Jericho

Ch.21 That Night (UNEDITED)

The saddest thing about betrayal is that it never comes from your enemies - Unknown

"Do you miss them?" Dr. Sorenson asked, his circular glasses sitting on the edge of his nose.

"Huh?" Jericho flinched, grey eyes finally leaving the ring on his thumb, as he glanced at the doctor. "I'm sorry, I spaced out for second."

"It's alright Jericho." Dr.Sorenson chuckled. "I asked if you miss your family."

"I do." He did. Despite everyone in his family having their own busy lives, they still met up every Sunday for dinner. This Sunday was different though and Jericho looked minutes away from miserable.

"You know you have the option to call them or ask them to visit. We're not restricting you here." The doctor said, afterwards drinking some of his coffee, as he watched Jericho over the rim of his mug.

Jericho nodded. "I just ... I want to focus on getting better and my family adds a lot of stress, which I don't need at the moment."

"What type of stress? Emotional stress, career stress or just stress in general?"

Jericho thought about it for a minute, his sliver eyes downcast. "Mostly Emotional stress."

Dr. Sorenson nodded, understanding what Jericho meant. "Can you clarify?"

Jericho leaned back in the lounging chair, his long legs crossed and stretched out in front of him. Taking a deep breath Jericho began to recall his home life. "My father Linus is constantly hounding me and my sister, whether it be our personal lives or our business lives. Everything we do is never enough, even more so since ... since Tori's death."

"Why would you say since Tori's death? Why do you think your father's behavior intensified after her death?"

Unexpectedly Jericho's lips lifted up into a smile, but his eyes portrayed everything other than happiness. "I ruined Cooper's life. I made sure that my business partner Kiana Sinclair would put him behind bars for the rest of his life, which she managed. He murdered my girlfriend and he deserves hell and back." Jericho chuckled coldly, his normal charming demeanor changing completely. "My father had always favored Cooper over me and Alyssa. So when my father found out who was representing Tori's case he was furious, knowing that Cooper stood no chance. He eventually came to terms that his favorite son would never see daylight again, and  that's when his behavior intensified. He tries controlling me and Alyssa to make up for what Cooper did. We can be nothing less than perfection after Cooper's imprisonment. My father doesn't care about anything else than the Maverick family name."

Dr.Sorenson listened carefully, he was treading on dangerous territory. But he needed to continue, press further. Jericho had been in Switzerland almost three weeks and he was finally opening up. "Your brother Cooper, do you still harbor resentment towards him? Do you think the lengths you went to put him behind bars had to a little with how you two grew up?"

Jericho's eyes were glossy, as he stared straight ahead, falling back into the past. "Cooper deserves hell for what he did. He's my brother, but he's a murderer and deserves the poor prison life. If you're implying that I sought a harsher outcome for his trial, than your wrong. I never cared that my father favored him over me. Cooper and I had a good relationship, but when it came to Tori, family was forgotten. Cooper had been Tori's best friend and their relationship often brought waves up in my and Tori's relationship as well as my and Cooper's relationship. Maybe because of that I strived for a harsher outcome for him, but he wouldn't be the first murderer to serve the rest of his life behind bars."

"Are you satisfied with the time that Cooper received?"

Jericho didn't have to think about his reply. "Yes. He got what he deserved."