M
y stepfather began molesting me sexually
when I was 8 years old. It continued for four
years. My mother was abusive and addicted
to drugs and alcohol. She taught me how to use differ-
ent drugs. One minute she would want me; the next
minute she wouldn't. When she didn't want me around,
she sent me off to treatment centers, where I grew up
unwanted.
When I was 13 I came home from a treatment center
and my mother threw me a big surprise party. That
night she gave me cocaine, marijuana and alcohol.
Soon after, I dropped out of school. I hated authority
figures. When I was 16, I got pregnant and had a little
boy I named Iszec. When he was 2 weeks old the guy I
was with murdered our best friend over $375 worth of
weed. So, I gave Iszec up for adoption. When I was 19,
I had a little girl I named Trinity and gave her up for
adoption, too.
5
The War Cry | FEBRUARY 2015
F E B R U A R Y
Frontlines
I was with a guy and we were drinking again, because
that's how I felt accepted. One night he called my name,
and then hit me in the face with a cast iron frying pan. He
shattered my face. As I lay in the emergency room, I heard
the doctor say "You need to say goodbye now because she
is not going to make it through the night." Three days later,
I woke up with my face all bandaged. A doctor had been
flown in to reconstruct my face so I could live.
From then on I felt different. I went to court to regain my
children, but I was an alcoholic and a drug addict. Though I
tried to change I returned to my old ways. I was into some
heavy drugs. Then, I entered into a five�week affair and got
pregnant again. I had my little boy, Josiah. At that point I
was living on the streets in Coeur D'Alene, Idaho, working
as a cashier at a grocery store. My life was spiraling out of
control. I was contemplating suicide and considering giving
my son up for adoption because I had no reason to live.
Nobody loved me. Nobody wanted me.
NO
WHERE
TO RUN
Bella Cross had plenty of valid reasons to feel hopeless.
Who would dare try and ease her pain?
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