It had been six months since her mum told her she was sick.
Six very long and hard months.
Lilly still remembers the moment her mum told them she was sick, it was like the whole world froze and all she could hear was her heartbeat getting louder and louder as she panicked at hearing her mother finally told them her secret.
During the last six months her mum was too sick to work and since they were zero hour contract jobs she had no sick pay so they were forced to live of off benefits, savings her mum had worked hard to save up for Lilly's and Jason's future and goodwill of friends such as her mum's friends at the restaurant who did a collection for them from their wages and put aside a portion of their tips very month for Lilly's mum.
It was very tough financially but even tougher emotionally as every week Lilly's mum got weaker from the chemotherapy meaning she struggled to look after herself never mind Lilly and since Lilly's brother didn't show any emotion or bother to help around the house Lilly decided she would step up and take care of her mum.
She may only be 7 now but her mum needed help and Lilly was all she had so she did what she could and became her mum's carer. It was tough going for a seven-year-old, instead of being outside playing with friends after school or on the weekends Lilly was cooking, cleaning or caring for her mum and instead of focusing on learning new things at school or enjoying playing with friends during lunchtime Lilly spent the whole day at school either thinking about her mum, worrying if she was okay or sleeping during class as she was too scared to sleep at home in case her mum took ill during the night. Life was very hard for Lilly but she loved her mum so much and she didn't mind taking care of her at all as her mum had taken care of her for years and now it was her turn to care for her mum.
It was 10 pm and Lilly had cooked dinner, done the washing, cleaned the house and helped her mum bath and helped her mum to bed and tucked her in, her mum was in a lot of pain today so she did what her mum always did for her when she was sick, she just cuddled her and read her a story until she finally fell asleep. Lilly had just finished washing the dishes and was just drying them to put them away before she went to bed when the front door slammed and her brother staggered into the kitchen.
" So you're still up brat, shouldn't you be in bed? " He slurred looking at her annoyed.
" I would love to be in bed but unfortunately someone has to clean the house and it's not going to be you is it? " Lilly replied annoyed.
" Shut up brat stop moaning! I have been busy. " He snarled as he stalked towards her and pinned her against the wall in anger.
" Let me go you stink of alcohol, it's making me feel sick. " Lilly moaned trying not to shout so she didn't wake her mum up.
" That's the smell of whiskey and beer that's what a real man smells like! " Jason replied rather loudly not caring that his mum was sleeping.
" Real men also work to take care of their families but you don't do that. " Lilly replied not able to hold her cheeky reply and her brother in his drunk state simply reacted by slapping her so hard her head bounced back and smacked into the wall.
Lilly saw her brother's hand fly towards her face but she had nowhere to move to since he had her trapped so she bit her lip to stop herself screaming so she didn't wake up her mum as she waited for her brother's hand to reach her face. His hand made contact shortly after she braced and so forcefully her head snapped back violently and she hit her head off the wall with a painful smack.
Blood trickled down from her lip that she bit and her head throbbed painfully.
Lilly reached her hand back to feel the back of the head for blood and feeling none she sighed with relief and opened her eyes. As she did so however her vision was a little blurry so she squeezed them shut for a few more seconds before she opened them again. When she opened them however the expression on her brother's face that was just inches from hers made her gulp in fear and she wished she kept her eyes closed.
" That was your fault you little b***h, you provoked me and I simply reacted. If you just behaved I wouldn't have to correct you! You have made a hole in the wall you stupid brat and I will have to spend the night fixing it before mum gets up - what a waste of my night. " Jason snarled inches from her face as he roughly grabbed her arm and turned her round to face the wall and look at the hole that was now there. " Look what you did ! Apologise to me, for having to waste my time fixing the damage you caused! " Lilly looked at him over her shoulder in shock.
' Did he expect me to apologize to him for him losing his temper and hitting me so hard my head made a hole in the wall because of the force of his hit? ' Lilly thought. Lilly stubbornly stayed quiet but after a minute of her stubborn silence, Jason squeezed her arm so tight it went red and he shook her with such force her head shook violently back and forth and it pounded in pain and the pain eventually became too much for her little body to handle so she abruptly squeaked out an sorry, and hearing it Jason stopped his abuse and smiled smugly.
" See things are so much easier when you just behave! Now I am going to have to fix the damage you caused but you should go to bed you have school tomorrow and remember don't tell mum about what happened, she is sick and stressed enough without hearing how bad you've been. Do you understand? " Jason threatened. Lilly knew her mum would be angry at Jason and not her but he was right she did have enough stress to deal without knowing Jason was drinking again and he hurt her so Lilly just obediently nodded before going to her bed.
The next few months went by in a similar routine of Lilly trying to balance school, taking care of her mum and the house whilst her brother just went out got drunk and got into trouble then came home and abused Lilly. Lilly tried her best not to provoke him and avoid him but it never worked he always found her and always seemed to have a reason to hurt her.
Lilly went to bed every night crying herself to sleep and praying her mum got better and six months later her prayers were finally answered.