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]184Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjzQ06UdiSx
I need to feel something184Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡredo7VHoq5
So my heart won’t turn to stone184Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2ZxTQ7rwIy
Been chasing shadows in the hallway184Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoibN0MmshI
Just to not feel so alone
My thoughts creak like floorboards184Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuX4c1fmSAd
In a house that no one owns184Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡodzrvKAcdx
You came in, said we’d fix it184Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmi3UgNt5xa
Then left me here on my own
[Pre-Chorus]184Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkV1ixctGsq
There’s hesitation in your voice184Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSeUCGW2jEe
I wish I didn’t notice184Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYIcl5F6YXV
You promised me you’d call—184Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLkADMwZqLw
Like I wouldn’t know you broke it
[Chorus]184Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCxXsnzgFfz
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me184Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHX9ytyfwYN
Where my lungs should be184Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJrIRMIf0oK
You took the breath out of me184Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3R0ZPoTItS
Like a comfortable liar184Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzMzg0Qvek1
And I’m tired184Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtvZsqwvaAC
Of laying in this fire184Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgv3oevbk9f
The more I see, the less I’m alive184Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyjeNkmYCiI
Can you tell I’m not alright?
[Verse 2]184Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOrBET2im5V
I replay things you said184Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt4IsoZn6xs
Like a song stuck in my teeth184Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdtS9DqMBUc
Words that meant forever184Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJWF2Zk5iTz
Now just rot underneath
You said “we’ll figure it out”184Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrON4ba5sNk
But you never said when184Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡth8XcAyqlo
I think I’m starting to believe184Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEEU3pChy6u
You never meant to begin
[Pre-Chorus]184Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMiWbIJqEBF
There’s silence in your absence184Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNaLV6SWbcm
And it’s loud enough to break184Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDGLcjAWRBx
You swore you’d fight the dark for me—184Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxDygKZBQVJ
Then left me wide awake
[Chorus]184Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc334aAvexb
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me184Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFUIqohTE2i
Where my lungs should be184Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyIwGhOHaXp
You took the breath out of me184Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUUnJRUON3U
Like a comfortable liar184Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpGIVAemxH5
And I’m tired184Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4kJQnM90Dx
Of laying in this fire184Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfDDTg9BUwb
The more I see, the less I’m alive184Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ64VVCs8f1Q
Can you tell I’m not alright?
[Bridge]184Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZTaq0x8sLl
I need to be something184Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgDIewVv0He
So my past lets me go184Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8nqO4QlKw9
I need to live again184Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyOc6dFdj3t
Before this pain becomes my home
You’re fading like a dream184Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF3wKyLmi2z
That I wake up from too soon184Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSUZ24KyUaD
And I keep screaming in my head184Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYDq2GSobpG
But it’s just echoes in my room
[Final Chorus]184Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ43EesT1HK6
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me184Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOI0sxSoF3a
Where my lungs should be184Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg5i1RwpBFC
You took the breath out of me184Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV3qfLDKZwZ
Like a comfortable liar184Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHVkUEuvnHT
Now I’m colder184Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjB54jlpjlV
But not any wiser184Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHUwQBVlgqQ
The more I see, the less I’m alive184Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJur9Y8crfL
I’m still breathing—184Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXmbIh2RiAx
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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