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“What choice did I have? You’re my brother. My coach. Nobody cares more about me being on that field than you,” he says.
“What choice did you have?” I repeat icily. “You had the option of, oh, I don’t know…maybe not gambling on our games.”
He huffs at my sarcasm. “Well I did, and now I’m fucked.”
“Correct,” I say with a nod. “Look, if you’re honest about it now, maybe it won’t be so bad in the end. We take it to Jack, and we let him decide how to handle it.”
“And, what, we let your fucking girlfriend break the story to boost her ratings? Fuck that.”
I try a different approach. “Don’t you have any remorse at all over what you did?”
“I knew we were a sure bet against the Falcons,” he argues. “And I thought we had the second game in the bag, too.”
“That’s not remorse. That’s excuses,” I hiss, and I sense my anger rising at his flippant attitude. But it’s not just that. Nobody’s ever taught him how to take responsibility for his own actions.
He’s the youngest of the family, the baby, and he’s been allowed to skate by on his charm and his talents for his entire life.
He’s been reckless and impulsive, but that was before he joined my team.
And I will no longer allow it.
“Get your head on right, Asher. Realize you did something wrong. Admit to it, and stop coming to me to cover your ass. I can’t do it, not as your brother or as your coach. You’re an adult now, and it’s time you start acting like it. It’s time you stop letting dad or me clean up after you. Time to start taking responsibility. Time for you to feel a little guilt, a little shame, for what you’ve done. Regardless of how you choose to handle this, I will not be paying off any more of your debts. You are to enroll in a gambling addiction counseling program, and you are to come clean to Jack. If you choose not to, I will do it for you. And I’m telling you here and now, Graham will be playing the tight end position, and you will sit on the bench for the year regardless of what the league decides.”
It’s not what I want. Asher is the more talented of the two, with better speed and much better blocking capabilities, but part of my job as head coach is to do the right thing by my players, my team, and the league.
And allowing him to play after the offense he committed is not the right thing for any of the parties involved.
This is the right thing to do. I see that now.
It just took Jolene calling me out to clarify the situation and help me see it.
He presses his lips together, and then he turns toward my front door. With his hand on the knob, he turns back toward me for one last parting shot. “It was a mistake leaving Indy for this bullshit.”
It’s fine. He’s upset, so he’s lashing out. It’s what he does.
“Maybe you’re right,” I say. “Or maybe you knew you needed help, and you landed in just the right place.”
He opens the door and walks through it, slamming it shut with force behind him.
I’m not sure what he’s going to do, but at least I feel like I’ve done the right thing now.
And like I told him, maybe I knew I needed help, and having Jolene confront me about it landed me in just the right place, too.
CHAPTER 14: LINCOLN
Practice starts in a half hour, and that’s when I hear a knock at my office door.
Asher appears there, and he’s wearing another ridiculous fit as he walks into the room. He shuts the door behind him, and I can’t help but feel like one of the cats on his button-down shirt is staring into the depths of my soul.
It might even be funny to me if I could muster up any emotion other than anger right now, but I can’t seem to.
“What?” I hiss.
“I took some time to think it through, and you’re right, bruh. I should come clean to Jack. Will you go with me?” he asks.
My brows pinch together as I stare at him in surprise. “Are you serious right now?”
“Yes, sir.”
