Summary – Jael goes to Camp Rock to get away from her abusive and alcoholic father. After all the years of being so close with her mother, she leaves her in the hands of her neighbors to take care of because she's sick. While she's at camp, she meets Caity, Kiwi, and Shayne. They see how depressed she is and as hard as it is to make her feel better, they try everything they can. This is her battle with the struggles and tragedies of life.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything except Jael, her mom, her dad, and everyone/everything else that are mentioned in this story but not in Camp Rock. And this goes for the rest of the story.

Beep beep beep *click*

I woke up to the sound of my alarm. It was 5:40 AM and today was the last day of school. I quietly walked to the bathroom, brushed my teeth and took a shower. When I came out, I blow-dried my hair then walked to my closet to find something to wear. I decided to go with black skinny jeans, a grey Led Zeppelin t-shirt, and my converses. For my makeup, I put eyeliner in the inside of my eye, then on top of my eyelids and on my lower eyelash line. I quickly added some mascara and walked over to my full-length mirror to make sure I looked fine.

I grabbed my skateboard from against the wall and quietly went down the steps. My dad would be extremely pissed if I woke him up this early. Before I walked out the door, I checked on my mom in the guestroom on the first floor. She's been sick for a while. A long while. We were never able to take her to the hospital because we didn't have enough money. And my dad doesn't care. For about 2 years now, I've been working and trying to earn as much money as possible. I wanted to move out of this hellhole and move into my own apartment. But when my mom got sick, I knew I had to stay for her sake. At first, we thought it was just a cold. But then it got worse and worse. I checked my money in the bank but had nowhere near as much as I needed to take her to the hospital. My mom got so sick that she ended up not being able to walk from weakness. She started losing weight and now, she just stays in bed. I make food for her. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner. She tries to eat but ends up throwing it up. I never wanted to admit this to myself but…she's dying. And there is nothing I can do about it.

I skateboarded to my bus stop. We were let out early today since it was the last day of school. We had no classes. All we had to do was turn in our textbooks and clean out our lockers. I was actually excited for this summer. I would be going to this camp called Camp Rock. I found the brochure at 7-11 and decided to keep it. The price was a lot so I called them to see if there was any way I could get a discount.

"Thank you for calling Camp Rock, how may I help you?" Said a lady on the other end of the phone.

"Hi, I was wondering if there was any possible way a person could get a discount if they wanted to go to your camp?" I asked, hoping there was.

"Ooh. I don't think so honey, but let me give the phone to the person in charge and he can tell you."

"OK, thank you very much." She put me on hold and about 30 seconds later, a British man picked up the phone.

"Camp Rock," I asked the man the same thing I asked the woman. He thought about it for a while.

"Actually, you're just in luck. We have an opening in the kitchen. If you like, you can help us cook the food and maybe do the dishes." I felt my heart do a flip.

"Yes, I'll take it." I didn't care if I had to help in the kitchen. I was just happy that I could go. The man asked me a few questions over the phone and filled out a paper as I answered the questions.

"Okay. Looks like you're good to go. We'll mail you your schedule. I'll try my best to put you in the classes you chose but don't get your hopes up. It might not be able to happen."

"Okay. Thank you so much Sir."

"The names Brown, sweetheart. I'll see you in the summer. Bye-bye."

The bus came and I got on. The one thing I hated about school was that I had no friends. Nobody would talk to me and some would just act like I wasn't there. Happily, I went through the whole year without any trouble from bullies and such. I had already turned in my textbooks the day before so all I had to do was empty my locker. I wasn't a very messy person so it didn't take me very long. Everyone was told to go to the cafeteria for an announcement. I took a seat at a table and Mr. Smith, the principle, was standing in the front, waiting for everybody to be seated.

"Hello Students. Are you guys' happy that the year is over?" There was a loud noise of cheer and applaud. "Well, this has been an interesting year for me, and I'm sure for all of you too. I just wanted to wish you guys' a happy summer and, well, have fun." More cheers and applaud. "Good luck to all of you. And to those who are planning on starting something new, don't give up. If you think strong and act strong, then you'll stay strong. And to the others," He paused. "Please be good." Everyone laughed. "Don't get yourselves into trouble. No smoking, no doing drugs. Stay pure, if you guys' know what I mean." More people started laughing including me. "Be good and have a great summer!" Mr. Smith left and everyone cheered and started chatting with their friends. I got up and walked back to my locker. It was now completely empty. I closed the locker door and headed outside. None of the buses were leaving yet so I skateboarded all the way to BORDERS. I headed to the back; put my nametag on and walked back upfront by the cashier. I slid behind the counter and stood there till people were ready to pay for their things.

When I got home, I checked the mail. I looked through them and was happy to see my check. Thank god today was payday. I walked inside my house. My heart skipped a beat when I saw my dad sitting on the couch. I tried to sneak upstairs without him noticing. No such luck.

"Jael! Get your ass in here." I knew this was a bad idea but I ignored him. I ran upstairs to my room and decided to get my packing started. I grabbed my 2 suitcases and 2 duffle bags from my closet and started throwing all my clothes in it. I didn't even leave one bit of it in my closet. I ran into my bathroom with one of the duffle bags and threw all my hair supplies and feminine needs into it. I ran back into the room and took all the make up that I wouldn't be using the day I was leaving and put it in my make up organizer then put that in my duffle bag. I grabbed my jewelry and put it in my jewelry case. I put my acoustic and electric guitars in their cases and put my keyboard in its case too. I packed all my music and books and put it in the other duffle. I pulled out a small box from my closet and took out all the journals I've written in over the years, which were about 4 or 5, and put it in my duffle.

By the time I was done, my room was entirely empty. I didn't realize how fast someone could pack when they're so excited to get out of the shit hole they've been living in. Surprisingly, all my things fit in 2 suitcases and 2 duffle bags. Was that a lot or a little? I don't know. My clothes fit in the 2 suitcases but probably because I didn't fold them, just threw them in. And my other necessities were in my 2 duffels. I had no idea how I would be getting all these bags over there and how I would be carrying them, but I'm leaving. And that's all I can think of right now. I plugged my laptop in the charger and let it charge so it could be 100% by the time I leave, which would be in about 2 days.

I snuck downstairs to see if my dad was still there. Thankfully, he wasn't. I walked over to my mom's room and sat on the chair beside her. She started to stir. I instantly stood up and stood at her side.

"Hey." She said, very tiredly and weak when she saw me.

"Hey mom." Tears started to fill my eyes. "How're you feeling?" I knew that was a dumb question to ask, but I didn't have anything else to say. She smiled.

"Never better." She started to cough. I took the water bottle from her side table and gave it to her to drink. She took a few sips then put her head back down. I put the bottle back on the side table then sat back down in the chair, tears running down my face.

"Honey, don't cry." She said.

"Mom, how can I not cry when you're-" I didn't finish my sentence. I put my hand in hers and squeezed it.

"Mom," I started to say. "I-I'm gonna be gone for the summer."

"Where are you going?"

"There's this camp. A music camp that I want to go to. I've been raising money for a while now to go and now is my only chance. I would never do this but I have to leave. I have to get out of the house. Mom, I can't stay here anymore. I feel like I'm dying every time I come back to this place called "home". But if you really want me to, I'll stay. I wont go for your-"

"Go."

"What?"

"Go. Go to camp. Be free and get out of this place. Make this the best summer of your life. Ill be fine." I laughed a little.

"Do you honestly believe that?" She smiled.

"No. Don't make me a burden on your shoulders. Have fun! Make friends. Sing. Dance."

"I can't make this summer the best if I know you wont be here for much longer." That's when I heard a car outside.

"Dad." I said quietly.

"Quickly, go back to your room before he sees you in here." I got up but before I turned to the door, I looked at my mom.

"I love you."

"I love you too. Now go!" She whispered loudly. I ran upstairs. As soon as I reached the top, dad opened the door. I walked into my room, closed the door and locked it. I opened my laptop and played my iTunes. Just not loud enough for my dad to come and yell at me. I opened the window and sat on the windowsill, thinking about how Camp Rock would be but I'm still mad for leaving my mom here alone with that jackass that is supposedly my dad. Was there anyone I could ask to watch her? That's when it came to me. My mom and I are pretty close with our neighbors. I can always ask them to watch her for the summer. My heart felt lighter now and a smile grew on my face.

The thing was, I'm not coming back at the end of summer. I have no idea where to go but I can't come back. But I will come for mom. I have to.

So, I decided to add a little Raise Your Voice into this if I need to. Anyways, I accept criticism so help me out please. Review! And Thanks!