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]102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP1t0YeP0zK
I need to feel something102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGbMERTcdqA
So my heart won’t turn to stone102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIImUxlBjpr
Been chasing shadows in the hallway102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo9IG2kaBHa
Just to not feel so alone
My thoughts creak like floorboards102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWhaz5pcHN0
In a house that no one owns102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLFFLi0xtCM
You came in, said we’d fix it102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW0lrFadOos
Then left me here on my own
[Pre-Chorus]102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM87iLBvmgw
There’s hesitation in your voice102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJwfyu3NGLN
I wish I didn’t notice102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9FsOU0H9D2
You promised me you’d call—102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPbeQaqCNVh
Like I wouldn’t know you broke it
[Chorus]102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp0acDNiZiF
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRMAFwCeJIR
Where my lungs should be102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeL6CEYzoGg
You took the breath out of me102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp2yPjIKt79
Like a comfortable liar102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXZys5xtxD0
And I’m tired102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6HjaS0NVkB
Of laying in this fire102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEghnFkIlRg
The more I see, the less I’m alive102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi85sslFLg8
Can you tell I’m not alright?
[Verse 2]102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ66QikgqlY
I replay things you said102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8tpQAXQDUw
Like a song stuck in my teeth102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF9lx6LVOxZ
Words that meant forever102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhCz4nqjj4V
Now just rot underneath
You said “we’ll figure it out”102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnoJzYOUYLq
But you never said when102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbvEccLaZsr
I think I’m starting to believe102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhpV2xwMzmB
You never meant to begin
[Pre-Chorus]102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOdoAVsOjxY
There’s silence in your absence102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqszCcWtenN
And it’s loud enough to break102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1WDxQffekO
You swore you’d fight the dark for me—102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7AIxEBNoO0
Then left me wide awake
[Chorus]102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Ac00HQH2N
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrqWv3ofcIM
Where my lungs should be102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcjjJkAl7xg
You took the breath out of me102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVTGqyoSOwA
Like a comfortable liar102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHFE34Ce86P
And I’m tired102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDlPNsmBw8j
Of laying in this fire102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq1qAcmMAeE
The more I see, the less I’m alive102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3FxwnCOsN8
Can you tell I’m not alright?
[Bridge]102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeJiiVO9miH
I need to be something102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiBgXIjLF4X
So my past lets me go102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrhDW6Z3FON
I need to live again102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH9L9erHlHc
Before this pain becomes my home
You’re fading like a dream102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp1mN2DIPBv
That I wake up from too soon102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT3w0vqcKFh
And I keep screaming in my head102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡydQC6h1QBX
But it’s just echoes in my room
[Final Chorus]102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6fW3QgMOKg
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVQTPe7b0F0
Where my lungs should be102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZMsZk5VCtD
You took the breath out of me102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ70CUBR32bT
Like a comfortable liar102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq75RSPzBCo
Now I’m colder102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ480jCNRW6v
But not any wiser102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuzWYidZF9T
The more I see, the less I’m alive102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE4XZypRAd7
I’m still breathing—102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ510Yjng0Y8
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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