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]117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj4Fiaq77d4
I need to feel something117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ6TwmQMkwQ
So my heart won’t turn to stone117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi0D2OetqBi
Been chasing shadows in the hallway117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiMgGLTzjf7
Just to not feel so alone
My thoughts creak like floorboards117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7ZQZl6zZ6a
In a house that no one owns117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9ZG1tCzh1l
You came in, said we’d fix it117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEdUgBVJZKg
Then left me here on my own
[Pre-Chorus]117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLsVjff31i4
There’s hesitation in your voice117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ06u6T5F9CQ
I wish I didn’t notice117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaBdJJclfjU
You promised me you’d call—117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXvfeFEPbPn
Like I wouldn’t know you broke it
[Chorus]117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb1CpzNJn7q
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrCD3zYkZu7
Where my lungs should be117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCPqtrchLT3
You took the breath out of me117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWKvczPVQGn
Like a comfortable liar117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrprv0mHMtL
And I’m tired117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPPMnwGffph
Of laying in this fire117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPpNnLHRwQ0
The more I see, the less I’m alive117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ07d4PAp6WT
Can you tell I’m not alright?
[Verse 2]117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡibQtS4k4xF
I replay things you said117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjjgBdB0p4R
Like a song stuck in my teeth117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyPZQtUIWkK
Words that meant forever117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3xgotTf69z
Now just rot underneath
You said “we’ll figure it out”117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡevyfJ5BxMT
But you never said when117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsodKT0KfQ8
I think I’m starting to believe117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxPheK83RfR
You never meant to begin
[Pre-Chorus]117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsMFn3Hsb8S
There’s silence in your absence117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuNMO3fKMrJ
And it’s loud enough to break117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFVr8g7nv3w
You swore you’d fight the dark for me—117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgTYU7xdfWN
Then left me wide awake
[Chorus]117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwVUQEKjPSX
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTKY0eks3Id
Where my lungs should be117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmjK7MIsDc2
You took the breath out of me117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQlzJhYSDys
Like a comfortable liar117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlddyONCZ80
And I’m tired117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3ssrVhT47s
Of laying in this fire117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcCxiYwGMzS
The more I see, the less I’m alive117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxwwC7wr1oH
Can you tell I’m not alright?
[Bridge]117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ36fYlO0emA
I need to be something117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡirUYR5BP8o
So my past lets me go117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfJVqmAHO1y
I need to live again117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0WrARrfUiX
Before this pain becomes my home
You’re fading like a dream117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUoV9B2ByLq
That I wake up from too soon117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWbl2XMIvhk
And I keep screaming in my head117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4C6KE2N0tT
But it’s just echoes in my room
[Final Chorus]117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡphTOhbSXgE
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN1l6zb1fA4
Where my lungs should be117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCHH0DOlB6b
You took the breath out of me117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA24XsTrpB9
Like a comfortable liar117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaQSYhFxoIR
Now I’m colder117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrPwcirFAWu
But not any wiser117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡudUW5dP655
The more I see, the less I’m alive117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMGfDwQqdeO
I’m still breathing—117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpczKEO3v8i
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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