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]112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmC1Tt8zy7j
I need to feel something112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNzkD8vcy5H
So my heart won’t turn to stone112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlvs9p1gXFN
Been chasing shadows in the hallway112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLhU7SPtN8w
Just to not feel so alone
My thoughts creak like floorboards112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqrkMdUs53p
In a house that no one owns112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfOhErRGDr5
You came in, said we’d fix it112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6pH8UThp02
Then left me here on my own
[Pre-Chorus]112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU9wxrKH8L5
There’s hesitation in your voice112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm2oENnzntM
I wish I didn’t notice112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4bxcZqrZJg
You promised me you’d call—112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxK4Tq468QL
Like I wouldn’t know you broke it
[Chorus]112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg6GcpYnuYi
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQhr3EfRCSm
Where my lungs should be112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDnI5yhK5m0
You took the breath out of me112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡejoWKZ2mTS
Like a comfortable liar112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvBf7d7YDpK
And I’m tired112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO7mlmbQ2WE
Of laying in this fire112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx5HmC7jN72
The more I see, the less I’m alive112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8PXXQcfRYX
Can you tell I’m not alright?
[Verse 2]112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyFf3I2c9Ay
I replay things you said112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg2h13IEKG9
Like a song stuck in my teeth112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFQGq9Anhxl
Words that meant forever112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoEVow72Ilp
Now just rot underneath
You said “we’ll figure it out”112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIzzoaTmZPm
But you never said when112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2lLwnJx7bS
I think I’m starting to believe112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCNqejGPa8c
You never meant to begin
[Pre-Chorus]112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVf0BuW9DOt
There’s silence in your absence112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZy5FPgkQ3b
And it’s loud enough to break112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSmdpRTayuY
You swore you’d fight the dark for me—112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHgiymzFtl4
Then left me wide awake
[Chorus]112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRkQqOATGCE
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt0BHOvDlVF
Where my lungs should be112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzrI1ZQ7R8j
You took the breath out of me112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbTewwk2kGq
Like a comfortable liar112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFT4CQsDKGf
And I’m tired112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl9ocaX6Vha
Of laying in this fire112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLBme3QZDl4
The more I see, the less I’m alive112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGvIPjlzW3F
Can you tell I’m not alright?
[Bridge]112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBHr12jMeFK
I need to be something112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdO3cpPTojF
So my past lets me go112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxbppZHAQPu
I need to live again112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ89lIfqdWGd
Before this pain becomes my home
You’re fading like a dream112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNYbVm9SP2P
That I wake up from too soon112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaNamCpyYRR
And I keep screaming in my head112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHEyH7HATtg
But it’s just echoes in my room
[Final Chorus]112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0hcJzDk5qj
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBd6H4ze3ZH
Where my lungs should be112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9WbgCXgevm
You took the breath out of me112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMNPOOhdgUu
Like a comfortable liar112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1QzfrC6O98
Now I’m colder112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCWSdhys6Qb
But not any wiser112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmaYyKRHoOo
The more I see, the less I’m alive112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHug54YqVkQ
I’m still breathing—112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSbBp7dfgfW
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.”
ns216.73.216.154da2
