𝐎𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐎𝐂𝐊𝐒 | Jake Peralta

eight.

E I G H T

"a mad house"

—

Jake's POV

IT TOOK HIM ONE SECOND. One single second to realize what Sarah meant. They had not even sat at the table when her mother was already throwing a million of questions to Jake and her, questions that wouldn't make Jake uncomfortable if the woman didn't use that tone, or if Anthony wasn't looking at him like he was some outcast weirdo. Maybe he looked like one, but it made it clear that Sarah's parents were, like she'd said, close-minded people. 

"Tell me, Jake, what is your job?" asked Elisa, looking at Jake from bottom to top. She had pronounced his name with certain sickened air. 

Jake opened his mouth to answer, but Sarah clerad her throat. "Why do we  not start introducing yourself, mother? Or even making Jake feel home? That would be a better idea," she put her hand on Jake's shoulder, like he had done outside, and he looked at her hand with a warm smile. "You can leave your coat there," Sarah pointed to a rack.

"I think Lewis was better," her father whispered. As much as it hurt Jake he pretended not to have heard it, he had his back to them as he hung his coat on the rack.

"Dad!" Sarah hissed. 

"Let's just start eating," Elisa said tiredly. She lead Jake and Sarah to the dinner room, quite a big place in comparison to Jake mother's dinner room. Two people sat at the table, a man and a woman, that, judging by the way they were talking and touching each other, were a couple. The woman looked somewhat like Sarah, Jake supposed that it was her sister, and the man had brown hair and hazel eyes, dressing in a suit. 

If Jake remembered well, the names of the couple were Hanna and Billy.

"They are Harper and Ben," Sarah said. So, apparently Jake did not remember well. "Harper, Ben, he is Jake."

Harper smirked at Jake, the first smile he'd received since he'd gotten there, but Ben seemed to be like Sarah's parents, and only stared at Jake. Harper elbowed him and he finally shook Jake's hand too. 

Ignoring the awkward silence, Jake pulled a chair for Sarah and he sat next to her. Sarah's parents were at each end of the table, both judging Jake with their eyes, he could tell that every time they exchanged looks it was because he had done something they didn't like, even if he was only blinking. But he didn't care, he knew Sarah needed support. 

They started eating, uncomfortable, the only one that looked midly happy was Ben. It appeared that he was enjoying the way Sarah's parents behaved towards Jake. 

"So, now that we are here at the table, may we ask, what is your job, Jacob?" Elisa asked Jake, who was startled by the mention of his name. 

"I'm a cop," he responded.

"I am," Anthony corrected him. He looked at Sarah. "Did you actually bring someone that uses contractions here?"

"Do not be so exaggerated," Sarah replicated, but Jake noticed that she herself surely didn't want to use contractions, since she spoke like she was carefully choosing the words. 

Elisa rolled her eyes and sighed, faking a smile at Jake. "So you are a cop. Interesting. Sarah, did we not tell you we hated cops?"

"I became one," Sarah said firmly, though she looked incredulous, and so was Jake.

"Yes, but we do not have a choice with you, we do have a choice with him," Elisa pointed at Jake with her fork, and he frowned. 

"We are not dating," Sarah replied, it was clear she was getting mad. Jake gulped. Well, that escalated fast. "Why do you always have to criticize literally everything I do?"