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]23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOhpUrWhRF3
I need to feel something23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC9yxlUZ95G
So my heart won’t turn to stone23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhqizQbthKd
Been chasing shadows in the hallway23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOq92BwZbZe
Just to not feel so alone
My thoughts creak like floorboards23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN2rio59Uxj
In a house that no one owns23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡppJLKFHDww
You came in, said we’d fix it23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7hRDL3v3wQ
Then left me here on my own
[Pre-Chorus]23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEGEvLuzPJ1
There’s hesitation in your voice23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbbRaGgPcT0
I wish I didn’t notice23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd1BXKlK0jY
You promised me you’d call—23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1PzxMZd5QM
Like I wouldn’t know you broke it
[Chorus]23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWLbPzEklfW
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeinfPBdEnh
Where my lungs should be23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZJ4KBC9DxJ
You took the breath out of me23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYyUhDehiw1
Like a comfortable liar23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzzJErb3igo
And I’m tired23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpIStAQBJzu
Of laying in this fire23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsdfHy4xOMz
The more I see, the less I’m alive23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡznVFK21L9g
Can you tell I’m not alright?
[Verse 2]23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnyJ3MGVTdT
I replay things you said23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7v9ih8pLOM
Like a song stuck in my teeth23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnQRwa5zi62
Words that meant forever23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2bgX6Zq7BV
Now just rot underneath
You said “we’ll figure it out”23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ66GdqAnsLH
But you never said when23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrplzJKMuOr
I think I’m starting to believe23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsj6bd4A8BR
You never meant to begin
[Pre-Chorus]23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAADvOc6pH0
There’s silence in your absence23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1K5Jk72yO0
And it’s loud enough to break23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKnIFqjWO3n
You swore you’d fight the dark for me—23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSIUNxdSppL
Then left me wide awake
[Chorus]23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxKuzV0jHL4
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXWo8pY67oU
Where my lungs should be23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn3mI3a7pVD
You took the breath out of me23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9rTN5EFXcp
Like a comfortable liar23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIzkpzTzylI
And I’m tired23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ78tn3AB6FA
Of laying in this fire23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8JQpxG8ZvC
The more I see, the less I’m alive23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ19OF5cjzhi
Can you tell I’m not alright?
[Bridge]23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNT8x00ymg8
I need to be something23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk6y89WIYPW
So my past lets me go23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ74Y8xSnDid
I need to live again23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa9QICeyH9v
Before this pain becomes my home
You’re fading like a dream23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhdKWcxpsO7
That I wake up from too soon23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQT5WbHZzoi
And I keep screaming in my head23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0USd53SSlJ
But it’s just echoes in my room
[Final Chorus]23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNAxf9aBHzr
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5jOEDKN2Zl
Where my lungs should be23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzTRlpVV55i
You took the breath out of me23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdrTT3MUZyT
Like a comfortable liar23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMhgKoXEDxN
Now I’m colder23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp66mlJe6vw
But not any wiser23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6nJtOJr74V
The more I see, the less I’m alive23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4VMbQefqiN
I’m still breathing—23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAR7GBaE7dB
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.”
ns18.191.187.74da2
and then Add to home screen.