[h2]Esme[/h2]
Esme had sat her coffee cup on the step beside her and zoned out, looking out over the yard. It was pretty peaceful here, even with Bobby tinkering with things in the garage. She wasn’t even aware that Duke had walked out the front door and was now on the porch with her. It wasn’t until he came and sat down on the steps that she noticed him because it caused her to jump slightly. When he said nothing, she returned to looking out across the yard. She thought it was a little weird he wasn’t talking. Since meeting him, he’s done nothing but talk. But apparently, the silence got too much for him because he asked her about what happened yesterday a few moments later. Esme softly sighed, tilting her head down to look at her lap. Then, let the hand holding the bag of peas fall so both rested in her lap. She closed her eyes, and her hair fell to cover her face. Did she really want to talk to Duke about it? She had planned to talk to Dean about this, but he wasn’t there at the moment. He was still inside, giving her some space. 

But he allowed Duke to come out with her, which surprised her after everything she had witnessed. “Do you really want to hear about it, or are you just trying to be nice?” she asked. Esme fell silent, thinking once again if she should tell him. She hardly knew him. It was also strange for her to hear someone she had just met say they would sit and listen to what was bothering her. But she did feel like she needed to get it out before it festered and turned into what it did last night again. Opening her left eye, Esme briefly looked over at Duke before lifting her head and looking back across the yard. “The day started like any other.” she started, deciding to talk about it. “Sassy and I got a call with information about demons running rampant in one town and a ghost problem in another. Since we were together, we took out the demons without much trouble. They weren’t too smart.” she told him. She paused to pick up her coffee, take a drink, and then set it back down. “After that, I told her to go home. I’d take care of the ghost….”

“It was only supposed to be one, according to what the guy told us.” Her grip on the peas in her lap tightened. “That one ghost turned into four. Two were easy enough to take care of. The third gave me a run for my money. He threw me around that decrepit house like a rag doll.” She paused again, taking a few deep breaths, her grip on the peas tightening again. “It took some trial and error to send him off finally. I thought I was done. I collected what I had dropped, then headed for my car…. I got in and called Sassy to let her know it was done, then that’s when all hell broke loose.” Esme closed her eye, seeing everything play out again and feeling her anger rise. “That last ghost possessed my car, locked me inside, and took me on a joyride I won’t soon forget. He dove my car into every object in that giant yard, every dip and every hole. Then drove straight into that damn house. I barely got out before it collapsed after I salted and burned his hat.” Esme released a heavy, irritated sigh through her nose as she dropped her head and shook it.

“I’m pretty sure the guy Sassy got the information from is out to get my family. There are so many that don’t like us…… If you were to ask me why. I couldn’t tell you. Maybe it’s the way we handle things, or maybe it's because of what happened to my mother.” Esme tensed up as she brought up her mother. She hoped Duke didn’t notice, but if he did, she hoped he wouldn’t ask about her. That was one thing Esme couldn’t bring herself to talk about. She barely touched on it with Dean. “That guy needs to be found and have a bullet put right between his eyes.” she mumbled.