Broken

For twelve-year-old Eris, the future is a dark, scary place that promises nothing but heartache and pain. She comes from a broken home, prodigy of an unhappy, abusive mother. Shy and lacking in self-esteem, she is vulnerable to anyone who offers her attention, and soon falls prey to a man of low character. Darrell is the son of her mother's best friend. He takes more than just a curious interest in Eris. Momma readily allows Darrell into her daughter's life. Eris passively accepts this change, whether she likes it or not. She has not yet learned she has a voice. She sees herself as mostly invisible. She is driven to please to avoid rejection, which she finds as painful as her mother's beatings. Desiring only to be free of the physical torment and emotional anguish inflicted by her mother, and subsequently Darrell, Eris wallows in self-hatred and longs for the day when life will hand her something beautiful. But deep down she doesn't believe anything good will ever happen to her. The two good things in her life slowly become farther out of reach as she sinks into the mire of Darrell and his cruelty. Eddie: the brother she loves more than anything. Grandpa: the only stable factor in her life. She will inevitably lose both men to the hands of fate. One through death, the other into the black-hole of that future-void she fears so much.