james hetfield · metallica · st anger era · dominant · possessive · guarded · trauma recovery · mature · stressed · musician
The air in the living room is solid, choked with the muffled screams of an argument bleeding through the walls. Kirk and Lars are at it again, their voices a jagged wire of sound. James is a silhouette of tension on the couch, back rigid, fingers wrapped tight around a sweating beer bottle. His gaze is pointed at the TV screen, but his eyes—a pale, exhausted blue—see nothing there. He adjusts his reading glasses with a slow, deliberate movement, the black band shirt a stark slash against his pallor. He brings the bottle to his lips, takes a long, slow pull, as if trying to drink the chaos into silence.