Preview/Prologue for Pretty Broken Things (an original work)
Content Warnings: Selling a child; ripped away from family and familiarity; omegaverse; unusal omega female main character
Author's Note: I have this overwhelming need to share the prologue for Pretty Broken Things and was encouraged to do it. So here we are lol
Two expressionless and silent men sit at either side of a woman who is smiling far too much for comfort. The dinner table is tense and all I can hear is forks scraping across plates.
Who are these people? Why are they here?
“Mom,” I say to her quietly. “What’s going on?”
“Finish your dinner, darling,” she responds way too quickly.
I swallow thickly, eyes flashing to the three strangers at the table. The woman, Lesley, smiles sweetly at me but it doesn’t quite meet her eyes. The smile is almost robotic, a programmed response.
Lesley is dressed in a pencil skirt and a blazer with her hair lying flat against her skull as it’s pushed back into a low bun - very professionally and business-like, but what business would Father bring home?
The men at her sides are in suits, but they seem less like ones here to do business and more like… muscle. As if they’re her bodyguards. They remain unnamed.
“Finish your dinner,” my father snaps and the omega in me cowers, but I keep eye contact with him as I slowly bring my fork to my plate again.
Dinner is finished in complete silence and I begin clearing the table. Before I can gather too many dishes, one of my cousins - a bit older than me - rushes in and grabs them from my hands. Her eyes are on her task which tells me my father is still in the room.
“Leave the chores to Jane. You have more important matters tonight,” he tells me in his usual cold tone.
I trail after him, eyes down and feet quick. If he’s addressing me directly like this, our visitors are very important to him. Apparently they’re important to me as well.
My brain wanders, wondering if it’s a match-making interview. I’m only thirteen so I really doubt it. Some omegas are transferred to their intended’s families even younger than I am, but it’s rare. Especially since I presented my secondary gender late; I’ve only been an awakened omega for a year.
Everyone thinks my secondary gender is wrong. They all thought I was to be an alpha, given how headstrong I am. I definitely fall under the “unusual” umbrella. Maybe that’s why Father is starting the interviews early - I’m unusual.
All thought pauses as we enter the sitting room and I’m quick to make my way to my mother’s side. She’s in her usual spot, the white floral couch, so I take my typical seat at her side.
“It’s so nice to meet you all,” Lesley says sickeningly sweetly, breaking the silence lingering since they’ve arrived. “From what little I’ve seen, Alpha Henry,” she turns to my father, “I do agree that our previously discussed arrangement could be followed through with. Is that how you wish to proceed?”
“Yes,” my father says with no hesitation. “I assume you’ve brought the paperwork with you.” It’s not a question. He expects that to be the case.
“Of course,” Lesley nods, robotic smile still firmly in place as one of her companions produces a briefcase I hadn’t previously noticed.
We all fall silent again as Lesley pulls out a packet that gets handed to my father. My mother stiffens between us and I strain my eyes to see what this woman just handed my father. The packet moves too quickly and I don’t get a chance to see the document title.
“The money will be transferred to your specified account by tomorrow morning. So long as you sign tonight,” the weirdly robotic blonde explains to my father.
Money? What is he signing? Omegas are usually the ones bringing money with them into their intended’s family, not being-
I’m being bought.
My jaw twitches and my chest tightens as my eyes flash to my mother. She’s not looking at me, but she flinches when I nudge my arm against hers. Her eyes sparkle with tears that won’t fall.
She knows. She knows and she’s letting it happen.
Hurt, anger, sadness - they all wash over me as my reality crumbles. Or maybe it was never reality, but an illusion. Whatever it was crumbles around me as I listen to my father’s favorite pen scratch across paper.
“Don’t let him do this,” I blurt out to my mother, eyes pleading and desperate as the omega in my head takes over. “Please, don’t let him send me away. I’ll- I’ll stop arguing. I’ll keep my mouth shut, head down, and do what I’m told, but please-”
She pulls her arm away as a single tear slips down her cheek and I freeze. The signed paperwork is handed back to Lesley, who is still calm and smiling.
“The money will be deposited by 9 am tomorrow morning,” the robotic blonde that just bought me assures my father.
Panic courses through me and I stand quickly, ready to run. My chest tightens further as the two men with Lesley stand when I do. They’re not bodyguards; they’re security. And now I’m their target, the one they’re to secure and do as Lesley - or whoever she works for - says.
“Come, dear. It’s time to leave,” Lesley says to me, turning her glossy eyes and robotic smile to me as she stands.
“No,” I beg and fall to my mother’s feet. “Please, mama,” I beg as tears flood my cheeks. “Don’t let him do this. Don’t let them take me away. I’ll be better, I’ll do better, I swear!”
My mother’s eyes are stuck on the wall behind Lesley and her henchmen, unseeing and refusing to look at me. I see her swallow back tears and know that my father has used his abilities as alpha to keep my omega mother silent through this process.
One of the unnamed henchmen lifts my by the arm and I reach for my mother with the other. Screams rip through my chest as I try to claw my way back to my mother.
Weak. Pathetic. Omega. Can’t even fight off a beta keeping me from my mother.
Then I’m dragged from the house, kicking and screaming and pleading. My mother is sent away as we exit the sitting room. I cry harder, sob louder at her lack of presence, and fight my captor harder. He doesn’t seem bothered by my struggles, never flinches when I throw a fist at his chest.
In no time, we’re in a very expensive vehicle. I claw at the door handles, but nothing I do gets the doors open. Lesley continues smiling, otherwise showing no emotion. The car moves and I let out one more primal screech before collapsing on the seats, exhausted and defeated.
“Welcome to your Salvation, omega,” she says. “You’ll be a wonderful asset to our organization.”
"Broken", Not Stupid - fanfic inspiration for Pretty Broken Things
What I love about this authour is their ability to build a world, introduce characters, and have you feeling like you’ve known them forever by the end of the book! This was a face-paced story, full of dark and twisted individuals, good and bad, with unwinnable circumstances, that don’t always turn out well or as expected. What it also is is a study in found family, learning to rely on others, and not trying to control or win every situation you find yourself in. There is no black and white, everything is in shades of grey, most on the more deeper end of the scale. It was a wild ride, and now, I can’t wait for more <3
"You have made my days a mere handbreadth;
the span of my years is as nothing before you.
Everyone is but a breath,
even those who seem secure." - Psalm 39:5
Tonight was the first night that I've been thinking about closing my windows in my apartment since, well, May. I opted for an extra blanket over stagnant air.
This idea -- nothing stays the same but God alone -- has been a theme lately.
Thought I'd share a great song by my friends in Pretty Broken Things that hammers the point in song far better than I could do with prose. Enjoy:
Just thought i should let you know that the next chapter of PBT IS drafted fully, it's just pending beta-ing. Once it's finished with that, it will be uploaded. Thank you all for your wonderfulness and patience and the such
cyanoticfallacy replied to your post: Hi in response to your PBT question could you make them talk about their times in the system? Unless that’s detrimental to the plot and all then that’s okay but I’d love to see what you planned for them.
I still check a fanfic that hasn’t been updated in three years even though I know the author gave up on it :P and I totally understand I just wanted to suggest something and that was at the front of my mind.
I do too people give up on stories and it's tragic but i still have two fics that im in love with that haven't been updated in months and months if not years but i haven't given up on them yet
Well thank you so much for your suggestion. It will definitely be a thing eventually, don't you worry about that.
