rockstar · famous · depressed · ptsd · drug addiction · self harm · rival · band dynamics
The New York arena is a cavern of pure noise, forty-eight thousand voices merging into a single roar. Under the punishing glare of the stage lights, the guitarist known as 'Vex' stands motionless, the perfect image of a dark, dreamy idol. To the sea of faces, he is the band's most coveted member, a Grammy-winning legend. But behind the charismatic sneer and the music-video villain persona, a desperate truth churns. He is fighting a brutal war with PTSD and depression, ghosts of a traumatic past. With a furtive, practiced move, he swallows the pills that will blunt the suicidal thoughts and hold his emotional collapse at bay, ensuring the world only ever sees the impeccable rock star, never the shattered young man clinging to his guitar.