The Drazen World: Purgatory (Kindle Worlds Novella)

second that passed.
"I like your fire, Gabby. It tells me you're not as dead as you think you are. So, yeah, Spunky fits."
Hunter's words awakened a fire inside me I thought had disappeared years, decades, ago. Pride. I did have fire buried somewhere inside me yet everyone I knew and loved had mistaken that will to live with despair to off myself. This man that I had seen all of twice, could sense it. What did that say about my family?
"Technically, I'm pretty fucking dead, Sherlock." I deadpanned instead of accepting the compliment.
"Truth. But there's dead in Hell and dead in ‘up There’. Those are two very different definitions."
Making my way to the bed, since it was the only place we could sit, I grinned back at Hunter. A real grin. One that pulled at the corners of my mouth and had my eyes crinkling from its presence. I liked it. It felt almost foreign but that didn't mean I didn't bask in its warmth.
"Ah, there she is," the man beside me whispered, his thumb tracing the half-moon edges of my lips. "I knew there was a sincere smile in there somewhere. It looks absolutely gorgeous on you." My cheeks burned from the flush I was sure tinted my entire face. My breath catching in my throat and my belly dancing the Samba, were sure signs of my embarrassment at such a genuine compliment.
"Whatever," was my only response accompanied by a small roll of my eyes and a tentative smile. Hunter chuckled at that, in all likelihood consciously choosing to let the subject go.
"What's this?"
"What?" I followed the path of his gaze, landing upon the book that I still had clutched against my chest.
"Oh."
"Oh? Is that the name of this piece of literary genius?" Hunter asked, a smirk drawn at the corner of his mouth. Damn him and that sexy smile. I wanted to poke it and lick it in equal measure.
"No, smartass. It's something to do with my brother, Darren." I answered, my eyes shifting left then right, the conversation making me uncomfortable.
"Ah. Your first recap on the bookshelf, yeah? It means you made progress." I looked up then, his words sounding wistful, his eyes glowing with what I interpreted as pride. It wasn't an emotion I saw frequently but enough that I could recognize it. And right there, in the dilatation of Hunter's pupils, I saw he was proud. Of me.
Wait. What progress?
Frowning, I locked my gaze with his and began asking the obvious question, "What are you..."
"What I'm saying is, every time you make emotional progress, you are rewarded with a tale from your life. A glimpse at the things you missed. The pre-conceived ideas you harbored. The untruths you were certain were your reality. These books are there to enlighten you and help you heal."
Hunter's long fingers came to the side of my face as his thumb brushed along my cheek bone, eyes boring into mine with an intensity that demanded attention. "You are the sole bearer of your own healing. Act wisely and don't let your human personality eclipse the reality that is inside of you, Gabby. I can feel it as I'm sure you can feel mine."
I held my breath, afraid of saying or doing the wrong thing and destroying, what seemed to me, an intimate moment. Hunter leaned in and every fiber in my body was convinced his lips would make contact.
They never did, at least not where I wished they would. Instead, he placed a chaste kiss to my forehead and patted the book in my hand before standing and walking out the door.
I was dumbfounded for what seemed like an eternity. What was it with these men just up and leaving without any preamble?
When the door closed, I let out a shaky breath letting my tense shoulders relax in a slouched position.
The book.
Right.
It was time to face my first demons.
∞
Eight years earlier.
Age: 18
Scribe: Eyes of Mil-Ana
 
Darren Reece sat in the corner chair, hidden in the shadows and counting every exhaled breath from his twin sister's mouth.
One hundred and thirty-six.
One hundred and thirty-seven.
Pause.
Hitched breath with a slow winding stutter.
And the process started all over again.
One.
Two.
Three...
When their parents died, just six months prior, everything had fallen further down the rabbit hole. Gabby had already been on the emotional edge of a morose cliff, watching the rough waters below with longing in her glassy eyes. Darren knew this, felt it deep in his gut. As fraternal twins, every emotion she felt echoed within him and tore him apart in the same breath. Now, the pain was tenfold. The feelings of abandonment planting sturdy roots at the base of her very soul. What remained was her pride. On a good day, she would pretend life was bearable. On a bad day? Well, Darren wanted to rip his own heart out if it meant saving hers.
So he watched her. He counted her breaths, her pills, her words. He monitored her every step, making sure it wouldn't get closer to the edge of the cliff. If Gabby fell, he'd jump after her.
His only lifeline, keeping his otherwise racing mind in check, was Monica. His best friend, his girlfriend. But even there, something was missing. From her, from him. From them both. Darren was lucid enough to know that their relationship wouldn't stand the test of time. At least not as a couple but he had high hopes for their friendship. Even then, Gabby was the common denominator.
Gabby was everything.
She needed to fight and get better and if she were to give up, Darren would fight in her place.
He never got a chance to grieve their parents' deaths because he was too absorbed with Gabby's life. Something had to give