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]71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl26whCX5ev
I need to feel something71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRcoHmTqBQ9
So my heart won’t turn to stone71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG3CToTzSEc
Been chasing shadows in the hallway71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuRakvjeD5z
Just to not feel so alone
My thoughts creak like floorboards71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0eYAPLyuMD
In a house that no one owns71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq2vOX95byw
You came in, said we’d fix it71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOygJ3JHRNp
Then left me here on my own
[Pre-Chorus]71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡroLP3X22c8
There’s hesitation in your voice71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFwI9E6pD5N
I wish I didn’t notice71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqgmgpIgtQh
You promised me you’d call—71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtzNJxrSYRc
Like I wouldn’t know you broke it
[Chorus]71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr8OdMb0LnQ
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSQN2cMBeBo
Where my lungs should be71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYXQPEp8NMI
You took the breath out of me71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQmshKRDTDg
Like a comfortable liar71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYSOEP2gJxQ
And I’m tired71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYioiXu9Jrk
Of laying in this fire71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEp11DWn4lk
The more I see, the less I’m alive71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrUDTSXmkQg
Can you tell I’m not alright?
[Verse 2]71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFAwz0tXDA0
I replay things you said71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtYB4dp406k
Like a song stuck in my teeth71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4HhT7ypN20
Words that meant forever71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNcvW8u00xQ
Now just rot underneath
You said “we’ll figure it out”71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ69LE1jEFsX
But you never said when71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQQdKGDZ4iH
I think I’m starting to believe71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbT9dCXbRdK
You never meant to begin
[Pre-Chorus]71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0RwQO6f037
There’s silence in your absence71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNGJ1SzUhhA
And it’s loud enough to break71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcItHaVnGHB
You swore you’d fight the dark for me—71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi6hnP3RKtu
Then left me wide awake
[Chorus]71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL71ekxFMw2
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyCaxbscODN
Where my lungs should be71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2doz6ZbDGh
You took the breath out of me71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbCkwcz1iNM
Like a comfortable liar71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzB3haZY9bb
And I’m tired71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4gpUnoDGy1
Of laying in this fire71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE4gpVRpCBJ
The more I see, the less I’m alive71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7FWlL5ctq3
Can you tell I’m not alright?
[Bridge]71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtKtKz4SBFM
I need to be something71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx0FDhHFQ61
So my past lets me go71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsAOwIzmPqE
I need to live again71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoUOvS7HtxE
Before this pain becomes my home
You’re fading like a dream71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEmdqutYly3
That I wake up from too soon71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfkGM0ugYdy
And I keep screaming in my head71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgE0TRLWOa4
But it’s just echoes in my room
[Final Chorus]71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcLZcuruQko
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzJsHkJTxDV
Where my lungs should be71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQeXSYS6k1e
You took the breath out of me71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLwFlx7DXq1
Like a comfortable liar71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk2MO3IyJrN
Now I’m colder71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3pPbUxtFWk
But not any wiser71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5ZHxYPizqM
The more I see, the less I’m alive71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsGdjTD2ibw
I’m still breathing—71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0VAeBVCsbU
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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