Jessy ran towards Phil who took long, slow breaths as he examined the cuffs on his hands.
"Are you okay Phil?"
Phil smirked a little. "I think so, don't you worry. This is nothing. Though, I can't believe I'm being handcuffed a second time, in my bar of all places."
Jessy sighed in relief, but then looked at Alan who disappeared with Jake into the office. Then a smile crept on her face as she looked back at her brother.
"So... you love Lia, huh?"
Jessy's question brought a tiny blush to Phil's cheeks.
"Did I say that out loud?" he asked looking away.
"Loud and clear, I think the entire town heard you," Jessy grinned.
Phil groaned, and he let his long, dark bangs cover his eyes. He had the urge to fix his ponytail, but he was unable to do so with the handcuffs.
"Not a word to Lia though. She doesn't need to know."
"What? Why? Don't you think she deserves to know?" Jessy asked in disbelief.
"She deserves to be with whomever she chooses to be with," Phil's voice started to crack a little.
"Oh Phil..." Jessy got teary-eyed, and she hugged her brother.
Phil huffed. "Stop acting like this is a big deal. It's no big deal-"
"Of course, it is. I know you. You have never been the same since Jennifer's funeral..."
"I don't wanna talk about it," Phil said coldly.
"Okay," Jessy replied, still hugging her brother. She could feel Phil leaning his head a little bit on hers as if he was hugging her back.
She smiled and pulled away, knowing if she hugged him any longer, he will start to feel embarrassed.
The group was anxiously waiting around for Jake and Alan to appear back.
"What do you think are they discussing? Do you think Jake will convince Alan to help us without any backup?"
"I don't think even Jake can pull it off. Alan is not someone to break the law. I don't think he will win the bet."
"What bet?" Jessy asked as she sat on a chair right beside Phil.
"I bet with Jake that he cannot convince Alan to work alone with us, without telling anyone."
"You bet that? On what?" Jessy looked amused.
Another blush crept on his cheeks.
"We bet on it, who got to kiss Lia first."
Jessy's bottom jaw dropped. "What? You bet on something like that?"
Phil shrugged. "Doesn't matter, he won't be able to do that."
"Oh... okay. I guess you will win then," Jessy tried to stifle a laugh by looking away.
Half an hour passed and now Thomas started to pace back and forth. Everyone was too focused on the door, they even forgot about Poke who was now finishing the entire plate of food with all the leftovers.
"By the way, that was such a good show earlier. If it weren't for that very convincing argument, Alan would have been arresting us all without hesitating and agreeing to talk with Jake alone," Jessy patted Phil's shoulder.
"Who said we were pretending?" Phil looked serious.
"Uhm..." Jessy looked at Phil perplexed, and before she could say anything, the door of Phil's office opened, and Alan walked out, with a frown on his face, followed by Jake who had his hands in his hoodie's pockets.
Alan looked around, at each one of the group. Phil immediately looked at Jake, who was now locking eyes with him. He wasn't wearing a face mask. And for a reason.
Phil gritted through his teeth when he saw Jake smirking at him.