33. The Draft
THIRTY-THREE
The Draft
SHANNON & CALEB
Day One: First Round
“There’s no way he goes tonight,” Jags called from the kitchen. He dumped a bag of steaming popcorn into a bowl. “Not after the way he ended the season. No way in hell.”
“Nope,” Nicksy and Berk said in unison.
“Do Chicago or Tennessee have anything lined up for round two tomorrow?” Berk asked.
“Chicago traded up and Tennessee is right in the middle,” Jags said, returning to his seat on the couch. He cracked open a beer. “Fields’ brothers are going to be insufferable. New York traded three years’ worth of picks to grab their boy Thatcher second overall.” He paused. “Speaking of Fields, do either of you know what happened after Coach found out Hammy tried a non-consenting jersey swap with our boy after that game in South Bend? He blew me off when I asked.”
Berk let out a low whistle and didn’t turn his eyes from the television. “Nothing. ”
“Nothing?” Jags raised his brows and looked back and forth between his roommates. “Hammy should’ve run a mile on the bleachers for that.”
Silence.
“Did anyone tell Coach? I know Fields didn’t.”
“Defense handled it,” Berk said, as he reached for the remote. “Our boy thought he’d be classy and let it go, but that wasn’t his fight to ignore. You come at one of us, you come at all of us.”
Nicksy furrowed his brow. “I thought Hammy was the O-line’s problem, so we sent a message of our own.”
“Double-team, brother.” Berk bumped his fist. “What’d you do?”
“Got his pads around his neck and made sure he knew why every time we ‘helped’ him up for a while.” Nicksy yawned, oblivious to Jags’ stare. “We got really good at letting up right after he got the ball off, so he still hit the ground. You guys?”
“Slashed the tires on the Porsche.”
“Nice.”
Jags’ eyes darted wildly between them, and his voice nearly cracked. “How did this not get back to Coach?”
“You’re what, Jags? A sophomore?” At his nod, Berk went on. “In a year or two, you and Fields will understand this better. In the meantime, here it is. Coach doesn’t micromanage drama. He has a reasonable expectation that we manage ourselves to an extent. If it affects play, he’s involved.”
“Anybody could have told him,” Nicksy interjected. “And if they had, Coach has to discipline him or it looks like he’s giving Hammy special treatment. You follow?”
“Why don’t we want him to punish him?” Jags asked. “ Hammy’s shit leadership undermines the entire team. It’s a miracle we performed the way we did.”
“You think we don’t know that?” Nicksy asked. “I’ve protected that boy’s blind side since he took over from Malik, and I wanted to high-five every defensive end on his way to sack him. But I do my job for this team, not for Hammy, and that’s no miracle. When you had a bad game and stepped up for the next one, who were you doing it for? Not him.”
“He knows who slashed his tires, and he knows why,” Berk said. “He knows we could make his life hell if he disrespects us by tattling about payback when we didn’t say anything about his tantrum. Respect comes from within the team and not from on high. Hammy knows we kept Coach’s eyes off him, and in a weird way, he appreciated that.”
“In Coach we trust,” Nicksy said, raising his beer. “He doesn’t have time for infighting. Hayden fucking Hamilton wasn’t good enough to take us all the way, but he sure as hell wasn’t bad enough to break us. We’ll get the championship next year. I can feel it.”
Berk pounded his chest and let out a small belch. “In the meantime, Hammy’s in the hands of God and karma. I hope neither are inclined to mercy, since the feds haven’t come through with their charges yet, if they ever do.”
“It’s all conjecture,” Jags said, flopping onto the loveseat. “I think public records will only show the arrest here for drugs, which isn’t much on its own.”
“Have a little faith, gentlemen.” Nicksy cracked another beer. “It’s not just God and karma after him. It’s two people I would not like to mess with.”
“Hammy’s afraid of Shannon,” Jags said. “And he should be. Fields, though. I love the guy, but plotting revenge doesn’t seem like his thing.”
“You weren’t with us in Wisconsin this year, were you?”
Jags shook his head. “That was when I was out with the elbow ligament.”
Berk rubbed his hands together, anxious for the replay of one of his favorite games.
“Our defense lined up a corner blitz with less than a minute left,” Nicksy said. “We were down by three, and not only did Fields recover a fumble from a sack, he did it clean enough to keep the ball alive and took it down the field, where he took a knee at the one-yard line to burn some time instead of taking his touchdown and handing the ball right back to them. If he had scored, Wisconsin would have had time to answer it, and we could have lost. Now remember, this guy hates Hammy’s guts, but he trusted him as a player to run out some time and score if he gave our offense the ball. He was right. How many safeties aren’t going to just plow through to the end zone? Berk, how many of your boys on D think about stopping at the one-yard line to manage the clock when they’ve got a fresh turnover in their hands?”
“Only one, my man.” He raised his beer. “Only one. Always playing the long game.”
Jags scratched his head. “He never told me any of that.”
“Of course he didn’t.”
Day Two: Second and Third Rounds
Eli
This is the day we expect it, right?
Caleb
Under favorable circumstances, this would be it.
Eli
Still just Chicago or Tennessee, do you think?
Caleb
He really wanted New England or New York at one point, but New York took Thatcher yesterday and New England is stacked. He’d ride the bench for years.
“This is easier,” Luke said as familiar faces filled the screen of his laptop. “I hate group texts. Have we seen anything from the analysts about him?”
Caleb tapped through sports and social apps on his phone. “Social media chatter, but nothing from the networks aside from the ‘larger trends’ talk they always do. Remember, he was projected for a first- or second-round pick initially. He’s not the only one whose stock tanked in the last week, so it makes for a bigger conversation. Some running back from Georgia or South Carolina caused an accident and got a DUI.”
“So they are talking about the accident?” Eli popped into view. “Hammy’s, I mean.”
“It’s bubbling up,” Shannon said, scrolling. “Delilah says some kid in a university hoodie with a clip-on microphone and a selfie stick approached her dad on his way into his office this morning.”
Caleb smiled. “Podcasters.”
Nina
How does this work? I need to know, fast.
Shannon
Well, it’s slow, for one thing. The teams each start out with so many picks each, and they spend all day making deals and swapping picks for who’s next in line.
Nina
And the players have to go with whoever chooses them?
Shannon
Pretty much. Why do you need to know fast?
Nina
Because Evan’s buddy Marc Argent asked me out yesterday, and he’s waiting for a call.
“Whatever happened with the name change thing on the back end?” Eli asked. “Does that retroactively affect any of his college stuff? He was there on a full scholarship for three years under a slightly incorrect name.”
“It helps undermine whatever reputation he has left,” Shannon said, “and it puts the NCAA on the defensive. Their wrath doesn’t look good to the scouts.”
“Maybe the school could send his dad a hefty bill,” Isaac said from his corner of the screen.
Caleb jabbed at his phone, brows lowered in concentration as his brothers’ phones started buzzing. “That’s your playlist of podcast episodes questioning how he could get away with this, since it’s obvious he had a reason for using a different name and it wasn’t a clerical error.”
Isaac scrolled. “There are fifteen shows on here. ”
“I only talked to four people. These guys love a rumor.”
“A substantiated rumor, though, right?” Isaac asked. “There’s paperwork around this.”
Caleb smiled. “The guy who recruited me also recruited him a few years ago. As you might imagine, he’s very keen to cover his ass and place the blame where it belongs. He’s available for interviews.”
Caleb
Did you see Ollie’s headed to Arizona? Twelfth pick in the third round. That’s better than he expected. Good for him.
Jags
I saw. I’m at the facility and the vibe is different today. We’re hyped for all the guys, but I think Hammy makes everyone nervous. You never know which teams are going to like his stats and not give two shits about rumors in our locker room.
Caleb
Lots of influential people love rumors.
Jags
Who?
Caleb
Catch up later.
“Who all did you talk to?” Isaac asked his father. The video call display was crowded, even with Shannon and Caleb sharing one tablet and Luke and Eli on the same laptop.
“I started with offensive coordinators, since I know them best,” said Abraham, a former lineman who played three years in Detroit. “Obviously a quarterback is on their radar, but only a few teams really want to invest in that position this year. A couple of my guys have mentioned to other teams and their own head coaches that ‘inside sources’ wanted them to be aware of recruiting activity that could reflect on Hayden’s character by linking up his legal name with some pending court cases—and from there, the information about the potential federal charges for the date-rape drugs.”
“Bad news travels fast,” Eli said.
“Especially in Chicago and Tennessee,” Abraham said, smiling as he averted his eyes. “I emphasized the federal charges. After all, all four of my sons signed witness statements about what they saw this boy do, and I couldn’t in good conscience let these professionals I respect invest in a kid like Hamilton without having the entire story.”
Eli elbowed Luke when their dad wasn’t looking. All four , he mouthed.
Jags
And round three is in the books.
Caleb
Did you see the quarterback from Tennessee hasn’t gone yet? What a weird draft. I hate to admit it, but Engel was clutch against us in the Sunrise Bowl. Has he done something stupid lately, too?
Jags
Nope. It’s a strong set of QBs in a year that everyone is prioritizing receivers for them to throw to and offensive lines to protect the QBs they already have. God, Hammy was an idiot to leave early.
Caleb
The tip of the iceberg, my man.
Jags
Nicksy and Berk say to come over for burgers later. They got the vegetarian ones for your girl.
Day Three: Fourth Through Seventh Rounds
“Quarterbacks are in a world of their own,” Eli said. “I always heard you have to be cerebral to play that position. I’m thinking you have to be a little nuts.”
Luke tossed an apple at him. “I wouldn’t want the pressure.”
“You should have seen Thatcher’s face when I told him about what we saw in Columbus.”
“You told him? When?”
“Last week.” Eli talked through a mouthful of apple. “Maybe I stirred the pot a little. Thatch is the most unbothered guy in the world. He doesn’t hate anybody, but he hates Hayden Hamilton. And I have never seen him that close to exploding.”
“What did he say?”
“Once he popped his eyes back into his head, he calmed himself down and said he had some calls to make.”
“Did you tell him Dad was doing the same thing?”
“Thatch is—was—a draft prospect and can’t be caught trash-talking Hammy. And he’s still just a college kid. I doubt he knows too many people with front-office influence, but I’m glad he’s on our side.” Eli yawned and stretched his arms. “I wonder why he hates him so much. He’s never lost to Ohio. ”
“I bet Shannon could find out.”
“I wonder if she’s got any money on the draft.”
“Dare you to ask her.”
Nicksy
There goes our boy Argent to Cincy. We should go see him if he gets some playing time in.
Caleb
What do you think of Torrence taking the reins here next year? I hardly know the guy.
Nicksy
He’s ready. If Hammy ever went down, we’d have been in good shape.
Caleb
I don’t mean ball. I meant I might throw myself in the transfer portal if have to play three years with Hammy 2.0.
Nicksy
I haven’t heard of him trying to drug or kill anybody.
Caleb
My God, you are useless.
Nicksy
I have high hopes for a better Christmas present this year, that’s all I’m saying.
“Wake up.” Shannon tore her gaze from the television as she kicked her dozing boyfriend. “Fifteen to go. Chicago and Tennessee are both done now. Did we really do this?”
“New England still has two picks,” Luke pointed out. “He’s their hometown boy, even if they don’t really need a quarterback.”
“Caleb said they liked him at the combine,” Isaac said.
Abraham shook his head. “I talked to a guy who talked to a guy. It sounds like Hamilton shot himself in the foot a long time ago. People all over the league were just looking for another excuse to write him off. New England’s coach is one of them. He’s a hardass and doesn’t stand for ‘off-the-field-antics.’ They won’t take him.”
“Anything to do with that, Dad?” Eli asked.
“Their offensive coordinator was an assistant to my special teams coordinator in Detroit. We were rookies together.” Abraham feigned a yawn. “Shannon, your research intrigued him. It was good to catch up.”
Shannon clicked off the television just as her phone rang.
“What happens now?”
Delilah spoke above a timid whisper for the first time in Shannon’s memory. Without the video call, she might not have recognized who she was speaking to. The quick puff of air after the question sounded almost like a laugh.
“A couple of things on the football side, and I guess a couple of things on your side,” Shannon said. “He’s out of college eligibility because he went to the draft this year, which means he can’t come back here to play, and he can’t go to any other school, either.”
“I thought it was just your school. He can’t go anywhere?”
“That’s a set-in-stone rule for everybody. Declare for the draft, and you lose any remaining NCAA eligibility,” Shannon said. “Even if you don’t get drafted. ”
A smile lit up Delilah’s face.
“Plenty of guys go undrafted and still get contracts,” Shannon continued. “After everything wraps up today, there will be a mad rush for teams to sign the undrafted guys cheap, and Hayden could get picked up. Teams may not have been willing to waste a pick on him, but if they can get a decent backup for a bargain price, they might. Now we just have to cross our fingers that the bugs linger in people’s ears and they think trouble when they hear his name.”
Delilah grimaced. “It’s still so strange to call him that. Hayden. That was his blue-blooded grandmother’s maiden name, I think, and that’s why it’s all over their family tree with the Ryans and Bryans. I think there’s a Ryland from someone who got creative.”
“Hayden Hamilton is an insufferable name. It suits him. Ryan sounds too normal for our not-so-repentant defendant. He still needs to answer to both the federal courts in Ohio and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. And the lawyers, and you. I talked a big game during our surprise meeting the other day, but what happens now is really up to you.”
Delilah sighed and looked away from the camera. “Shannon, I—I don’t know what I want to happen now. Everything about ruining his career feels so personal to me because he took away my dreams, and I wanted justice for that. There’s no measurement for the loss from a miscarriage. I still try not to think about it. His sport and mine make for more of a one-to-one comparison.”
“But what do you mean about not knowing what you want? You want him punished, right?”
“I want to dye my hair blue,” Delilah said. “I want to laugh in his stupid face and tell him everything you and Caleb did. Even though you guys want to leave him miserable and wondering, I want to tell him just so he knows I was a part of it. I want to run him over with a car, and a tiny, tiny piece of me wishes I could truly forgive him and let it all go.”
“Hayden could have killed you, and might have felt no remorse about that, either.”
She nodded and tugged at her hair, a long, wheat-blonde braid over her shoulder. “I know. He was capable of that.”
“He might still be.”
“He might.”
Shannon contemplated her friend on the screen. “According to my notes, you and your parents decide whether to proceed with the civil case. Reviewing the criminal case is up to the state since he was charged but never prosecuted due to lack of evidence or intent, or so they say. They can look at it again with the recording and his other charges to make a stronger case to prove he really meant to do it, if they want to.”
“That all sounds about right,” Delilah said. “But what does the civil case accomplish now, anyway?”
“Well, it… it makes him pay,” Shannon stammered. “Literally, it makes him pay for what he did, and it sticks to him the rest of his life so every other woman he meets can see what he did.”
“But for me. What does it accomplish for me?” Delilah tapped her chest. “That money doesn’t bring back anything I’ve lost. It doesn’t give back all these years I’ve had to live with this nightmare dragging on.”
“It pays for any medical care his insurance didn’t cover, and everything your parents spent on legal counsel,” Shannon countered. “They’ve been trying to do the right thing, and I’m sure it’s cost them a truckload.”
“Oh. Yes, I’m sure it’s been expensive,” Delilah said.
“And you lost your tennis scholarship. You could go to college now, make up for this lost time, and not have to worry about paying for it.”
“That’s true.”
“You could donate as much as you like to shelters and programs and support systems for people who have been hurt by their partners. Those are always under-funded. Women need other women to believe in them, like I?—”
Shannon saw her take a quick breath, then clamp her mouth shut.
“I have known from the beginning that you didn’t ask to be anybody’s inspiration,” Shannon said quietly. “But you’ve been mine. It’s just an idea.”
“Of course.”
Shannon bit the inside of her cheek as she raced for the right words. “If you want it to all be over, I’m still here for you as a friend forever. I promise.”
“You’d better be.” Delilah cracked a smile. “I’ll claim a spot next to Elouise as a bridesmaid in your wedding in a few years. Watch out when we plan your bachelorette party.”
Shannon blushed bright pink.
“He’s very, very sweet,” Delilah teased. “And very, very handsome.”
“He’s very, very lots of things.”
“I saw how he looked at you when you guys called me. His eyes are honest. Isn’t it nice how obvious honesty is now that you’ve met such a liar?”
Shannon almost dropped her phone. “I hated Caleb for his honesty at one point because I didn’t understand it. But he never misrepresented himself or lied.”
“I thought it was a good sign when he offered to help without taking over, even though he had his own feelings about Ryan. Hayden. That asshole.”
Shannon smiled. “Our lips are sealed here. Only Caleb’s family knows, so tell Hayden anything you want. Tell him you made those calls to the scouts and coaches. Tell him you’ll settle out of court for a lifetime subscription to every ESPN channel and publication, seventeen strawberries, a public apology, and five million bucks in unmarked bills.”
Delilah burst into giggles. “Maybe I’ll get blue highlights before court next week.”
“Oh God, he would scream. Record it, please. He loves recordings.”
“I’ll ask my father about the legal bills and college,” Delilah said. She could hardly stop laughing to speak. “I’m sure there’s a lot in play financially. But what we have done already is priceless, Shannon, and that might be enough.”