Iris's POV:

Lyle was never very stable. 

He wouldn't scream much, just cry softly and pick at his skin.

He got bullied for confessing to other boys, for growing out his hair, getting piercings, etc. 

One time he had a little boyfriend. I don't think it ended out that well.

He was diagnosed with depression at the age of ten. After a big argument, his mom was about to apologize to Lyle when she found him with a razor blade, hacking at his thighs. He didn't even cry; he just stared at her blankly and then continued.

He had been diagnosed with severe depression at fourteen. Wouldn't eat, shower, work, talk, get out of his room, or go to his therapist, and he kept cutting himself.

Tom and I have both been very protective of him since then.  

Especially since Eric... That's a talk for another time. 

He's gotten better, has the right meds, and found a therapist that works for him. But I think we all knew it was one tiny setback before he fell back into the murky void. 

My worst fear has been that one day, no one could find him, and he would fall faster and faster. Until there was no Lyle to find except a dead body.

After the whole passing-out fiasco with Ken, I've been keeping tabs on him and Marcus. 

Apparently, my baby brother had lied to me about being ok afterwards. Marcus told me the truth; Lyle was not alright.

He had been beating himself up about this since the beginning. Which sounds exactly like him if I'm being entirely honest.   

I've called our parents so many times, I've yelled at them, pleaded, and groveled. But they just won't come down to Lyle. I can't go down, I have work, Sigh, I'll call Tom. 

Lyle has this skewed idea of our parents, he got to see them when they cleaned up their act. I sure as hell didn't. 

I got the parents who would, every so often, forget that they had a kid to take care of. I know they're better now. They only cleaned up after they had Lyle, I was the kid they had when they weren't ready. So when they finally had a son, when they were ready, then they wanted to step up. And don't get me wrong, I'm glad that my brothers get the best version of them, but I don't know, sometimes I feel jealous.

"Iris, you alright?" Echo asks.

"Oh yeah, sorry my love, I've been lost in thought, nothing to worry about," I smile.

"Liar, you know that I know damn well when you're upset. Speak your mind," they stated while walking over to sit next to me.

I laugh," You know me too well. I'm just worried about Lyle, and I was thinking about my parents; they should be able to drop what they're doing for their son. Days like these, I wonder if they allowed me to transition so young as an apology to all the stuff they did, I'm getting lost in my head, aren't I?"

"Maybe a bit, but I think you can find a way out. Call Tom. He'll go down and check on Lyle, don't worry Iris," Echo reassures me

"Thank you, love," I kiss their cheek. 

I call Tom and explain the situation, and he sighs and says that he'll go check on him. Annoyed that our parents won't check on him. 

I help Echo make dinner, feed our cat S'more, then we sit down and watch a movie while we eat. 

I need to remember to create more tattoo designs.

I hope Lyle's ok.