I lay dying and I'm pouring crimson regret and betrayal...
"Jessie?"
The girl jumped slightly and snapped out of her trance at the mention of her name. It was only after turning around to face the source of the voice that she realized it belonged to her father.
She forced a smile onto her face, but it didn't quite reach her eyes.
"What is it dad?"
Race studied his daughter carefully-He had noticed over the past couple of weeks that she seemed a little off, but he was wary to actually acknowledge that anything was wrong. By now, he would have to be blind not to notice. Her skin was sallow; her hair, dull. Dark circles under her eyes belied her exhaustion. Perhaps most disturbing of all, however-was her weight. Jessie had always been rather slender, but in the past week, her weight had dropped significantly...She appeared almost skeletal.
Jessie arched an eyebrow at him and her expression turned to that of concern.
"What?"
Race gestured for her to move over, and she did so obligingly. He sat down and Jessie lay her head on his shoulder. Her father began to speak.
"Jessica, I've noticed that you've been acting strange lately...Is something the matter?"
There was a pause, then again that smile.
"No...Everything's fine, dad."
He didn't believe her, but questioning the honesty of her answer would more than likely insult her. The best course of action was to just let it drop.
"All right, Ponchita. You know where to go if you ever need to talk."
She looked down at her lap and spoke quietly.
"Thanks, Dad."
He stood up.
"Well-I've got to go to town and pick up a few things. Everybody else is asleep. Well, besides Doctor Quest, of course...He's in the lab. Why don't you go out and see if he needs help with anything?"
"I will in a little bit; I don't feel much like doing anything at the moment."
Race began to walk out of the room, then paused briefly at the doorway.
"Actually, why don't you try and get some sleep? You look like you could use some."
"OK, I'll try. I'll see you later, Dad-Love you!"
"I love you too, Jessie."
He left the room, and Jessie reassumed the position she'd been in prior to their conversation in yet another futile attempt to get some reading done.