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]64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPFwSll4wHm
I need to feel something64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKCTUkxrjQ1
So my heart won’t turn to stone64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBgIXvzlbGb
Been chasing shadows in the hallway64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4sm0vzmbZ6
Just to not feel so alone
My thoughts creak like floorboards64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuA4tuqeKpL
In a house that no one owns64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG27KO9ysj8
You came in, said we’d fix it64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd5nhRHsanX
Then left me here on my own
[Pre-Chorus]64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGKaYzsdnC0
There’s hesitation in your voice64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Cxaf7qIXo
I wish I didn’t notice64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb0Cy1XqeVq
You promised me you’d call—64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCCjSEsbJfU
Like I wouldn’t know you broke it
[Chorus]64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE6AKZXSKdy
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVDjmt2ZfFB
Where my lungs should be64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHTatvv5IZp
You took the breath out of me64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxxJUYzSX4M
Like a comfortable liar64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYsXKlIyvnw
And I’m tired64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf1qoMw1qWd
Of laying in this fire64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ33W6eEXAy
The more I see, the less I’m alive64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxPoSEKlQxl
Can you tell I’m not alright?
[Verse 2]64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzfdfwOYOPp
I replay things you said64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmVBOXKbc2I
Like a song stuck in my teeth64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzKECgAtVek
Words that meant forever64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiYV2XLc8TV
Now just rot underneath
You said “we’ll figure it out”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9O2e8MzJPv
But you never said when64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8YoT5bR1VK
I think I’m starting to believe64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjpMFwc9QER
You never meant to begin
[Pre-Chorus]64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNlj6V85m1t
There’s silence in your absence64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIF3KYbejt7
And it’s loud enough to break64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAfQLb9u5Xv
You swore you’d fight the dark for me—64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYw3ezHC3q1
Then left me wide awake
[Chorus]64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA4tEfvFyqX
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAyLF58K5du
Where my lungs should be64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp6YqDno8M6
You took the breath out of me64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqD50MuoqBm
Like a comfortable liar64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVtKX8SZna9
And I’m tired64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOM6MxtSOFY
Of laying in this fire64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmHaksdqbDD
The more I see, the less I’m alive64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvGn5s7fmXj
Can you tell I’m not alright?
[Bridge]64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNEsjHKVCfK
I need to be something64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL6tQ1BAnFY
So my past lets me go64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDIqOdwRZh8
I need to live again64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVEbBnvrM13
Before this pain becomes my home
You’re fading like a dream64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHqOpVB3KYS
That I wake up from too soon64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6i5acO20Mo
And I keep screaming in my head64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjMuPyyJd0V
But it’s just echoes in my room
[Final Chorus]64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNGdkuGopvL
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDSKjMqahzd
Where my lungs should be64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwUwdCOMHu1
You took the breath out of me64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRoesN4zAd5
Like a comfortable liar64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV5N7HQEHZr
Now I’m colder64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDWOcRxvFt0
But not any wiser64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdHKkbUNL6A
The more I see, the less I’m alive64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjSspbcg8c1
I’m still breathing—64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwsVh25Jzas
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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