half–step. “You’re serious?”

“As a heart attack.”

He scoffed, trying to recover his ego. “Man, you’re acting like she’s some kind of victim. Everyone’s fair game around here.”

“Not anymore,” I said. My voice came out sharper than I meant, cutting through the tension still hanging in the air. “You cross that line again, and I swear you’ll wish Noah had been the one to hit you.”

For once, Daniel didn’t have a comeback. His smirk slipped, and he looked away. The rest of the group that had been lingering started to scatter fast — realizing this wasn’t going back to normal.

I let out a slow breath, forcing my hands to unclench. My pulse was still racing, anger and guilt twisting together until I didn’t know which one hurt more.

Because Daniel was right I hadn’t done enough.

—

I’d stood by while my best friend tried to protect Jessa more than I ever had.

You think I’m the one who’s bad for Jessa? Maybe you should look around.

Noah’s words echoed in my head, heavy and deserved.

I turned, scanning the crowd until I found her.

Jessa stood near the porch, Mariah beside her. She looked shaken but steady, her shoulders drawn tight, eyes red but dry. The kind of look that said she’d built another wall just to survive the night.

I walked toward them slowly, every step heavier than the last.

“You okay?” I asked when I got close enough.

Jessa’s eyes flicked up at me, unreadable. “I’m fine.”

Her voice said otherwise, but I didn’t push it. Mariah gave me a silent don’t start anything look, and I just

nodded.

“Uh–huh,” she said, leaning against the truck. “You do that a lot lately.”

I ran a hand through my hair. “I screwed up tonight.”

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Chapter 93

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Mariah uilted her head. “Which part?”

“All of it, I admitted. “Noah, Jessa… Daniel wasn’t wrong about me. I’ve laughed before. Pretended it didn’t bother me But seeing her face tonight

I don’t know. Something just broke”

Mariah’s expression softened. “So fix it.”

watching him say that

I’m trying.” I said. “But I can’t even find him.”

“He’ll come around,” she said. “You both will. Just… stop trying to control everything. You can’t protect Jessa from growing up. And you can’t fix Noah by fighting everyone who crosses him.”

I let out a low laugh. “You think you’ve got me all figured out, huh?”

She smiled faintly. “Pretty much.”

Her words lingered long after she left, the quiet pressing in again.

I sat there for a while, staring out at the dark water under the bridge, the night air cool through the open

window.

Daniel’s voice still echoed in my head, but this time it didn’t sting the same way. Because yeah – he was right that I’d failed before. But he was wrong if he thought I’d let that keep happening.

I turned the key, headlights slicing through the night.

I wasn’t done fixing this. Not with Noah. Not with Jessa. Not with any of it.

–

–

Because maybe for the first time, I finally saw things for what they were and I wasn’t going to be the guy who stood by anymore.

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