“I’ll tell you as many times as I need to because I know you haven’t heard it enough and you deserve to, and because I like to say it too, all right? You’re important. You matter to me more than any game. Any practice. Anything. Where you go, I go. You are never gonna be something I have to schedule in. You are never not gonna be a priority to me.” He leaned forward and stroked my face then. “You’ve popped up into my life when I’ve needed you the most so far, and I’m gonna need you to stick around for the rest of it.” He paused. “We’re in this together, understand me?”
