Laura gasped when she saw Joe. He was still the same blond-headed, blue-eyed son she loved but he had changed so much. His carefree smile was gone only to be replaced by a look she could only describe as hard. He had turned eighteen years old today but he looked closer to his mid twenties and when his once twinkling blue eyes met hers, she saw they had dimmed to a dull gray. She wasn’t sure what she had expected to see when she looked into his eyes but it wasn’t the cold indifference she found.

Fenton caught his breath when he saw his little boy exit the prison. Joe had aged drastically and Fenton’s first thought was who was this stranger? This thought was chased away by an even more over-powering one: Did Joe hate him? Of course he does, Fenton answered his own question. How could he not? Fenton hated himself. This should never have happened. Joe looked into his eyes and Fenton felt overcome with despair.

Frank’s heart leapt into his throat when he saw Joe. His brother looked so old. Lost. But not for long, he vowed. He would make it up to Joe if it was the last thing he ever did. Joe looked into his eyes and Frank felt a part of himself die. NO! It’s not supposed to be like this! his mind screamed although the words never made it to his lips. Joe turned and walked away.

"No," Frank whispered, unable to let Joe just walk away.

"No!" he shouted, running to catch up with him. He came to a stop in front of Joe and grabbed his arms.

Joe looked into Frank’s eyes, his own emotionless as he just stared, saying nothing. "Joe, please?" begged Frank, his eyes wet with fresh tears. "We’re so sorry. I’m sorry. I should have believed you. I should never have even thought you would be capable of trying to kill someone."

Joe remained silent, his gaze never faltering. "Please, Joe. I tried. We tried. We looked for who framed you but we couldn’t find anyone. We searched everywhere." Frank paused, his hands continuing to hold Joe in place.

"I love you," Frank said, his voice growing softer. "Please give us another chance?" he ended, his hands falling down.

Joe heard Frank’s impassioned pleas; watched as he begged, but it wasn’t enough to melt the block of ice his heart had become ensconced in. Without acknowledging him, Joe sidestepped Frank and continued on his way.