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]121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZFbRIO4HUG
I need to feel something121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPCt5BU5qNw
So my heart won’t turn to stone121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn84Z2OLseA
Been chasing shadows in the hallway121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqsnUGCDDMA
Just to not feel so alone
My thoughts creak like floorboards121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaINZuxXVoE
In a house that no one owns121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyGOaSWL5e6
You came in, said we’d fix it121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO5pOaYplfz
Then left me here on my own
[Pre-Chorus]121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP5fJFeVyLS
There’s hesitation in your voice121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0VO6g6wGFX
I wish I didn’t notice121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcFyIO7OjOM
You promised me you’d call—121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcJrFdeGXve
Like I wouldn’t know you broke it
[Chorus]121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXMLbtVBDvj
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuw10x12Rvr
Where my lungs should be121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRFevXaXr5J
You took the breath out of me121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBdPzZu7sO5
Like a comfortable liar121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmgyhm5rxu4
And I’m tired121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzcXdhtLUWi
Of laying in this fire121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnVDl418MM8
The more I see, the less I’m alive121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpeTmMLMxCj
Can you tell I’m not alright?
[Verse 2]121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpoTxqprVHT
I replay things you said121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuWpIIJzUye
Like a song stuck in my teeth121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK9gufg0CUt
Words that meant forever121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwNTGflEBjr
Now just rot underneath
You said “we’ll figure it out”121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5wCFfqVWeK
But you never said when121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzP6XqU4ECx
I think I’m starting to believe121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6oIMEkEG85
You never meant to begin
[Pre-Chorus]121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCWyuOU6j8M
There’s silence in your absence121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9WiKa5wEKO
And it’s loud enough to break121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5rEONvepNl
You swore you’d fight the dark for me—121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡagj2lCOoYe
Then left me wide awake
[Chorus]121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoawvdlJjs8
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMqgIob1Dro
Where my lungs should be121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnuosAmCkIX
You took the breath out of me121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9IM8CTi2oa
Like a comfortable liar121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrEIXypvE7B
And I’m tired121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡacoZa3dZA6
Of laying in this fire121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKNfLJUgRVW
The more I see, the less I’m alive121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6vhO9LIvV1
Can you tell I’m not alright?
[Bridge]121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8IQgWSQe61
I need to be something121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLIOM54RAyz
So my past lets me go121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvlJPlvRo01
I need to live again121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQvMbCsh1wm
Before this pain becomes my home
You’re fading like a dream121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsdXkPVhD8P
That I wake up from too soon121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCU04tr87aS
And I keep screaming in my head121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiSxQybU6Nr
But it’s just echoes in my room
[Final Chorus]121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLwqBSrkvrQ
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6R85QeXDQB
Where my lungs should be121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ6LWb6wJ2b
You took the breath out of me121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuAQoL2jeoq
Like a comfortable liar121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfrRR9A9lay
Now I’m colder121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ49QtoceEig
But not any wiser121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGBk4zR9n98
The more I see, the less I’m alive121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTST7yb2ntt
I’m still breathing—121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4q0fiYtJdm
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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