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]164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBFNGfFQVfl
I need to feel something164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSPXMlh2qig
So my heart won’t turn to stone164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd1pAX8uLOl
Been chasing shadows in the hallway164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡatKPcJOuAf
Just to not feel so alone
My thoughts creak like floorboards164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP4mFTj7eZ6
In a house that no one owns164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE4zWtwCIGA
You came in, said we’d fix it164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT8VLj9QMuw
Then left me here on my own
[Pre-Chorus]164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQKx6ZpYNIv
There’s hesitation in your voice164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJJlLcGGGS9
I wish I didn’t notice164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKWflLZYHFj
You promised me you’d call—164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiu3qdcMaS1
Like I wouldn’t know you broke it
[Chorus]164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1vBI2LzQaS
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgEIvT8GEBV
Where my lungs should be164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOvkgdhnJPx
You took the breath out of me164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUBjpz4udRs
Like a comfortable liar164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnZtkYqPqPH
And I’m tired164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCg2ELbkv6b
Of laying in this fire164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJZC5tjloo7
The more I see, the less I’m alive164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHb2g0v3quS
Can you tell I’m not alright?
[Verse 2]164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVCUsWTKLN5
I replay things you said164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd9NB5GtpvQ
Like a song stuck in my teeth164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw8i6vOelZm
Words that meant forever164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnJ8EAWJayW
Now just rot underneath
You said “we’ll figure it out”164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGsfka3fbYF
But you never said when164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1gsP1If9vF
I think I’m starting to believe164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwXo1GbkDZw
You never meant to begin
[Pre-Chorus]164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiMC7WEiMUe
There’s silence in your absence164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsnP77K25CT
And it’s loud enough to break164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcvz9A2vdg7
You swore you’d fight the dark for me—164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIAbUVYqlON
Then left me wide awake
[Chorus]164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAdL6PBz2db
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡranQK2O2B2
Where my lungs should be164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJj8MgoKikL
You took the breath out of me164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrxMQff21Qm
Like a comfortable liar164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡglrzh83qFA
And I’m tired164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7M7lcCOic7
Of laying in this fire164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡadZG01pgZR
The more I see, the less I’m alive164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeK7CJOYA0P
Can you tell I’m not alright?
[Bridge]164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkbHGNAsyla
I need to be something164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4CCzjOZ1He
So my past lets me go164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7nutSa1q79
I need to live again164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd0ACSUmydn
Before this pain becomes my home
You’re fading like a dream164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoCziyatjMe
That I wake up from too soon164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfhOKOXhKea
And I keep screaming in my head164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKFIzOI6Eb9
But it’s just echoes in my room
[Final Chorus]164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSX9FElZhBB
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbfr0a4m2M5
Where my lungs should be164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlIiWGJlawy
You took the breath out of me164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmdV1U6dnrH
Like a comfortable liar164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡchy4r6ZkmI
Now I’m colder164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFFWUcLK6t9
But not any wiser164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSaKxkaiIjB
The more I see, the less I’m alive164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdvNA3om1w9
I’m still breathing—164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1W9prmhqJ4
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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