[h2]Esme[/h2]
As Esme walked past the boys, she gave a nod to Duke, even if he was looking at his feet when he spoke. “Good,” she said softly to him. She quickly walked away from the range, wincing as her sore muscles protested. She shook her head when Dean called to her but said nothing to him. She was done, and she had said her peace. Now it was time for them to work out their crap without her there to listen in. She knew there was a possibility it could end in a fistfight, but she hoped it wouldn’t. She just couldn't stand to be around either of them with that much built-up tension between them. It was exhausting trying to push through it all. By the time Esme reached the porch steps, she was utterly winded. She stood at the steps momentarily to catch her breath, not looking back to check on the guys, slightly worried about what she might see if she did. Once she collected herself, she ascended the steps, walked to the door, opened it, and walked inside. She then went to the stairs where her weapon duffle was and placed her small bag on top.

Esme knelt by the duffle and unzipped a small pocket on the side. Pulling out a bottle of aspirin, she opened it and dumped a couple in her hand. Replacing the cap, she put the bottle back into the pocket and zipped it back up. Standing, Esme headed to the kitchen. Once there, she pulled a glass from the cupboard, went to the sink, and filled it with water. While standing at the sink, she took the aspirin, downed the whole glass of water, rinsed the glass, and put it in the dish strainer. Esme turned her back to the sink and leaned against it, trying to decide what she should do. What on the boys to come back in? Take a nap? Or maybe see how Bobby was doing in the garage? She knew what she wanted to do but was far too sore even to attempt it. She’d have to wait till most of the pain subsided and she didn’t feel so stiff. As she rolled things around in her head, Esme walked to the living room, combing her fingers through her hair and bringing it all to rest on her right shoulder. She quickly braided it and tied it off with an elastic band pulled from her pants pocket. 

Esme had decided to do none of the above. She walked over to the couch, pulled her phone out of her back pocket, and sat down.  She still needed to update Sassy on everything that happened and let her know how she was doing. Going through her phone, she found Sassy’s number and dialed it. As it rang, she heard the front door open and close. “That went quicker than I thought it would.” she thought. Just as Sassy picked up her phone, Esme had concluded that Duke had just come in, only because the footsteps didn’t sound like Dean’s. “Hey, Sassy.” she answered the woman on the other end. “Yes, I know. I’m sorry I worried you.” Esme rested her elbow on her knee and then rested her head on her hand. “Things didn’t quite go as planned yesterday after I dropped you off at your car….. Yes, I’m alright, just a little bruised, sore, and pissed off.” As she spoke, she heard Duke come in but kept her mind on the phone call. “Yeah, that one ghost turned out to be four…. Yeah…. The woman and child were easy. It was the other two that took some effort.”

“They both gave me a run for my money….. Uh-huh…. It was his bowler hat that kept him bound to that house. His brother possessed my car and took me for a joy ride. God, I am glad Daddy can’t see what the car looks like. He’d have a hissy fit. I’m also glad he can’t see what I look like. I’m sure he’d panic.” she told the other woman. “It was an old bowler hat of his….. Yep….. I had salted and burned other objects before I found it. Then, the house started to break apart, and I almost didn’t make it out because my car wouldn’t start….. Yeah….. Once she started, I slammed her in reverse. The bumper just barely cleared the house before it collapsed.” she explained. A small, soft smile then came to her lips. “Yes, Sassy. I’m fine….. I’m at Bobby’s…… Yes, with Dean too…… Yes, his brother Duke is also here…… “Yes, Sassy. I’ve been patched up, and they’ve all been making sure I’m taking it easy. Even Duke, after how rude I was to him last night…. Yeah, I lost my temper and took it out on Dean and Duke…. Yes, I did.” 

Esme fell silent, nodding as she kept the phone to her ear. She sighed heavily, closing her eyes. “I know that….. No…….. I don’t know.” she answered after a moment, her tone sounding down. She went silent as Sassy gave her a long speech. She had heard it so many times that she could recite it word for word if she were asked to. “I know, Sassy. I love you too…. No, I haven’t called or texted him yet….. I know I need to, and I plan to. I just want to heal up a bit first…… Sure, if you want….. Okay, talk to you later.” Esme ended the call, placed her phone on the couch cushion next to her, and sighed heavily before leaning back onto the couch and staring at the ceiling, resting her hands on her stomach. It could be so exhausting talking to Sassy sometimes, and this was one of those times. After a moment, she carefully shifted so she was sitting sideways on the couch, folded her arms on the back of the couch, and rested her chin on her arms, looking at Duke. “Did you two get anything worked out after I left you out there?” she asked with a raised eyebrow. 

She genuinely wanted to know if they had or not. Esme also hoped he would be truthful with her, even though she didn’t expect much of an answer since he hardly knew her. She also wasn’t going to ask what caused their tension. That wasn’t any of her business. She just wanted them to work some of it out before a whopper of a fight broke out between them, which was something she didn’t want to witness or try to break up. She was also sure she wouldn’t be able to handle the rage that would be radiating off them during the fight. “If you don’t want to say anything about it, it’s fine. It’s really none of my business anyway.” she added.