I'm so sorry it took me a while to update this story, I had a bit of Writer's block... Anyway I finally finished writing this chapter and I'm still not sure about the fact that I made her parents die... ): I feel so bad for doing that to Lilly! Please read and review, I love to hear what people think of my writing.
Chapter Seven
The clock struck a quarter to nine when Lilly finally awoke that morning. Memories of yesterday's tragedy didn't even cross her mind, mostly because she couldn't remember it. She slowly sat up, stretching her arms, and looked around the room to find Miley sitting right beside her. A small smile grew on her face as she remembered the encounter they had a few days ago. "Good morning Miley...It's good to see you again. What brings you here?" Her voice filled with some cheerfulness as she was clueless about what had happened the day before.
Miley let out a sad sigh, pulling the other into a warm embrace. She realized her memory had gone again and would hate having to tell her the news of her parents all over again. "Morning sweetie." The brunette pressed a soothing kiss to her forehead, trying to keep her voice from cracking. "I want to be here for you, Lil. I care about you."
Wrapping her own arms around the taller girl, Lilly smiled up at her. "An amazing friend you are, Miley." She reached her hand up to stroke her friend's cheek. "I'm so thankful to my parents for giving me the oppurtunity to meet you..." Her voice gentle as she continued to stroke the other's cheek. The events of yesterday still hadn't sunk in her mind as she mentioned her parents.
Another sad sigh escaped as tears fell from Miley's eyes. She hated that her friend would have to be told of the death of her parents again...It would be even harder for the young girl than expected as none of them took in consideration of her failing memory. She didn't even know what to say to her right now yet alone break the news to her.
"M-Miley..." Lilly looked up at her friend's sad green eyes, wiping her tears softly. "Why are you crying? Are you okay, Miley? Oh no...I didn't upset you did I?" She gently squeezed the girl tighter, worried as to what was upsetting her.
Shaking her head, Miley put on a soft smile for the girl while pulling her closer. "Oh no sweetie. You didn't do a thing to upset me." She placed a loving kiss to the top of her head. "I'm just so, so happy to have you in my life, Lilly. You're such a precious person and I hate seeing you fight so hard. I don't want you to suffer anymore, sweetheart."
Later that morning, Lilly's doctor slowly walked in the room. He peered over at her, noticing she was awake, and placed a friendly smile on his face. "Good morning, Lilly." His voice sympathetic towards the ill girl. "We're going to be taking you down for your radiation therapy here in just a few minutes."
The blonde's eyes grew wide with fear at the thought of having radiation all through out her body. In the nearly eleven years she'd been suffering with leukemia, she never once had to encounter radiation therapy. And thinking about it caused her body to tense up. She hoped that her doctor would allow Miley to be with her during the treatment. "C-can M-Miley come with me?" Her voice trembled with apprehension.
Miley sensed her fear as she wrapped her arms protectively around her, looking over at the doctor. She, too, hoped that he would allow her to stay with Lilly during the process. The doctor cleared his throat while flipping through the blonde's charts. "I don't see why not." He smiled kindly at the girls. "You'll just have to be very careful, Miley. And stay sanitized." He nodded as he spoke, then gently brought a wheel chair over to the side of Lilly's bed.
Lilly stared at the wheel chair with refusal. There was no way she would allow the freedom of mobility to be taken away from her. She profusely shook her head, letting both the doctor and Miley know that there would be no way of getting her in the thing. "I can walk myself down to the treatment, doctor." She spoke quietly, but quite sternly.
"Lilly, sweetie, you're weak...you're not stable enough to walk on your own. I know you hate being told that, but it's true Lil..." The taller girl soothed, pressing a loving kiss to her forehead. She realized the day she met Lilly that she loathed losing her independence. Continuing to bring comfort to her friend, she turned to face the doctor with a pleading expression. "If I promise to hold her hand the whole time, will you allow her to walk?"
The doctor took a deep breath, coming to the realization that his patient wouldn't succumb to his request of being wheeled down. And he certainly hadn't want to upset the girl anymore then she already was, so he nodded his approval. "You'll have to walk slowly, Lilly, and keep a hold of your IV line."
After the treatment ended, Miley had to carry her back to the room as she had no energy left to walk. She softly stroked the blonde's back before gently laying her in the bed and pressing a soothing kiss to her forehead. "Have a good nap, sweetheart." She whispered softly into her friend's ear while carefully wrapping the blanket around her.
Lilly looked up at her, shaking her head weakily. "I-I'm not tired." Her reply obviously a lie as her eyes nearly drooped shut with every breath she took. But, of course, she was too stubborn to ever admit such a thing.
The brunette observed her stubborn behavior, stroking her forehead lightly. "Sweetie, your eyes are drooping..." She spoke softly as she wrapped the other in a soothing embrace. "It's okay to be tired, Lilly...You've had a rough morning!" Miley hated to see her friend so weak, she wished there was something she could do to take all her pain and suffering away. Especially now that the poor girl had to deal with the loss of both her parents.
"C-can you lay with me...please?" The smaller girl's voice trembled as she peered up at her friend with sadness. As if the loss of her parents hadn't drained her enough, the treatment surely had.
Miley gently sat down beside her friend, wrapping her in a strong embrace. Hearing the weakness in the other's voice made her want to hold her as tight as she could. "Of course sweetie...I'll always be here to hold you. Whatever helps soothe you, you just tell me." She pressed her lips gently to the other's forehead, wishing that would take all Lilly's pain away.
The blonde slowly drifted to sleep as Miley's heart-beat sound soothingly into her ear. Watching her poor friend finally fall asleep, the taller girl stroked her back in soft circles as her mind was in deep thought. There had to be something she could do help her friend through the loss of her parents and the horrible side effects of her treatment... The question in her mind, though, was what was that something?
Letting out a sad sigh, Miley peered down at the blonde while pulling her close. "I promise you will get through this sweetheart... I'll make sure of that." She whispered gently into her ear as she wrapped the blanket around them. After a good twenty minutes of rubbing the other's back, she too had fallen asleep.
Saturday afternoon brought a cheerful Rose into her sister's hospital room. She was surprised to see that her parents weren't in the room and in place of their absense was Miley and her father. Confused, she turned to the bed where she saw her sister watching her with empathy.
Lilly hated that she'd have to ruin her younger sister's cheerful mood with the death of their parents...But unfortunately it had to be done. "Hey Rosie...have fun at your friends house love?" She spoke gently, motioning for the younger girl to come sit by her. As soon as she felt the mattress sink a bit, she wrapped her arms protectively around her sister.
The thin-haired brunette looked up into Lilly's blue eyes, feeling the tension in them. Rose could always figure out when something wasn't right with her sister and the look in her eyes confirmed her suspicisions. Letting out a deep sigh, she quietly spoke up. "What's the bad news, Lil?" Her voice filled with concern as she snuggled into her sister's arms. She hoped and prayed that it wasn't anything too bad...but with Lilly's awful disease anything was possible.
Pressing a gentle kiss to the top of Rose's head, Lilly took a deep breath. "I love you so much, sweetie..." She started, hoping to soothe the young child. "A few days ago, after mom and dad dropped you off at school, they were...uhm they were-they were in a really, really bad car accident..." She had to pause for a minute to catch her breath and in the process she gently pulled her sister closer. "Father d-d-d-died before-before they even made it to the hospital... A-a-and m-m-mom's b-b-b-brain d-d-d-dead..." Lilly wrapped her arms tighter around the younger girl, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead as the two of them cried softly together as they mourned the loss of their parents.
"C-c-c-can we-we-we see m-m-mommy and d-d-daddy?" Rose asked in between infuriarating sobs as she held onto her sister for dear life. How could her parents leave her when they knew one day Lilly would too? How was that fair? Thinking such thoughts caused more sobs to escape from her, squeezing the older girl in the process.
The blonde let her own sobs escape as she continued to rock her sister, stroking her back in the process. "Oh sweetie...I don't know if they'll let us... They-they probably are-are a-all scratched up and bruised from the crash... Seeing them now -m-might make you even more upset baby..."
Shaking her head, Rose stood up from her sister's arms with tears streaming down her cheeks. "You don't have to go see them, but I am." She spoke in between sobs as she made her way to the door but stopped once she got there and glanced pleadingly at her older sister. "P-please come with me...I-I can't go by myself, L-L-Lilly..."
Lilly weakly got up from her bed, walking over to the other as she wrapped her in a hug. The last thing she wanted to do was go see her parents after such an awful crash...She'd been scared that they wouldn't like same. But she knew her sister needed to see them, she needed some sort of closure. "O-okay, sweetie... We'll go see them. B-but don't be alarmed if they don't look like mom and dad... People look different when they're d-d-dead, Rosie." She held the younger girl close, hating that they had to go through this.
Tears poured from the blue eyes of Lilly Truscott as she held her mother's cold hand. How could this be real? She thought as she stroked the hand that she held. This was supposed to be her lying in the bed, barely clinging to life...not her mother. How fair was that? Her mother didn't deserve to die, she was too young! Why would God take both her parents when he knew she was going to die soon herself?! Why would God do that to her baby sister? She'd have no one left if Lilly were to die...
"Oh mom..." Lilly's voice trembled with tears as she pressed a gentle kiss to her mother's forehead. "Y-you don't deserve to b-b-be d-d-d-dead... I-I-I need you mom! Rosie needs you! P-please come back... If you come back I promise I'll fight harder! Please mom...I love you so much mom...I c-c-can't fight this w-w-without you. Y-y-you're my angel, momma..." Sobs escaped from her as she held onto her mother dear life as she wished by some miraculous miracle her mother would come back.
Leanne suddenly appeared in the doorway, watching her daughter cry at her bedside. She loathed seeing either of her babies cry...especially if it was because of her. Gently, she made her way over to the sobbing blonde and wrapped her arms strongly around her. "Don't cry, my sweet girl..." She soothed into Lilly's ear, pressing a kiss to her head. "Mommy's here; I've got you sweetie."
The younger blonde looked up at her with shock, her body shaking with fear. "W-what a-are you d-doing here, m-mom?" Her voice shaking as she held onto her mother as tight as she could. "P-please d-don't l-leave... I need you, mom."
"I'm here because I could sense that you needed me... I don't want you to give up, baby girl." Her voice soft, as she holds her little girl close in her arms. Nothing felt better to her than having her child in her arms. "I know you're upset about your father and mine's death, but sweetheart you need to keep fighting! You're so young, Lilly, it's not your time to die. As much as I'd love to have you up in heaven with me...now is not the time sweetie. You have your whole life ahead of you and I want you to live it. Don't just do it for me or for Rosie, do it for yourself! You deserve to live a long, happy life, baby girl." She squeezed her daughter lovingly, stroking her cheek. "I love you so much, sweet girl. I'll always be here if you need me, but you need to keep fighting. You owe that to yourself."
That evening had Lilly in the bathroom, kneeling in front of the toilet as she vomit everything she had in her up. The new chemotherapy her doctor had her on had been so strong that she wanted to give up...but she knew she couldn't do that. Though as the vomitting wouldn't let up, she felt tears well up in her eyes. She wished the side-effects would wear off because she didn't know how much longer she could take the excruciating pain.
Fortunately Miley sensed her pain as she stood behind her, holding her hair back as she rubbed soothing circles around her back. "Shhh, don't cry sweetie." Her voice gentle, sympathizing with the ill girl. "You're okay, love, you're okay." She tried soothing, feeling bad that she had to deal with so much pain. She didn't deserve to go through all the tragic events that she's had to.
Shaking her head as the vomitting continued, Lilly let out a painful shriek. "I-I c-can't d-d-do t-t-this anymore..." She felt herself start heaving for air, as her body started to shake violently.
"Honey, calm down!" Miley spoke gently as she patted the other's back, trying to get her to breathe normally. "You've gotta calm down, baby, you're making yourself hyperventilate... Come on, sweetie, breathe!" She pulled the shaking and heaving blonde into her arms, rocking her softly as she stroked soothing circles around her back. "Shhhh, shhhh... Calm down sweetheart. I've got you, baby doll."
Lilly looked up into the green eyes watching her with worry. Tears poured out of her eyes like waterfalls as she clung to her for dear life. "I h-h-have to fi-fi-fight t-t-this f-f-for m-m-my sister... B-b-b-but it's so hard Miley! It's so hard..." Her voice stuttered with infuriarating sobs as the taller girl held her tight.
Pressing her lips comfortingly to her forehead, Miley cradled her head against her chest. The pain in her friend's voice broke her heart, she wished she could take it away from her. "Oh sweetie, I know it's hard... And you're in so much pain, you don't deserve to suffer Lil. But you are so strong sweetie! You are such a strong girl, Lilly, you're going to get through this. I know you will! And I will be right here for you, so if you need strength to fight this, you just tell me. I will help you fight, baby girl, I promise you that. Right now I think you could use a big hug, couldn't you?" She spoke gently, laying Lilly against her chest.
The blonde sniffled quietly as she peered up into her eyes, sadly smiling through her tears. She reached for one of her hands, stroking it gently with her thumb. "Y-you're an angel, Miley...m-my angel..." Lilly spoke in a hoarse tone as she snuggled closer in her arms. "I-I'm so glad you're my friend...You have the sweetest heart in the world, Miley."
"No, Lilly, you're my angel. You are amazing, so amazing Lil. I wish you'd realize that, Lilly. Rose has said that you won't accept any compliments...she says you don't feel that you're beautiful... I don't know why you would think otherwise, sweetie, you're more beautiful than any person I've ever met. You need to see that, Lilly, because it's true." Miley held her tighter, stroking her hair softly.
Rose sat in a chair beside her sister's bed, watching her with sadness. She prayed to God that she wouldn't have to lose her sister as well, it was hard enough losing her parents. Besides, her sister deserved to live and go on with her life. She wanted that for Lilly; she wanted her be happy and healthy for once. A pair of arms wrapped softly around her, pulling her close to them. She thought it had be Lilly who was holding her but to her surprise when she looked up, she saw Miley.
The older girl smiled softly at her, stroking her hair softly. "You looked like you needed a hug, Rose." Miley soothed, as she hugged her tight. She adored how much Rose loved her older sister and felt bad that she had to watch her suffer. "I know I haven't really talked you before, but if you ever need anything you can come to me. Okay sweetie? Same with my daddy. We're here for both you and Lilly." She pressed a motherly kiss to the top of Rose's head as she held her close.
"I want you to take care of my sister. You mean the world to her, Miley! You're the reason she's trying so hard to fight off her disease... You've turned my sister into such a happy person and it's amazing to see her smile. Smiles from her used to be so rare... But now they're an everyday occurrence, well obviously not at the moment as we just lost our parents, but before the accident they were and it's all thanks to you!"
Miley felt a tiny smile form on her face as she stroked soft circles around the child's back. She thought it to be one of the most touching things in the world to see how much this little girl cared about her older sister. "Awww sweetie, I'll always take care of your sister. She's my best friend." Her voice gentle as she ran her hand delicately through the other's thin brown hair.
Looking up at the green eyed singer, Rose smiled softly. She wrapped her own arms around Miley in a comforting embrace. "Thank you for being her friend, Miley. She deserves a good friend for once in her life and I'm so happy that it's you. Lilly's looked up to you since I was a toddler...All I ever heard about was you and your amazing music. She kept buying more and more of your posters, which drove our parents nuts, but it took her mind off her disease. I remember right after her thirteenth birthday...the doctors thought she was going to die...so my parents wanted to do something special for her. They asked her what she wanted to do and I remember hearing her mumble something about a Miley Stewart concert...She repeated it over and over until my parents finally bought the tickets...of course they weren't good seats but the look on Lilly's face when we got there was priceless! That was the best night of her life and she talked about for months afterwards...Of course what she really wanted was to meet you but she figured that would never happen...so she settled for the concert. And now that she's actually met you and the two of you have become really close friends, she couldn't be any happier!"
It'd been around ten am on Sunday morning when Doctor Smith walked into Lilly's hospital room. He glanced at the sleeping blonde that lay comfortably in the bed, letting out a deep breath. Worry filled his expression as he thought of how to ask her the question he had for her. A question he had been dreading to ask as he knew how hard it would be for her.
Mr. Stewart noticed his presence, turning around to stare at him. He seen the worried expression on the doctor's face, which caused him to grow concerned. The singer's father hope and prayed that it wasn't anything bad as he knew poor Lilly couldn't handle anymore suffering or pain. "Is there something wrong, doctor Smith?" He slowly asked, peering over at the sleeping blonde.
The doctor read over the charts in his hands, then looked up at Mr. Stewart. "I don't really know if it's bad news or good news.." He started, still not sure how to ask Lilly about it. "I've been looking over her last scan results and her kidneys aren't doing too well...She'll need a transplant in the near future...and we do have someone who could give her one. The problem is, it's her mother... As her mother isn't listed as an organ donor we need conscent from her family...but obviously her husband's gone too so we'd have to ask Lilly...and I don't know how I'll be able to ask her such a question. We're going to have to get an answer soon so we can harvest the organs but we need Lilly's conscent."
Robbie glanced over at his daughter, who'd been sitting beside Lilly's bed stroking her cheeks, and motioned for her to wake the sleeping girl up. Miley reluctantly complied, hating to wake the poor thing, gently making her way over to the bed. "Lilly, wake up sweetie." She spoke soothingly as she stroked the girl's forehead. "Come on, precious one...It's time to get up."
Groaning, Lilly opened her eyes to see her best friend standing above her and smiled sadly. "Morning, Miley." She spoke in a scratchy tone, reaching for her glass of water. She gulped it down, noticing her doctor standing in the doorway and frowned. "Now what's wrong with me?! Let me guess, the tumor's grown even more?" Anger rose in her body as she shook her head violently.
Miley pulled the upset blonde into her arms, looking her straight in the eyes. "It's okay, sweetheart...It's nothing about the tumor...calm down Lil. Remember love, I'm here to help you, whatever's wrong we'll take care of it together." She spoke gently to her distraught friend as she held her tight in her strong arms. Every word she said came straight from her heart, she would always be there to help her Lilly.
"Lilly, it's not really that bad...but you're going to need a kidney transplant. Looking through your previous scans, both kidneys are looking quite awful. We do, though, have a perfect match..." The doctor gulped, loathing what he was about to ask her. "It turns out that your mother would be a perfect donor for you. Even though she is brain dead, her organs are in perfect condition. And they would save a lot of patients...but as she is not a self-proclaimed organ donor we would need your conscent for the donation of her organs."
Lilly felt herself tense up at the thought of having to make such a decision. Fortunately the taller girl held her tight, bringing a sense of comfort and calming to her body. She then proceeded to look up at her doctor, not knowing what answer to give him. She couldn't agree to taking one of her mother's kidneys...That didn't seem right. "I-I don't know..." She sniffled as she held onto Miley. "My mom would do anything to help another person...So if you have patients you want to donate some of her organs to, then you can...B-but I-I cannot take one of my mother's kidneys! I just can't. Give them to someone who needs them."
Rose shook her head, looking at her sister with tears. "Mom would do anything for you Lilly! She would want you to have one of her kidneys!" She turned to the doctor with tears streaming down her cheeks. "Give my sister a kidney! I don't care if she doesn't want it...she NEEDS it!" Glaring at Lilly with anger, she spoke up again. "If you refuse mom's kidney, than I'm giving you mine. I really don't care what you think, I'm tired of watching you suffer! You're letting yourself suffer, Lil...You don't deserve to! Why do you feel that you do?! Why Lilly?!"
Lilly shook her head, feeling tears well up in her eyes as she heard the brokenness in her younger sister's voice. She weakly walked over to Rose, pulling her into a soothing hug. As she squeezed the girl tight, she cradled her head in her hands. "Rosie, there are lot of other patients here who need mother's kidneys more than I do. I don't want to take something that could save their lives away from them!" She tenderly stroked the child's cheek. "Sweetie, there is no way you are giving me a kidney. I'm fine, Rosie, I promise."
Miley held Lilly's hand softly in hers, stroking it delicately. Seeing her look so frail and weak broke her heart. "You're going to be okay, sweetie. You're a tough little angel..." Her voice gently as she pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Don't be scared, precious, you'll get through this." She noticed the tears dripping down Lilly's cheek and softly wiped them away with her thumb.
The blonde propped herself up so she was looking straight into the other's eyes. Reaching for her hand, she stroked it comfortingly. "I have to be okay. My sister needs me... And I can't leave my best friend.." A sad smile formed as she weakly wrapped her arms around her favorite singer. "I love you, Miles... You mean so much to me." Her voice cracking as she let tears fall from her eyes.
"Oh sweetie...I love you too, so much." Miley cradled the tearful blonde in her arms, pressing a gentle kiss to her cheek. "I know you're going to be okay, Lilly. You're a strong, strong girl..." She smiled reassuringly at the girl in her arms, stroking both her cheeks lovingly. "I love you so much, Lil. You're my precious, precious friend. I'll be right here waiting for you after it's over. I promise, babe."
About fifteen minutes later, a nurse came in with some medicine and a friendly smile on her face. "Good morning, Lilly. It's time to head down." She walked over to her bedside, handing her the little cup of medicine. "Drink this, it'll help calm your nerves."
The singer stood by Lilly's side, watching the tears well up in her blue eyes. "Awwww baby girl, you're gonna be okay! Don't cry, pretty girl. You'll be fine, Lilly. Don't worry... Shhhhh." She pressed a comforting kiss to each of her cheeks, running a hand through her little bit of hair. "Shhhh, shhhh. It's all gonna be okay, sweetie. Your momma's watching over you and she won't let anything happen to you. And when it's all over, you'll back in your room. You're a strong little thing, Lil." She wrapped her arms around her, squeezing her lovingly. "Have a good nap, sweetheart. I'll see you in a few hours. I love you so much, baby girl."