[h2]Esme[/h2]
As Esme laid on the bed, she focused on nothing but her breathing, tuning all other sounds out. She even missed Dean calling her from the bathroom. Esme wished it was raining so she could focus on the sounds of the water hitting the roof of the house, as well as the sounds of thunder. But since it wasn't, she had to focus on her breathing or her heartbeat. It wasn't until Dean came out of the bathroom that she felt his presence and turned her focus to him, but she didn't open her eyes. She heard his sigh and knew he knew her talk with Duke hadn’t gone well. She shook her head softly to Dean’s words as she listened to him walk over to the bed and gently sat on the edge. She was unable to find her words just yet to tell him what happened in the garage with Duke. Dean’s hand touching her cheek and forehead nearly caused her to flinch. Reaching up, Esme took his hand, interlocking her fingers with his and then resting them on her chest. Finally opening her eyes, she looked at Dean, meeting his green gaze with her blue. 

“You were right,” she started softly, her tiredness and unwellness showing through her tone. “I should have left him alone. It completely backfired on me.” Esme closed her eyes with a sigh and squeezed his hand. “Duke got frustrated as we talked, and I now realize I channeled that frustration, which made everything worse. What started as a nice and calm conversation turned into me nearly biting his head off because I couldn’t control the frustration that took over.” she told Dean. Opening her eyes, Esme looked at the ceiling, squeezing Dean’s hand again. “I think what made it worse was that he lied to me. He looked straight into my face and lied to me.” She then brought her free hand up from her stomach, wiped it over her face, and shook her head softly. “I’ve never channeled someone's frustration like I did with Duke’s, not even my father's, and you’ve seen how he can get. And now….. I don’t feel that hot.” She fell silent as she looked at the ceiling, a soft sigh leaving her nose as the conversation echoed in her head. ‘He lies to me about me not being the reason he left, and then turns around and tells me he wants to be friends.’ she thought. 

‘If he wants to be friends. Why did he leave to get away from me? It doesn’t make any sense.’ Esme continued to think. She also couldn’t understand why she channeled Duke’s frustration so strongly. Maybe it was because her mind was tired from all the research she’d done to help Bobby’s other hunters. Or perhaps she wasn’t getting enough sleep when she thought she was. Whatever it was, channeling someone else's emotions so strongly could get tricky and put her in a position she couldn’t get out of easily. This ability was both a curse and a blessing at times. Esme just wished she had more control over it.