Invisible To Her Bully Chapter 31

Noah

The lunchroom was its usual madhouse — the kind of place where trays clattered, conversations bounced off the walls, and the smell of overcooked pizza and fries hung thick in the air.

I sat at our usual table with Jackson, Daniel, and a couple of the other guys from the team. Jackson was in full story mode, animatedly telling us about Friday night’s game plan, while Daniel sat there looking like he’d been chewing on nails all day. His jaw kept working, tight and angry, and he hadn’t said much since we sat down.

I didn’t have to ask why.

Everyone had been buzzing about what went down in the hallway this morning.

Jessa destroyed him in front of half the school — and honestly? It was kind of hilarious. Even I couldn’t deny it. The way she marched right up to him and put him in his place was… well, unexpected.

And yeah, I’d noticed her confidence. I always noticed her — not that I’d ever admit it out loud.

Jackson was mid-sentence when Daniel slammed his tray down so hard his drink tipped, spilling soda across the table. “Man, screw this,” he snapped, standing abruptly.

“Whoa.” Jackson raised a brow. “What’s your problem?”

“My problem?” Daniel barked out a laugh, but there was no humor in it. “My problem is your sister.” He jabbed a finger toward the far side of the cafeteria.

I followed his gaze, and sure enough, there was Jessa, sitting at a table with Mariah. She was quiet, her head ducked as Mariah talked animatedly beside her, trying to make her laugh. She wasn’t paying us any attention, but that didn’t seem to matter to Daniel.

“That pathetic nobody humiliated me this morning,” Daniel seethed. “And now everyone’s talking about me like I’m some kind of joke.”

I felt a twinge of guilt because, yeah, I’d laughed. Not openly — but enough.

Jackson leaned back, unimpressed. “Dude, you were acting like a jerk. She called you on it.”

“‘Acting like a jerk?’” Daniel sneered. “She’s nothing. A fat nobody who only gets talked to because of you, Jackson. Everyone just feels sorry for you for having to deal with a twin like her.”

The words hit like a sucker punch, even for me.

I saw Jessa stiffen across the room, her fork frozen halfway to her mouth. She’d heard him.

Her face went pale, and for a second, she looked like she might actually get sick.

Mariah whipped her head toward us, eyes blazing, clearly ready to storm over. But before she could, I was already on my feet.

“Watch it,” I snapped, my voice sharp enough to make Daniel blink. I didn’t even think — I just reacted.

Jackson shot up beside me, his jaw tight. “You don’t get to talk about my sister like that.”

Daniel scoffed. “Oh, please. You baby her too much already. Someone needs to say it. She’s been dragging you down since—”

“Daniel,” I cut him off, stepping forward so we were toe-to-toe. “Shut. Your. Mouth.”

The entire table went silent. Even the chatter around us in the lunchroom seemed to dim as people realized something was about to go down.

Daniel stared at me, shocked. “What, you’re defending her now? Since when do you care, Carter? You’re usually right there laughing with the rest of us.”

That stung more than I wanted to admit because there was truth in it.

I had laughed before. I’d teased her. Hell, I’d been part of the problem — and I knew it.

But hearing Daniel say it out loud like that made me sick.

“Yeah, I’ve said some stupid crap,” I said, my voice low and dangerous. “But there’s a line, and you just crossed it.”

Jackson stepped in closer, his shoulders squared, radiating the same protective energy he had on the field when someone went for one of his teammates. “You better walk that back, Daniel. Now.”

Across the room, Mariah had a hand clamped on Jessa’s arm, holding her in place, though I could see the tremble in her shoulders.

Jessa didn’t even try to get up. She just sat there, frozen, wide-eyed, like she couldn’t quite believe what she was seeing — me and Jackson standing side by side against Daniel.

Daniel’s gaze flicked between us, and for the first time, uncertainty flashed in his eyes.

“Whatever,” he muttered finally, throwing up his hands. “She’s not worth it.”

“Damn right she’s not,” Jackson growled. “And if you ever disrespect her like that again, you and I are going to have a serious problem.”

Daniel scoffed, grabbed his tray, and stalked off toward another table. The tension at ours didn’t break right away. It just… hung there.

I ran a hand through my hair, blowing out a breath.

Part of me wanted to look at Jessa, to make sure she was okay.

But when I finally glanced her way, she was already on her feet, grabbing her bag.

Her expression was unreadable — anger, hurt, maybe even confusion swirling in her eyes — before she turned sharply and walked out of the cafeteria without a word.

Mariah gave me this long, assessing look, like she was trying to figure me out. Then she hurried after Jessa, leaving me standing there, my chest tight.

Jackson exhaled hard beside me, shaking his head. “Man, what the hell was that?”

“Daniel’s a jackass,” I muttered.

“Yeah, but you —” Jackson stopped himself, narrowing his eyes. “You really went off on him. Didn’t think you cared that much.”

I shrugged, trying to play it cool even though my heart was still pounding.

“Just hate seeing someone get kicked while they’re down,” I said casually.

Jackson didn’t look convinced, but he didn’t press.

Good. Because I didn’t have an answer that made sense — not even to myself.

The truth was, I’d seen the way Jessa flinched when Daniel said those words.

And for the first time, it hit me just how much the teasing — my teasing — might have been cutting her open piece by piece.

I’d wanted to make her laugh. I’d wanted her to notice me, even if it was for the wrong reasons.

But now…

Now I wasn’t sure if I’d ever been anything more to her than just another name on the long list of people who hurt her.