“Hey, Jackson?” 

“Yeah, Riles?” Jackson answered, glancing over at his sister, whom sat upon a couch in the hotel he had rented with the money he’d brought with him. 

“Where’s Hannah at right now?” 

“Kentucky, why?” 

“Just wondering,” Riley smiled, as she pulled out her cell phone. 

“Ah, finally giving her a call I see,” Jackson noted. 

“Well, it’s about time, don’t you think?” 

“High time,” he agreed. “But, she’s in the middle of a show right now, if my guess is right.” 

“I know,” Riley smirked devilishly.  

“Ooh, you little devil you!” Jackson commented. “You’re trying to get Hannah into trouble!” 

Riley giggled. “I really don’t think Hannah will mind.” 

“Oh, boy,” Jackson shook his head. “I’d love to be there to see the look on Dad’s face when Hannah answers her phone.” 

“I’m sure we’ll hear all about it on the news or something later,” Riley replied, as she pushed the talk button after punching in her sister’s Hannah cell number.  

Meanwhile, in Kentucky, Hannah was in the middle of singing Nobody’s Perfect, when she suddenly felt her phone go off. She’d stuck it on vibrate, knowing she’d never hear it ring over her own music and the screaming crowd viewing the show from the audience. 

Hannah kept singing, as she secretly pulled her phone out to check the number, her eyes going wide when she realized it was her sister’s number scrawled across the screen. She was so surprised, she didn’t even realize she’d stopped singing, until one of her dancers nudged her. 

“Hannah! What’s wrong?” He asked, as everyone else continued on with what they were doing. 

“I’ve got to take this call!” Hannah told him, turning her phone on, knowing her sister would wait a moment once hearing the music. 

“We’re in the middle of a show!” 

“It’s urgent!” Hannah insisted, then spoke quickly to the crowd. “Be right back, y’all!” 

With that said she turned and ran off the stage quick as she could, going and locking herself in the bathroom in her dressing room. Once there she brought her phone up to her hear. 

Riles?” She whispered, as she heard their father come storming into the main room. “That you?” 

“Who else would it be calling you during a show, Hannah?” A voice she hadn’t heard in awhile replied. “I mean, c’mon!” 

“Riles! Oh my God! Did Jackson find you? Are you okay? Where are you?” Hannah demanded all at once, as she heard her father pound on the door. 

“Hannah! What’s wrong with you girl? Get on out of there and back out on that stage! You’ve a show to do!” 

“Busy at the moment, Daddy!” Hannah called out, then resumed whispering to her sister. “Well?” 

“Yes, he found me,” Riley replied. “Yes, I’m okay. And I’m not telling you, because you are not hopping on a plane and coming to get me. That’ll just be cause for Daddy to come, when I am not ready to see him just yet.” 

“Well, he’s not exactly ready to see you either,” Hannah remarked. “Him and I got into it earlier, and it wasn’t pretty. I told him the truth about that audition, and how I’d gone for you, and how you’d gone with Lily to see Sharon and Bram.” 

“Oh, how’d he take it?” Riley questioned. “He’s not blaming you now, is he?” 

“No,” Hannah sighed. “He’s still blaming you.” 

“Well, that burns it!” Riley exclaimed, anger etched in her voice. “Even when the truth comes out, I’m still not good enough for him!” 

“If you’d let me finish,” Hannah cut in. “He also blames Mom.” 

“Mom? Why’s he blame her?” 

“Because she didn’t listen to him when he told her about his bad feeling,” Hannah sighed. “She’d thought him to be selfish, and figured he was saying no, because he was supposed to go to the studio that day. But, because you wanted to audition, and they’d no one to watch Jackson, he had to stay home.” 

“So shouldn’t he be blaming Jackson for not having friends to go hang out with?” 

“Hey!” Jackson protested in the background.  

Hannah gave a small laugh. “No. It’s not Jackson’s fault either. Like Jackson told him awhile ago, it was nobody’s fault but that driver’s. Mom just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time – sadly, it was fate, and none of us could do a thing about it.” 

“Well, I wish he’d stop blaming everyone else,” Riley snapped. “If he were that worried, then why didn’t he come and get you guys then, huh? Any other time he would’ve! So obviously, if he didn’t go after y’all, his bad feeling wasn’t as strong as he originally thought, now was it?” 

“Hannah, you open up this door, right now, Young Lady!” Robbie roared through the door. 

“I don’t know,” Hannah said softly. “Look Riles, I’ve got to go. I’ll call you later, when I can talk more.” 

“Daddy’s mad, huh?” 

“Madder than three alley cats fightin’ over the last can of tuna,” Hannah replied. “Love you.” 

“Love you more,” Riley giggled. “Have fun, Hannah!” 

“Gee, thanks,” Hannah rejoined, rolling her eyes.  

She waited until she heard her sister’s phone click off, then closed hers as well. Once that was done, she stood and flushed the toilet, then ran the tap water to make it sound as though she’d actually used the bathroom.  

“Sorry, Daddy, but when a girl’s gotta go, a girl’s gotta go,” Hannah stated, as she walked past him and hurried back out onstage. She’d made sure to fasten her phone back to her pants securely first though. There was no way she was letting her father find her phone, only to discover what she’d really done in the bathroom.  

“That girl,” Robbie muttered, turning to follow her back out. “She’s lucky the fans are so understanding.” 

Back in Chicago, Riley hung up her phone, shaking her head sadly. 

“Well, what she say?” Jackson wanted to know. “She have a confrontation with Dad?” 

“Yeah,” Riley sighed. “She even told him how it was really her who’d gone to my audition that day instead.” 

“And?” Jackson pressed. 

“And,” Riley continued. “He still blames me.” 

“What?!” Jackson exclaimed. “How come?” 

“I’m selfish,” Riley said softly, her eyes downcast. “If I had’ve just let that audition pass, instead of insisting I go, then skipping out on it, and making Miles go, none of this would’ve happened. Mom never would’ve been killed that day – because of me.” 

“Riles,” Jackson spoke warily.  

“No, Jackson,” Riley cut him off. “Daddy’s right. It was my fault. If it weren’t for me wanting to do two things at once, Mom would still be here!” 

“Riley Mae, we’ve been over this!” Jackson stated firmly, his eyes narrowing. “You can’t keep blaming yourself for something that wasn’t your fault! Yes, you should’ve told them the truth back then. Yes, you probably shouldn’t have had Miley go. But there was no way any of us could know just what was going to happen that day. You were six years old, Riley! Six!” 

“A very stupid six-year-old, who got their mother killed,” Riley muttered bitterly. “I killed her, Jackson!” 

“No, you did not,” Jackson insisted sternly. “That drunk driver did. Not anybody else, you hear me Riley Mae? You never were and still aren’t stupid!” 

“Tell it to someone who cares,” Riley replied, turning and walking away from him. 

“Riley Mae Stewart!” Jackson shouted. “You get back over here right now! We are going to talk about this, until I get it through your thick skull once more, that none of this is your fault!” 

“And if I don’t want to Jackson?” Riley challenged. “What’re you going to do? Spank me?” 

“Don’t tempt me,” Jackson told her, his eyes narrowed. “Now, get back here!” 

“I’m not six-years-old anymore, Jackson,” Riley reminded him, as she did as told. “You haven’t the right to order me around anymore.” 

“Well, it works, doesn’t it?” Jackson retorted. “Now, listen and listen good, because I don’t want to ever have to tell you this again, Riley Mae. Mom’s death was not – I repeat not – your fault.” 

“I know, I know,” Riley sighed. 

“Then why must we keep having these moments where you blame yourself?” Jackson demanded. “If you know this already, then why must I keep reminding you?” 

“Because I like driving you crazy?” Riley asked innocently. 

“Riles,” Jackson pushed. “Tell me.” 

“Because deep down, some small part of me still says it’s my fault, okay?!?” Riley snapped somewhat. “No matter how many times I keep telling myself that it wasn’t, that evil little part of me keeps on insisting that it was! And the only way I can get it to shut-up for awhile, is if you go all angry big brother on me, alright?” 

“That’s not healthy, Riles,” Jackson sighed heavily, draping an arm over her shoulders. “I shouldn’t have to go all angry big brother on you, for you to believe the truth.” 

“I know,” Riley sighed as well, wrapping an arm around him for a much needed hug. “Just – sometimes, when I know that Daddy still blames me, I can’t help but blame me too. It’s like, the more he blames me, the more I blame me.” 

Jackson shook his head. “Both of you need to get past this, if we’re ever going to bring our family back to the way it once was.” 

“It-” Riley began, only to be interrupted. 

“I know it can never be how it was when Mom was here,” Jackson cut in. “But I know we can get it back to being as close as possible to how it was. And this is not anywhere near how it once was.” 

“No, it’s not,” Riley agreed sadly, resting her head on his shoulder, as they stood with one arm around the other. “I’m just glad I still have you for a brother. Without you, I don’t know what I’d do.” 

“Well, you don’t even have to worry about me not being here right now,” Jackson replied. “For right now, let’s just focus on the present time. It’s the only way we can stay sane, at this rate.” 

Riley giggled softly. “Yeah, we can be a pretty crazy bunch.” 

“If only the world knew just how much of a crazy life Hannah Montana really lives,” Jackson smirked. “Then I think they all just might run for cover.” 

Riley laughed. “They wouldn’t run for cover, they’d prolly just pick some other artist to look up too. Though, Hannah is stronger than anyone knows. She’s put up with being caught in the middle for the past nine years. Anyone who can do that is definitely worth looking up to.” 

“Yeah,” Jackson nodded. “But once the world gets to know you, Ms. Trixie, they will find you worthy of looking up to too. Trust me on that one.” 

“I trust you with my life,” Riley assured him. “I always have.” 

“Even though I shoved you into the pond when we were small,” Jackson chuckled. “Just because you were my sister.” 

“Yeah, even after the pond incident,” Riley grinned. “But only because you’re my brother.”