Abigail’s POV
Sam and I were up all night, our only light source the blue glow of his monitor and the occasional flicker from the half-melted candle we forgot to blow out. We’d ditched our usual Friday night at the Saloon—sorry, Gus—because this was more important. We weren’t just making a song. We were building a piece of Sebastian’s soul.
Sam hunched over his laptop, laser-focused, piecing together every lyric with a kind of reverence I’d only seen him reserve for pizza or vintage guitars. I laid down a few drum samples, hunting for the right beat until one finally clicked—a sharp, echoing rhythm that felt like heartbreak on loop.
Sam used his computer to pull some of Sebastian’s saved synth recordings. They were haunting and mechanical, eerie in a way only Sebastian could make sound intentional. He added a guitar riff that somehow cut through the darkness like headlights in fog. It was beautiful, a perfect match to the pain tucked into the lyrics.
The vocals were trickier. Sam, the usual human golden retriever, had gone full perfectionist. He was determined to do justice to Sebastian’s words, even if it meant twenty takes and losing his voice in the process.
“I think that was amazing,” I said after he finished the final chorus, his voice raw but steady.
He pulled off his headphones and rubbed his eyes. “It still needs more... him.”
I chewed on my thumbnail. “It is him. Every part of it. The dark chords, the synth, the melody, that riff you played, and his words—his words.” I paused. “He’s going to be the only one listening to it, remember? And if he hates it, we’ll scrap it. But if he hears it and sees what we see…”
“If he doesn’t throw a chair at my head first,” Sam muttered, smirking.
I grinned. “I printed out the lyrics, just in case we needed a backup.” I handed him a sheet.
Sam double-checked the printout, then laid it beside the laptop. He clicked a few buttons, and we both leaned in, each taking an earbud.
“A Heart Worth Breaking” (Sebastian’s Song)
[Verse 1]68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQQ0TR2roe3
I need to feel something68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoKBFI3tfxN
So my heart won’t turn to stone68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ9tD7n0xxm
Been chasing shadows in the hallway68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZZ0Vn8F4rC
Just to not feel so alone
My thoughts creak like floorboards68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiFVAHP8QAP
In a house that no one owns68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgMFMelXBpP
You came in, said we’d fix it68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDs8N00jOk5
Then left me here on my own
[Pre-Chorus]68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZMpAsO7pSg
There’s hesitation in your voice68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe669Refl8X
I wish I didn’t notice68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZlyjvhO9E2
You promised me you’d call—68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIccbgdgK7m
Like I wouldn’t know you broke it
[Chorus]68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzXvVUMx652
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEWGAn17P5N
Where my lungs should be68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmwm3NEdEyB
You took the breath out of me68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLQdPsU8ruN
Like a comfortable liar68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX3QqWgKXTG
And I’m tired68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgnwOjNxiWA
Of laying in this fire68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSo4EWCy6PB
The more I see, the less I’m alive68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb5oaOdWKzr
Can you tell I’m not alright?
[Verse 2]68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmFmJBzjLGb
I replay things you said68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCruwGOXpWe
Like a song stuck in my teeth68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡONnL4JeJzN
Words that meant forever68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMDBrxJjm7j
Now just rot underneath
You said “we’ll figure it out”68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTKxG7n4Dfh
But you never said when68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0kzfBSSH8Q
I think I’m starting to believe68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkF2wIkZXSJ
You never meant to begin
[Pre-Chorus]68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ675Odvua8R
There’s silence in your absence68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgb6fQODkQe
And it’s loud enough to break68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡryyJBb6Z9n
You swore you’d fight the dark for me—68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcSru30s2pV
Then left me wide awake
[Chorus]68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqjH79WPkof
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMMNRTXVOAR
Where my lungs should be68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeXq3iufTk4
You took the breath out of me68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOrZOZZbBJi
Like a comfortable liar68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaRec8LJMtb
And I’m tired68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOGlsleMH3s
Of laying in this fire68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6kkHmE1ahe
The more I see, the less I’m alive68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡULJr1jDwZa
Can you tell I’m not alright?
[Bridge]68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3MCmhjerf8
I need to be something68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL107NfQ7EP
So my past lets me go68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKxN3q8DBT0
I need to live again68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ6NiktqmP5
Before this pain becomes my home
You’re fading like a dream68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuoiSmHD1wQ
That I wake up from too soon68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhvHuhbdM5n
And I keep screaming in my head68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBqAdhAhKsT
But it’s just echoes in my room
[Final Chorus]68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnK9Ne3UQVj
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGcRg1pmcd0
Where my lungs should be68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgGU5J8b1Gg
You took the breath out of me68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDAjazIXbzQ
Like a comfortable liar68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJRxNnEkIjr
Now I’m colder68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkKPGHj0cHk
But not any wiser68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFfSfKHPD8j
The more I see, the less I’m alive68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQZTcuxdF84
I’m still breathing—68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl1U6Z3r6q0
But barely surviving
"Perfect. I think it's ready go, should we listen to double check?" Sam asks. I nod my head as pull on the headphones. One in his ear, one in mine.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alex’s POV
I took my usual evening walk, the summer air thick with warmth but edged with the kind of breeze that meant fall was waiting in the wings. Leaves hadn’t started to turn yet, but the way the light hit the trees—it was coming.
I passed Haley and Emily’s place, then Sam’s. The porch light was on, faint music humming through the windows. Probably another one of their all-night band sessions. Honestly, good for them. Stardrop Saloon was a fun gig, but I knew they were itching for something bigger.
The sun dipped low as I passed Marnie’s. Her cows blinked at me like they were judging my haircut. I waved anyway. As I rounded the bend near the pond, I saw her.
Haley. Squatting by the water with her camera, snapping shots like she hadn’t just spent the past five years acting like dirt was a death sentence.
“You know,” I said, smirking, “when you asked me to be your lighting guy, I thought you meant for pictures of you.”
She jumped, then groaned. “God, don’t sneak up on me like that. And no, dummy. It’s for the nature.”
“I didn’t know you liked photography,” I said, genuinely curious.
She turned those ice-blue eyes on me. “Well, maybe that’s on you.”
Fair enough.
“I think it’s cool,” I said. “The camera—it looks vintage. Where’d you get it?”
Her face shifted slightly, voice quieter. “My dad. Before he and my mom… left.”
I didn’t push it. She fiddled with the lens like it would distract her from the weight of what she said.
“You’re really good,” I said instead. “Like… weirdly good. Are you entering that Pelican Town Art Showcase thing next month?”
She looked up, surprised. “No. Why?”
“Because you should,” I said, shrugging. “Your photos feel like they’re telling a story. Like you’re trying to… I don’t know. Freeze a feeling or something.”
Haley blinked at me, and for once, didn’t have a sarcastic comeback. She just stared. Then—
“Okay, philosopher. Who even are you?”
I laughed. “Don’t get used to it.”
She smiled, and it hit me a little too hard in the chest. For a second, the pond, the light, her camera—everything felt like it was supposed to happen.
“Maybe you could be the model next time,” she said, a hint of challenge in her tone.
“Only if I get artistic control,” I replied. “And final approval. And maybe a crown.”
She laughed. “Deal.”
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