The Unknowns

The News

Nobody really thinks about how the teenager feels. "You don't understand," "You'll thank me later," "I'm only doing this because it's what's best for you," were common sayings in the Dontanelli household. Skylar Dontanelli is an average girl, despite there being nothing average about her. She's fiery, passionate, and anything but quiet. She often gets into fights with those who can't shut their mouths, she's fiercely defensive over her little brother, and she always has to have the last word.

Her brother, Daniel, although she calls him Dani, is autistic. He hardly ever talks, although he knows a few words. "Hun" is his way of saying he's hungry or thirsty, "want" means he wants something, "Sky," is what he calls Skylar, "No," "Yes," and most infamously, "Why." He always wants to know "why". He often screams at people after staring at them with a confused look. He has night terrors and won't stop screaming, even after waking up, until Skylar comes to him. He will often stare into corners and look like he is speaking without actually saying anything. He is very intelligent, he understands and can do math problems easily, he has memorized every constellation in the sky, every planet, every moon on every planet. But the most prominent feature is his reliance on Skylar. He runs to her, he calls for her, he asks her, he visibly cares for her, although he lacks empathy. He doesn't even know the words for mother and father.

Today wasn't very different from all the others, 4 year old Dani ran to Skylar as she walked through the door.

"Sky! Sky!" He screamed, running to her and attaching himself to her leg. Her mother ran in after him, her hair a mess, a frustrated but worried look on her face. Letting out a soft sigh and a small, exhausted smile to her daughter, she straightened up and tried to fix her hair up.

"Hey, baby, back from school?" She said, staying quiet so she wouldn't upset Dani.

"Yea, they let us out early today," she replied, bending down to pick up Dani in her arms, "Mom, why don't you go get some rest before dad gets home from work? I'll take care of Dani and I'll start dinner for you, you look exhausted," she said with a smile, Dani holding fistfuls of her shirt and keeping his legs wrapped around her waist.

Her mother couldn't help but to sigh, relieved, and nodded, "I'll take a bath and be down to help you, are you sure you've got him?" She asked, turning to go up the stairs.

"Yes, mom, I've got him, don't worry," she called back to her. Taking off her backpack and setting it down by the door, she moved to walk down the hall of her home and moved through the living room and into the kitchen. Sitting her brother down on the counter, she got to work. She listened to him ramble on about his day in his own little language and smiled at him, nodding and showing she understood. It worked like that while she seasoned the chicken they were having for dinner and placed in the preheated oven. After washing her hands, she walked over to him and spoke after he was done, "do you want to help me, Dani?" She asked softly, smiling at him.

It took him a moment to process what she said, then when it clicked, he spoke so she could understand, "yes, want help Sky!" He said, still rather loudly, but not screaming. She smiled and picked him up, then set him down in his chair.

"Good," she handed him a fork and poured out all the water from the potatoes she was boiling into the sink and put they potatoes in a big bowl. "Smash the potatoes, Dani," she instructed, gesturing for him to use the fork to break the soft potatoes. He did as told while she made green beans as a vegetable for dinner. Everything went smoothly, her mother came back when they were almost finished and made the desert. Skylar and Dani made the table and when their father came home, he kissed all their heads and put his stuff away before sitting down at the table.

Usually, her father would tell them about his day at work, he was in the military, a high up commanding officer in the air force. However, this time, he was talking in hushed tones with her mother. She figured they were discussing something private, so she let them be and helped Dani eat. She ate too, talking quietly to him and listening to him jabber on about nonsense like usual. Things went on like that until they finished dinner and were serving out dessert, a chocolate cake with pink frosting and chocolate sprinkles. Once everyone was silent except for Dani, her father turned to her and spoke, "Skylar, your mother and I have put a lot of thought into this, and we've decided that it would be best, for the whole family, if we uh..." He struggled to finish his sentence, "if we moved."

Hearing his words, Skylar froze and looked at him, confused, frowning a bit, "moved?" She repeated, just to clarify, "like, as in, a new house down the road?" She asked, her voice a little frantic. They couldn't move! She had way too much here for her! Friends, school, she had scholarships and was the captain of the volleyball team! They couldn't just leave!

"No, sweetheart, as in, to Montana," he said quietly, seeing the look on his daughter's face, he spoke quickly, "I've been offered a new position in the base near Burban City. It pays much more and I'm sure you will make more friends, you're a very lovable girl," he tried to keep talking but she took hers and Dani's plates, scraped them off, put them in the sink, then picked him up and walked away without another word to her parents. What could she say? What could she do? She wasn't sure, but she knew she couldn't face her parents yet.