If Only I Had Told Her

Alexis, Jack’s ex-girlfriend and Sylvie’s friend, tells Jack that Finn is dead, which Jack does not believe at first. When it sinks in, his mother holds him as he sobs. He goes to Finn’s house, where Autumn’s mother, Claire, comforts Jack. She asks him to stay with Autumn while she and Angelina go to the hospital. Jack tells Autumn that Finn loved her. Autumn tells Jack that he was a better friend to Finn than she was.

Alexis has told Jack that their friends are gathering at her house to commemorate Finn. When Jack arrives, there is a “sad party” going on. Jack’s detachment soon turns to horror and anger that these people who knew Finn so little are mourning or pretending to mourn him. The story going around is that Sylvie and Finn were happy, and Jack decides not to tell the truth about Finn cheating on Sylvie. Jack thinks, “Finn probably did one shitty thing” (175).

Jack stands with his and Finn’s teammates before the wake. They will all be pallbearers. Jack’s parents come to the memorial to support him, and Jack thinks about how odd it is that his parents are still together given that they do not like each other.