[h2]Esme Stirling[/h2]

Esme continued to look out the window with her head rested on her arm as they made their way down the highway, waiting on Cason to answer her question. As soon as he started talking, she glanced up and looked at his reflection in her window. When Cason finished explaining and shot a glance her way, she gave a soft and silent sigh as she closed her eyes briefly. She knew he was truly being honest with her. She could feel it and it put her a little at ease despite the situation they were driving towards. Esme found a little comfort in knowing that he could be honest with her, especially when she asked him to be. Plus, her being an Empath, she would know if he was being untruthful, it’s hard to lie to an Empath. Taking her eyes off his reflection, she looked back at the scenery passing by out the window. Adjusting her arm and head, she put her free hand on her forehead and rubbed it as it began to ache, then rubbed one of her temples. A common side effect when she wasn’t in a good place mentally. 

Esme had closed her eyes at the same time Cason took his deep breath before speaking again. She listened to his words and couldn’t help but his the slightest of smiles as he confessed he had finally noticed she had been fighting with something mentally since they met. She softly shook her head, to say there wasn’t a need to apologize. “I guess you somewhat see why I act the way I do to certain things.” she whispered. She gave a shuddered, heavy sigh as she opened her eyes and swallowed hard. She dropped her hand from her head and into her lap, then buried her face in her arm for a moment before looking out the front window. “No one knows what I struggle with daily, not even Dean.” As she spoke, she barely sounded coherent, as if she had drifted off into her own world to keep from thinking about it. “Thank you, though.” A shiver overtook her as a partial memory flashed before her eyes before she could stop it, causing her to sigh again. 

After somewhat regaining herself, adjusting her position, she reached over the seat and into the back seat and opened the cooler she kept back there. Esme pulled out a couple of bottles of water before closing it, then grabbed the black faded leather jacket that was draped over the seat. Turning back around, she made herself comfortable, then draped the jacket over her lap with care before setting the waters on the seat between them. She then reached for the glove box and opened it, pulled out a bottle of painkillers, then opened it and dumped two into her hand before closing it and putting the bottle back into the glove box and shutting it. Popping the pills into her mouth, she grabbed one bottle of water, opened it, and took a to wash the pills down. After putting the cap back on, she set it in the seat next to her, then took the jacket and folded it into a makeshift pillow with care. 

Sinking down into the seat, she placed the jacket against the window and laid her head on it, then crossed her arms over the chest Esme nuzzled her face against the jacket before looking out the front window and took in the scent on the jacket, the scents on the jacket almost instantly making her body relax and her mind calm. The jacket almost severed as a security blanket and it held a special place in her heart, which was clear to see. The more she took in deep breaths and the scents of the jacket, the more her body relaxed and the calmer her mind became. Eventually, the jacket relaxed her so much; it caused her to doze off into a peaceful, dreamless sleep.