[h2]Esme[/h2]
 Esme saw Duke’s flinch when he turned towards him, making her think he wasn’t expecting her to say anything to him. She watched him, noticing the grass stuck to him, telling her there was a scuffle after she left him and Dean together outside. She watched Duke make his way over to Bobby’s desk and grab a chair, spinning it around before straddling it, then picking a piece of grass from his hair. When he finally answered her, she didn’t quite like his answer. It was too vague, but she could also feel and see how he was feeling. The tension in his shoulder muscles was hard to miss. She sighed silently when Duke said he was going out, which she felt held more than it sounded. “He may seem calm, but that doesn’t mean he is…. You also don’t have to leave, but I can understand why you feel you have to.” she replied.  Esme fell silent as she looked at the floor at Duke’s feet. She could feel how upset and frustrated he was over whatever had been said by Dean this morning. She wasn’t one to pry, but she wondered what Dean had said to Duke to stir such strong emotions. 

Esme’s eyes lifted from the floor when Duke finished his beer, threw it in the trash can, and then tapped his toes. She lowered her eyes as the room fell silent, getting lost in her thoughts on what was said and what she still needed to do until he nodded and picked a few more pieces of grass from his arm. Esme lifted her chin from her arms when he said he’d be back and suddenly stood without making eye contact with her. She watched him push the chair back to Bobby’s desk. Then, she saw him shudder and crack his neck. She had seen that before from her father, a sign of regret. As he walked toward the kitchen, Esme dropped her arms from the back of the couch and stood up so quickly that her braid almost popped her in the face. Which she instantly regretted. She gasped and groaned as pain shot through her body, doubling her over and causing her to almost fall back onto the couch. But she wanted to stop him. She couldn’t let him leave in this state of emotion. It didn’t matter that she didn’t know him that well. She felt it was partially her fault he felt like this. 

“Duke, wait.” Esme said in a pain-filled tone. She lifted her head to look at him, resting her hand on her knees. “I’m sorry…. I stuck my nose somewhere it didn’t belong.” she started. She took some breaths to work herself through the pain. “I just wanted to help, but it seems I just made things worse for you. I’m really sorry.” she told him in an apologetic tone. “You don’t have to leave, Duke…. If anyone should leave, it’s me. I’m the one that kicked this hornet's nest.” She dropped her head to look at the floor, noticing her body was shaking from the intense wave of pain that shot through it. Esme stepped back and sat back down on the couch with a hiss. “If you still want to leave, I can’t and won’t stop you, but I hate to see you leave this way. Especially when I’m part of the cause of it.” she told him, her voice still holding pain. She looked at the floor between her feet as she sat curled in on herself, unable to straighten up because of the ache in her body.

 Esme brought a hand up to the left side of her face and sighed softly, closing her eyes. She mentally kicked herself for stirring the pot of tension between Dean and Duke. That was never her intention. ‘I should have never pushed it. Surely not after how upset Dean was about Duke and me hugging. You need to learn to keep your nose out of people's business, Esme. You should have known things would go south with that much tension.’ she thought.