[center][color=teal][h2]Jessamyn "Jess" Bailey[/h2][/color][/center]

Jess had imagined, over and over for the past five years, what this moment would be like. She'd been worried she'd end up stuck with someone who pitied her, saw her as some helpless waif. At least this woman wasn't like that... but this situation was hardly much better.

[color=teal]"I..."[/color] And now here she was, freezing up like some rabbit in the headlights. [i]Pull yourself together![/i] she mentally yelled at herself. She recalled the taunts at school, while she'd grown increasingly desperate to find someone who could help her hold on to stability. Jess the mess, some people had called her. She couldn't come across that way now. Roxy didn't need that. 

And yet, mixed emotions coursed through her. Not that she was any stranger to those. At least most of it was her own this time, or so she assumed. Relief at her chance to get out of here, mixed with frustration and guilt at her dependency. She'd had plenty of time to make plans for her return to society, plans that sounded workable in theory. The reality was, though, resuming her life would mean taking away somebody else's.

[color=teal]"I'm Jess,"[/color] she said, trying to sound as together as possible. She attempted a smile, which turned out more of a grimace. [color=teal]"And there isn't much here... It's ok."[/color]

It wasn't ok. Things were anything but ok for either of them.