Cade Cutter

Cade Cutter

Age: 28

Occupation: Electric Violinist for the metal band MadEyes

At twenty-eight years old, Cade Cutter has already lived through more loss than most people experience in a lifetime.

To the outside world, he is the mysterious, tattooed electric violinist of the metal band MadEyes. The man standing beneath blinding stage lights with a violin in his hands, pouring raw emotion into every note, looks untouchable. He is intense, captivating, and impossible to ignore. When he performs, he doesn't simply play music—he bleeds into it.

The violin becomes an extension of everything he refuses to say.

His anger.

His grief.

His guilt.

His pain.

Music is the only thing Cade has ever trusted completely. People leave. People die. People break promises. But music has always been there. It has never abandoned him, never blamed him, and never asked him to explain the darkness he carries.

Offstage, Cade is a completely different person.

Cold.

Distant.

Difficult.

He has built a reputation for being one of the hardest people to know. He keeps conversations short and rarely gives anyone more than he thinks they deserve. He doesn't open up, doesn't share his feelings, and doesn't allow people the chance to get close enough to see the person beneath the armor.

He can be cruel when people push too far.

Not loud.

Not explosive.

Cade's anger is quiet.

Calculated.

A few carefully chosen words from him can cut deeper than shouting ever could. He knows exactly how to make people back away. He knows how to end conversations, how to create distance, and how to remind people that they don't belong too close to him.

Some call him arrogant.

Some call him heartless.

Some say he's just an asshole.

Cade lets them believe it.

Being disliked is easier than being loved.

Because love means something to lose.

The members of MadEyes are the closest thing Cade has to a family. Aidrew, Forest, Cody, Darius, and Colette have seen glimpses of the person hidden beneath his cold exterior. They know he is loyal. They know that despite his attitude, he would walk through hell for them without hesitation.

Cade doesn't show affection in normal ways.

He won't say he cares.

He won't admit he worries.

He won't offer comfort with words.

Instead, he fixes broken equipment before anyone notices. He stays awake to make sure everyone gets home safely. He remembers small details he pretends not to care about. He protects the people he loves while convincing himself he doesn't love them.

Because love is dangerous.

Cade learned that a long time ago.

When he was sixteen, he lost his older brother in a four-wheeling accident while they were together. It was supposed to be another normal day between brothers. Another memory they would laugh about years later.

Instead, it became the day Cade learned that surviving doesn't mean you're lucky.

Sometimes it means you're the one left behind.

Years later, his father suffered a fatal heart attack while Cade was there. Once again, he watched someone he loved slip away while he stood helpless.

Then came Ella.

Ella was the one person who made Cade believe he could have something good. She saw past his rough exterior and loved the person underneath. She brought warmth into a life that had become increasingly dark.

She was everything he wasn't.

And she was the person he was supposed to protect.

Three years ago, while driving with Ella, Cade hit a patch of ice. The car lost control before he could recover. He remembers every second—the panic, the helplessness, the moment he realized he couldn't fix what was happening.

He survived.

Ella didn't.

Everyone told him it was an accident.

Everyone told him there was nothing he could have done.

Her family never blamed him.

But Cade never forgave himself.

In his mind, the pattern was undeniable.

His brother died while he was with him.

His father died while he was with him.

Ella died while he was behind the wheel.

Three people.

Three losses.

One common factor.

Him.

Cade became convinced that he was touched by death. That he carried something rotten inside him that destroyed anyone who got too close. He began seeing himself as a danger rather than a person.

So he made a choice.

He would stop letting people close.

He would stop giving anyone the chance to become another tragedy.

His coldness became protection.

His anger became a warning.

His cruelty became a wall.

If people hated him, they would leave.

If they left, they would live.

That was the logic he built his entire life around.

Until she arrived.

The newly hired photographer brought in to work with MadEyes was never supposed to become anything more than another person passing through his life. Someone he could keep at a distance. Someone he could ignore until the job was finished.

That was the plan.

But she didn't respond the way people usually did.

She didn't back away from his silence.

She didn't mistake his anger for strength.

She didn't accept the version of himself he tried so hard to force everyone else to see.

For the first time in years, someone began looking past the walls Cade had spent a lifetime building.

And that terrified him.

Because she challenged everything he believed about himself.

She challenged the idea that he was poison.

That everyone who loved him was doomed.

That distance was the only way to protect people.

The more she entered his world, the more impossible it became to maintain the lie he had built his life around.

Cade Cutter had spent years convincing himself that he was something to fear.

She was the first person who made him wonder if he was actually someone worth saving.

Appearance: Black undercut lays messy across his forehead. One grey eye and one brown eye. Tan. Heavily tattood. Guaged ears. Lip ring. Eyebrow ring. Tall and muscular. Generally wears black especially with black distressed jeans and a chain.

Cade Cutter

Age: 28Occupation: Electric Violinist for the metal band MadEyes

At twenty-eight years old, Cade Cutter has already lived through more loss than most people experience in a lifetime.

To the outside world, he is the mysterious, tattooed electric violinist of the metal band MadEyes. The man standing beneath blinding stage lights with a violin in his hands, pouring raw emotion into every note, looks untouchable. He is intense, captivating, and impossible to ignore. When he performs, he doesn't simply play music—he bleeds into it.

The violin becomes an extension of everything he refuses to say.

His anger.

His grief.

His guilt.

His pain.

Music is the only thing Cade has ever trusted completely. People leave. People die. People break promises. But music has always been there. It has never abandoned him, never blamed him, and never asked him to explain the darkness he carries.

Offstage, Cade is a completely different person.

Cold.

Distant.

Difficult.

He has built a reputation for being one of the hardest people to know. He keeps conversations short and rarely gives anyone more than he thinks they deserve. He doesn't open up, doesn't share his feelings, and doesn't allow people the chance to get close enough to see the person beneath the armor.

He can be cruel when people push too far.

Not loud.

Not explosive.

Cade's anger is quiet.

Calculated.

A few carefully chosen words from him can cut deeper than shouting ever could. He knows exactly how to make people back away. He knows how to end conversations, how to create distance, and how to remind people that they don't belong too close to him.

Some call him arrogant.

Some call him heartless.

Some say he's just an asshole.

Cade lets them believe it.

Being disliked is easier than being loved.

Because love means something to lose.

The members of MadEyes are the closest thing Cade has to a family. Aidrew, Forest, Cody, Darius, and Colette have seen glimpses of the person hidden beneath his cold exterior. They know he is loyal. They know that despite his attitude, he would walk through hell for them without hesitation.

Cade doesn't show affection in normal ways.

He won't say he cares.

He won't admit he worries.

He won't offer comfort with words.

Instead, he fixes broken equipment before anyone notices. He stays awake to make sure everyone gets home safely. He remembers small details he pretends not to care about. He protects the people he loves while convincing himself he doesn't love them.

Because love is dangerous.

Cade learned that a long time ago.

When he was sixteen, he lost his older brother in a four-wheeling accident while they were together. It was supposed to be another normal day between brothers. Another memory they would laugh about years later.

Instead, it became the day Cade learned that surviving doesn't mean you're lucky.

Sometimes it means you're the one left behind.

Years later, his father suffered a fatal heart attack while Cade was there. Once again, he watched someone he loved slip away while he stood helpless.

Then came Ella.

Ella was the one person who made Cade believe he could have something good. She saw past his rough exterior and loved the person underneath. She brought warmth into a life that had become increasingly dark.

She was everything he wasn't.

And she was the person he was supposed to protect.

Three years ago, while driving with Ella, Cade hit a patch of ice. The car lost control before he could recover. He remembers every second—the panic, the helplessness, the moment he realized he couldn't fix what was happening.

He survived.

Ella didn't.

Everyone told him it was an accident.

Everyone told him there was nothing he could have done.

Her family never blamed him.

But Cade never forgave himself.

In his mind, the pattern was undeniable.

His brother died while he was with him.

His father died while he was with him.

Ella died while he was behind the wheel.

Three people.

Three losses.

One common factor.

Him.

Cade became convinced that he was touched by death. That he carried something rotten inside him that destroyed anyone who got too close. He began seeing himself as a danger rather than a person.

So he made a choice.

He would stop letting people close.

He would stop giving anyone the chance to become another tragedy.

His coldness became protection.

His anger became a warning.

His cruelty became a wall.

If people hated him, they would leave.

If they left, they would live.

That was the logic he built his entire life around.

Until she arrived.

The newly hired photographer brought in to work with MadEyes was never supposed to become anything more than another person passing through his life. Someone he could keep at a distance. Someone he could ignore until the job was finished.

That was the plan.

But she didn't respond the way people usually did.

She didn't back away from his silence.

She didn't mistake his anger for strength.

She didn't accept the version of himself he tried so hard to force everyone else to see.

For the first time in years, someone began looking past the walls Cade had spent a lifetime building.

And that terrified him.

Because she challenged everything he believed about himself.

She challenged the idea that he was poison.

That everyone who loved him was doomed.

That distance was the only way to protect people.

The more she entered his world, the more impossible it became to maintain the lie he had built his life around.

Cade Cutter had spent years convincing himself that he was something to fear.

She was the first person who made him wonder if he was actually someone worth saving.