The Drazen World: Purgatory (Kindle Worlds Novella)

even if those meant the rest of eternity in the bowels of the Inferno.
I had finally come to a conclusion. I killed myself. I committed suicide and by definition, my place would never be in solace.
My resolution was a welcomed guest.
"Gabrielle?" I turned around so fast, I almost got whiplash. The intruder's voice had invaded my private moment of self-loathing and publically displaying my tears had never been a comfortable situation for me.
My nose scrunched up, trying to figure out who the man before me could possibly be. He was faintly familiar; tall and lean, with proud shoulders ready to carry the weight of the world. Standing at the entrance of the door looking as though he owned it, the handsome intruder cocked his head to the side and took in my appearance. Green irises so captivating, they almost took my breath away. My eyes travelled along the lines of his perfectly chiseled face, his parted lips mirroring the confusion I felt inside. When our eyes met, I could feel sorrow so deep in the mesmerizing shades of recently watered grass, that it threw me for a loop. His pain reflected my own and I hated it.
But as my gaze travelled over the perfect coppery locks of his hair, it dawned on me.
Jumping from my seat, book in hand, I did a mental run down of all the information I had on him until I reached his age. Thirty-eight.
No.
Gasping, I shook my head as my feet led me straight to him, the man that should be consoling my best friend.
"Jonathan Drazen?"
Chapter 14
"Jonathan Drazen?" I asked although the answer was evident and painful all at once.
The man nodded absently as his eyes scanned the room with meticulous precision.
"Wh-...What are you doing here?" He wasn't supposed to be here. He was meant to be at Monica's side, right? The book had Monica's name. Drazen. It was clear as day.
Looking down at my hands, I verified what I already knew to be true. It did, in fact, have his name as her own.
"Apparently, it would seem I have died." My gasp actually hurt my heart. I was supposed to be dead, how could it hurt so badly?
"No. No, no, no. You can't do that. How? You have to go back, Jonathan!" I was rambling, desperately trying to make sense of this impossible clusterfuck. "Monica won't survive losing you, too. I knew it from the moment she met you. She was in love with you. This will kill her. You can't do that." He had to go back. There was no other choice. Something had to be done.
At first, his eyes swung back to me and the pain raged inside of him. Determination to do the right thing, and then, a moment of abandonment. He was giving up.
Fuck that.
Quicker than I thought possible, I jumped the two steps separating us and pushed him out the door. My ire a palpable, raging fire that surrounded me and gave me the strength I needed to get him moving.
"What are you doing, Gabrielle?" He tried to push me away but he was losing his footing. It didn't stop him from chuckling at my tantrum.
"You have to go back. You have to go back." I had only one goal in my mind. Maybe there was some kind of elevator that would drop him back into his body?
Why hadn't I thought of that? I could have gone back. Truth was, Hunter was here and it never occurred to me to ever go back to my life. I had no desire to leave.
That singular thought immediately paralyzed me.
"Wait! You want to go back, right?" His answer would define my entire knowledge of the world and of love.
"Is that a serious question, Gabby?" His greens bore daggers at me, as though the thought of leaving Monica willingly was the most absurd concept imaginable.
Nodding, I looked around, trying to find some type of exit sign or a road sign indicating the path back down to earth. There had to be a way.
"What happened? Why are you here?" I asked him, trying to make sense of this whole fucked up mess.
Jonathan placed his hands on his hips and hung his head in resignation which was not okay.
Not. Okay.
"My heart. One minute I'm at the museum for some charity and the next I'm here." Running his fingers through his already disheveled hair, Jonathan exhaled a loud gust of broken breaths. "She's strong, she'll be okay." He finally added.
My temper exploded. The protective part of me refused to let this happen. Monica's life had never been easy and losing me probably did quite a number on her. That shit was on me.
But losing Jonathan? No. Just no.
No matter how strong we both thought she was, this would annihilate her spirit. Her music would suffer if she even decided to pursue it after this. I couldn't let that happen.
"So, what? You're just going to stand here and let her wilt away? You're not going to fight to get back?" I was pissed. This was not the ruthless man I had crossed referenced. This was not the man who took what he wanted with no apologies. This was not the man who deserved a woman as strong and independent and fierce as Monica.
The irony of my own actions did not escape me.
"What the fuck do you suggest I do, Gabby? And you're one to talk. You fucking left her willingly. Of your own fucking choice. That woman was the only reason I got up in the morning with a smile on my face. She was my reason for living. I did not go of my own free will." He was right, of course. I was guilty of hypocrisy. "Tangerine. Tangerine."
I barely heard the words and had no idea