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]12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA3HyEKwqTs
I need to feel something12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvu1y0Q3VBX
So my heart won’t turn to stone12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoSkG65CwMq
Been chasing shadows in the hallway12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1GBaZIn1E0
Just to not feel so alone
My thoughts creak like floorboards12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvKdQ5Q5iRI
In a house that no one owns12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNvkOU8D31n
You came in, said we’d fix it12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0CsIPXn42Y
Then left me here on my own
[Pre-Chorus]12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRa6u9anOXn
There’s hesitation in your voice12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF2gWADXFws
I wish I didn’t notice12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmC3bDtppby
You promised me you’d call—12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0MqxeHYx7W
Like I wouldn’t know you broke it
[Chorus]12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLyUUgBlXvM
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMkholBJgqX
Where my lungs should be12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcQ4SQyKsJD
You took the breath out of me12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtAEpss7LXD
Like a comfortable liar12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTHsqtc9jyC
And I’m tired12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrXHyHkd9pu
Of laying in this fire12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ80SJ475HSt
The more I see, the less I’m alive12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMSg4SsFfdW
Can you tell I’m not alright?
[Verse 2]12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm8RQlsvoaY
I replay things you said12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyq7NWjj5BM
Like a song stuck in my teeth12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaKxFg7hU6p
Words that meant forever12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgi4cM7kOss
Now just rot underneath
You said “we’ll figure it out”12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Bjtp2IiWA
But you never said when12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNma0unIUMh
I think I’m starting to believe12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4K1k0nB7TU
You never meant to begin
[Pre-Chorus]12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRqTawPOXxe
There’s silence in your absence12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkdpDxr867N
And it’s loud enough to break12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw6ymWAjgzB
You swore you’d fight the dark for me—12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuNHIWa8KlN
Then left me wide awake
[Chorus]12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡREsQU4xEVF
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaYSwIcgH12
Where my lungs should be12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHNnnJCgJp3
You took the breath out of me12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUtH8hhf1HF
Like a comfortable liar12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8kdGEQcqf5
And I’m tired12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt2d8ZFHlBW
Of laying in this fire12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpXP0tINZFY
The more I see, the less I’m alive12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0SIo2y1Gld
Can you tell I’m not alright?
[Bridge]12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡimm5pMfw1N
I need to be something12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoagKPhJtcE
So my past lets me go12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPW6lCfntO6
I need to live again12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvy4XeNkLVr
Before this pain becomes my home
You’re fading like a dream12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0SBFrSbbFI
That I wake up from too soon12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLXgG6M0VAf
And I keep screaming in my head12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5DFY9XJlb5
But it’s just echoes in my room
[Final Chorus]12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlpAEYdWxyj
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgY9zSkKebU
Where my lungs should be12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ78hCc0BRsK
You took the breath out of me12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc5GFjAtucX
Like a comfortable liar12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2LPAyS1KHt
Now I’m colder12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFlXpBfLhZg
But not any wiser12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ82k06co3k
The more I see, the less I’m alive12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBKOd4yWitz
I’m still breathing—12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgaLE0tD3Ju
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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