บททั้งหมดของ Invisible To Her Bully: บทที่ 271 - บทที่ 280

NoahMy phone buzzed on my desk while I was halfway through pretending to do homework.I stared at the page in front of me for a second before picking it up.Jackson.That alone was weird.Jackson almost never called unless something was wrong.We usually just texted or saw each other at school.I answered.“Did you forget where my house is?” I said. “You know you can just come over.”Jackson didn’t laugh.That was the second weird thing.“Noah,” he said. “Have you noticed your girlfriend acting weird this week?”I leaned back in my chair.“Okay,” I said slowly. “First of all… you never say my girlfriend. You say Jessa. What’s going on?”“Just answer the question.”I frowned slightly.“Yeah,” I admitted. “I noticed.”Jackson was quiet for a second.Then he exhaled.“So I’m not imagining it.”“No,” I said. “You’re not.”I rubbed the back of my neck, thinking about the last few days.Ice cream.Her zoning out at lunch.The way she kept almost saying something and then stopping.“What’s

JessaI should’ve told him.I really should have.The words kept echoing in my head long after Noah left.I was still sitting on the couch where we’d been talking, staring at the door like somehow he might walk back in and give me another chance to say it.But the truth was…I wasn’t ready.Not yet.Not unless I had some sort of plan.Because the more I kept digging into what it would actually take for me to go to a school across the country…The more my hopes were dimming.I opened my laptop again, even though I already knew what I was going to see.Tuition.Housing.Fees.Travel.Numbers.So many numbers that they didn’t even feel real anymore.I stared at the screen, my stomach twisting.“This is impossible,” I whispered.Because every time I thought I might have figured out a way…Another cost popped up.Another obstacle.Another reminder that dreams weren’t free.I leaned back against the couch and closed my eyes.I really need to get out of Ridgeville.The thought came hard and

NoahBy lunchtime I was officially convinced something was going on.Not in a dramatic “my girlfriend is secretly a spy” way.But definitely in a “something is rattling around in her head and she’s not telling me yet” way.I spotted Jessa the second I walked into the cafeteria.She was already sitting at our usual table with Mariah, her tray untouched in front of her.Her laptop was open.Again.She had been doing that a lot lately.Research mode.The same look she got when she was trying to solve a problem she hadn’t figured out yet.Mariah was talking.Jessa was nodding.But she wasn’t really listening.I could tell.After five months together, you learn the difference between someone hearing you and someone pretending to.I slid into the seat beside her.“Morning.”She jumped a little.Not dramatically.But enough that it made my eyebrows lift.“Hey,” she said quickly.Mariah smirked from across the table.“You snuck up on her.”“I walked normally,” I said.“That’s your version of

JessaBy the time I realized how long I’d been staring at my laptop, the sun had already dropped low enough that the light in my room had turned that weird golden color that meant the day was almost gone.Again.Another afternoon.Another few hours spent digging through college websites, financial aid pages, and scholarship listings that all seemed to say the same thing.Not enough.I leaned back against my bed, rubbing my eyes.“This is impossible,” I muttered.My laptop was balanced on my knees, the same five tabs open that had been open for days now.Tuition calculators.Scholarship databases.Financial aid forums.Every once in a while I’d find something promising.Then there would be some requirement I didn’t meet.Top academic award.Perfect GPA.Leadership positions.Athletic scholarships.Things that belonged to people who had spent high school thriving.Not surviving.My bedroom door suddenly swung open.“Jess, seriously.”Jackson stood in the doorway, looking like he’d just

JessaThe ride back from the overlook was quiet.Not uncomfortable quiet.Just… thoughtful quiet.The kind where both people are thinking about the same thing but neither one knows exactly what to say next.The sun had already started dipping low, turning the sky orange behind the trees. I watched it through the passenger window while Noah drove, one hand resting loosely on the steering wheel.My brain was still replaying the conversation over and over.Because it hadn’t gone the way I expected.Not even close.When I first said the word Oregon, I’d braced myself.I thought he might get quiet.Or confused.Or worse… hurt.Instead he had just said something simple.“You should go.”I glanced over at him.He caught me looking and lifted one eyebrow slightly.“What?”“Nothing.”“That sounded like something.”I shook my head.“I’m just thinking.”“Dangerous hobby.”I smiled faintly and leaned my head back against the seat.He had said it so easily.You should go.Like it didn’t scare him