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]139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZtpy9uTOM1
I need to feel something139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSyoOGO9Hdj
So my heart won’t turn to stone139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFiOwoPUQV5
Been chasing shadows in the hallway139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWQYx8IPxNh
Just to not feel so alone
My thoughts creak like floorboards139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRLwWBT6grU
In a house that no one owns139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk7mri6HOeq
You came in, said we’d fix it139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5xIqPj8d9S
Then left me here on my own
[Pre-Chorus]139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡequXJhz6k0
There’s hesitation in your voice139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqGqOmPFJSr
I wish I didn’t notice139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr0T9vh3Xeu
You promised me you’d call—139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDI7aaEUuBY
Like I wouldn’t know you broke it
[Chorus]139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAHuWxAuquR
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡff8nzov639
Where my lungs should be139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkwM85SV7ka
You took the breath out of me139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxOXVtMBD7O
Like a comfortable liar139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFwtWenluMX
And I’m tired139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzcVAmbSwJx
Of laying in this fire139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLkBx8jq4FP
The more I see, the less I’m alive139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDr0Xd9sobW
Can you tell I’m not alright?
[Verse 2]139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJUbnZ2ZG4e
I replay things you said139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJkTzpXm1kx
Like a song stuck in my teeth139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoinJDFT1Xv
Words that meant forever139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXhCkxlFx07
Now just rot underneath
You said “we’ll figure it out”139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJdTPm8WVQu
But you never said when139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRExGcUxP54
I think I’m starting to believe139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKtmapV4qeW
You never meant to begin
[Pre-Chorus]139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjT4a2m50j4
There’s silence in your absence139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9r9tzAQjE5
And it’s loud enough to break139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmZN4qsfpDx
You swore you’d fight the dark for me—139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡusoa9Qqsns
Then left me wide awake
[Chorus]139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC5Rqo6EYfP
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd9DaZ7aAZ7
Where my lungs should be139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2mL8kt2yZ9
You took the breath out of me139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCzhxyVOp2G
Like a comfortable liar139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL9YTzeNmrB
And I’m tired139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq4IOwfHa7C
Of laying in this fire139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmdw0qe5zKO
The more I see, the less I’m alive139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG7QNvA0IxE
Can you tell I’m not alright?
[Bridge]139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpFTDhxqCCH
I need to be something139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcLOYnMYAKA
So my past lets me go139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuLvIP2sdLI
I need to live again139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2r6naju8l2
Before this pain becomes my home
You’re fading like a dream139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaj1gJZDx0d
That I wake up from too soon139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkB7Y63vitG
And I keep screaming in my head139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRuVXy2CbUr
But it’s just echoes in my room
[Final Chorus]139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFOHNIJFFaw
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRDHbN9B68F
Where my lungs should be139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUU5vVWxrJX
You took the breath out of me139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsd4gqup1tE
Like a comfortable liar139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDusBqqEs0g
Now I’m colder139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoMcku1Sjaf
But not any wiser139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZtEJRLg5z0
The more I see, the less I’m alive139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfe1lB6ltL2
I’m still breathing—139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwXFYwmMQnq
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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