"God loves you but not enough to save you,"
In the small town near Austin, Texas, Nora Gibson is trapped in a life of rigid expectations and silent suffering.
As the preacher's daughter, she endure the mental and physical abuse of her father while...
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The Texas sun had a way of casting long, dramatic shadows across the sprawling landscape, painting the world in hues of gold and amber. In small town near Austin, the heat clung to everything, wrapping the town in a sweltering embrace that seemed to slow time itself. Nora Gibson, a preacher's daughter on the cusp of graduation, trapped in the rigid confines of a life dictated by faith and fear.
Her father, Reverend Gibson, was a towering figure in the community, his voice booming from the pulpit every Sunday, filling the church with sermons about sin and salvation. To the congregation, he was a man of God, a beacon of righteousness. But within the walls of her home, he was a tyrant. His heavy hand and harsh words left marks not just on her skin, but deep within her soul. Nora's mother, ever the obedient wife, offered what little comfort she could, but her love was a quiet, subdued thing, overshadowed by her fear of defying the father.
The Millers lived just a few houses down, their home a testament to both prosperity and tragedy. Joel Miller was Nora's father's best friend from high school, a bond forged in the fires of youth but strained by the paths they had chosen. While her father found his calling in the church, Joel built a successful construction business with his younger brother, Tommy.
Joel and Tommy not live far from each other, while Nora's house is just one house away from Joel, Tommy is a few houses down from Joel's.
The Miller brothers were well-known and respected in the community, their work evident in the many buildings that dotted the town.
Joel's life had been forever altered by a single, devastating moment. He had lost his wife and daughter in a car accident, an accident where he had been behind the wheel. The guilt of their deaths weighed heavily on him, a burden he carried in the lines of his face and the shadows in his eyes.
Since that tragic day, he had distanced himself from the church, finding solace instead in his work and in raising his adopted daughter, Ellie. Joel had adopted Ellie when she was only 10 years old with the help of Tommy.
At 16, Ellie was a spirited girl, one of Nora's juniors at school. She attended church every Sunday with her uncle Tommy, her presence a reminder of the Millers' lingering faith.
Tommy, married to Maria, had recently welcomed a baby boy into their family. The joy of new life was a stark contrast to the sorrow that had marked Joel's existence. The Millers were a close-knit family, their bonds of loyalty and love a stark contrast to the fractured and tense environment of Nora's own home.
Nora had known the Millers her entire life, their presence a constant thread in the fabric of her existence. Yet, as she stood on the brink of adulthood, her interactions with them took on a new significance. Her father's sermons about the dangers of straying from the path of righteousness echoed in her mind, but so did her longing for something more, something real and tangible.
