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]394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8jPPfkkqbs
I need to feel something394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmF6I93MGOP
So my heart won’t turn to stone394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnLvvUK8Dm6
Been chasing shadows in the hallway394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHSyIglGHmk
Just to not feel so alone
My thoughts creak like floorboards394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmiIsldNPHx
In a house that no one owns394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZTFC5CXCel
You came in, said we’d fix it394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUryAY48vDu
Then left me here on my own
[Pre-Chorus]394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk2QqvPpQF6
There’s hesitation in your voice394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhQI8q4aauE
I wish I didn’t notice394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3noHG69oKe
You promised me you’d call—394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGEX1R1HFFA
Like I wouldn’t know you broke it
[Chorus]394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ5rwHwGR9a
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQGaYKKVdmk
Where my lungs should be394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqmq20LsA7x
You took the breath out of me394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGFJA8aTbBJ
Like a comfortable liar394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcvMOiIbqrt
And I’m tired394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgGe9FyyJH1
Of laying in this fire394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6XKUh0LFxH
The more I see, the less I’m alive394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRzRBqPZHFB
Can you tell I’m not alright?
[Verse 2]394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFuV7L8qIqm
I replay things you said394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaP3yXSaLDh
Like a song stuck in my teeth394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAxRgg6xVOG
Words that meant forever394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdyV4Ye6H3P
Now just rot underneath
You said “we’ll figure it out”394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaaCFOUzD47
But you never said when394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2WDOswmOTd
I think I’m starting to believe394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK99XXfNVSR
You never meant to begin
[Pre-Chorus]394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVUNaOFMKcd
There’s silence in your absence394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6ma0vAoEF9
And it’s loud enough to break394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyCzfIG8UxM
You swore you’d fight the dark for me—394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ632bjvQj0g
Then left me wide awake
[Chorus]394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLEskZh9tTv
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2ygtlRaOC7
Where my lungs should be394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgnv3HMnbqb
You took the breath out of me394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlbKnmFA4xN
Like a comfortable liar394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBBBVEQsS0f
And I’m tired394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBUxhzkl29Y
Of laying in this fire394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj9wdzzU9OO
The more I see, the less I’m alive394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFwZy1R81yK
Can you tell I’m not alright?
[Bridge]394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlmhfvAgqAM
I need to be something394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiFDshRV9h6
So my past lets me go394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwOlExHsuGs
I need to live again394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP8wPuxgNRP
Before this pain becomes my home
You’re fading like a dream394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDnA8esFgJg
That I wake up from too soon394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVkxBCYYp1d
And I keep screaming in my head394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw0OBr4gagD
But it’s just echoes in my room
[Final Chorus]394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoUlbPDgeRO
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIh6R0tcivD
Where my lungs should be394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzcYNSLnwV0
You took the breath out of me394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGohtrzIqGJ
Like a comfortable liar394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9SmLjxvYrt
Now I’m colder394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOT7AO2dgPx
But not any wiser394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡURB8xiEXIY
The more I see, the less I’m alive394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX6zj2cfK4n
I’m still breathing—394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvhmuB879Hf
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.”
ns216.73.216.134da2
and then Add to home screen.