Guilty by Association [Jacob Barber x reader]

Seven.

Seven.

There they were again, falling asleep in strange places. Esther had pulled her shirt back down since but had kept laying on Jacob's lap, who leaned back in the beanbag chair, drool dripping down his chin.

Andy almost didn't have the heart to wake them up the next morning but nudged Jacob anyways. "Hey, bud, you guys gonna try again today?" He asked his still half-asleep son, who wiped the crusted-on dribble off of his chin, hardly listening.

"What?" He asked, barely even aware of his surroundings yet. Surprisingly, that was the first night he'd slept well (or at all) since... He had been trying not to think about it, which was difficult since he still had to figure out what to do with the knife.

"Are you gonna try and make it through school again?" Andy once again inquired, leaning down so only Jacob could hear him.

Jacob still wasn't quite conscious when he automatically agreed. "Yeah, yeah. Sure. Yeah."

Andy sighed, standing up. "That's a relief. Just hoping she feels better soon. Figured maybe school could be a good distraction. Plus, the questioning... It's best if she's there, it's the last day we're allowed to question anyone, and nobody's been, well, helpful. You know?"

Jacob shook his head, his head becoming clear and the realization of what he'd just agreed to sinking in. He inwardly chided himself. "Yeah. We're gonna get ready." Jacob looked toward the door expectantly as Andy let himself out, shutting the door behind him.

Jacob sighed as he shook Esther, who was still laying her head on his lap. She slowly came to her senses, not as heavy a sleeper as Jacob was known to be. She inhaled loudly as she sat up, stretching carefully, minding her back as she did so. "Morning," She said, leaning over and kissing Jake on the cheek.

"Morning," Jacob said, a weak smile forming on his face as he watched Esther make her way around the room again, preparing herself for yet another day of school. He noticed the rings under her eyes, the bags carrying the weight of another restless night. He sighed and looked away, beginning to get himself ready, too.

***

Esther sat in the almost empty room, facing the man who literally sat across from her for breakfast that same morning, in an entirely different setting. "Hi, Andy." Esther greeted, a smile creeping onto her face as she started to think about how weird it was to see him during his work. Being a part of his work. She dropped her smile. The reason he was working right now.

Andy briefly looked at his coworker awkwardly as he corrected her. "Mr. Barber," he said. "We're in a, uh, professional setting."

His coworker raised an eyebrow, concerned for a moment. Andy cleared his throat. "She's my son's girlfriend." He clarified.

"He's not my boyfriend, An- Mr. Barber," she shifted uncomfortably in her seat, accustomed to the lies she and Jacob had been telling his parents. "You know that."

"Laurie told me," Andy said plainly.

"Told you what?!" Esther felt all the blood rushing to her face.

"Jacob told her about you guys," he smiled a little. "We just haven't had time to talk about it yet."

Esther buried her face in her hands.

"We can have a talk about it at home, now the cat's out of the bag for everyone. Have the little chat Laurie and I have been meaning to give you two-"

"Andy!" Esther shouted, her face visibly flushed as she pulled her hands away and stared at him, mortified.

"Mr. Barber," Andy corrected, trying not to smile and failing.