The cold air of the hallway hit Aries in the face as he pushed open the heavy glass door of the IAC team meeting room.
He kept his head down.
He walked straight to the very back of the long conference table and dropped into a chair.
He pulled the hood of his black sweatshirt up, hiding the dark circles under his eyes.
At the front of the room, Ricky and two other starting players were huddled together.
They were whispering.
Aries caught the sound of the word "Elias."
His jaw clenched so hard his teeth ground together.
The glass door swung open again.
General Manager Jensen Stein walked in, carrying a thick manila folder.
Jensen slammed the folder down onto the center of the table.
The loud smack made everyone jump.
The room went dead silent.
Jensen looked around the table, a fake look of sympathy plastered across his face.
He cleared his throat.
"I am sure you have all seen the news. Elias Beck is returning to the North American league."
Aries dropped his hands under the table.
He curled his fingers into fists, his nails digging so hard into his palms that the skin threatened to break.
Ricky let out a loud, mocking snort.
"Disgusting traitor," Ricky muttered.
Jensen held up a hand, silencing the room. "Ricky, take the others to the VOD review room. I need a private word with Aries."
Ricky smirked, standing up and jerking his head at the other starters. They filed out through the glass door, leaving Aries completely alone with the General Manager. Once the heavy door clicked shut, Jensen picked up a remote and clicked it at the projector hanging from the ceiling.
A spreadsheet appeared on the white screen at the front of the room.
It was a financial liquidation report from two years ago, the exact day their old team, Freefall Syndicate, was dissolved.
Jensen pointed a thick finger at a massive line item highlighted in red.
"Elias did not just leave for a massive signing bonus in Europe," Jensen said, his voice loud and theatrical. "He demanded a specific condition before he would sign."
Aries slowly lifted his head.
His bloodshot eyes locked onto the glowing numbers on the screen.
Jensen looked directly at Aries.
"Elias sold your contract to IAC, Aries. He packaged you up and sold you to the highest bidder to line his own pockets before he left the country."
The glowing red numbers reflected in Aries' wide eyes. The realization hit him with the force of a freight train, filling him with a twisted, sickening sense of utter worthlessness. He was entirely exposed, stripped bare in the cold glow of the projector.
Aries felt the room spin.
His stomach churned violently, acid burning the lining of his throat.
He could not pull air into his lungs.
Jensen kept talking, his voice a steady drone of poison.
He described how Elias sat at the negotiating table, cold and calculating, haggling over Aries' price tag like he was selling a used car.
An image flashed into Aries' mind.
It was the night before Elias left for Europe.
Elias' broad back, walking away down a dark street, never looking back.
A massive wave of humiliation crashed over Aries.
The betrayal felt like a physical weight crushing his spine.
He was a product.
He was a commodity.
Aries shot up from his chair.
His legs pushed back with so much force that the heavy office chair rolled backward and slammed into a whiteboard.
The metal frame of the board crashed to the floor with a deafening clatter.
Jensen stopped talking.
Everyone stared at Aries in shock.
Aries did not say a word.
His eyes were dead, frozen over with a layer of absolute ice.
He turned his back on the room and walked toward the door.
"Aries! Sit back down!" Jensen yelled, his voice cracking with lost authority.
Aries ignored him.
He shoved the glass door open and walked out.
He moved fast down the carpeted hallway of the team base.
His chest heaved up and down.
He pushed open the heavy fire door leading to the emergency stairwell and let it slam shut behind him.
He was completely alone.
Aries pulled his right arm back.
He drove his fist straight into the heavy metal door of a storage locker lining the wall.
The loud clang echoed violently through the stairwell as the skin on his knuckles split open instantly.
Blood smeared against the gray steel. In that blinding moment of agony, he didn't even care if he shattered every bone in his hand and ended his career.
He did not feel the pain in his hand.
He only felt the massive, gaping hole in his chest.
Aries leaned his back against the rough concrete and slowly slid down to the floor.
He pulled his knees to his chest.
He buried his face in his arms.
A low, guttural sound tore out of his throat, a sound of pure, suffocating agony.
