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]109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI5YYobhwQc
I need to feel something109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDmdmwmfaF4
So my heart won’t turn to stone109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUlmXEKSPJ4
Been chasing shadows in the hallway109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFWKbqanUEW
Just to not feel so alone
My thoughts creak like floorboards109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF0hRRwuXfE
In a house that no one owns109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnW9lBhAC0M
You came in, said we’d fix it109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbUOCAxxZOa
Then left me here on my own
[Pre-Chorus]109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhm6JAQYUVP
There’s hesitation in your voice109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK6ALac23AF
I wish I didn’t notice109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqL6EXhHlQL
You promised me you’d call—109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeIobmRlcm9
Like I wouldn’t know you broke it
[Chorus]109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIqr8iTfNDp
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUmsw6YU7nP
Where my lungs should be109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfFy64000Ek
You took the breath out of me109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmju0Kud4px
Like a comfortable liar109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPDCsKsXRqg
And I’m tired109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡosjInEIjLV
Of laying in this fire109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNlJafw3Ipu
The more I see, the less I’m alive109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjZMbvnWaM7
Can you tell I’m not alright?
[Verse 2]109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdndS8cm5xY
I replay things you said109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQotWs4357z
Like a song stuck in my teeth109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNQ80YBDove
Words that meant forever109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXQNYNXuai1
Now just rot underneath
You said “we’ll figure it out”109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKNeO0y8Mb9
But you never said when109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXla4vcHnJS
I think I’m starting to believe109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo8iYQEqt7F
You never meant to begin
[Pre-Chorus]109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhjsEWROhO2
There’s silence in your absence109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2KuVwNph0i
And it’s loud enough to break109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD9xxCvJeZh
You swore you’d fight the dark for me—109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhamJjrFp31
Then left me wide awake
[Chorus]109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUAJjDDN0RD
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0eMjwseDrO
Where my lungs should be109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRf5VMwGHhG
You took the breath out of me109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjhA0cYX7p2
Like a comfortable liar109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTDycmSfU04
And I’m tired109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5e2wP88tO7
Of laying in this fire109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIi6CQDmhfK
The more I see, the less I’m alive109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbLFsWggTqR
Can you tell I’m not alright?
[Bridge]109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡufflf3naly
I need to be something109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiSD5ifIxjg
So my past lets me go109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcpFBAOEPg3
I need to live again109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEg39UxlsoI
Before this pain becomes my home
You’re fading like a dream109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq1fel3H5cd
That I wake up from too soon109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmeAb6RyWMR
And I keep screaming in my head109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlKnbXwGIMU
But it’s just echoes in my room
[Final Chorus]109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSqYscDvUrI
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY20d1LR3RK
Where my lungs should be109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZBzp98yLYK
You took the breath out of me109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ9MDGPjDuD
Like a comfortable liar109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKHLsEz4U54
Now I’m colder109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9UhUIxQGER
But not any wiser109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvC1x32CwrF
The more I see, the less I’m alive109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvvKw8MWL7S
I’m still breathing—109Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxGS1e46DHB
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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