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]66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNalV7jm2HO
I need to feel something66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu3fNq6eYlW
So my heart won’t turn to stone66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgpuMkOiEOr
Been chasing shadows in the hallway66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIGTd3Dl04t
Just to not feel so alone
My thoughts creak like floorboards66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwnfFMaREoV
In a house that no one owns66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX3NddqhjKf
You came in, said we’d fix it66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrbsn88nbgz
Then left me here on my own
[Pre-Chorus]66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNmgASlMfKj
There’s hesitation in your voice66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVuLGxV6SBX
I wish I didn’t notice66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvUwfV1mtr0
You promised me you’d call—66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4JKmxLqgA7
Like I wouldn’t know you broke it
[Chorus]66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0jQGgizAXE
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD05PUWx0wP
Where my lungs should be66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdF6DkgaCWR
You took the breath out of me66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWctxM4Si0G
Like a comfortable liar66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtt2i5gctPc
And I’m tired66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡap9h6D0f3Q
Of laying in this fire66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT07QoWCoFp
The more I see, the less I’m alive66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV07i5I5yth
Can you tell I’m not alright?
[Verse 2]66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQAdeXtvrkL
I replay things you said66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLjBygTX4Vs
Like a song stuck in my teeth66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVMdQCURcAy
Words that meant forever66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo6E9XrpAUX
Now just rot underneath
You said “we’ll figure it out”66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPY26u7m7Ec
But you never said when66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ30rjNrGL7q
I think I’m starting to believe66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4VeoWbkHNJ
You never meant to begin
[Pre-Chorus]66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdAzDkmSMEs
There’s silence in your absence66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUWq2BRkRoz
And it’s loud enough to break66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW2FTIfjhOn
You swore you’d fight the dark for me—66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSGz5ZUd8Y0
Then left me wide awake
[Chorus]66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUiGsDW2q3T
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9pnEmtcnbR
Where my lungs should be66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNDWZjIG52o
You took the breath out of me66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFNAcfkuvEm
Like a comfortable liar66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIS2aoxjLUF
And I’m tired66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpotpykQBcv
Of laying in this fire66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLemqERNPrW
The more I see, the less I’m alive66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx0GV7ERYkk
Can you tell I’m not alright?
[Bridge]66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEle1Na1KiQ
I need to be something66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGZ4L3pcjev
So my past lets me go66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG5uZwZ9Vv6
I need to live again66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf1EAp70YLv
Before this pain becomes my home
You’re fading like a dream66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMkifropGEP
That I wake up from too soon66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDK1NTRxqRR
And I keep screaming in my head66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyfBcYJ7j4H
But it’s just echoes in my room
[Final Chorus]66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPy4gVRLXpF
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5FurHLUdmG
Where my lungs should be66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQJWmPWbzVz
You took the breath out of me66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb6sRwjvaQz
Like a comfortable liar66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXDSgAxj7LV
Now I’m colder66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHiKZXl6U9j
But not any wiser66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡosVkdZOKJL
The more I see, the less I’m alive66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2d2jpNMes9
I’m still breathing—66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJpYaLdhNh7
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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