A/N: Hey, guys. So, this is a story that my friend Danielle (a HUGE Hannah Montana fan) asked me to do a few weeks ago. Her sister lived through domestic abuse for several years, and was kind of the inspiration for this story. But at the same time, it is a love story, so we'll see how well I can intertwine the two. I also probably will not be updating this one as often as my Secret Life one, unless it draws a good bit of interest. But if you guys are interested, I would be more than happy to get the next chapter out sooner rather than later.


Hopeless screams pierced the summer air. A tear slid down the cheek of six-year-old Belle. He thought that she couldn't hear. That's why he sent her out on the back porch. Shortly after, she would always hear her mommy screaming. It scared her. He scared her. And then, her mommy would eventually come outside and get her. She would say that everything was fine. Belle knew otherwise. She saw the patches of purple and blue that weren't supposed to be ingrained into her mother's skin. Why does he want to hurt her? Her mommy was the most caring person in the whole world.

Another desperate scream made it's way to her ears. "Jake, please! I'm sorry!", she could hear her mother cry out. A thud soon followed.

She wanted to cover her ears, but she knew that it probably wouldn't drown out her mother's cries. She wanted to know what was happening, but she was too frightened to look into the small opening of the window that wasn't covered by the curtain. She couldn't understand what her mommy ever did to deserve being hurt so much.

Belle would often ask her why daddy hurt her. She always said that he didn't, but instructed her to never say anything bad about her father. Belle wasn't stupid enough to do that anyway. He had never hurt her, but he had yelled at her a lot. Called her awful things. Her mommy would stand in front of her, trying desperately to stop him. It never worked. And it usually made him even angrier.

She looked up at the night sky. It was sprinkled with glittering stars. A faint smile crept up onto the child's face as her blue eyes picked up on one that was shooting across the sky. A shooting star.

She closed her eyes tightly. "I wish I had a new daddy", she whispered, terrified that her father might hear her. "One that won't hurt my mommy."


Miley was hunched over on the floor. She felt blood pouring from her nose. Her whole body ached. But at least, he was done for now. She forced herself to her feet, and grabbed a paper towel to wipe her nose. Belle. She had almost forgotten that her daughter was still outside. Quickly, she disposed of the paper towel, and made her way to the back porch. She winced every step of the way.

"Mommy!", Belle cried as she ran into her arms. The little girl was crying uncontrollably.

"Ssshh. It's okay, baby", Miley said weakly, stroking her daughter's long blond waves. "It's gonna be okay."

Truthfully, she doubted it. That was just what she told Belle. What she had to tell Belle to give her daughter any kind of hope. That little girl was everything to Miley. The only ray of sunshine that had been in her life for such a long time. She had alienated her friends, her family. They had all been right. Why hadn't she listened to them? She had fallen for Jake's act. And because of it, she had been living in an abusive relationship for the past eight years. One that she just wasn't sure she had the strength to get out of.

She had came close. But that was a long time ago. Back when she still had a little bit of fight left in her. The first time Jake hit her, she had walked out. But then, he begged for forgiveness, promising that it would never happen again. Eventually, he wore her down. Shortly after, she found herself in even deeper when she found out that she was pregnant. Then, the violence started up again when Miley refused to have an abortion. Her son was stillborn anyway. Another opportunity for her to leave. And she tried to. He reeled her back in. Another pregnancy occured, followed by a miscarriage.

She always knew that it was because she was being knocked around all the time. When the doctors questioned her about her bruises, she did the only thing she felt she could do. She lied. She could have told the truth. Jake could be in jail right now. Far away from her. But somehow, he convinced her to stay. Because of the complications from her last two pregnancies, the doctors had told her that it would be difficult for her to become pregnant again. That made her feel a twinge of relief. An innocent child wouldn't be brought into this awful situation. But then, by some miracle...or curse, she did get pregnant again. And somehow, by the grace of God, she made it through the pregnancy. Arabella Grace was born healthy.

Miley was thankful for her little girl. But she lived in fear for Belle's safety as well as her own. Now, she was responsible for protecting two people. Much to her relief, Jake didn't hit Belle. Though he did verbally abuse the child on a regular basis. Meanwhile, her own beatings continued to get worse. She felt so trapped. Like there wasn't any way out. She wanted to call her dad or Jackson or Lilly, and beg them to come save her. She had even picked up the phone a few times. But something always stopped her. Fear.

She eventually got Belle to go to sleep that night. But she was awake for hours. Her small body was sore. Every movement reminded her of what Jake did to her. She had to get out. She didn't deserve this. No matter what he said, there was no way that she could possibly deserve this. She picked up her shiny engagement ring up off the nightstand. Jake had given it to her after Belle was born, though she suspected that he never actually intended on marrying her. It would never go on her finger again. If it killed her, that ring would never go on her finger again.


Sooo, do you guys like it so far? This chapter was mostly just the backstory. Nick will probably be introduced into the story in the third chapter in case you guys are wondering.