جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 90

NoahThe glow from my phone screen was the only light in my room. The rest of the house was quiet — my parents were downstairs, half-watching TV and half-arguing about bills, and I’d been sitting here for almost an hour staring at the same text thread, not even sure what I was hoping to see.Jessa Lombardi.Her name was still there in my messages, the last text from weeks ago — something stupid and casual from when things between us were… easier. Before the kiss. Before Daniel. Before everything blew up.I’d tried to focus at practice earlier, but my head wasn’t in it. The plays blurred together. The coach had yelled — again — that I needed to “get my head on straight” before Friday’s game. Like I didn’t already know that. Like I hadn’t been telling myself the same thing every damn day.And yet, I couldn’t stop thinking about her.How small she’d looked standing in the doorway last night. How angry — and hurt — she’d sounded. How much it messed with my head that I was the one who put

JessaThe hallway was quieter than the cafeteria, but my pulse was still pounding in my ears.Noah walked beside me, just far enough away that our shoulders didn’t brush, and neither of us said a word.He didn’t look cocky like usual — none of that charming grin or easy confidence he always wore when he was around people.He just looked… tired.We stopped near the doors that led out behind the gym. The glass was fogged slightly from the cold, and the faint buzz of fluorescent lights filled the silence.Noah rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. “So… you wanted to talk?”I crossed my arms. “I said we should talk. There’s a difference.”He gave a small nod, eyes dropping to the floor. “Right. Okay.”The awkwardness stretched until I couldn’t stand it. “Why’d you come to my house?”His head lifted, eyes meeting mine. “Because you wouldn’t talk to me here. And because I owed you more than a hallway apology.”I laughed — sharp, humorless. “You think showing up on my porch fixes everythi

JessaBy the time the final bell rang at Ridgeville High, my head felt like it had been stuffed with cotton. The whole day had been one long blur—Noah catching me at my locker, his words about wanting to talk, Mariah’s knowing smirk when she practically shoved me toward him at lunch.And then actually talking to Noah—if that’s what it could be called.I wasn’t even sure what I was feeling. Confused? Angry? A little bit hopeful? Probably all three, with a generous side of chaos.Mariah leaned against her car in the parking lot, arms crossed, sunglasses perched on top of her head. “You look like you just came out of a math exam you didn’t study for.”“Feels about the same,” I said, dropping my backpack into the passenger seat before sliding in.She started the car, glancing over at me. “So… what happened with Lover Boy?”I groaned. “Can we not call him that?”“Oh, we’re definitely calling him that,” she said, smirking. “So spill. What did he say? Or do? Did you punch him? Please tell me

NoahI was sitting on the hood of my truck, tapping my fingers against the metal, my mind still miles away.Jessa’s words kept replaying like a song I couldn’t turn off.It was hard being in Jackson’s shadow… but harder being in yours.Every time I thought about it, my stomach twisted. I hadn’t realized how deep the damage went. How much my silence had cost her.The sound of shouting across the lot snapped me out of it. Players were trickling toward the locker room, helmets swinging from their hands, all laughter and swagger. Same routine. Same rhythm. And yet, everything felt different.Then I spotted Jackson.He was walking with his duffel slung over one shoulder, head down, jaw set. For a second, I almost didn’t move. We hadn’t really talked—not really talked—in weeks. Just quick comments at practice, quick glances that said nothing and everything at the same time.But I was done pretending. I missed my best friend.I slid off the hood and started walking toward him.“Hey,” I said

JacksonThe second my bedroom door shut behind me, the weight of what I’d said came crashing down.I stood there in the dark, breathing hard, my pulse still thrumming from the argument downstairs. I could hear the faint sound of the TV, the muffled quiet of the house that always felt too big and too small at the same time.“Damn it,” I muttered, slamming my fist lightly against the door. The sting in my knuckles didn’t even come close to matching the ache sitting in my chest.I shouldn’t have gone off on her like that.But at the same time… I couldn’t stop it. Everything inside me had been building for months—pressure, resentment, guilt—and tonight it finally cracked open.I hated how things were with Noah. I hated how awkward things had become between me and Jessa. And I hated most of all how it all made me feel—like I was losing everything and everyone who mattered.I grabbed my phone off the dresser, staring at the screen for a long moment before unlocking it. My thumbs hovered ove