Emily was written in a pretty whiny tone and at first I thought she was definition of White Girl Problems, but as everything unraveled my heart ached for her and her struggles.
I would have much preferred a novel that delved into her character before the suicide pact and talked about her feelings more because the constant feelings centered on Chris drove me crazy. There are three times that I remember exactly where Emily tells him no during their intimate scenes and he handles it all wrong each time.
Fuck off asshole. Times and he just keep going. I have never wanted a character to drive off a cliff more than Chris. It still makes no sense to me. All it did was make me feel more sorry for Emily that she had to deal with that on top of all her other problems in life. If the author wanted me still feel for Chris she should have had him stop and be okay with it. All I could think about was that he was about two steps away from being like the man at McDonalds.
It would have been a much better story if that had never happened between Chris and Emily and I probably would have actually The Pact a lot more. And it would have made a lot more sense for it to have not happened because I thought Chris was supposed to be this perfect man but his actions continuously showed me otherwise. There were a million other problems I had with this book. The sex scenes were always awkward and many of them came out of nowhere.
The whole courtroom saga dragged on way too long and went into way too much detail. This book was a complete and utter mess.
Everything else besides Kate was a pile of crap. Save yourself the trouble and please never read this book. View all 13 comments. Sep 20, Barbara rated it liked it. The kids, Emily Gold and Chris Harte, grew up together, became a couple, and are now high school seniors preparing for college.
As the story opens Emily and Chris are on a date at a local carousel when a shot is fired. Cut to the hospital: Emily, shot in the head, is dead; Chris is disoriented with 70 stitches for a scalp laceration.
When the police arrive Chris says that he and Emily had a suicide pact but that he fainted and fell before he could shoot himself.
Before long Chris is arrested for murdering Emily. The book moves back and forth between the past and present, going all the way back to the time the Golds and Hartes first met as two young married couples. They soon became close friends, dining out together, vacationing together, confiding in each other, and so on. The two sets of parents were prosperous, happy, and well-adjusted and - before the tragedy - thrilled that Chris and Emily were sweethearts.
We also come to know a great deal about both Emily and Chris, and see how their bond developed. In the present, the Golds are devastated by Emily's death, bewildered by the notion that she was suicidal and they had no inkling.
Their daughter was a talented artist with applications on her desk to the finest art schools, including the Sorbonne. What would make her want to kill herself? When Chris is arrested the Golds at least have someone to blame. During the course of the story we see how each person in the Gold and Harte family deals with the tragedy, separately and together. We observe Chris as he waits in jail for his trial, a difficult and harrowing experience.
The last part of the book is a well-wrought courtroom drama, including a fierce rivalry between the zealous prosecutor and Chris's capable defense attorney. I know many readers gave this book rave reviews but for me it was just average.
For one thing I didn't buy the book's basic premise. Moreover, I couldn't accept that - once Chris knew Emily wanted to kill herself - he didn't get help. After all, he had plenty of time. I also thought the book was about twice as long as it needed to be.
It seemed to go on and on and I got impatient reading it. Gosh, I want to hate her for writing books like this Throughout the whole book, I was thinking about what rating to give it, because there were parts that blew my mind and others that were just very slow, yet significant for the storyline.
I even caught myself thinking: "Ha, she forgot to mention that" but then it happens on the last page. There aren't many books where I really sympathise or feel w Gosh, I want to hate her for writing books like this There aren't many books where I really sympathise or feel with the characters. For the time I'm reading the book, they are really part of my life and this is kind of frightening. The ending was really unexpected for me. Well, not the actual revelation, but how it turned out in the end.
Jodi Picoult never ceases to amaze me. Feb 28, K rated it really liked it Shelves: mysteriesthrillers. How did three of my friends end up reviewing this book on the same day, especially when at least two of them didn't read it that recently? Did I miss a review contest or something? Anyway, I couldn't resist adding my opinion to the pile. This was my first Jodi Picoult book, and as I read it, I was captivated. She chooses good topics, and her writing really pulls you in.
At the time, reading her can feel intellectually stimulating as her books raise interesting psychological questions. However, the How did three of my friends end up reviewing this book on the same day, especially when at least two of them didn't read it that recently?
However, there's something about Jodi Picoult's books that makes them fall short of actual literature, no matter how stimulating and readable they are in the moment. I've thought a lot about what that might be, and discussed the topic at length with my sibs. In "The Pact" in particular, reading other reviews especially the one in "The New York Times" helped me formulate my thoughts. Although "The Pact" touches on a variety of psychological issues, Jodi deals with them more superficially and appears to be concentrating her energy on the trial scenes, so that this reads more like a legal thriller than like a psychological study.
For example, the enmeshment of the two families, and its effect on Chris and Emily's relationship, was an interesting topic which had the potential to be dealt with more deeply. What's it like to be in a relationship that almost feels forced by the other person's constant proximity? What does it do to you when you're feeling ambivalent about the relationship but feel like you can't get out without hurting two whole families, much less your boyfriend himself?
I felt that Jodi paid lip service to this dilemma but could have addressed it in more depth. Additionally, as many people have pointed out, Emily's suicidality seemed a bit unfounded. It's true that the molestation incident was traumatic, but many people survive years of repeated molestation, sometimes by family members who are meant to keep them safe, and are less profoundly scarred. I wish Jodi had delved more deeply into Emily's character and made the road to suicidality more complex and therefore, believable.
And does it make sense that her attentive parents never suspected her suicidality, or tried to address it in any way? Did she never give them any signs? I'm reviewing this in retrospect about 10 years after I read it, so it's possible I'm not remembering certain details; however, I think my general sense of superficiality in this area is more or less accurate.
Lots of goodreads reviewers complain that Emily was weak and unlikeable, which to me attests to how undeveloped her character was. This would have been a better book had Jodi developed her more and made her stronger, even if the basic premise had been the same. I gave it four stars, and I still feel it was a better book than most three-star books, if for no other reason than its high level of readability and unputdownableness great word, huh?
I thought "My Sister's Keeper" was a little better, though still not great literature. I'd still read Jodi over a Harlequin any day, but unfortunately that's not saying a whole lot. View 1 comment. Apr 11, Donna rated it it was ok. This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I knew the premise of this book was teenage suicide but I still found it very disturbing.
As a mother I could not imagine anything more devasting then the loss of your child, by whatever means. Picoult's sequence of events was intersting - the timeline moved back and forth so that the reader was able to get a sense of how close both families were.
I was not able to relate to Emily's pain at all. Yes, she was sexually abused as a child in a fast food restaurant, but if she was as smart we are led I knew the premise of this book was teenage suicide but I still found it very disturbing. Yes, she was sexually abused as a child in a fast food restaurant, but if she was as smart we are led to believe, she should have sought some sort of therapy.
She carried this pain for years and never told her parents, friends, teachers or even Chris, her soul mate. I just wanted to shake her and tell her to get some help - look at all the good things you have in your life!!
Emily was a talented artist, loved by her parents, Chris, her friends and teachers. She had so much to live for and accomplish in her life. I found her character weak and was not sympathic to her struggles. I felt sorry for Emily and Chris' parents. They both lost a person they love and Chris' family was struggling through their son's imprisonment and trial. The teenagers families were once so close and now Emily's mother becomes bitter and vindictive and her father looks for comfort from Chris' mother.
Chris is left to deal with Emily's death. I don't agree with his actions at all - he should have informed her parents that their daughter was hurting and needed help. No matter how much he loved Emily he could have said NO to her - he would not help her kill herself. Chris must change in order to survive in prison and to live with his decision to help with the suicide.
He struggles to go on with his life and to find some belief to cling to. View all 7 comments. Dec 11, Suzzie rated it it was amazing. This was a devastatingly beautiful story. Very hard book to put down and will leave you experiencing a wide arrange of emotions. Instead it was like a love story with no true happily ever after. There is no way for a happily ever after in this book but trust me, it is acceptable to the reader.
Overall, a powerful read that will leave This was a devastatingly beautiful story. Overall, a powerful read that will leave you asking yourself questions about life, death, love, and suffering afterwards. Not a book for the faint of heart. Aug 23, Brad rated it liked it Recommends it for: Stephen, Marcicle. Shelves: doing-the-dishes , mystery. I think I danced around things pretty well, but you may want reconsider your decision to read further in case I messed up. I was so close to loving this novel and its author, and I really did want to love them, but the denouement really let me down.
In the two books I've read now, Jodi Picoult sets out to deliver a big twist that will knock us on our asses. But she telegraphs the big twist in a way that removes any possibility of surprise. This could be seen as a bad thing, a failure on her part, but she does such a magnificent job of building our suspense in anticipation of that moment, that guessing the moment ahead of time is almost part of the fun.
We know the shark's going to take the girl's leg off, the fun is in the expectation of when and how. The Pact: A Love Story sets up a suicide pact between a pair of young lovers, but only one of them takes a bullet and the other ends up on trial for murder. From the outset we know that Emily's suicide is far more complex than Chris lets on, and the "truth" that we are destined to hear is fairly easy to guess, but the telling is compelling.
Picoult prepares us for the big reveal by taking us through a decade of her main characters' lives, making us care for them, forcing us to empathize with them regardless of their actions. Picoult trusts that we will recognize their complex moral lives, the good and the bad in all of them, as something we all share whether we choose to believe it or not. All of this makes the revelation at the heart of The Pact highly satisfying.
By the time we discover what really happened on the night of the suicide, it has become impossible to judge those involved because we know too well what brought them to their actions. But therein lies the problem. We are close to these people because we have read their thoughts. We know things about each of them that they choose to hide from the people in their lives, truths that are never revealed to anyone in the story. We have seen their lives through their eyes, so we understand their pain, their motivations, their choices as though we are them.
But then Picoult allows her jury to make a decision that can only be made by someone reading her book -- not by a juror witnessing the most bizarre of all trials. What Picoult asks us to believe is one ask too far. The result of the trial simply cannot be, and I felt sucker punched by the ending. I wanted something more akin to reality, I guess, and I would have loved Picoult for delivering.
Instead, she gave me a Hollywood ending tacked on to a fine little piece of thought provocation, and I find myself continuing to withhold the love my mother so badly wanted me to feel for Picoult.
I like her, but somewhere along the line she's going to have to give me what I need for me to love her. Sep 08, Michelle rated it it was amazing. This is some court room drama that dragged me in so far I could hear my own heartbeat. Picoult the Queen of the morale dilemma had me on the edge of my seat as she always does. This is the story of a suicide pact, or was it?
Check content warnings if you need them as there's some heavy topics in this one. Nov 30, Lain rated it liked it. After you've read a few Jodi Picoult books, you come to expect certain things. A compelling, flashpoint topic teen suicide, stigmata, school shootings, sexual abuse, etc. Courtroom drama. Finely wrought family dynamics. A maverick lawyer, a quirky judge, and a lot of angst. Tons of plot twists and turns. All of the above were present in "The Pact," a story of the death of a teenage golden girl, with her longtime boyfriend accused of the murder -- After you've read a few Jodi Picoult books, you come to expect certain things.
All of the above were present in "The Pact," a story of the death of a teenage golden girl, with her longtime boyfriend accused of the murder -- which he claims was a double suicide gone awry. The defendant bobs and weaves as news of Emily's pregnancy comes to light, and plenty of red herrings are thrown into the mix. But still something was missing. I expected one more horrifying secret to be revealed at the end. I did not believe that Emily's reasons for killing herself were sufficiently grave.
And I couldn't believe that NO ONE -- not the police, not his parents, not the lawyer, no one -- asked Chris what really happened that night. Stilll, with Picoult's wonderful writing, this book is still worth reading. View all 12 comments. Jan 04, Susan rated it it was amazing. Emily and Chris have been best friends since they were born.
Their parents are next door neighbors too and best friends as well. That is until that fateful night when everyone's lives change, one even ends. Trust me, hang on tight! Be prepared not to do anything else until you finish reading this heart breaking story! Once you start you will not be able to put it down. The whole time I was reading I was screaming "Tell someone already! Do not keep it a secret! View all 4 comments. May 18, Emily rated it really liked it Shelves: lost-sleep-over-this , books-that-linger.
I bought this book merely because a girl in a bookstore approach me and asked me if I would like to buy her copy off her. She said she loved the book and she wanted money to buy another one of Jodi Picoult's books. I hadn't ever read anything of Picoult's before, I'd only heard that if you read My Sisters Keeper you should keep a box of tissues handy. I said yes, because hey its not every day that someone approaches me in a bookstore and I like a bit of spontaneity.
It took me a while to bother I bought this book merely because a girl in a bookstore approach me and asked me if I would like to buy her copy off her. It took me a while to bother starting this book you know how it is, exams, study, tv shows I fell in love with the book at the first page, and promptly fell in love with chris probably less than ten pages later.
I hated Emily throughout most of the book, mainly for everything she put Chris through. Although she wasn't as horrible as her Mother, who just generally makes everyone's lives more difficult. This book had a strong impact on me. I loved the ending, I loved the trial and I felt it had a lot of passion in general. This is the best of Picoult's that I have read. This didn't turn out so well as I soon learnt that Jodi has a formula and boy does she stick to it. To me, she has found something that works and she drives it home with each and every book.
Who could blame her? A little creativity would be nice now and then though. But I loved it I was frustrated with all the characters for different things Also her lack of communication with her husband Michael, and also burning Emily's photos. Also, you didnt hear much about her daughter Kate I felt she was very selfish. I feel like she was teasing Chris, and leading him to think she loved him the same way he loved her.
She loved him like a brother, but kept going along with doing more with him. She pretty much ruined his life, and was very selfish for wanting him to help her commit suicide, and not telling him she was pregnant.!!!????
I dont fully understand how he could have gone through with helping her commit suicide, and not tell someone I wonder if he did, if things would have ended up okay, or if she would have went ahead and done it alone?
I think Emily pressed Chris' finger and shot herself. She got the strength to do it because he was there with her. I don't think he would have done it otherwise. Neither one could do it by themselves.
Another Picoult book that has me whirling, and will need a couple of days before picking up another book. Definately a page turner. Oct 09, Sonya Simmons rated it it was amazing Recommends it for: Anyone. I picked up this book based on recommendations from friends.
Yet again, she did not disappoint. I don't know what to say about the book without sounding hokey I am always amazed at how deeply I feel I know Jodi's characters. Right now Chris is sticking in my mind and how often I just wanted to shake him and say "Tell someone!
Don't be a hero! Thinking you could handle anything that came your way on your own? The adults would just screw things up if they knew what was going on, right?
And the same for Emily "Just talk to someone, you'll feel better". I felt just as helpless reading the book as I did being a teenager. This is a well-written, gripping and thought-provoking novel. The Pact is an extremely emotional tale and it is impossible not to be moved by it. Jodi Picoult writes so well and so beautifully. The book alternates between the past, tracing the history of the two main characters, Chris and Emma's relationship, and the present, as Chris faces an uncertain future.
Due to the novel having multiple narrators, the reader gets to see all sides of the story and this adds to the intrigue of the plot. The This is a well-written, gripping and thought-provoking novel. There are so many twists and turns through-out the novel, that you are unable to predict the outcome until the end. All in all, The Pact is everything you want a novel to be. Five stars! View all 3 comments. Jul 11, Parvathy rated it really liked it Recommends it for: sentimental book lovers,jodi picoult fans.
Shelves: romeos-and-juliets , movie-material , young-adult , family-drama , favorites , mystery , please-pass-the-tissues. The Pact by Jodie Picoult is one of those rare books which made me feel so helpless that I started crying. There were parts were I wished I could just jump into the book and stop the characters from making all the wrong decisions.
The story was rich and has its own charisma which made me want to read it in the first place. Granted I knew what I was getting in to provided it was a Jodie Picoult book after all but I was not prepared for the onslaught of emotions which were headed my way. The story The Pact by Jodie Picoult is one of those rare books which made me feel so helpless that I started crying.
The story of Chris and Emily who very often compared to the two sides of the same coin, was very endearing. Thrown together from the very childhood itself they did everything together. So in time when there friendship turned into a romantic relationship none was surprised, after all that was the plan all along.
But things take a turn for the worst when Emily is killed at the age of 17 and all fingers point to Chris. But that's when Chris delivers a shocking confession that they both entered in to a pact to kill themselves and Emily is dead as a part of it. While Chris's parents are willing to accept this because explanation as having a child who is suicidal is much better than believing they have raised a murderer, Emily's parents much rather believe that their daughter is a victim rather than the alternative.
Thus put to test is the 18 year old friendship of their parents. As the story progresses the reader gets further insight in to the relationship Chris and Emily shares. The tough choices made by each of the characters and how it affects the others is a very interesting aspect of this book. The subplots were Chris's mom Gus finds a kindred soul in Emily's father Michael who believes in her son's innocence and his fight with his conscience when he tries to believe he is doing right by his daughter are arresting.
But the fact that was a little difficult to grasp was believing that Emily even though spending all the time with Chris was able to keep that much hidden away from him and Chris accepting Emily's decision without any explanation on her part. Emily was a highly unstable and selfish character who was as much as a mystery in her life as in death.
But the character I would never forget and will remain one of my favorite characters of all time is Chris. All through the book I kept wishing his life was different although Emily was the one who was in need of it. He handled all his predicaments with a maturity far beyond his age. The character of Melanie Emily's mom who was so willing to crucify a boy whom she came to love as much as her daughter rather than believing herself so incapable of understanding her own daughter is riveting.
In the end Pact is a love story in a sense but this is a love story like none other and will leave you with a sense of hope. Feb 09, Ms BookAholic rated it it was amazing Shelves: crime , tear-jerkers , romance-love , young-adult , heart-felt. By far my favorite book of Jodi Picoult's. But I came to realize after I was continuing to read and finished the book, that's what made the book so great.
I loved going back "Then" because it gave you the truth and a walk through their life and how they became to where they are " By far my favorite book of Jodi Picoult's. I loved going back "Then" because it gave you the truth and a walk through their life and how they became to where they are "Now".
I really enjoyed this book. I was so engrossed in it everytime I read it. I couldn't put it down and got very amped when I could read it! It was amazing how you could actually feel how the characters felt and understand their pain just through words.
I can't get into everything I'd like in this review without spoiling anything for other people. This is a must read book! For me her best book. Loved the way she split the story between the girl's side of view and the boy's and how even if she shows you in the end what really happened you still walk away unsure of who was right. Jan 24, Vanessa rated it really liked it. Great book about the struggles of being a teenager.
I read this with my youth book club. They loved it, but you know teens, they like the dark stuff. They really related to the content. I had about 8 students, 7 girls and one boy read this book with my co-sponsor and I. My co-sponsor finished the book first and when I finally finished it, I called h Great book about the struggles of being a teenager. My co-sponsor finished the book first and when I finally finished it, I called her right away.
We talked on the phone for about an hour and a half. It was a great book to read with young people, as it afforded them the opportunity to discuss their own issues in life. What is it about???
It is about two families, neighbors. The families are born around the same time allowing the mothers to become especially close. The first born children spend every waking minute together, it is almost as if they are siblings. So when they are teenagers, no one is surprised when the two fall in love.
And the question becomes, is love enough to heal all wounds? Can we love too much or be smothered by another. In this contemporary tale of love and friendship, Jodi Picoult brings to life a familiar world, and in a single terrifying moment awakens every parent's worse fear: We think we know our children… but do we ever really know them at all?
Jodi Picoult has written a haunting tragedy of two families. The Pact is rich with suspense and compassion, and it will make people question how well they know their own children. It is an intensely moving novel. Learn how The Pact wound up as a banned book. The Pact paints a portrait of families in anguish over a suicide pact between a teenage couple which leaves one of them dead and the other one on trial for murder.
Book 5. For eighteen years the Hartes and the Golds have lived next door to each other, sharing everything from Chinese food to chicken pox to carpool duty-- they've grown so close it seems they have always been a part of each other's lives. Parents and children alike have been best friends, so it's no surprise that in high school Chris and Emily's friendship blossoms into something more.
They've been soul mates since they were born. So when midnight calls from the hospital come in, no one is ready for the appalling truth: Emily is dead at seventeen from a gunshot wound to the head.
There's a single unspent bullet in the gun that Chris took from his father's cabinet-- a bullet that Chris tells police he intended for himself. But a local detective has doubts about the suicide pact that Chris has described.
The profound questions faced by the characters in this heart-rending novel are those we can all relate to: How well do we ever really know our children, our friends? What if…? As its chapters unfold, alternating between an idyllic past and an unthinkable present, The Pact paints an indelible portrait of families in anguish … culminating in an astonishingly suspenseful courtroom drama as Chris finds himself on trial for murder. With this riveting psychological drama, Jodi Picoult explores the dynamics of intimate relationships under stress-- from the seemingly inexplicable mind of a teenager to the bonds of friendship and marriage.
Few writers have such a gift for evoking everyday life coupled with the ability to create a level of dramatic tension that will keep you up reading late into the night. The Pact is storytelling at its best : wonderfully observed, deeply moving, and utterly impossible to put down.
In my previous life, before I was a novelist, I was an English teacher. The year I was teaching eighth grade, I was 25 years old — the youngest teacher by far in the school. I had a hundred kids…and one little girl was suicidal. We all knew — her parents, her guidance counselor, and her four subject teachers. It was decided that all of us would work hard to keep her focused, and present. I got pregnant that year, and left teaching to have my first son, Kyle.
My husband and I moved out of state; and my first novel was published. I embarked on a new career…but I never forgot about that student. And I knew, when I started to write my fifth book, that my subject matter was going to involve teen suicide. I wanted to write the anti-Romeo and Juliet story: the families that are too close, insteady of enemies -- and that still wind up hurting their star-crossed children as a result.
The boy or the girl? He shrugged. I just stared at him. What if, I wondered, Chris was the one who was alive at the start of the book, instead of Emily? Suddenly I no longer had a character study on my hands…I had a page turner.
They say that Chris and Emily are real teenagers, not the phony ones who usually inhabit adult novels. But I hope it would make her happy to know that she is the one who planted the seed in my mind that grew into this garden, and maybe even indirectly was the reason another teenager years later took the time to stop and smell the flowers. The Pact marked a shift in my career in many ways. Not only was it the book that put me on the literary map as a writer — it also was the first one that made me fall in love with research.
I think I became a research stickler because I am a careful reader. My first foray into research took place in my own home. Sadly, I was no longer a teenager as painful as that is to admit. However, I had a great group of babysitters who came regularly to take care of my three children. Well, I asked the hard questions: How old were you when you first had sex? Why did you do it? Have you ever been depressed?
Wanted to kill yourself? Would you tell an adult? Why or why not? Have you used drugs? How old were you? How many phone calls would it take for you to get a gun? I told him…and he got really quiet.
My next stop for research was jail. I went to the Grafton County Correctional Facility, a minimum security jail that Chris would have been detained in, had he been awaiting trial.
I remember thinking it was a human zoo — the only real rights that the prisoners have is deciding whether or not to come look at you as you pass by. I remember it was very warm, and most prisoners wore only their underwear. The remarkable thing about our justice system is that even if Chris were completely innocent, while awaiting trial if denied bail he might still wind up bunking with an axe-murderer.
I wanted to explore how a normal, everyday kid might be changed by that sort of experience. Finally, I spent a great deal of time in court, and talking to defense attorneys. It was the latter attorney that really intrigued me — that hard shell put up against any emotional connection to the client — and that ultimately became the template for Jordan McAfee.
One of my favorite little tidbits of legal information actually changed the course of the book. In America, I would never be asked to testify against my husband, if he were charged with a crime. It was this odd loophole that made me want to write a scene in which a mom Gus is forced to either incriminate her child…or to lie on the witness stand.
Bottom line: Picoult's deft touch makes this her breakout novel. A moving story, mingling elements of mystery with sensitive exploration of a tragic subject. Like everyone, I've joked about my seven-year-old son growing up to marry the daughter of my best friend… which led me to write this book. It's the story of the Hartes and the Golds, two families who've been neighbors and friends forever, and who are thrilled when their eldest offspring begins to date. But then a terrifying phone call comes that makes the parents reevaluate whom, exactly, they can trust… and how well they know their children.
He covered her body with his, and as she put her arms around him she could picture him in all his incarnations: age five, and still blond; age eleven, sprouting; age thirteen, with the hands of a man. The moon rolled, sloe— eyed in the night sky; and she breathed in the scent of his skin. He kissed her so gently she wondered if she had imagined it.
She pulled back slightly, to look into his eyes. When the telephone rang at three in the morning, James Harte was instantly awake. He tried to imagine what could possibly have gone wrong with Mrs. Greenblatt, because that was his most potentially emergent case. Harte, this is Officer Stanley of the Bainbridge Police. James felt his throat working up sentences that tangled around each other.
The moment the receiver was back in place, he had a thousand questions to ask.. Where was Christopher hurt? Critically or superficially? Was Emily still with him? What had happened? The hospital, he knew, would take him seventeen minutes to reach.
He was already speeding down Wood Hollow Road when he picked up the car phone and dialed Gus. Michael buttoned the fly of his jeans and stuffed his feet into tennis shoes. Fuck the socks. He glanced up. He had hypothetically wondered what would happen if a phone call came in the middle of the night; a phone call that had the power to render one speechless and disbelieving.
And yet here he was, backing carefully out of his driveway, holding up well, the only betraying panic a tiny tic in his cheek. Why us? The fixtures hung over him, bright silver saucers that made him wince. He could feel at least three people touching him— laying hands, shouting directions, cutting off his clothes.
He could not move his arms or legs, and when he tried, he felt straps cutting across them, a collar anchoring his head. Get me two large— bore IVs, either 14 or 16 gauge, stat. Give him D5 normal saline, wide open for a liter to start with, please. And draw some bloods… get a CBC with diff, platelets, coags, chem— 20, UA, tox screen, and send a type and screen to the blood bank.
Then there was a stabbing pain in the crook of his arm and the sharp sound of ripping adhesive tape. Chris felt a sharp prick near his forehead, which had him arcing against his restraints and floating back to the soft, warm hands of a nurse.
How did they know his name? Call radiology, we need them to clear the C— spine. There was a scurry of noise, of yelling. Chris slid his eyes to the slit in the curtain off to his right and saw his father. This was the hospital; his father worked at a hospital.
Chris flailed so suddenly he managed to rip the IV out of his arm. He looked directly at Michael Gold and screamed, but there was no sound, no noise, just wave after wave of fear.
His son was fighting backboard restraints and a Philadelphia collar. There was blood everywhere, all over his face and shirt and neck. James felt Chris squeeze his hand so tightly his wedding band dug into the the skin.
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