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

Act normal. What with everything going on, Jess didn't even know what was normal any more. [color=teal]"Thanks. I'll... I'll make sure she doesn't suspect anything,"[/color] she replied, although this was less than likely to convince Roxy. She couldn't even convince herself. How many more sources of stress would she end up heaping on the anchor?

She sat back down, still trying to figure out what to type. She was no good at hiding things, even from strangers, going by the reactions of customers and the till person in the cafe. How on earth was she going to hide this from family? 

By starting small, she decided, tapping the keys. If she couldn't put up a convincing act face to face yet, maybe she could do so over emails. She read over the message she'd decided on, simply asking her mother when she was next free, making sure it seemed cheerful and casual enough. Then, trying to ignore the squirming in her stomach, she pressed the button.

There. She'd sent it. She couldn't really have sent any other message. In between now and when she next saw her mom, she'd have to learn to put up a better facade if she was to keep the three of them safe. Which would take time, but if she'd made excuses not to meet after such a long absence, her mother would have gotten suspicious - not of criminal activity, but of Roxy. Which wouldn't have helped the situation for any of them.