"You're late for bike polo, man, we already started. Where are you?""Tyler," Dyson says, and jams the Nokia against his ear a little harder. "Tyler, I—""Wait," Tyler says. "No, not you, Dice, them. You sound...are you okay?"The laughter and conversation on Tyler's end fades, gets farther away. Dice can hear the sea in his other ear, a roaring. "I'm sorry I'm late," Dyson says, and the sob breaks out of his throat. Sharp edges of gravel stab into his knees as he lands on them. The ambulance blanket falls away; the wind crawls up his back."Dice, it's okay," Tyler says. "I'm walking away from everyone. Signal's good. I can wait. Something happened. Are you still in Virginia?"Dice lives in Arlington, but to Tyler and him, Virginia means Idlewood."Eddie...""Oh, fuck," Tyler says. "Dice, I am so sorry."Dice, it's okay.It's okay, big brother.But Dice can't stop crying now that it's all come out."He'll come around. You said he was changing. I believe that."Oh. "No. Tyler. He's dead.""Holy shit."If only Eddie was just mad at him.
