Nish/Jocelyn
Nish had decided to go on her own, despite her earlier argument with Jocelyn. She'd cooled down somewhat from the encounter, and with the pending visit of her brother she had other things to worry about.
She hadn't actually physically seen him since she moved to California, so part of her was nervous about reconnecting, but there was also his doubts about her sobriety, mirroring her own. He was right - people don't just stop being an addict overnight. Texting with him had slapped her in the face with that, despite the fact that she seemed to have beaten the odds and made it through the 19th sober this year. But nagging her in the back of her mind was the fear that it was only temporary, and that when she finally crashed again, it would be much, much worse.
These thoughts were flitting through her mind as she lay back on a lounge chair, wearing her bathing suit and a sheer coverup, despite the lack of sunlight making it through the clouds. The fact that they were having a pool party on a cloudy day was darkly humourous to her, and rather appropriate to her mood. She took a sip of her tall glass of punch and set it on a nearby table, settling back on the chair and closing her eyes to the world.