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]111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIb4uzViHQ1
I need to feel something111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ00ShLcfc3x
So my heart won’t turn to stone111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsw4vprArKQ
Been chasing shadows in the hallway111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYAz1gtZlX1
Just to not feel so alone
My thoughts creak like floorboards111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnTb7GcpOHE
In a house that no one owns111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN0YfaHYlTh
You came in, said we’d fix it111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdbRqsgLHsM
Then left me here on my own
[Pre-Chorus]111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcYDID5a4Wc
There’s hesitation in your voice111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2u9cApjbIO
I wish I didn’t notice111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvut2AAhKkr
You promised me you’d call—111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaHjDNI8qdj
Like I wouldn’t know you broke it
[Chorus]111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3U7dqDhi6y
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡef2upjsh9j
Where my lungs should be111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7oe7Ey94wm
You took the breath out of me111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt2wtipoMoe
Like a comfortable liar111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8To8w9oyfE
And I’m tired111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTo5tT1IyWH
Of laying in this fire111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX5fKZu8kYL
The more I see, the less I’m alive111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiWFddrpMG4
Can you tell I’m not alright?
[Verse 2]111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVhvPMxGPqf
I replay things you said111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6uvIzFU7Mf
Like a song stuck in my teeth111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfQtct8c98t
Words that meant forever111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNUbbPtw1uP
Now just rot underneath
You said “we’ll figure it out”111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqIqOJfMHms
But you never said when111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡew5rjK9ASJ
I think I’m starting to believe111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJLv4wXpMUR
You never meant to begin
[Pre-Chorus]111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ36OctOcsif
There’s silence in your absence111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq9soDpeNt8
And it’s loud enough to break111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMzOqIOlzgD
You swore you’d fight the dark for me—111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqewFF6ErFO
Then left me wide awake
[Chorus]111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqj1LuxWGPS
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTRX6JDDUru
Where my lungs should be111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5uS4S6WgOs
You took the breath out of me111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7JaZnq8PR4
Like a comfortable liar111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOouAsPOz8P
And I’m tired111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOKq94IdpaW
Of laying in this fire111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPnw0Vqzd5y
The more I see, the less I’m alive111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ49sSv6RJLa
Can you tell I’m not alright?
[Bridge]111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqhLUXnOrER
I need to be something111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8hJaqYuxcc
So my past lets me go111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhNd6SzvEo8
I need to live again111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8CcM9Oikti
Before this pain becomes my home
You’re fading like a dream111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjY6WRnVOKq
That I wake up from too soon111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXlyorO0jlz
And I keep screaming in my head111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWHhDWsXtyn
But it’s just echoes in my room
[Final Chorus]111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEEiSpMo4oH
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgIxVq4mgtv
Where my lungs should be111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGZIdNeUNnd
You took the breath out of me111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAX01Up6Zap
Like a comfortable liar111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqPp745gq1V
Now I’m colder111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSJY8NvR8op
But not any wiser111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBAwbKpwpxl
The more I see, the less I’m alive111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa3DpiC5Qph
I’m still breathing—111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjO38C3V9tV
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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