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]153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbB1H0N9G0C
I need to feel something153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq5niJg5AVC
So my heart won’t turn to stone153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5H1PkzfmW1
Been chasing shadows in the hallway153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA9GCmGxsDN
Just to not feel so alone
My thoughts creak like floorboards153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDTVZE8MTaS
In a house that no one owns153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtJdFU2NxBb
You came in, said we’d fix it153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNS0LZ8y5Es
Then left me here on my own
[Pre-Chorus]153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTMhGqExKfk
There’s hesitation in your voice153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3JT9KXDWLm
I wish I didn’t notice153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzJEwSHPb8e
You promised me you’d call—153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5lGE8sMsNj
Like I wouldn’t know you broke it
[Chorus]153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6lPenrzmIW
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYbT0RlTwQN
Where my lungs should be153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoXsHBRHRE5
You took the breath out of me153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6p3WVa9POH
Like a comfortable liar153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCQE9psk5d1
And I’m tired153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpRkGD7hxGj
Of laying in this fire153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSiydN0yT3Q
The more I see, the less I’m alive153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgwQERVpJ4j
Can you tell I’m not alright?
[Verse 2]153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcqWDVnaPZz
I replay things you said153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZlEMko8QtL
Like a song stuck in my teeth153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6XYMHRhGyZ
Words that meant forever153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd8R1Eogvg9
Now just rot underneath
You said “we’ll figure it out”153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT7dBVamayD
But you never said when153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmuVq36ejHN
I think I’m starting to believe153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbr89SnfRO4
You never meant to begin
[Pre-Chorus]153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡekK16BFMgw
There’s silence in your absence153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoWPMbkwcTv
And it’s loud enough to break153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD7gScIHhcN
You swore you’d fight the dark for me—153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡljZHnMUKMG
Then left me wide awake
[Chorus]153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgxrSsSK8zJ
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXHT3Qsixxt
Where my lungs should be153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKLNlYCwmFC
You took the breath out of me153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZsJOeroUjU
Like a comfortable liar153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ26lVt0UKSR
And I’m tired153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf2vbbgRNxo
Of laying in this fire153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK1qbBRZFgs
The more I see, the less I’m alive153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHsXEJ1vTaV
Can you tell I’m not alright?
[Bridge]153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9XmgTI8Kh2
I need to be something153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ05Z3kOT0Gh
So my past lets me go153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡie3OMY2JhF
I need to live again153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡToL7IEY83j
Before this pain becomes my home
You’re fading like a dream153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4kdrUUZZiw
That I wake up from too soon153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfJZWk7JhX9
And I keep screaming in my head153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTQtqY6ghkx
But it’s just echoes in my room
[Final Chorus]153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHGLuZ4nEJl
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuTXaLJEz4d
Where my lungs should be153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlCdG5lkf2G
You took the breath out of me153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0zo3Yc2p2R
Like a comfortable liar153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNVxL4AvoQX
Now I’m colder153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY8S3ygu2Vi
But not any wiser153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvZEW9GkFpl
The more I see, the less I’m alive153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCXgPaV8syt
I’m still breathing—153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ36vW07pmSA
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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