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]21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ034oNwNRXR
I need to feel something21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyUDxJb5bCC
So my heart won’t turn to stone21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLenpcqWYZZ
Been chasing shadows in the hallway21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMjbkSvaeqr
Just to not feel so alone
My thoughts creak like floorboards21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZTiK1bIOQi
In a house that no one owns21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiQbCXy9uq7
You came in, said we’d fix it21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOAqSd981NU
Then left me here on my own
[Pre-Chorus]21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe6fAJJMkSc
There’s hesitation in your voice21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEVVN7mf1rY
I wish I didn’t notice21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ45JHiNw7zJ
You promised me you’d call—21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV3DLE4G6Wm
Like I wouldn’t know you broke it
[Chorus]21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw8FGUhPlMd
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ09cSNB0MNx
Where my lungs should be21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyzUSDaEmS2
You took the breath out of me21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwDny8ydpLX
Like a comfortable liar21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnXLCIGx8Pd
And I’m tired21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvCU7KmgwxD
Of laying in this fire21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYPtvwp7VQM
The more I see, the less I’m alive21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJk7eS7uSkA
Can you tell I’m not alright?
[Verse 2]21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAK04DyRtdW
I replay things you said21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrl13AAvd7y
Like a song stuck in my teeth21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJyIvaxM8fW
Words that meant forever21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLW8uebLmky
Now just rot underneath
You said “we’ll figure it out”21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgMT43RIu0Z
But you never said when21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs76VMhwxcr
I think I’m starting to believe21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvUILUAMnV1
You never meant to begin
[Pre-Chorus]21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrS4wb6IP05
There’s silence in your absence21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhrEkiRfAkF
And it’s loud enough to break21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXahScev1Hx
You swore you’d fight the dark for me—21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlB1DFhyNNB
Then left me wide awake
[Chorus]21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTWEdzQCtZq
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡewlGOuAl3Z
Where my lungs should be21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrK0DNkriOx
You took the breath out of me21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbCF9J3NGKP
Like a comfortable liar21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbDQKWHw9QG
And I’m tired21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjRp5BZDqZD
Of laying in this fire21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVm8FNW05OI
The more I see, the less I’m alive21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6xRtuFDvU9
Can you tell I’m not alright?
[Bridge]21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvLN2ooNyHt
I need to be something21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3pLuhBtpNl
So my past lets me go21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg7RT4XqMcO
I need to live again21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhZpM4jtiAB
Before this pain becomes my home
You’re fading like a dream21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuU3vIGY1uZ
That I wake up from too soon21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpSJAxVf1cq
And I keep screaming in my head21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGqL9I2fL4w
But it’s just echoes in my room
[Final Chorus]21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhn88o3C5MQ
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF1TaRw4Zw6
Where my lungs should be21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBpwaTmirOO
You took the breath out of me21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEEXVFkY9WP
Like a comfortable liar21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz2vgvneKfD
Now I’m colder21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡerhBwAhYLM
But not any wiser21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpFne2NDKeW
The more I see, the less I’m alive21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbeFGB3oAgv
I’m still breathing—21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz9euEft4Lv
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.”
ns3.141.19.32da2
然後按「加至主畫面」