Flawless//Broken by Sara Wolf Page A

scholarships to take care of the rest. By the time Dad realized I was gone for good, I was already settled in my Freshmen year, getting high and drunk and screwing everything with a decent set of abs. I became shallow. Vain. I forced everything dark and horrible into a deep crevice in my heart, keeping the lid tight with blackout partying and bitchy gossip. I was not a nice person. I became a horrible person, all the while thinking it was my revenge on Josh. On Dad. On Mom. I’d be happy, I convinced myself. I’d have fun, even if they tried to make me miserable.
    But no matter how hard I tried, the misery festered in that crevice, waiting for the right time to strike.
     
    ***
     
    I’m woken up by the sound of my phone vibrating, informing me someone has just deposited money into my bank account.
    I rub sleep gunk out of my eyes and squint suspiciously at the screen as I log in. Who the hell is paying me? I’m used to it being the other way around - my student loans rob me of what little doesn’t go towards rent or food. I’m always paying someone. But now -
    My eyes find the amount and widen to unholy proportions. One thousand eight hundred dollars. One thousand. Eight. Hundred. Dollars. That’s an entire month of rent and then some. Who gave this to me and why? I find the transferee name; Silveria Enterprises. It’s totally unfamiliar to me. I’m not gonna spend it, just in case it’s a mistake. It has to be.
    I resolve to call the bank later with a sinking stomach, and haul myself out of bed, only to come face-to-face with Lake.
    “Ahhh! Wh-What are you - what are you doing in here? This is my room!”
    “Good morning, princess,” He salutes, and tears open my curtains. He takes out a tiny brass beetle and puts it on the window sill.
    “What the hell is that?”
    “A security system,” Lake says cheerily, planting another in the other window. “Made of prima materia by our very talented Reaper alchemists. I’ve put one in every window and doorway. They’ll let you know if anything alchemized gets in the house - that includes homunculi. And I’ll know,” He holds up his hand, where a ring with an identical metal beetle on it sits on his finger. “If anything comes in, no matter how far away I am. Not like I’m going far, but. It’s always good to have a backup system.”
    He taps the ring and I watch in awe as its little legs scuttle as if it’s alive. The beetle on my windowsill springs to life too, scrabbling up the frame and digging its claws into the wood. It settles in, then goes still again. I open my mouth to say something just as the high-pitched scream resounds from the living room.
    “Whoops,” Lake smirks. “You might wanna explain them to Ellie.”
    “Explain? How am I supposed to -”
    More screams, and I hear Ellie start smacking the wall with a broom.
    “Thanks a lot,” I snap as I brush past an extremely smug looking Lake. Ellie is hysterically smacking the wall, the beetle way tougher than the straw. It keeps crawling across the wall and settles on the doorframe to my room. Ellie follows it, freezing when she sees me.
    “Mia! Mia, there’s these disgusting bugs all over the house!”
    “It’s okay,” I put my hands on her shoulders. “You’re okay. They’re okay. Everybody’s okay.”
    “They’re huge!”
    “They’re not bugs, El. They’re - I know it sounds crazy, but they’re sensors. In case anybody tries to break in.”
    “But, but they moved! They’re alive!”
    Lake comes from behind me and murmurs; “Should I give her some memoriam?”
    “No!” I snap at him. Ellie sees him over my shoulder and clears her throat.
    “Excuse me? Who is this?”
    Lake pushes past me and makes a little bow. “I’m Lake, princess. We met before, but you were regrettably unconscious. No less beautiful, though.”
    “Why were you in Mia’s room?” Ellie frowns, then starts to smile. “Unless -”
    “No,” I cut her off quickly. “Lake is my…”
    “Cousin,”