The Road

II: Nathaniel

"C'mere Daniel!" I called for my little brother to come into the room with me.
I heard small feet patter against the ground, and then a crash. I looked up at Daniel, holding back laughter.
I couldn't hold it back for much longer, laughing loudly at Daniel. "How could you trip over your own feet? That's hysterical!" I clutched my stomach as I continues to laugh, tears forming in my eyes.
"I-it's not funny!" He yelled, standing back up and sitting down on the bed next to me.
I just shook my head, wiping my eyes and returning my gaze to the laptop on my lap. "Here, you want to press the call button? Anastasia wants to see her best friend~"
He have me a wide smile, signaling that he was more than willing to do so. I knew he loves talking to her. Hell, they make better friends than than I do with her.
I watched as Daniel pressed the call button on Skype, patiently waiting for her to answer. I looked at my reflection on the mirror across the room, checking to see if my hair is fixed nicely.
"Yo, Nath!" I heard a voice say. I looked down at the laptop, seeing Anastasia's face staring back at me. "I saw what you were doing. You dont have to fix your hair for me, I have seen it at it's worse, and you know it!" She laughed, pretending to wipe a tear out of her eye.
"Ha ha very funny. Never Skype call me at 4 in the morning because you're bored again, I do not like it when people see me when my hair looks like noodles," I replied, puffing out my cheeks.
Daniel happily waved at Anastasia, smiling and giggling at her. He has a very strong connection with her, its just like she is his big sister, like I am his big brother. You see, my brother isn't really the normal type of kid. He has, well, some things wrong with him.
My mother told me all about him a month after he was born. She told me how he had to be in the hospital for a long time to make sure he was alright, how he is safe and at home now. She also told me how the doctors told her that Daniel had autism. I knew from that day on I had to be the best big brother I could, even if it ment risking my life for him.
Daniel can strike a conversation very easily, all he needs is small topic and he can turn it into anything he wants to talk about. Anastasia knew about Daniel's disability, and she wasn't phased by it at all. She is perfectly ok with him. They make great friends. I'm glad they do, or else Daniel wouldn't have any other friends.
"Hey! Nath! You still there?" Anastasia asked me, snapping me back into reality.
"Yeah, I was just thinking. Anyways, what's been going on with you?" I asked her, folding my hands underneath my chin, giving her all of my attention.
"Well, it's been rough. This new high school seems really scary, Nath. Everyone seems so... Sophisticated. And I'm just here like a little kid stuck in a maze. It's confusing," she paused to catch her breath and take a bite of her sandwich. "Plus! My sister is back in town! We never got along! And my parents have been such a big deal lately. They dont listen anymore. They are probably just excited about Anna coming back home, but still. They should pay more attention to their other daughter."
I sat there staring at her, with my usual "wait-you-talk-too-fast-help" face on. "Wow. Seems like you have a lot going on right now. Just stay calm, like I always say, time will take its toll eventually. When your sister gets home maybe it'll die down a bit. Maybe you two can go shopping at that Walmart place you talk about a lot! Maybe you two can get along somehow. How has the other you been doing?"
Anastasia has a twin sister, Alex, who is basically Anastasia, long brown hair, light green eyes, very long eyelashes, fairly tall, but their personalities are completely different. Alex is flashy, outgoing, talks a lot, loud, basically your package for "all out flashy drama queen" girl. Anastasia is more of the quiet girl who wears either black or blue and who doesn't really talk much in class but when she does she proves someone wrong and blows everyone's mind.
"Oohhhh dont even get me started! She's been sooooo obsessed with her new boyfriend, what was it, Jason? Jayden? Something like that. They are never separated. Ever. E-V-E-R. Ever," she said, emphasizing the last "ever".
"I'm going to guess you don't like him," I replied with a tilt of my head."
She crossed her arms and flipped her hair out of her face. "Right again, Nath."
I quickly glanced over at Daniel to check what he was doing, seeing that he was drawing dinosaurs on my chalkboard wall behind me. "Wait, why do you keep calling me Nath again?" I questioned.
"Uh, because I dont like Nathaniel, obviously. Dont you-" her voice was cut off after a loud BANG came from the room next to her. "I-I'm sorry, I have to go. I'll talk to you whenever I can. Bye Nath, I love you!" She said, ending the call almost immediately.
"Ok, that was weird," I muttered to myself. But then I realized what she said. "Wait, did she just say 'I love you'..?"