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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