Marked by Grief

Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Note from the Publisher

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Also by Caitlin Ricci

A Silver Publishing Book

Marked by Grief Copyright © 2012 by Caitlin Ricci E-book ISBN: 9781614957539

First E-book Publication: September 2012

Cover design by Lee Tiffin Editor: Haley Stokes All cover art and logo copyright © 2012 by Silver Publishing

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED:
This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission. This book cannot be copied in any format, sold, or otherwise transferred from your computer to another through upload to a file sharing peer to peer program, for free or for a fee, or as a prize in any contest. Such action is illegal and in violation of the U.S. Copyright Law. Distribution of this e-book, in whole or in part, online, offline, in print or in any way or any other method currently known or yet to be invented, is forbidden.

All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

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This book is written in US English.

PUBLISHER

www.SPSilverPublishing.com
Note from the Publisher
Dear Reader, Thank you for your purchase of this title. The authors and staff of Silver Publishing hope you enjoy this read and that we wil have a long and happy association together.

Please remember that the only money authors make from writing comes from the sales of their books. If you like their work, spread the word and tel others about the books, but please refrain from sharing this book in any form. Authors depend on sales and sales only to support their families.

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Lodewyk Deysel Publisher

Silver Publishing http://www.spsilverpublishing.com

Welcome, readers, to my third book. Thank you for wanting to meet Kit and Jason. This story was hard to write for a variety of reasons, but it is one that I knew had to get out there. And now that it has, I hope you enjoy it.

Those of you that were with me for the making of this story, thank you for being there through the tears, the hope and al of the other emotions that I know we went through with this one. It was worth it.

I'm so fortunate to have my family and friends with me.

Hugs to you al.

Trademarks
Acknowledgement
The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the folowing wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction:
Bush
: Individuals Goodridge, Robin; Parsons, David; Pulsford, Nigel; Rossdale, Gavin
Harvard
: President and Felows of Harvard Colege
Monty Python
: Python (Monty) Pictures Ltd
Nirvana
: Nirvana LLC

Star Wars, Sith, Yoda
: Lucasfilm Entertainment Company Ltd

Tiger Balm
: Haw Par Corporation

"Coming up in the six o'clock news—Wade
Ramsey, the man sentenced to twenty-five years in
the DUI and vehicular manslaughter case last week
commits suicide in jail just days before he's
scheduled to be transferred to prison… Up next,
Rickie with what's new in Hollywood!"

Kit turned off the television with an angry snarl. He supposed he should be happy the man responsible for his brother's death was dead. But he'd taken the coward's way out like Kit expected he might. While the court had been watching the prosecutor as he'd flashed images of Bear, finalizing his image as the "Al-American Boy Next Door" in the minds of the jurors, Kit had been watching the man who had been too stupid to realize he'd been drunk that night. And he'd seen the regret in that haggard face. But Kit hadn't cared. He remembered being glad the man who had murdered his brother was suffering. Six months to the day of the accident, the sentence had been announced. The man would rot for twenty-five years. Bear was only twenty-four on the night they'd been hit from behind as they walked home. And Kit had held onto that anger, clutching it tightly to his chest, for six whole months.

He'd breathed in the hatred, living on it when food lost al meaning, when sleep was just a nightmarish string of flashbacks. And he could have existed on it for years to come. Twenty-five to be precise. But the coward had stolen that from him as wel.

"Kit, honey, did you see on the news?" his mother caled from outside his closed bedroom door.

Yeah, he'd seen the news, right in between the local food review and the entertainment section. News of his brother had been a big deal after the accident.

Local boy kiled by a drunk driver. High school footbal star hit by truck. And then the stories had faded. Once a day turned into once a week. And then maybe Bear would be given a few minutes during a slow period on Saturday mornings. Everyone knew the man was guilty.

And those who had known Bear had already said goodbye to him months before at the funeral. But Kit wasn't ready to do that yet. He didn't want to let his best friend go so easily.

"Kit… c'mon, sweetie, talk to me please… it's been days. You need to come out of your room sometime…"

Why did he need to? Was the world ending?

And even if it was, he'd do just fine sitting on his bed, surrounded by the few of his brother's things that his parents hadn't been able to pry from his fingers when they went on their mission to put Bear into boxes in the attic. Their therapist had said it was unhealthy for them to keep a shrine of Bear's old things in his otherwise empty room. Kit thought they could have left it up for a few more years. Five, at least. He might feel better about his brother's death after five good years. But probably not. The therapist was an ass. And Kit had told him so during the first session his parents had forced him to go to. He hadn't been back and hadn't seen another either. He didn't need them.

"Kit, don't make me come in there…"

He looked to the doorway, waiting for her to enter the space she hadn't bothered to in so many months. He used to be close to his parents. They al used to be close. His doorknob never rattled, never turned. And his mother never came inside. It was just as wel. She'd barely looked at him since Bear's funeral.

And Kit was almost glad of it.

"I'm going over to Betty's for the afternoon.

Your father wil be home in a few hours. You should cal Jason. He might not know yet." The words faded as she walked down the halway.

Jason. Just the mention of his name was enough to make Kit shiver. He hadn't seen Bear's best friend since the funeral. He hadn't been in the courtroom during the week of the trial. And while his parents had wondered why he hadn't come, Kit hadn't. He wouldn't have been there either if he hadn't been required to speak as a witness. The photos, the expert testimony, the autopsy… it had al been too much. Too real. Kit spent each night of that week crying himself to sleep only to wake up and do it al over again the next day.

Jason's presence would have made the ordeal much worse. Bear and Jason had been inseparable since middle school. Kit had been a skinny nine-year-old when Bear brought his new best friend home with him. Kit had begged to be included in their games until the boys finaly relented and let him tag along. Jason had always been there for them both. The first time Kit had tried to hold hands with a girl, Jason had been there, cheering him on while Bear tried not to laugh. The only time Bear had ever skipped school was when Jason broke his ankle in a motorcycle accident. A month later when Bear wanted his own bike, Jason talked him out of it. He'd bought a muscle car instead and the boys had crashed it less than a year later when Bear had gone too fast on a patch of ice.

And at fourteen, Kit had realized he loved Jason.

It was the only secret he'd ever kept from his brother, the only wedge he'd ever placed between them. He'd continued to go out with them, stil attended parties, watched movies, had his first drink with the two of them there to supervise. But Kit had known, al those years, that he loved his brother's best friend. And the feeling was stil just as strong, even after six months of no contact. Before the accident, he couldn't go more than a day without hearing Jason's voice. He'd make up reasons to cal the man or stay around when he knew Jason was coming over. On the rare occasions Kit couldn't get out of whatever obligation kept him from Jason's company, he'd ask his brother how he was doing and where they were going. He'd driven Bear nuts sometimes. But he was sure Bear never knew the real reason behind his actions, and so his secret was safe from Jason.