I have finally finished...

I love this book, The Pact, and I have finally finished it. I was dying to know the ending, but at the same time I never wanted it to end. Well I guess that makes it a really good book.

As Chris' trial for murder continues both sides give very convincing arguments. At the last minute Chris decides to take the stand and tell the courtroom the truth about everything that happened that night when Emily died. Chris' lawyer is furious because it's so easy for chris to now put himself in jail for the rest of his life, and this is horrible for the lawyers reputation. Chris sits at the front of the court and tells the room every detail about the whole story from start to finish, by the end he is crying. Then the jury goes to deliberate, they take all night. the verdict will be delivered the next morning. That night Chris spends in jail and realizes how mad he is at Emily. He feels like she made this choice to kill herself without ever thinking about him. About how her would go through life without her or how he would end up spending seven months in jail. Chris says that in every decision he made he put Emily before himself and absolutely loves her with everything he has. He's begining to think that maybe she didn't feel the same because in the biggest choice of her life, she never considered him. I wonder if he finally got it right.

Everyone in the courtroom stands as the verdict is about to be read. Two clear words ring throught the room, Not Guilty. Chris faints.

The decision was so unexpected, even from myself, and shouting immediately erupts. I was on Chris' side the whole time because I was able to see into his thoughts and I knew he was never guilty for murder. In his testimony he technically did pull the trigger because Emily asked him too. She wasn't strong enough (emotionally) she said. Of course Chris always put her first and shaking and crying did her one last final favor.Because he had pulled the trigger should he have gone to jail? I say no, but is there really a perfect answer?

The Pact continued :)

I am about two thirds of the way through in the book The Pact by Jodi Picolt. The last entry I left off by explaining the two families closeness and how this unexpected event of Chris and Emily’s supposed suicide pact was the one thing no one ever expected. Now as legal dealings and court dates are being fought over Chris was sentenced to wait in jail until his hearing.

            A few more stories have been added to this book, one being Emily’s. When Emily and Chris were about nine or ten, Chris dared Emily to go into the men’s bathroom. Emily was molested by an older man and has kept this as a hidden secret from everyone. This story is eating her up inside and she feels like no one will help her. Also Emily was pregnant when she killed herself and she knew about it. They found that she had made many trips to Planned Parenthood and never told Chris about it. Emily’s mom found a diary that Emily had been keeping, and in it she mentioned the pregnancy saying she knew if she told Chris he would have married her. Emily’s mom burned the diary.

             The Harte’s and the Gold’s are both going through marital issues. James, Chris’s father, won’t ever mention Chris and Gus is upset about it. Gus goes to see Chris one or two times a week and James never does. Also Melanie and Michael almost barely speak to each other. Melanie wants to see Chris go to prison for the rest of his life, but Michael sees Chris as all he has left and regularly visits Chris in jail behind Melanie’s back.

While in jail Chris surprisingly makes a friends with a man who is in jail for shaking a baby to death. They watch each other’s backs and share a cell. Hector is sort of like the jail’s bully. He tests Chris to see if he is a rat by planting a cigarette in Chris’s shoe before an inspection. Chris passes by not ratting on either Hector or his cellmate. Hector starts picking on Chris’s friend and pushes Chris. Chris snaps and almost chokes Hector to death. Hector said that Chris would pay for that. Chris is put into an isolation cell and gets out on Christmas.

            Christmas and Chanukah come around and Gus and Michael happen to both visit Chris at the same time. The start up secret meetings to talk about things they can’t talk to their own spouses about. Gus and James have been so busy lately that there younger daughter Kate on Christmas decorated their fake palm tree decoration and bought her parents gifts. James and Gus were so shocked, and then they realized they had forgotten Christmas altogether, including gifts. Kate was upset, not about the gifts but that her parents were neglecting her and she is forgotten. For the Gold’s it was Chanukah and both Melanie and Michael go to Emily’s grave but separately. Michael sees that Melanie left out all presents for Emily on her grave. Everyone involved has open wounds, and none of people affected will ever begin to heal until the verdict for Chris is given.