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]425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq3dbtlu2WT
I need to feel something425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhZO3a4BVxW
So my heart won’t turn to stone425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrYLfpxnofj
Been chasing shadows in the hallway425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa5OaTtr4EM
Just to not feel so alone
My thoughts creak like floorboards425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzgIykpSqa6
In a house that no one owns425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4jeIdc1fdA
You came in, said we’d fix it425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEjkVseAvkp
Then left me here on my own
[Pre-Chorus]425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk0LSdZ7gse
There’s hesitation in your voice425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7ROgXhSIxW
I wish I didn’t notice425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUTZOCFk4f9
You promised me you’d call—425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwTOgoZZY7w
Like I wouldn’t know you broke it
[Chorus]425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCTz6cMOklU
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Csd1OMDJt
Where my lungs should be425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIwnItuzdMa
You took the breath out of me425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDAAo4Ej6rh
Like a comfortable liar425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN2CoROdTzD
And I’m tired425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP3SGmXzWFO
Of laying in this fire425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEnDtaCBJIG
The more I see, the less I’m alive425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpyI3o4grIQ
Can you tell I’m not alright?
[Verse 2]425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmlg8qLLLFK
I replay things you said425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4hgnD9qUkn
Like a song stuck in my teeth425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDHFMsGy14x
Words that meant forever425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNGj7hOylp7
Now just rot underneath
You said “we’ll figure it out”425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGdwMcqZpY2
But you never said when425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0CLq3MJeJl
I think I’m starting to believe425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMwh5cedZi7
You never meant to begin
[Pre-Chorus]425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBqM0DwyQbh
There’s silence in your absence425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeVQrdAovqS
And it’s loud enough to break425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfxVX3tOIYu
You swore you’d fight the dark for me—425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOXujnaKOk7
Then left me wide awake
[Chorus]425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbUQ0sNqRwr
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV4Scz31Z9O
Where my lungs should be425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ086bVPawMw
You took the breath out of me425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBzte2LoNEX
Like a comfortable liar425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡejI8iU3DJx
And I’m tired425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSAXW6pv1FI
Of laying in this fire425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlgDz5Nc3aT
The more I see, the less I’m alive425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8L7jwioqoK
Can you tell I’m not alright?
[Bridge]425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ61AVqL44Nv
I need to be something425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZwKqd0qTpS
So my past lets me go425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLXBsZXh80H
I need to live again425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjatZQCxaWX
Before this pain becomes my home
You’re fading like a dream425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc1q3DkPXZM
That I wake up from too soon425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhlj0QXP1OU
And I keep screaming in my head425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAcnt68tv2f
But it’s just echoes in my room
[Final Chorus]425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiF6XeySIW5
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3aYZkemC4H
Where my lungs should be425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZxauTpCiXA
You took the breath out of me425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEBuHzp5jeM
Like a comfortable liar425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8bQiKzBK37
Now I’m colder425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkJr68MKSvP
But not any wiser425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5xDlU7Mnoy
The more I see, the less I’m alive425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYkSFKVzso3
I’m still breathing—425Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWCPTEp0Gig
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.”
ns216.73.217.114da2
and then Add to home screen.