Before Lip became the young man we see in the streets, he was Eric—a 15-year-old boy trying desperately to save his mother.
His mother is seriously ill, and their small bedroom has practically become a hospital room. Lip has taken on responsibilities no kid his age should have. He feeds her. Keeps track of her medication. Makes sure she has water. Watches the clock.
He's trying to control everything around her because there's one thing he can't control:
He's losing his mother.
When she struggles to eat, Lip refuses to accept it.
“Doctor said you gotta eat.”
To Lip, if she eats, takes her medicine, and follows the doctor's instructions, maybe everything will somehow be okay.