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]188Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡek4y3RWYBf
I need to feel something188Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkOlHlg1aEk
So my heart won’t turn to stone188Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9XpnN7HRpP
Been chasing shadows in the hallway188Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3AWCVycWnH
Just to not feel so alone
My thoughts creak like floorboards188Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmi5evAw11C
In a house that no one owns188Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR7mvBJWpvp
You came in, said we’d fix it188Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ57pSBgZh0A
Then left me here on my own
[Pre-Chorus]188Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHV7HQco3O8
There’s hesitation in your voice188Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv1RpmTnFOL
I wish I didn’t notice188Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ13Iv0FBRrL
You promised me you’d call—188Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd9546bUpL4
Like I wouldn’t know you broke it
[Chorus]188Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzo2EsWk6Y1
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me188Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqjfgaqd2EX
Where my lungs should be188Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmKcJh17OAS
You took the breath out of me188Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFBGX8LaUpj
Like a comfortable liar188Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1YKqqCKgVm
And I’m tired188Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU61aa5c9EI
Of laying in this fire188Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡldhTWmmqGD
The more I see, the less I’m alive188Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3QH0NORAiP
Can you tell I’m not alright?
[Verse 2]188Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFxeVlQruLG
I replay things you said188Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8YhvDQDRYk
Like a song stuck in my teeth188Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKYPpnFU5ld
Words that meant forever188Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnvHwVhQdSU
Now just rot underneath
You said “we’ll figure it out”188Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡabjuVypQUg
But you never said when188Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBc2hpce6Qa
I think I’m starting to believe188Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1LNNeBjUPE
You never meant to begin
[Pre-Chorus]188Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcVHsR2CvUN
There’s silence in your absence188Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzyGOwmCf36
And it’s loud enough to break188Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLwBa7OHX9G
You swore you’d fight the dark for me—188Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW0kO7k451x
Then left me wide awake
[Chorus]188Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyuQUkoyrLy
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me188Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgUj6hrAgVI
Where my lungs should be188Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb7gftVtYp3
You took the breath out of me188Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYlFB25jVyr
Like a comfortable liar188Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKcAFmIJA0A
And I’m tired188Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK9eh10KD9d
Of laying in this fire188Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGGGPL9c343
The more I see, the less I’m alive188Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjdrlFeJ5nq
Can you tell I’m not alright?
[Bridge]188Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEySFvSoEd9
I need to be something188Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL9SqKOlOnA
So my past lets me go188Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4YQgtSaC8f
I need to live again188Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbU6tgezJwD
Before this pain becomes my home
You’re fading like a dream188Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7YOaCoTxZg
That I wake up from too soon188Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI85nO8TgYk
And I keep screaming in my head188Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAzf5y8kJkZ
But it’s just echoes in my room
[Final Chorus]188Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8RWTqsyLMS
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me188Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKL8xK7Bk9Y
Where my lungs should be188Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu3BNrOI2CB
You took the breath out of me188Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3wna2kOZPn
Like a comfortable liar188Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfl27A01iCy
Now I’m colder188Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTaMulWtzpj
But not any wiser188Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwjtpCVrDeV
The more I see, the less I’m alive188Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡceYKph53u2
I’m still breathing—188Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMVH3gWLZo0
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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