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]148Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcpmyL25E4z
I need to feel something148Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFDGoTygUVR
So my heart won’t turn to stone148Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu7Ji3yLXXx
Been chasing shadows in the hallway148Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡENYCzkGGrT
Just to not feel so alone
My thoughts creak like floorboards148Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj0uXADX9kg
In a house that no one owns148Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVXmhTgSx0s
You came in, said we’d fix it148Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnxVGKTvXII
Then left me here on my own
[Pre-Chorus]148Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHa2PjSFaUp
There’s hesitation in your voice148Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJM0kaKgUWQ
I wish I didn’t notice148Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVvGDkNwCIB
You promised me you’d call—148Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMDq149Nen3
Like I wouldn’t know you broke it
[Chorus]148Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIanc5GpNok
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me148Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0TGoukaW6c
Where my lungs should be148Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdJeVTPhcJQ
You took the breath out of me148Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQsne3hGDkq
Like a comfortable liar148Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGhcbE010ky
And I’m tired148Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡExGqkadSv7
Of laying in this fire148Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQcqmOsfOJL
The more I see, the less I’m alive148Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8yOICnh4i4
Can you tell I’m not alright?
[Verse 2]148Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpmiidKv6z1
I replay things you said148Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk6njK1XqEg
Like a song stuck in my teeth148Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz9BNCFQIIM
Words that meant forever148Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbwGyjAPlpp
Now just rot underneath
You said “we’ll figure it out”148Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP3DJNAszrZ
But you never said when148Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNydmq9SDph
I think I’m starting to believe148Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGTr94OfcHK
You never meant to begin
[Pre-Chorus]148Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6tu9A2A8jV
There’s silence in your absence148Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4waLYUnPro
And it’s loud enough to break148Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡircqUxZgFf
You swore you’d fight the dark for me—148Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSX6sKxu5qQ
Then left me wide awake
[Chorus]148Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc8K1yHCI2j
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me148Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnUZzeO8S7I
Where my lungs should be148Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡObBpjT8ixw
You took the breath out of me148Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ68GcUldRQC
Like a comfortable liar148Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK598hfhLjU
And I’m tired148Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmWeiwo4Cpj
Of laying in this fire148Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUUpe4N1pVs
The more I see, the less I’m alive148Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3dbmZdgtRM
Can you tell I’m not alright?
[Bridge]148Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS9CbFOxAx8
I need to be something148Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGSzwVjTRgv
So my past lets me go148Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZeWOJU5UfI
I need to live again148Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOEF2nWRVaS
Before this pain becomes my home
You’re fading like a dream148Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZZ3iapYj4F
That I wake up from too soon148Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrWAppeDxhW
And I keep screaming in my head148Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz3wFtmXoU9
But it’s just echoes in my room
[Final Chorus]148Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCEAjg1AwPN
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me148Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm8EkBkr3Tm
Where my lungs should be148Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxaKcurY0k6
You took the breath out of me148Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6EC9ghOCqK
Like a comfortable liar148Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKGe6pFUDMo
Now I’m colder148Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPBckDNXibr
But not any wiser148Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡygPCnVywgc
The more I see, the less I’m alive148Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtVev1t24gU
I’m still breathing—148Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxVWZQTeiSz
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.”
ns216.73.216.148da2
