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]11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbjndIsL9lA
I need to feel something11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhMnZWbVss6
So my heart won’t turn to stone11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4z1FmdROK3
Been chasing shadows in the hallway11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBQuY0et4Lg
Just to not feel so alone
My thoughts creak like floorboards11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoY28t1zGyj
In a house that no one owns11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIxTeLb3PpD
You came in, said we’d fix it11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyPbfS3GtE2
Then left me here on my own
[Pre-Chorus]11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1xE6oDPx8q
There’s hesitation in your voice11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6cr3UJPX9N
I wish I didn’t notice11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiWOIqRLo6q
You promised me you’d call—11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8tpFIMkAIs
Like I wouldn’t know you broke it
[Chorus]11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz3dfjLFMrr
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfT9bAnHkxa
Where my lungs should be11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxnap5LB0Xe
You took the breath out of me11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyuLxr8XBbE
Like a comfortable liar11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡImV36D1VWF
And I’m tired11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy7GOSJR5QR
Of laying in this fire11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHAWni6JQAh
The more I see, the less I’m alive11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7YCU085jYW
Can you tell I’m not alright?
[Verse 2]11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe5FzU735fd
I replay things you said11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeKoCt4nTCy
Like a song stuck in my teeth11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyqQjqCDSgQ
Words that meant forever11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCvlikepR9Q
Now just rot underneath
You said “we’ll figure it out”11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwSsWlDxRMQ
But you never said when11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQXy4mVSdDp
I think I’m starting to believe11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHTVv8rCrQJ
You never meant to begin
[Pre-Chorus]11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPudgooAmS3
There’s silence in your absence11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPeqKYb1aaq
And it’s loud enough to break11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuomsd7qVJQ
You swore you’d fight the dark for me—11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNU7MQKKR6e
Then left me wide awake
[Chorus]11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhya3tw1sYC
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzYYNNWQ53O
Where my lungs should be11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3HNfcuP1xa
You took the breath out of me11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKoZDAM75Ck
Like a comfortable liar11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAFmZqCjtFU
And I’m tired11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqiHTlqVIFJ
Of laying in this fire11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwq6SvkYysy
The more I see, the less I’m alive11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8SjXRRO757
Can you tell I’m not alright?
[Bridge]11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJURWS9a50x
I need to be something11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLc7YdypwvR
So my past lets me go11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0uq2yrTXnJ
I need to live again11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZn0IVWZICK
Before this pain becomes my home
You’re fading like a dream11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVqglIOEkgf
That I wake up from too soon11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBhfizkYStI
And I keep screaming in my head11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLwIjH2n9EA
But it’s just echoes in my room
[Final Chorus]11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAI5KecQgKO
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv5xlQr3ioW
Where my lungs should be11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuA9byu5Nx3
You took the breath out of me11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXlW8LkR7rZ
Like a comfortable liar11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Qbr5EGYn6
Now I’m colder11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡESiQgploIc
But not any wiser11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPRz5l4HCqW
The more I see, the less I’m alive11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYr1earub2B
I’m still breathing—11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrt2ZOhIh90
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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