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]136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0S1mYXEwao
I need to feel something136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrSYbJuTOtw
So my heart won’t turn to stone136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ56dyTZ5qQZ
Been chasing shadows in the hallway136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRyMldAOzRD
Just to not feel so alone
My thoughts creak like floorboards136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCDJaccOMjL
In a house that no one owns136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJlzcPCzqLm
You came in, said we’d fix it136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdOCnAFnlAk
Then left me here on my own
[Pre-Chorus]136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGDHFHHLTpG
There’s hesitation in your voice136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ64EJOE0FQq
I wish I didn’t notice136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL8LK5IW5qe
You promised me you’d call—136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwf5K2auufk
Like I wouldn’t know you broke it
[Chorus]136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAVTsT08Lgr
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYh5qQMnHJH
Where my lungs should be136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Z7bwKqvoJ
You took the breath out of me136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ38KcakteTf
Like a comfortable liar136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPdLKPQhBGi
And I’m tired136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIRMvtYZNWL
Of laying in this fire136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBuDYsA6GyU
The more I see, the less I’m alive136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOVBqJCcKq2
Can you tell I’m not alright?
[Verse 2]136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDU9rLDfT91
I replay things you said136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡteuJyeFoms
Like a song stuck in my teeth136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYHi6xsAJDh
Words that meant forever136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlyV0CT2XN9
Now just rot underneath
You said “we’ll figure it out”136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTg41hLVqJN
But you never said when136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCwJWj74je3
I think I’m starting to believe136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeOxBDzko4t
You never meant to begin
[Pre-Chorus]136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfEh4aCwQRv
There’s silence in your absence136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLgbwplXUmn
And it’s loud enough to break136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVqeFLlX9Rk
You swore you’d fight the dark for me—136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn8PvPiq5Am
Then left me wide awake
[Chorus]136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWDYjCsQZfC
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf8W0QT6ksg
Where my lungs should be136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtBWD6PbsY4
You took the breath out of me136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcJJ8QQTfDP
Like a comfortable liar136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOP64ItYUZG
And I’m tired136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAo1c7h9auH
Of laying in this fire136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOKj4RysYEo
The more I see, the less I’m alive136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlNgWJt3mKH
Can you tell I’m not alright?
[Bridge]136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBRxWC2XgwD
I need to be something136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmVy91yuNWp
So my past lets me go136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2hFVSDUVZm
I need to live again136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2zMNJHtWJB
Before this pain becomes my home
You’re fading like a dream136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsSXKgHZ4oK
That I wake up from too soon136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAnTAUcQQnH
And I keep screaming in my head136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuAngs56oml
But it’s just echoes in my room
[Final Chorus]136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡACV0htFsky
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNrReTWe4ZU
Where my lungs should be136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCglS9lE6ZH
You took the breath out of me136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXhjzAQUvvI
Like a comfortable liar136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiNkvX3JC7y
Now I’m colder136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9j2bvZCQQK
But not any wiser136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyLb3LOtvxr
The more I see, the less I’m alive136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1EP3fkdnuc
I’m still breathing—136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs9gp2QFaBB
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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