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]56Please respect copyright.PENANAqjQrZy1aZj
I need to feel something56Please respect copyright.PENANAQw9TiveZbB
So my heart won’t turn to stone56Please respect copyright.PENANANLwe13L8uP
Been chasing shadows in the hallway56Please respect copyright.PENANAc7Q8zAdjt9
Just to not feel so alone
My thoughts creak like floorboards56Please respect copyright.PENANAaf0PWCd7Zu
In a house that no one owns56Please respect copyright.PENANAdf4ggZpVcv
You came in, said we’d fix it56Please respect copyright.PENANAAxSoqMtuGl
Then left me here on my own
[Pre-Chorus]56Please respect copyright.PENANA3s56R7U8rZ
There’s hesitation in your voice56Please respect copyright.PENANAcPPwyXjMIE
I wish I didn’t notice56Please respect copyright.PENANAG1yRTgId2y
You promised me you’d call—56Please respect copyright.PENANAzMTAesk2Yy
Like I wouldn’t know you broke it
[Chorus]56Please respect copyright.PENANAEYbR7Hrzvc
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me56Please respect copyright.PENANAJPJ0VZ8uqm
Where my lungs should be56Please respect copyright.PENANA9JARtDESnQ
You took the breath out of me56Please respect copyright.PENANAQSJq7lJCWp
Like a comfortable liar56Please respect copyright.PENANAvyHA8B2Y2b
And I’m tired56Please respect copyright.PENANAD6dmKiY4w4
Of laying in this fire56Please respect copyright.PENANAwFtfK6H4IK
The more I see, the less I’m alive56Please respect copyright.PENANA6dhPTrbGa5
Can you tell I’m not alright?
[Verse 2]56Please respect copyright.PENANABiCbXSoETx
I replay things you said56Please respect copyright.PENANAf7DIU2mgOv
Like a song stuck in my teeth56Please respect copyright.PENANAYHDndEyV5g
Words that meant forever56Please respect copyright.PENANAy8Khut62KK
Now just rot underneath
You said “we’ll figure it out”56Please respect copyright.PENANA9JAWeis7bf
But you never said when56Please respect copyright.PENANAvwOFkVZYG6
I think I’m starting to believe56Please respect copyright.PENANAnKEZAilViL
You never meant to begin
[Pre-Chorus]56Please respect copyright.PENANAhjcJWodXeh
There’s silence in your absence56Please respect copyright.PENANA2eSwarlXKP
And it’s loud enough to break56Please respect copyright.PENANAs6kclj4A3J
You swore you’d fight the dark for me—56Please respect copyright.PENANAIcCgB6vdCp
Then left me wide awake
[Chorus]56Please respect copyright.PENANAMasZ4YoLHZ
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me56Please respect copyright.PENANAk1K82GXIWR
Where my lungs should be56Please respect copyright.PENANARbo0zZV9Yg
You took the breath out of me56Please respect copyright.PENANAi43OwG92fT
Like a comfortable liar56Please respect copyright.PENANA8h48p1I6Wf
And I’m tired56Please respect copyright.PENANANk6SL5i2MR
Of laying in this fire56Please respect copyright.PENANAzM3gjXnQ7C
The more I see, the less I’m alive56Please respect copyright.PENANAFqfknarRwW
Can you tell I’m not alright?
[Bridge]56Please respect copyright.PENANA7qlyPO2XB3
I need to be something56Please respect copyright.PENANAUMfxMC4HS4
So my past lets me go56Please respect copyright.PENANAuf3aGdzzoQ
I need to live again56Please respect copyright.PENANAMMoCEnd0Kp
Before this pain becomes my home
You’re fading like a dream56Please respect copyright.PENANABi83EI6LtB
That I wake up from too soon56Please respect copyright.PENANALggF8jBqZE
And I keep screaming in my head56Please respect copyright.PENANArgPepYcVWL
But it’s just echoes in my room
[Final Chorus]56Please respect copyright.PENANAqbMCO46XJI
I’m drowning ‘cause you left a hole in me56Please respect copyright.PENANAHEo4r17w6p
Where my lungs should be56Please respect copyright.PENANAksRv2B66LS
You took the breath out of me56Please respect copyright.PENANA72rsIFseqH
Like a comfortable liar56Please respect copyright.PENANA08KPaVKU0u
Now I’m colder56Please respect copyright.PENANAYdDo3QTjDI
But not any wiser56Please respect copyright.PENANAqPGK6eVtJE
The more I see, the less I’m alive56Please respect copyright.PENANAtSK7u5if0C
I’m still breathing—56Please respect copyright.PENANAkI9UQLD81W
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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