What started out like an other day, ended up as anything but. Charles Richard Avery was the average sort of man. He had a nice house, a wife, and four children. All of whom he loved with all his heart. Everyday was like the last, he would kiss his wife goodbye, and head out the door to arrive at the University of Ohio where he worked with enough time to chat for a bit with his fellow co-workers. Life was perfect, the routine was the same, but he didn’t mind that much. Until one day, when Charles was sipping the strongest tasting black coffee offered from the University’s most popular coffee shop, sitting and watching the students make their way to class from his perch on a park bench under the shade of an old oak tree, he received an unexpected call. He almost didn’t hear his phone ring, as the sound of the ringtone was drowned out by the chatter of the students.
The confusion was apparent on his face, not recognizing the number, the words “UNIDENTIFIED NUMBER” flashing across his phone’s screen. He decided there was no harm in answering the call, if it was someone with a wrong number at least Charles could tell them that they had the wrong number, and they wouldn’t call again.
“Hello?” Charles asked, and he heard the other person give a exhale in relief. Both ends of the phone sat in silence until Charles heard a voice he never thought he’d heard again
“Hello brother,” Charles didn’t know what to say, and had a strong compulsion to hang up right there and then, except he was curious to know why in the world his brother would be calling. But, even with that curiosity, Charles still didn’t want to talk. “I know you don’t wish to speak with me, believe me I know. But, could you just hear me out.”
Charles responded with a clipped “Fine.”
“Ok, well,”
“Just spit it out!”
“Ok, ok. Ummmm, well, here it is. I need you to break me out.”
“WHAT!” Charles didn’t know what to say. His brother, a man he hadn’t, and didn’t, wanted to talk to in years. Not since college. Not that it wasn’t hard not to talk to his brother, he had been arrested not long after their college years. Charles has always loved his younger brother when they were children. When Justin was born Charles was so excited to be a big brother, but Justin always felt jealous of Charles’s smarts and charming personality. Justin was the opposite of Charles, an unpopular dropout. Throughout the boy’s life Justin was constantly putting Charles down, while Charles tried to have a relationship with Justin. Their parents were a good buffer between the boys, but when their parents died when the boys were in college, the buffer died with them. It didn’t help that Justin blamed Charles for their parents death, thus killing the relationship between the brothers.
The silence continued until Justin began to plead, “Please,” Charles could hear his brother’s desperation, “I really need your help. I found out who killed mom and dad, but I need to get out to prove it! It’s all set up, but I need someone to drive me after I get out. Then drop me off and never see me again. You’re the only one I can trust.” There was silence on the line. “Please,” he whispered.
“Tell me why I should help you,” questioned Charles.
Charles could hear Justin take a deep breath. “It wouldn’t be for me. It’s for mom and dad.”
“If you told me the information I could do it on my own.”
“No. First, you need my knowledge of the streets. You’re goody goodyness would stick out like a sore thumb. And second, the phones might be wired. This type of information needs to be in person.”
“Fine, but only if you’re sure about this info. It’s only for mom and dad.”
“Thanks Charles,” Justin said and hung up. Charles lowered his cell phone from his face, and dropped his hand in his lap. This wasn’t going to be like any other day.

Now Charles wasn’t stupid, he’d watched a few of the police officer shows with his wife, they were her favorite. He knew that he needed a car to pick his brother up with that wasn’t able to be traced back to him. That meant not his everyday car, nor his wife’s, plus he didn’t want to have to explain why he needed her car in the middle of the night. He was already worried about what he would have to tell her about him being out all night anyway. So, to solve his dilemma, Charles visited a “friend” of Justin's, one Charles knew could help him out, leaving work an hour early to make sure she had plenty of time to get the car then pick his brother up. This “friend” was one the reasons why Charles had believed his brother was guilty. You didn't know people like Jared without being involved in certain“things”. Charles was never involved in any of these “things”, but he knew his brother had associated with people who did. Pulling up to Jared’s house, Charles could smell the rust and mold before even getting out of his car. Quickly shutting his car off before the smells could seep to deeply into his car.
Before stepping out of his car, Charles took a big swig of his black coffee he had bought after leaving work. Getting out, he ended up stepping right into a puddle of mud, his leather loafers squished and sunk into the mud, allowing for the cold, slimy substance to enter his shoe. And like his shoe, Charles’s attitude was slowly sinking. As fast as was possible, without getting even more mud in his shoe, Charles rushed to the door of a sun bleached, red trailer. Knocking, Charles took a large step back as the door flung open, revealing the image of a man in his mid thirties wearing a dirty gray tank and torn jeans. But the most surprising was the rifle pointed at his head.
After what was a very intense staring contest, and much shaking on Charles’s part, the rifle was lowered, and Jared asked, with a scowl, “What you doin’ here? I don’t have no library books.”
Charles wasn’t even sure what to say to that. Instead he responded with a “Good afternoon sir. I’m Justin’s brother, and I was wondering if you’d help me out.” His response was meet with silence, and Jared just looked at Charles. Analyzing.
“Sure, Justin was a good friend o’mine. What can I be doing for yah.”
“Ummm….well….I….no….umm Justin is, I think, breaking out of prison tonight, at least that’s what he said, and, well, I need a car,” Charles stood, mumbling and twisting his thumbs, not even sure how to ask.
“Well, to me, looks like you have a fine vehicle of your own right there,” Jared responded with a grin, knowing what Charles was asking, but wanting to make him work for it.
“No, I need a untraceable car,” Charles whispered.
“Oh,” Jared exclaimed, “You wants one of those. Just follow me ‘round back and I got just what you need.” Jared closed his door and walked around his trailer towards the woods behind the trailer. Charles wasn’t sure what to make of this character, and still a little shaken from the rifle, so he want along.

    After walking for about ten minutes, they came to a clearing. The clearing had some car parts stroun about, some half hidden in tall grass, but the most prominent thing in the clearing was the black minivan. The van looked like it had seen better days, it was missing it’s back bumper, and had a dent spanning the entire passenger side. But, it couldn’t be traced back to Charles, which was all he cared about.
    “This what you looking for?” asked Jared?
    “Perfect,” replied Charles, “Do I owe you anything? I got some cash on the way over.”
    “Nah, Justin’s a friend. Plus, I owed him a favor. Keys in the dash. Good luck,” and Jared turned and slowly walked back toward his house.
    Charles waited till he could no longer see Jared from between the trees, and then approached the minivan. When Charles put his hand on the driver’s side door and nothing happened, he opened it up. The smell wasn’t to bad, only the slight scent of mold. Sitting down in the driver’s seat, he leaned over and opened the dashboard, easily finding the keys in the empty compartment. He started up the engine, and drove the car out the clearing, down a dirt road in the opposite direction of Jared and his rifle. Time to go pickup Justin, only after getting another black coffee.

Charles called his wife on his way to the prison. He had just got done talking with his wife, telling her about how he had a sudden conference in the next town over. He had said it was super important he be there, and he was the only one form his department nominated to go.  He didn’t want her to worry, and had told her not to wait up for him. He wasn’t sure when his whole fiasco with his brother would be done, so he had told his wife it might take a few days, he wasn’t sure. Now he needed to find a map, because he had no clue which direction to go.

    It was dark and cold. Charles wished that he could just turn the minivan on to get some heat flowing, but he was waiting to drive the breakaway vehicle, and didn’t want to draw attention to himself. He had no clue what he was doing. He was the perfect son and husband, had never done anything illegal in his life. Just like Justin teased him all his life, he was a goody goody, not a rule breaker like his brother. In this moment, stuck in a cold and dark minivan, alone and scared, Charles hated his brother. Hated him for getting him into this situation. Hated him for making Charles lie to his wife about what he was doing. Hated him for not being a loving brother. Hated him for blaming their parents deaths on Charles. Charles hadn’t ever realised it, but, he hated his brother. Maybe.

    Jumping in and slamming the door, Justin sat in the passenger seat without looking at Charles. Neither brother made a sound.
Charles took a gulp of his black coffee, then turned to his brother and said, “Well, where to?” The first words of the night did nothing to help break the tension in the van.
“Jared,” Justin muttered back, not even looking up at his brother, rather he was looking out the window instead. Charles just nodded his consent, not that Justin noticed, and started on his way back to Jared’s. Good thing to, because Charles had no clue how he was going to get his car back any other way.

    They were only an hour away from Jared’s house, when Charles couldn’t take it anymore. All his emotions were just piling up inside and then he’d had enough!
    “Why, just why have you always tried to make my life a living HELL!” Silence. Slowly Justin lifted his head, a look of shock on his face. A combination of the words his brother said, and the fact that his calm, cool, and collected older brother had just lost it.
    “What?” asked Justin in total disbelief, “It’s you who’ve always had it out for me. You were always the perfect son ‘Oh why can’t you be more like your brother, Justin?’ Mom would always say. You were the one ruining MY LIFE!” Neither one knew what to say to that.
Both sat in silence until Charles responded with, “But you were the one who had it all. No pressure, friends. You were so cool.” So he didn’t have to look his brother in the face, Charles took a few large slurps of his black coffee.
“Why do you drink that nasty stuff?” Justin asked after Charles had put his cup back down.
Charles just stared at the road, eyes focused on the shapes in the darkness revealed by the headlights. After a few moments, he turned his head, his face illuminated by the dashboard lights. “It was the last drink I had with dad,” was his only response. He quickly turned his head back toward the road before Justin could get a good look at his expression. But there was no need for facial expressions, Charles’s tone had said it all.
“Don’t worry. I know what I’m doing. I’ll get the people who took them from us,” the only acknowledgement Justin had toward Charles’s words. Charles smiled, for once having total and complete faith in his brother. Charles realised that even though his brother may be a criminal, who Charles had just helped escape prison no less, he knew his brother would keep his word. It wasn’t much better than hate, but Charles thought that maybe, after this was over, he could try to rebuild his relationship with Justin. They were brothers after all.