Chapter One
There are people who believe God is everywhere watching over all his children. He protects them, heals them, and fills them with love. Some believe Guardian angels are sent down from Heaven to help him with his work. To keep the plans he has for people in motion and save the people who need him the most. For Arabella Morris, God was something to hold on to. He was hope even if she wasn’t sure of his existence. When you live the life Arabella does, you need all the hope you can get.
In Wittmann, Arizona, a small town surrounded by dried up bushes and hot desert land Arabella lives each day and night in hell. A 17 year old girl who needed God more than anyone could ever imagine. Arabella lived with her mother Gracie, step father Daniel, 2 month old brother Gabriel, and his nanny Melanie. Melanie was hired when Gracie found out she was pregnant. She was lazy and instantly used the pregnancy as an excuse to do nothing. Unfortunately, for Arabella her little family was the furthest thing from happy.
Arabella has never experienced an actual school. Her mother hired a tutor to home school her, paying for their services and their discretion. She never had any friends and there were few people who even knew she existed. The only time she experienced the outdoors was when she felt brave enough to sneak out, which didn’t happen often. Disobeying Daniel and Gracie was something that absolutely terrified her. Having experienced the rage they felt when she made a mistake or had an accident she didn’t want to imagine what they would do to her if they caught her deliberately disobeying them.
The few nights Arabella had snuck out she stayed in the boundaries of her backyard enjoying the night air and the stars that sparkled through the dark skies. She spent a lot of time imagining her neighbor’s lives. How they lived, who they loved, if they loved at all. There was a modest house about 100 feet from her yard that always intrigued her. An old couple lived there; they always sat on their porch swing. Their laughter echoed in the still night and it was always music to her ears. She wondered how their life together had been. How much they had been through. The only other house visible from her back yard was right next door to hers behind her bedroom window. There wasn’t a happy family living there but there was someone she could dream about. A strange man lived there alone, or so she assumed because he was the only one she ever saw. Sometimes she would look out her window late at night longing for this man and never understanding why. He was strange. He lived in that big house all by himself and God only knows what goes on in there. So why was she hoping for him, aching for him? It never made any sense to her.
But on nights like tonight she would lay out in the grass wondering a lot about the world. How others lived. If they were happy, if there were people out there who enjoyed waking up in the morning to see their families. People grateful to see another day. She couldn’t help but think that those are the people God watches out for, if he’s even there, not her. Why would it be her? No one wants to see the things that happen to her here so why would he? That’s why the happy people are so blessed. God wants them to remain happy while she falls by the waste side.
There was one night in particular that Arabella believes proved her theory about God. The one night she needed him and he wasn’t there to save her. The one night she needed his protection more than anything and instead she ended up inches from death. About 2 years ago Arabella finally worked up the courage to run away from her nightmare. She waited until her mother and Daniel were passed out, then she crept out of her bedroom down the stairs to the front door. A hint of relief washed over her as she looked at her house for the first and last time from the front yard. She had never seen the house from the front before and she never wanted to again. She didn’t know where she was going but she took off running. She was searching for a main street when headlights came up behind her. She was in such a panic she didn’t think of the possibility that the headlights could have belonged to Gracie or Daniel. She turned around flagging the car for help when it slammed into her instantly stealing the air from her lungs. She lay on the ground facing the stars waiting for the darkness to take her when Daniels face came into view. He was the last thing she saw before she faded into unconsciousness.
Apparently, Daniel had woken up in the middle of the night and wanted some “quality” time with Arabella but what he found was her empty bed. He checked the house and once he realized she left, he went looking for her. And as if being hit with a car wasn’t bad enough, Gracie and Daniel beat her within an inch of her life. She never needed God as much as she needed him that night but he was nowhere to be found. When it was all over she gained 3 broken ribs, a broken nose, a dislocated shoulder and a lot of bumps and bruises. That was also the night she lost her faith in God. Why hadn’t he helped her? She never understood how he could let these things happen. How he could watch as these people tortured a girl who was only 15 at the time. There were a lot of things Arabella didn’t understand about God and how he worked. The main thing she longed to understand was Daniel.
Fortunately for Daniel and Gracie, they had friends who were equally as twisted. Daniel was friends with a doctor who lived in Yarnell, about an hour drive or so from her tiny town. Having a demented doctor as a friend meant Arabella never had to visit a hospital. Dr. Brice came at Daniels beckon call. He would come and patch up Arabella when things got “too out of hand” or so they would say. They would drink and catch up. Daniel would share stories of Arabella’s abuse and Dr. Brice would share stories of his strange obsessions which usually involved un-willing women who ended up in ditches far from his home. There was only one thought that ran through her mind each visit. How would she ever escape this place?
