❝ these things eat at your bones ❞
Age: 34
Gender identification: Cis man, he/him
Residential area: a ranch on the outskirts
Occupation: singer / songwriter
Two positive traits: Gritty & resilient
Two negative traits: Stubborn & hedonistic
Length of time in Briar Ridge: just arrived
Faceclaim: Brandon Sklenar
Voice/music claim: Sam Hunt
a worn stetson hanging from the back of a chair, soulful blue eyes, a notebook full of regrets, worn wranglers and dusty boots, a smile that would make you think twice about being mad, longing for redemption, a quiet weariness, wasted talent and promise, a heart of steel turning to rust
abuse mention tw, suicide mention tw, drug and alcohol abuse tw
Life began on some 500 acres in grassland hills of Northern California for Cash Henley, starting out as a younger brother and eventually became the middle child of a ranching family.
From his early days he knew the meaning and way of hard work. If he could walk he knew his way around horses and cattle and chores around the ranch weren't far behind then.
They would go to fairs and rodeos often. His older brother fell in love with music first and learned the guitar but it was Cash that had the talent for writing. Melodies had a way of forming in his head that left little doubt for what was ahead of him in life.
Of course, in the beginning, that wasn't his dream. His brother wanted to be on the stage and performing to that cowboy crowd. All Cash wanted was to ride bulls and brocs. To become a hero amongst all the men he looked up to.
While he could ride Cash wasn't allowed to enter into any rodeo events until he was an adult. It wasn't for any reason other than his family didn't want him potentially getting hurt when he was needed to help take care of the ranch.
So during that time his older brother taught him to play guitar and they would write songs together. When it would come to arranging the music and the lyrics, getting the melody down, that was when it was discovered that Cash could sing. And sing well.
Tragedy hit when everyone had been least expecting it. His younger sister had taken her own life and he'd been the one to find her. The note she'd left behind had named an abuser and for what he'd done to the man that had hurt her, well, Cash was given two options— prison or the military.
He chose the military and was thrown into the marine corps right after high school. It was fine, really, Cash had always wanted to do the same as his father and grandfather did before him and that was to do his service in the military.
Bootcamp had actually been fairly simple for a young man raised the way he had been. Cash was big and strong, was excellent with handling a gun and shooting, could carry and haul weight around, and wasn't fragile by any means.
Still, when those 4 years were up, he didn't stay on with the marines. Cash went home and picked up the guitar as a way to get everything he'd experienced out of his head. And when he was performing with his brother Cash ended up getting scouted and ended up with a record deal months later.
Off to Nashville he went where he wrote and recorded and put together an album. He performed many small gigs around and went on tours with bigger artists to get his name and music out there and heard. But the music scene was different than anything Cash had experienced before.
There was so much easy access to alcohol and drugs. Everything seemed like a party all the time. For a man that was wounded and nursing some traumas from his past and the military Cash didn't handle it well.
The release was too good and the addiction began.
When Cash was playing gig at a bar in New York, mostly for fun, he spotted the most beautiful girl in the crowd and it was like love at first sight for him. Cash sang a song for her and did everything he could to get her name that night.
Somehow he won Leyla over and she gave him the time of day. Their romance was intense for him, he'd fallen hard and fast, but Cash was also building his career and had trouble staying away from the party scene.
That moment Leyla had told him that she was pregnant— Cash will never not regret his reaction. The only excuse was that he wasn't well. He told her he wasn't ready to be a father and couldn't be apart of it, that was something he'd envisioned for them down the line. Even in the midst of everything Cash knew he wasn't fit.
The second biggest regret? When Leyla had left and gone back to her hometown he hadn't chased her.
Then he missed the birth of his child and the early years of raising her while he spent his time touring, drinking, putting bad substances in his body, and spent years burning himself hollow.
It was his brother that had come to his rescue and picked him up off the floor and threw Cash into rehab. He'd been destroying his life and what had finally gotten through to Cash was his brother telling him he couldn't lose another sibling.
Now clean and sober for a year, it's time for him to do the right thing. Not only does he want to meet his daughter, Cash wants to make amends for all the damage and ruin he has caused.
potential connections:
cali people — if your character had been in california at any point!
cowboy up — all cowboy/rodeo fans come on down!
fans/supporters — of course anyone that knows and enjoys his music, maybe has followed his career a bit.
manager/agent — self explanatory BUT i imagine they wouldn't be happy with cash slowing down with music and essentially not working.
fellow parents — he's going to be getting to know his daughter and taking care of her so fellow parents that don't hate him?? even if you do hate him lets still work something out.
music industry peeps — anyone involved in the music industry!
hook ups/one night stands — girls he'd met on the road while traveling.
i'll add more as they come to me. i'm tired.
