1Title: Not Ready To Back Down

Summary: Lily's life is spiraling out of control. Her mom's in the hospital, her dad's chosen there are better things than his family, and she is totally unprepared for her mid-terms. Now, Lily's determined to take control of something...

Disclaimer: I do not own Hannah Montana or any of its characters.

Wow, it sure has been a long time since I've written a story. I guess there isn't really much to say except for I hope you like it and please review!

"Sweetheart, everything is going to turn out ok. I'll be fine." I nodded. Paramedics lifted my mother's stretcher up onto the back of their ambulance and pushed it in. One, a tall, muscular man, swung close the doors before slipping a large metal board through a few loops to secure it. He turned his head and smiled at me. I let a slight grin slip across my face, but it quickly faded. The man turned around and stomped his feet toward the front of the vehicle. She door slammed shut. The engine rumbled. They took off. All I could do was watch as they drove further away, taking my mom with them.

Cancer is probably the scariest word in the English dictionary; aside from assassination and death, that is. Sad part is, I can't say those words were totally uncalled for or anything. Because the truth of the matter is, those words are commonly related to each other in one horrific way or another. I would know. My grandpa died of lung cancer about half a year ago, not to long before school started. I didn't get to say goodbye.

Luckily, we had all moved on in about a month or so. Unfortunately, that terrible six-letter word would come up again in a short two months, this time coming from my mother. In only a week, she started khemo therapy and radiation. And in four months, she was admitted to the hospital a third time. That day was today.

So, here I was. Standing on my front porch I was holding back tears. My eyes stung, inside and out. My cheeks were burning, and the space in front of me began to blur. My hand reached for the doorknob, turned it, and pulled. I let my feet take control as the carried me inside and landed my entire body in front of the couch. Then I simply plopped down.

Riiing. I jumped. Riiing. After letting out a deep breath, I reached over onto the coffee table and gripped the telephone into my hand. I lifted it to my ear. "Hello?"

Silence. I waited.

"Hello?" I tried again. There was a click and a voice came on. I didn't recognize it, but I listened anyway. But it was useless, because the voice was a telemarketer trying to sell me a car. Or give me a loan. Something like that. Regardless, I said, "I'm not interested in your shit." Then I promptly hung up. Yes, I'll admit that was rude, but it's not like I cared. They could get over it. I'm sure they've heard worse.

I can remember lying to my mom about having my homework finished. I'd lie to my teachers and tell them my mom needed me to help her around the house, so I didn't have enough time. I'd lie to my mom (again) when my grades started to slip by telling her my teachers sucked and I never learned anything. At dinner, I'd say I was full. I'd say I was going to my room to study. I'd actually get on the internet and chat with Miley until around midnight. If she wasn't on, I would go out and surf, just to burn off some steam.

So basically, the truth never came out of my mouth. Somebody would ask me, "Have you seen that new movie?"

I'd say, "Yup," and continue on with my day. It was a breeze. Almost like it never happened. But it did. And I left a person thinking I had seen the best movie all year, when in reality I couldn't even afford to buy a ticket (my dad had only been working part time, so I was expected to pay my own way). And it's not like I'd want to. The smell of popcorn and candy would strangle me and I'd end up leaving anyway.

Something caught my eye. A book was open in front of me. Then it hit me that I had been studying for my algebra test an hour ago. Mid terms were coming up, and it felt like my mind was a ticking time bomb, just waiting to go off. School sucked, and I wasn't about to waist my afternoon working on something for it at home. In my opinion, home is for relaxing when you are stressed out over schoolwork, not for killing you with more.

Everybody seemed to be turning away from me lately. My teachers wouldn't listen, my mom (though she couldn't help it) was leaving me with everything work and house care related, and Miley was simply no help at all when it came to studying. My dad's hadn't even been living in the same house as me lately. He had always been out with his friends, or on a "business trip." My mom seemed perfectly fine with it all. Yet unlike my mom, I wasn't about to buy any of his lies. When mom was gone, he was always out longer and came home drunker. It wouldn't take a genius to figure out he was having an affair. Or two. Maybe three, but that's beyond the point. So I didn't blame my mom when she decided to let him go.

My hand slammed the book closed and forcefully slide it across the table, letting it crash into the remote which slid off and its batteries flopped onto the hardwood. A smile crept across my face.

I've discovered the three most important words you could have in your vocabulary; acceptance, determination, and love. My mother taught me I had to accept the faults in life, be determined to put the pieces back together, and love the people who helped me do it. So, I do. But it's not exactly as easy as it sounds. Sometimes, you don't care if everything is flushed down the toilet, or if your feet bleed under the sharp edges of your broken dreams. Yet loving is still pretty simple.

I guess my mom had left knowing I would be able to survive by myself for a while. Yet being all by myself got pretty lonesome sometimes.

All of my friends were lucky enough to have siblings. Being an only child was extremely boring, especially when you were grounded for sneaking out all of the time to catch some waves. I'd watch TV, read a book, watch TV, read a book, and then go to bed. Repeat. Repeat again. And again. I rest my case.

It's down to this,
I've got to make this life make sense…

Please review and let me know what you thought. ;)