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

[color=teal]"Well... An activity, in any case,"[/color] Jess replied. She swept her glance over the cool blue of the water, deceptively tranquil in a fraught environment. The pool looked like those in hotels, grand and inviting, but she doubted anything under this roof would feel much like leisure for either of them. Still, maybe it was the only thing close to a way to unwind, if Roxy's emotions were anything to go by. [color=teal]"An outlet."[/color]

At the mention of heading back, Jess bit her lip. [color=teal]"I guess we'd better get this done with,"[/color] she murmured, trailing after Roxy. Tension knotted through her, around her, until she felt like a fly in a spider's web - and it wasn't just her own feeling. Through the growing stress, a stab of guilt spiked. Jess flinched. What had brought that on? Had Roxy dismissed an unpleasant thought, or was she still convinced all this was her fault?

[color=teal]"Please try not to blame yourself,"[/color] Jess whispered, so low nobody else would hear. [color=teal]"We'll find a way to get through this."[/color] What that way was, though, she had no idea.