SPASE

SPASE: CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

The air smells of fresh-cut grass, making Maddie sneeze. Their bellows echo throughout the stadium.

"Ca-Caw!" Tyrell crows loudly and laughs.

Maddie looks around to see freshly painted, white field goal posts. Suddenly they feel a punch in the shoulder. They look to the ground where they see Reynolds with a football in his mouth.

"Common, y'all! You goin' to throw it or what?" Ty calls from mid-field. His voice echos and booms throughout the empty stadium. Maddie can tell he is in his element.

"What are we doing here?" Maddie calls as they take the football from Reyn's mouth and throw it to Ty. The ball wobbles throughout the air, not reaching him. It lands in the grass about five feet in front of him.

"You need to work on that arm of yours!" he calls out and laughs.

Maddie places their hands on their hips, walks closer to Ty, and puts their hands out as they dig their feet into the soft grass.

"How am I supposed to play in boots and a dress? This isn't how you play football!" Maddie calls out.

"Well, why in the hell are you wearing that outfit anyway? I mean, it doesn't seem like it suits you," Ty states.

Maddie stomps their left foot into the grass.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" they yell.

Tyrell laughs, "Look I didn't mean to offend, but you seem like the pants and t-shirt type."

"I didn't get to choose my outfit," Maddie admits. "I showed up like this. I didn't have a choice apparently."

Tyrell stops to stare at Maddie. He looks them up and down and then crosses his arms in front of his body, leaning on one foot.

"You're dressed like her," he says.

Big Burly Betsy, Reynolds relays, looking at Maddie and then at Ty. He knows about your comic.

"How would he know?" Maddie scoffs. "He's never seen my drawings."

"I've seen it all," Tyrell interjects. "When thoughts are transmitted, you get reciprocated feedback from when I petted Reynolds earlier. It happens sometimes."

Confused, Maddie wonders if the others saw everything.

Don't worry love, Reynolds relays, they weren't open like Ty is.

Relieved, Maddie thinks for a second. "So, you've seen her?"

Ty nods.

"Does everyone have this ability? Can he hear you too?" Maddie asks Reynolds.

No darlin', he sometimes sees what I've seen. He can't hear me though. Only you can, Reynolds relays. Ty has a gift. He's special.

Maddie looks Tyrell up and down. "I can see that," they admit. They throw the ball back his way.

Tyrell is Maddie's age: seventeen. He has his entire future ahead of him. Or did at least.

Ty's dreads sway as he runs around the field throwing the ball back and forth with Maddie. Reynolds runs too. With his tongue out and belly jiggling, Maddie sees that Reynolds feel freer than he has since they have been there.

"What's your story?" Maddie calls out.

Tyrell comes to a stop, breathing heavily in and out, and looks up. Ty tosses back his dreads and comes to a standing position with his hands on his hips. Reynolds runs over and sits at his feet. Reynolds calls Maddie over with his eyes.

Maddie begins to slowly jog over. By the time they get there, Ty is now sitting on the ground next to Reyn, stroking his back. Reynolds eyes do the squinty thing that he always does when he's relaxed and happy. His tongue hangs loosely out of his mouth. Maddie plops down on the other side of him.

"So," they breathe heavily, "what's your story?"

Tyrell hesitates and looks at the sky. Its bluish hue lights up his dark brown eyes to the point where they mirror the sky.

"A little birdie once told me that those stars are those that have transitioned to the Final Place," Ty explains. "Wouldn't that be cool if it were real?"

Puzzled, Maddie looks at Reynolds and then back at Tyrell. His eyes are still fixed on the sky.

"Um, yeah. I heard that too," Maddie says. Reynolds snuggles up to Tyrell, getting his attention back on Maddie's first question. Reynolds always seems to know when someone needs comfort. Because of this, Maddie knows something big is coming.

After a few moments of silence, Tyrell looks back at Maddie. He has tears in his eyes. Maddie can tell by the state of his face that he didn't want to talk about it.

"You don't have to tell me, you know? If you don't feel comfortable..."

Ty interrupts, "I know, but I feel like I need to. You need to understand."

Maddie turns their head sideways as if they were a dog. Sleeping, Reynolds snores in the middle of both of them. Reynolds acts as the glue that holds Maddie's bond with Tyrell, always leading and nudging them to do the right thing. Reynolds has enough confidence in Maddie now to slowly rest and fall asleep as they talk to other souls. He knows that they'll be fine on their own.

Maddie sits, waiting for Tyrell to begin talking again. Ty exhales.

"I couldn't be who I am. Like, who I really am on the inside," Tyrell admits. "Not around them."

"What do you mean?" Maddie questions.

"I played on the football team, you know. I had to be in the locker room with the other guys. I didn't want to make them uncomfortable and it all went to shit. SHIT. Pure fucking shit."

Now Maddie understands why they are on a football field. They are in his element; where Tyrell is the most comfortable. His happy place.

Maddie looks around, confused. They don't know how to react or really what he was even talking about. They decide to just sit, wait, and listen.

"My dad left when I was eight. The only memories that I have with him are throwing the football out in the backyard. I always thought that if I became a good running back, he'd come back. He'd be proud of me."

Ty hangs his head low. "No matter how hard I worked, he never came back."

There's a long pause. Long enough to hear crickets in the air begin to chirp. After a few moments of silence, Maddie spoke up.

"I lost my mom when I was around that age too. I was eight. She had breast cancer. She had it for over a year. She was in pain day in and day out. Even though I was young, I knew she was suffering. She tried so hard to be strong for me and go through the chemo. I told her that she could stop because it was just making her sick and she wasn't getting better," Maddie says in a low voice. "She never got better."

Tyrell looks at Maddie. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be" Maddie says. "It was a long time ago. There's nothing anyone could have done."

"If I wouldn't have been a football player, I wouldn't be here," Tyrell states.

Maddie locks eyes with Ty and feels the pulling in their stomach. They are ghosting and there isn't anything they could do about it.

In a hurry, Maddie screams, "I'll be..."

And they're gone.