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]14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDrXDHcCiuT
I need to feel something14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSc7tNlLkh0
So my heart won’t turn to stone14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDgqOvwUDQI
Been chasing shadows in the hallway14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl0fO07qOTC
Just to not feel so alone
My thoughts creak like floorboards14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZCb5USaugD
In a house that no one owns14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6gGZdo5Nbl
You came in, said we’d fix it14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvRCQ9ydNBw
Then left me here on my own
[Pre-Chorus]14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1dUACFxLWE
There’s hesitation in your voice14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuBsg1AHlAK
I wish I didn’t notice14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqtZ994XFNG
You promised me you’d call—14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYJbY2GPrb9
Like I wouldn’t know you broke it
[Chorus]14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjzZz1Taiq3
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYRrAl7i0aG
Where my lungs should be14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPZner6y948
You took the breath out of me14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTokpGPxcru
Like a comfortable liar14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzSLwbelEBv
And I’m tired14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGLAnEmNfFU
Of laying in this fire14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMvBkKzEaQS
The more I see, the less I’m alive14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdT7pHWotfH
Can you tell I’m not alright?
[Verse 2]14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡehFCZkGfBH
I replay things you said14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqeR0zvoo1r
Like a song stuck in my teeth14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiAXZcxk5j9
Words that meant forever14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ1k68SNAxu
Now just rot underneath
You said “we’ll figure it out”14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGPiaFJAU3o
But you never said when14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJYs4o8VjNi
I think I’m starting to believe14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHH8jEoVpYW
You never meant to begin
[Pre-Chorus]14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw2Mq9NksaR
There’s silence in your absence14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZoFp360Dh7
And it’s loud enough to break14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh4XJfesWGK
You swore you’d fight the dark for me—14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8UDNuMmM7X
Then left me wide awake
[Chorus]14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKmMR33sHXi
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcXNo6ay5ql
Where my lungs should be14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsNFjVZSPhh
You took the breath out of me14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2JgtCYMAmk
Like a comfortable liar14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLCI7WXe5SV
And I’m tired14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6v7nqarUIj
Of laying in this fire14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQIcYyjunjp
The more I see, the less I’m alive14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfswFLVafzJ
Can you tell I’m not alright?
[Bridge]14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvnpCx1gR8j
I need to be something14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfJAOl3XSMs
So my past lets me go14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdj8xRGaAwT
I need to live again14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCed8h2XbwK
Before this pain becomes my home
You’re fading like a dream14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmBH1IXe77V
That I wake up from too soon14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQBayoeXZ5h
And I keep screaming in my head14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUAdiTeJlf4
But it’s just echoes in my room
[Final Chorus]14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdnp94G6PbS
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ31IHOLKTTV
Where my lungs should be14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFqSmNUM4Qs
You took the breath out of me14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡozWtt7Yrxd
Like a comfortable liar14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN5ZDNn5i1g
Now I’m colder14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWalTQPzkIf
But not any wiser14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCAOoU86XAw
The more I see, the less I’m alive14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJD4j6wIzse
I’m still breathing—14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvJaic0iLnC
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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