After Cyrus's parents pass away after getting into a car crash, the Sykes take him in and treat him as their own.
He grows up alongside his childhood bestfriend Rosie inside a mansion. Life seemed great.
Well, right up until he fell into a depressi...
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Cyrus watched from the back seats as Hayze buckled up and Rosie slid her seat forwards, adjusting it for a few seconds until she felt comfortable behind the steering wheel. She checked her mirrors, the gear she was in, the rear view mirror and then she pressed her foot down on the break and let down the hand break of Hayze's twelve year old car.
Rosie had been learning to drive with Hayze after begging him for a few months and it was the first time that Cyrus had accompanied them. He could feel the anxiety settle over him as Rosie easily pulled out onto the road coming out of their gate and River shushed him quietly, grabbing his hand to comfort him.
"She's done this a few times already, there's no need to worry. If we knew Rosie was that bad of a driver, we wouldn't have asked you to come along for the ride," River said with a breathy laugh.
"Mama.." Rosie whined and Hayze chuckled quietly. Cyrus couldn't bring himself to laugh, he just kept his eyes trained to the center console, his free hand gripping onto the edge of the seats until his knuckles turned white.
"Indicate to your left Rosie. And then when you come back around and go through the gate, you're gonna have to parallel park by the garage, alright?" Hayze said, sparing a glance into the back at Cyrus.
"Cy.. come on Passerotto. Breathe.. there's no need to be so nervous. You're safe here."
(Little sparrow // or someone learning to fly)
Cyrus knew that Hayze understood his anxiety and knew that him being in cars had always been a source of anxiety for him. But this feeling; it was different. He didn't like it. His fears were multiplied by two as soon as he had registered that it was Rosie in the drivers seat. His girl. Was driving.
She was behind the wheel of a car. His head began to make up multiple scenarios of ways she could be killed when driving and before he knew it, he was gasping for breath.
Time had stopped and jumped forwards all at once. He hadn't noticed that Rosie had turned the car back around and had driven back to the house until he felt the door beside him being opened and a rush of air hit him in the face.
The edges of his vision were blurred and he felt like the space in the car was closing in on him. He could hardly hear Hayze's voice over the ringing in his ears and all he wanted to do was lay down in an open field and stare at the sky until the clouds came down to take him away.
He wanted the clouds to cradle him and rock him to a peaceful sleep. But all he could feel was his shortness of breath and the pounding in his head. All he could feel was the pain in his heart from the loss of his parents in that nightmare of a car crash.
Cyrus gasped for breath and suddenly the orange tint of the sun was casted over his closed eyelids as he was gently lifted out of the car, his hands scratching at his throat as a sudden shadow replaced the bright colors.
He hated that he related the feelings of fear to one memory. And it always bought him back to the day he had lost his parents. The day he lost his love for the world and all of its little wonders. Fear was a strange concept to him that he didn't think anyone else could ever understand.
It was as if a dam inside him broke and he was suddenly flooded with a feeling that seeped through to his bones and pushed away all of the good things he held close to him. He was trying to hold onto them - he was. Cyrus was trying to grasp onto the good memories and comforting words his parents had uttered to him as a little boy. He was trying to climb out of the black hole he'd fallen into but he just kept floating back in, deeper and deeper.
He felt so alone.
And then like the clouds that cradled him safely in his dreams, Rosie was there in front of him. Her soft hands were on his face and her sweet voice was in his ears, comforting him through his panic.
She was fighting away his fears. His little angel.
"You're not alone.."
Cyrus could hear the sweet girls voice but all he wanted to do was see her gorgeous face. Hold her hands. Kiss her soft lips.
He didn't want to be afraid anymore.
He wanted to be brave and optimistic like Rosie.
Was that too much to hope for?
"You have me. And mama and papa. So just take deep breaths so you can be with us again. I know how scary it can get in your head. But that's all it is. Scary thoughts. I'm not that scary if you wanna come back to me. The least I can do is go boo really loud in your ear. Or I could-"
Rosie's silly little ramblings slowly brought him out of his head and he counted to ten slowly to make sure his focus was back on better things just like his therapist had showed him.
"You're okay. You're loved."
All at once, feelings seemed to hit him right in the chest and they surged through him like hurricane winds and he was crying there on the ground in Rosie's embrace. Unashamedly.
The world outside the gates of his home, the home of his family, seemed to suck.
But he had to count his blessings. Because many people didn't have a Rosie. They didn't have the Sykes family. They didn't have delicate arms and a sweet scent to calm their senses like he did.
Cyrus wrapped his strong arms around Rosie's waist when his eyes met her blue ones which were shimmering with tears like the sun shimmered over the oceans horizon.
He could clearly see that she shared his pain and only someone with a heart as pure and kind as hers would carry a burden like his when they weren't asked to.
Not once had he ever asked Rosie to support him through his anxiety. He hadn't ever hinted to the fact that he wanted her around whenever he was having his bad days. But yet, she was always there for him.
She saw him on his good and his bad days.
Rosie had never treated him any differently, no matter what state she saw him in.
And he loved her for it.
Cyrus. loved. her.
He watched as a small tear slowly trickled down Rosie's cheeks and over her plump, cherry colored lips and he shook his head as he sat up a bit. His hands encased her face, trembling as he held on to her. "Rosie.. please don't cry for me. I miss that beautiful smile and those bright eyes."
"I can't help it," she sniffled, seemingly melting under his touch. Her hands came rest on his chest, one placed right over his heart which was racing; either because he was still calming down, or his heart had realized a significant fact. Something that he couldn't just let sit on the tip of his tongue or let burn the back his throat.
