The Unknown

Therapy

"Shane, tell me how things were at home after your brother's death."

Marlena begins her first weekly session with Shane after his hearing conducted by the Ethics Committee.

"My mother cried all the time. She couldn't even look at me, I was just a painful reminder of what she'd lost. My father never left the office. He started working long hours, sometimes sixty-five or seventy hours a week. When he was home, he was a different person, basically a shell of a man."

"So how did you cope with the loss of your brother?"

"With my father's consent, at the age of sixteen I joined the Royal Navy as a mine warfare specialist, twelve days after my brother's funeral. I didn't want to be known at school as the kid who killed his brother. I needed to get away from everyone and everything I'd ever known. I volunteered for the most dangerous assignments I could find, once I joined. I honestly didn't care if I lived or died but in a cruel twist of fate, I became highly successful at completing the riskiest missions. I quickly rose through the ranks and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't manage to get myself killed. Suicide was never an option because it would bring shame on my father and I'd already hurt him enough by taking away his son."

"Don't you mean, one of his sons? Did you feel your father valued your brother's life more than your own?"

"No, I never felt my father played favourites but after the accident, I was clearly nothing but a disappointment to him. That's probably one of the reasons I rose so quickly through the ranks in the Service. I wanted to make him proud of me and I wanted to redeem myself."

"Let's talk about what happened with Julie at the park that night."

Shane exhales loudly, frowns, and rubs the back of his neck.

"What do you want to know?" The tension in his voice is unmistakable. 

"Tell me what you thought you would accomplish by detouring with Julie to the park."

"We've been over this one hundred times, Dr. Evans."

"Humor me."

"I wanted to ensure she would never get behind the wheel while intoxicated, ever again."

"Did you feel you somehow owed it to your brother to punish Julie?"

"No, I felt I owed it to Julie."

"Explain."

"What kind of a guardian would I be if I didn't try to shield her from a lifetime of regret?"

"Don't you think you could have sat down with Julie the next day and told her about what happened with your brother, instead of trying to beat the point into her with your belt?"

"I could have sat down with Julie and talked until I was blue in the face but it wouldn't have had the same effect. I needed to teach her a lesson she would never forget and believe me she will never forget that day."

"That's what I'm afraid of. Do you mind if I bring Julie in now to join us for the remainder of this session?"

"No, of course I don't mind."

Julie takes a seat next to Shane before Marlena continues the session.

"Julie, I want you to tell Shane how you felt after what took place in the dugout at the park."

Avoiding looking at Shane, Julie responds, "I was really scared of Shane. He was so angry and he really hurt me and he didn't seem to care that he did."

"Shane, how does it make you feel hearing Julie say that?"

"It's regrettable, understandable, and expected."