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]48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6y8T5dQ61x
I need to feel something48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA97Iz69K7Q
So my heart won’t turn to stone48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPKrdksu34h
Been chasing shadows in the hallway48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWq6YNq04To
Just to not feel so alone
My thoughts creak like floorboards48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzlMaZeuUNv
In a house that no one owns48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF9mHvRtDcw
You came in, said we’d fix it48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS4Ku0DjwKF
Then left me here on my own
[Pre-Chorus]48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwfuc6uwM5s
There’s hesitation in your voice48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfQIKWdOgWd
I wish I didn’t notice48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2y9kIgGuZ2
You promised me you’d call—48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEOdTbe8mKt
Like I wouldn’t know you broke it
[Chorus]48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPyKXa2mKK1
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIwyeDEmp14
Where my lungs should be48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGgzZC4GD9g
You took the breath out of me48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxTn9WnAfqO
Like a comfortable liar48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJRnhuWxX1x
And I’m tired48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrGDCrE9wiC
Of laying in this fire48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPw8JfbgqS5
The more I see, the less I’m alive48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfJGB1DbcJr
Can you tell I’m not alright?
[Verse 2]48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnhBqxt475O
I replay things you said48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlu0ETTQmHE
Like a song stuck in my teeth48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv11mbaOUZ2
Words that meant forever48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDlpsvzmLmd
Now just rot underneath
You said “we’ll figure it out”48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvdjO5SJg9k
But you never said when48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl0vZgrHPIi
I think I’m starting to believe48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi3PrdqlVa9
You never meant to begin
[Pre-Chorus]48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAbVOGvSb44
There’s silence in your absence48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkr39krutFo
And it’s loud enough to break48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvpQC7Hvn5D
You swore you’d fight the dark for me—48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaonwzsDmhx
Then left me wide awake
[Chorus]48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxMK3tROEPr
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0jCdyTE8bb
Where my lungs should be48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfF2EP6dKFl
You took the breath out of me48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHjH6JsTZgd
Like a comfortable liar48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF3ibBOQkrR
And I’m tired48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiaOT9mDNlQ
Of laying in this fire48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXv0E5VQ8fm
The more I see, the less I’m alive48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyjFjcoQ0s9
Can you tell I’m not alright?
[Bridge]48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ2oZRYXkhz
I need to be something48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoD9ZCJXK7S
So my past lets me go48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhAO2QH8QvT
I need to live again48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9HdNFqLIKA
Before this pain becomes my home
You’re fading like a dream48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYvzxhqhyZM
That I wake up from too soon48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSWonoXsviJ
And I keep screaming in my head48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN0sdsqI2z4
But it’s just echoes in my room
[Final Chorus]48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm77DOyBrn8
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrrP8djN9pV
Where my lungs should be48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB7EiNia7VY
You took the breath out of me48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCcMQJ8lmuj
Like a comfortable liar48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf8NHxNLoNh
Now I’m colder48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmeCZN3Swyr
But not any wiser48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnDd4MMmv5n
The more I see, the less I’m alive48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ10eA44TjWN
I’m still breathing—48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf7GXCAyM1K
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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