A WOW STORY : Bobbi Kristina Brown's Past Year: Abused, Isolated and Desperate, the Tragic Secrets Whitney Houston's Daughter Was Hiding (VIDEO)

by MELANIE BROMLEY Wed., Jul. 1, 2015

Three weeks before she was found unconscious in the bath, Bobbi Kristina Brown phoned one of her best friends, Alex Reid.

She was distraught and scared, and was hiding from her live-in boyfriend, Nick Gordon. Her refuge of choice—inside her deceased mother's closet.

Bobbi Kristina & Nick Gordon

"She was sobbing. Nick had hit her and she was scared," explains Alex, recalling the conversation with Krissi in an exclusive interview with E! News. "She was very upset. She didn't know what to do. It was as if, she didn't have anyone else to turn to. It was heartbreaking."This is the first time Bobbi Kristina's best friend has spoken. California-based Alex would speak to Whitney Houston's daughter often, sometimes daily. The two girls first met during Grammys week two years ago and immediately bonded.

"I love her. I would never have betrayed her and spoken out before now, " says Alex through tears. "But as she lies there, I feel there is no one else to speak on her behalf. I feel like I have to be a voice for her now."

Hiding from Gordon was just one of the heartbreaking incidents that Bobbi Kristina confided in her friend about: "Krissi was physically abused by Nick on a number of occasions and she told me about some of them," Alex says. "I never witnessed anything…she would FaceTime me every time she was distraught, when something has just happened or show me a bruise."

Meanwhile, there are still a number of unanswered questions about what really went on in those final hours before the 911 call from Bobbi Kristina's Atlanta home on Jan. 31. A police investigation is still ongoing. And Alex is determined to find out what happened to her best friend: "There are things that I know that no one else does," she tells us. "And I hope that by speaking out I can help the investigation in some way." more