Dean stared at Esme, watching her process things as he spoke. He couldn’t help but notice how sad she seemed. It honestly broke his heart. But as he did with most displays of emotion, he froze. John, his dad, could be the same way, when he was alive. He regularly confiscated Dean’s phones, to throw away numbers of people that John viewed as a distraction. Hell, he had done so with Mika's number for a while, when Dean was still looking for answers.
“Come here. Hush and come here…”, he whispered, as she began talking about her parents. That was his breaking point: family. He knew about their case, but hadn’t looked into it too hard. It seemed like a typical circumstance that he had seen all too many times. But now, he felt a pang of guilt in his stomach. They hadn't had much, in way of romance or long-term connection, but he cared for her deeply. He pulled her into a tight hug, slipping back beyond the wall, his hand coming up to rest on the back of her head, ruffling her hair with his thumb a bit.
“You’re here now. Alright? You’re here now, with us. You don’t have to worry about that anymore…just relax. I got you...”, he whispered, kissing the top of her head before realizing he was standing within eyesight of the girls. He didn’t break the hug, although he knew Mika would have plenty of questions.
————
Annabeth continued walking down the stairs with Sam until they reached the outside. He spoke from experience, which gave her heart a small jolt of hope. He was the person the voices said he was. Maybe this was all for the better?
“Thank you, Sam…”, she whispered, sighing as their hands brushed each other, and calm washed over her again.
“I just wish I knew what my abilities were. What happened back there with Cason…I don’t even know what that was. I get so angry, and things happen. And it just started when I found out he’s a demon. We were together almost a half a year. He never told me…”, she spoke softly, her eyes filling up with tears again. She pushed them down, as not to lose her cool near Sam, and risk hurting him.
She also noticed Benjamin in the parking lot, and stared for a second before breaking her eyes back to the ground.